SPECIAL TOPICS 2

LESSON PLAN GUIDELINES

I.PLANNING THE LESSON/ACTIVITIES:

A.General Format for Lesson Plans:

  1. Lesson Focus
  2. Select and focus on a specific topic.

1.Prepare an outline that includes 5-10 major points you want to cover.

2.Organize your points for clarity.

3.When necessary, present both sides of an issue. Remember not to force your opinion of any issue on your audience, and to be sensitively to all view points.

  1. Grade Level
  2. Fit the information to the audience.

b.Age Appropriate:

  1. Elementary
  2. Middle
  3. High
  1. Objective/Purpose
  2. State the objective or purpose of the lesson.
  3. List elements of the lesson that should be achieved by the end of the lesson. (i.e., The Hand-shake activity is utilized to demonstrate how quickly HIV/AIDS is spread.)
  1. Required Materials
  2. List any materials that are necessary to make the lesson a success. (i.e., flip chart, myth/fact cards…)
  1. Body of Lesson
  2. Instruction/Presentation
  3. Activities

1.List specific instructions on how to complete the activity.

2.Select age-appropriate activities that will enhance learning and make the lesson fun. (i.e., Role Play,

Brainstorming, Myth/Fact Cards, Competitive Games)

3.Select activities that incorporate the different learning styles. (Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, Kinesthetic)

  1. Closure
  2. Review major points at the conclusion of the lesson.

II.TEACHING THE LESSON/ACTIVITIES:

  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. Be Early! Arrive 5-minutes early for class.
  3. Introduce yourself.
  4. Let students know that you are ready to start and be sure to smile, nod, make eye contact, chat, whatever suits your style.

a.Setting the Tone. Use the first few minutes to set this tone. Remember to smile and be energetic.

b.Find a Face. Good presenters start by finding several friendly faces in the class. They begin their remarks by addressing them and expand to others in the audience once comfortable.

c.Warm Up. Add some energy to the first 90 seconds to warm the audience up. Share your excitement in the subject with a personal story, dramatic example, or pose a challenge.

  1. Offer a brief explanation of your lesson focus.

B.OPENING ACTIVITIES

  1. Open with an activity that will engage the students and capture their interest in the lesson.

a.Attention Grabber. Use a problem or a demonstration to capture students' imaginations about what is to come. Often an intriguing example will provide a guiding context for the material that will follow.

  1. Be enthusiastic! You don’t have to be an entertainer, but you should be excited about your topic.

C.BODY OF THE LESSON

1.Know the material you are presenting.

a.Utilize keys when necessary, but try not to rely on them too heavily.

2.Plan activities to incorporate the different learning styles and types of intelligence.

a.Individuals learn in different ways. A person remembers 10% of what they read, 20% of what they heard, 30% of what they seen and 50% of what is seen and heard. The percentage increases for those fortunate enough to read, hear, see and do things in actual or practical experiences.

3.Incorporate hands-on application.

a.One of the most dynamic ways to deliver information is to provide hands-on activities. Hands-on learning provides learning by doing. Learners learn what they practice. The visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners all benefit from thehands-on technique.

b.Hands-on learning can also be used for assessment so that both factual knowledge and comprehension can be measured.

4. The most enjoyable aspect of teaching and learning can occur when a variety of teaching methods are used. Other teaching methods include lecture, discussion and role play. Be creative and imaginative.

5.Use engaging questions to increase/encourage audience participation.

a.Question Tactics:

1.Yes/No Questions. Reduce your reliance on simple-answer questions. Yes/no or one-word answers will lower involvement. If students are not responding, ask more complex, not easier, questions.

2.Focus Questions. Do not ask broad, general questions. Use questions to focus the students on the specific task. Instead of asking "what do you think about the topic?" ask a specific question.

3.Probing Questions. Assume students will not give a complete answer to your question and prepare questions that ask for more details, further clarification, and/or deeper explanations.

