Leona Lesson Plan Template
Guide to the Tool
Introduction and Rationale
Welcome to the Leona lesson plan template! We hope that you find this tool useful as you plan for effective instruction and strive to promote academic growth and learning for all students. We believe that the sections of this template help focus on the most powerful instructional strategies that are supported by current research. Additionally, this tool helps us build more instructional systemic common ground for our grade level and content-specific PLC work. Also, the template is aligned to the instructional section of the teacher evaluation tool, so it is our hope that it will drive evaluation improvement for our teachers. Finally, it provides important curriculum and instruction accountability evidence that all of our schools need to evidence effectiveness to our governing bodies and agencies. Oversight agencies include the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools, the Arizona State Board of Education, the Arizona Department of Education, Kaizen Education Foundation, the American Charter Schools Foundation, and AdvancED.
Objective(s)
All effective teachers clearly know what they want children to learn as a result of instruction. The objective of the lesson plan should include the primary objective(s) for the lesson that follows. Although in many instances, the pursuit of an objective often overlaps with other objectives, the stated objective for the lesson plan should be the primary, focused objective for that instructional sequence. Distinguished plans avoid ‘over-alignment’ of their plans and remain focused on a reasonable, targeted objective(s) for the lesson appropriate for the instructional time provided. This focused objective will be the cohesive thread that connects core instruction, the assessment, and RtI efforts.
To be most effective, an objective should contain three key parts: a stem, an action verb, and an outcome. Many teachers use ‘The Student Will Be Able To’ (TSWBAT) as their stem. The action verb indicates the level of rigor the student will be able to demonstrate and the type of activity they will be engaged in at the highest level of instruction and during assessment. Many teachers use lists from Webb, Bloom’s, or Costa to guide their action verb efforts, but this template focuses exclusively on Webb. Finally, the outcome will describe the student activity used to facilitate the acquisition of the desired knowledge. This final outcome generally is tied directly to the assessment being used, and is usually preceded by the word ‘by’.
Examples:
TSWBAT . . . / write an effective thesis statement / by applying a writing rubric to their draft and using it to improve their thesis to a ‘meets’ rating
The student will . . . / determine the central idea / by writing concurring opinion Tweets of the Miranda v. Arizona SCOTUS case
Students will . . . / explain the backgrounds and motives for terrorism / by creating a short Prezi using information from the class documentary Clear & Present Danger
CCRS for Each Objective
The standards drive the bulk of teachers’ instructional efforts . . . but not all of them. When applicable, the CCRS and/or Arizona standard for an objective should be provided. The standard objective code should suffice (e.g. 9-10 RL.2) for administrative purposes, although teachers are welcome to include the entire text of the standard if it helps them in their planning.
It is important to note that all ELA teachers have CCRS ELA standards, and all math teachers have both CCRS math standards and CCRS mathematical practices. Teachers of history, social studies, science, art, and electives have Arizona standards for their content AND CCRS ELA standards written specifically for them. The expectation is that teachers of history, social studies, science, art, and electives address their ELA reading and writing standards on their plans in addition to their core content standards to support the overall campus’ literary and achievement goals.
Rigor of Each Objective
There are many acceptable ways of framing rigor. Some educators prefer Bloom’s Taxonomy. Others like Costa’s Levels of Thinking. TLG has been using Webb’s Depth of Knowledge Matrix for the past year in its professional development efforts. The lesson plan template reflects this effort, and asks teachers to identify the rigor of both their objective and assessment using Webb’s DOK. This plan feature is designed to help ensure that we are assessing at the objective and standard level, and that we are collectively striving to provide more rigorous academic experiences for our students.
Bell Ringer
The bell ringer is an effective tool for ensuring that transitions are smooth and instruction begins at the bell. Many teachers find that it’s also an ideal opportunity for providing meaningful, spaced review of prior material. Whatever you call it, (distributed practice, spiraled instruction, ongoing cumulative review), it is recognized as one of the best instructional practices for helping students with long-term retention. In his famous meta-study Visible Learning, John Hattie determined its effectiveness size as .71 (when the average effectiveness is .40). This rating indicates that the practice of distributed practice has the power to move the average student nearly two grade levels in a single year.
Tier 1 Core Instructional Plan
This is the heart of the learning plan. It plans for how standards mastery is being facilitated by instructors. This template asks teachers to clearly distinguish their activities from their students’ activities and think critically to plan student activities that best foster student acquisition of the standard through meaningful tasks. The hope is that the plan reflects activities that engender genuine engagement from students! Our most dynamic classrooms evidence a variety of intrinsically interesting activities across plans that engage the student demographic at the school and fall within the campus’ mission/vision. As we’ve supported educators through the transition to the CCRS and best practices for ELAS students, TLG has clearly articulated the peer-to-peer expectation at 50%, so student activities in this section of the plan should reflect this.
Although the Webb’s Depth of Knowledge level indicated next to the stated lesson objective may be at a 3 or a 4, it is not unusual to have student activities that begin at a 1 or 2 and progress in difficulty. This process of scaffolding is recognized as an effective educational practice. Be mindful that scaffolding is designed to be removed at the end of instruction, as it was just a temporary support intended to bring students to a higher level or rigor.