4.Follow-up Questions. Have some generic follow-up questions ready, such as "Who would agree with that answer?" or "Why is that answer right/wrong?" "How could you be more specific/general?" Use thesequestions to get all class members involved in responding to your initial inquiry. Guide them in looking for more complex responses.

5.Responding. It is important to respond to students in a supportive way. When you listen actively, restate, elaborate, praise, or redirect with follow-up questions, students are more likely to participate.

b.Complex Questions to Involve Students:

1.Knowledge Questions. The most common question type, these ask students to state some known information. "What is ...?" or "Define ..." or "How many ...?" or "What are the steps ...?"

2.Comprehension Questions. These ask if students can demonstrate understanding by summarizing, giving examples, or explaining processes or relationships. "In your own words, tell us about ..." or "Give an example of ..."

3.Application Questions. These ask students to connect known material to new settings. How does ... explain ...?" or "What would happen if ...?"

4.Analysis Questions. These ask students to see relationships. What causes ...?" or "What evidence is used to support ...?"

5.Synthesis Questions. These encourage creative use of ideas. "How would you ...?" or "What other way could you ...?"

6.Evaluation Questions. These ask students to make judgments using criteria. "Explain if the effect of ... is good?" or "Critique X's position, according to ..."

c.Understanding Questions to Elicit Feelings:

1.Receiving Questions. These gauge student’s involvement with a subject. "Are you Interested in ...?" or "Have you ever ...?"

2.Responding Questions. These ask students to reflect on their impressions. "Will you accept that ...?" or "Are you satisfied that ...?"

3.Valuing Questions. These ask student to take a stance. "What do you like/dislike about ...?" or " Should ...?"

4.Organizational Questions. These promote responses organized around a position. "How would you ...?" or "What justifiable position might you adopt?"

5.Value Complex Questions. These relate positions to the students' overall sense of self and values. "Choose a position and explain why." or "What is your philosophy about ...?"

d.Responding to Questions:

1.Wait Time. Become comfortable with waiting 5-10 seconds. This gives students time to get their thoughts together. If you still have no response, ask why they aren't answering, or offer some guiding questions.

2.Listen. Use advanced listening skills when students answer. Use their name. Show you heard them. Confirm their main idea. Build on their response by using another question or comment that develops their thoughts.

3.Follow Through. Use probing questions to help a student better develop their initial response or rephrase questions. Use their first response as the start of a conversation that leads to the best answer.

4.Redirect. Use your questions to redirect the conversation to other students. For example, you might say, "If Judy is right, what do you think that would mean?"

5.Don’t Know the Answer. It is okay to admit that you do not know the answer to a question. Simply respond with “I am unfamiliar with the information that would answer that specific question correctly, but I will look up the information and get back to. “ It is better to admit that you do not know something, than to provide incorrect information.

D.CLOSURE

  1. An introduction draws students into your learning activities. It is equally important to end your classes with routines that help students know what to take from the experience. The final moments of a class are best used to consolidate ideas, reinforce, summarize, and reconnecting students to the main points.

2.Tips on highlighting and confirming the main points of the lesson.

a.Q&A. Open the class up to general questions and answers during the final minutes. If response is low, have students write their questions down and hand them in. (Question Jar)

b.Acknowledge Participation. Take a minute to acknowledge quality student work. A mention is enough; you might share a student's efforts as a model for others. A public pat on the back leaves people feeling good.

c.Ending Remarks. Shake hands, have a round of applause for hard group work, or make a simple comment like, "Thank you for a good effort today."

MORGANTOWN HIGH SCHOOL PEER EDUCATION PROGRAM

___LESSON PLAN

Objective:

Materials Required:

Procedure Lesson:

  1. Introduction

Hi my name is (name) and we are Peer Educators from MorgantownHigh School.

Today we are here to talk to you about_____.

  1. Body of Lesson/Activities

Closure

A.

1.

.

  1. Question Jar

1.Tell the students to write down any questions they may have about_____ or to write down something they learned.

2.Collect the questions, read, and answer them.

3.Throw out any inappropriate questions.