Exit Slip
Like the bell ringer, the exit slip is an effective tool for supporting smooth transitions and ensuring bell-to-bell instruction. Additionally, it is the perfect assessment opportunity to inform teachers of what each student has independently learned at the lesson’s conclusion, so it should be aligned to the lesson objective. It is also an ideal chance for students to reflect on whether or not they have mastered the day’s objective. Teachers who excel with exit slips keep them simple (2-3 items) and focused on the objective. Distinguished teachers use their results to guide interventions.
Engagement Strategies
Although the best engagement strategy is to create genuinely interesting, meaningful lessons for students that are grounded in the real world, it is still useful to consider deliberate strategies that democratically keep students tied to the flow of the lesson and check for understanding. Most of the engagement strategies listed here are outlined in Teach like a Champion, Leona’s primary text for its New Teacher Academy (NTA).
Formative Assessment(s) Aligned to CCRS
John Hattie tells us that providing formative evaluation ranks at a .9 in effectiveness, indicating that the practice of using formative assessment data correlates with 2.0 grade level growth in a single year. Of all of the teaching effects evaluated in his meta-study, Visible Learning, the provision and use of formative assessments and their data is the single most powerful teaching effect.
This section of the plan asks for the formative assessment used to measure the acquisition of the objective articulate on the first page of the lesson plan. A brief description of the assessment should be provided (e.g. a 1 page paper, 3 multiple choice questions about the causes of the American Revolution, 5 constructed responses that require the use of the Pythagorean Theorem). Make sure that the assessment used is clearly measuring the standard/objective in a focused manner.
Rigor for Formative Assessment(s)
As with the objective on the first page, the plan asks educators to indicate the rigor level of the formative assessment being provided using Webb’s Depth of Knowledge levels. The rigor of the assessment should match the rigor of the stated objective.
RtI Differentiation Using Assessment
The .9 effectiveness rating of formative assessment (referenced above) would not be realized if instructors didn’t USE the formative data to drive instructional efforts. This section of the plan is all about using formative data to boost growth and achievement for all kids. Most students require multiple exposures to content to facilitate mastery. That’s normal! The RtI portion of the lesson plan helps teachers pre-plan for meaningful re-teaching when students don’t master content after core instruction. The hope is that the re-teaching strategies used for intervention deviate in style and delivery from the initial instruction. It also helps pre-plan for enrichment for those Tier 1+ students who quickly master objectives so that we can also protect their growth and engagement. Finally, it prompts teachers to plan instructionally to help meet the needs of students who have been absent.
Lesson Plan Template FAQs
Many teachers and administrators have shared excellent concerns and questions about this template and the lesson planning process in general. Below are some commonly asked questions, along with their answers, that have been posed about the template over the past year.
Q. Are these plans meant to be daily, or can they be organized by week or unit of instruction?
A. In an ideal situation, every 7-12 class needs to have a bell-ringer and an exit slip for the reasons outlined above. From a lesson continuity and best practices standpoint, this should be a daily lesson plan tool. That said, there may be unique situations at the 7-12 level (because of standard depth) where a single standard is taught for an extended period of time. Although the K-6 template is in a weekly format, teachers at those grade levels are welcome to use the 7-12 template if they prefer to plan daily.
In these instances, we encourage teachers to collaborate with their curriculum coach to agree upon an acceptable protocol.
Q. This tool seems overwhelming! What adoption process has worked for some teachers who want to use this tool but find the workload daunting?
A. The key is to take it a bite at a time! Some teachers have found that focusing on the second page of the tool and stapling it to a more familiar plan template is an effective transitional strategy. The important thing is to move forward into the new tool. Recognize that it will not be perfect during its first execution, but you will be able to add to it and modify it in the future when you teach the content again. Work with your curriculum coach to put together a collaborative transition plan.
Q. What does a really good lesson plan look like in this template?
A. Great question! We have been collecting a variety of lesson plan exemplars for you to consider. We will be sharing developing, proficient, and distinguished plans with all coaches and teachers to help you understand expectations. Additionally, we have a lesson plan rubric that your curriculum coach will be using to provide feedback about your planning efforts in 2014-2015.
Q. Do I really have to keep writing lesson plans every term/year?
A. Don’t think of it as writing – think of it as tasteful, meaningful revision. Once you have your lesson plans initially drafted, the lesson plan submission process should be much easier. You will simply make changes to existing plans based upon the new needs, strengths, and interests posed by the new composition of your class.
Q. By when should I submit my lesson plans to my curriculum coach?
A. The optimum situation is to submit the plans the week prior to teaching them. This gives your curriculum coach time to review them and provide useful feedback and/or support that will help the plan be more effective. This does require your planning to be completed early and a shift in planning management. At a bare minimum, lesson plans must be submitted before you enter the classroom to teach the lesson. Failure to submit lesson plans prior to class are grounds for corrective action.
Q. How are my lesson plans connected to the course or grade curriculum map at my school?
A. The curriculum maps are important tools on every campus. They help to ensure that all courses/grades provide an equal opportunity to all students to learn the standards, and they provide a reasonable pacing and progression for instructing the standards. Curriculum maps are revised (at least) annually to align to new testing expectations and respond to assessment data from the prior year. Because of this, your lesson plans should be aligned to the curriculum maps. Because the maps simply provide guidance about the pacing of instruction, standards sequence, and key activities/assessments, they provide significant latitude within their structure for teachers to be creative and personalize their instruction. We hope that the maps you use are useful tools that simply empower your to leverage your unique insights, specialties, and gifts as a teacher.