The Key Areas Of A Lesson Plan Education Essay

A lesson plan is defined simply as a teacher’s detailed description of the course of instruction for a class. The whole idea about lesson plan was originally created by Benjamin Bloom when he chaired a committee of educational pshologists based in the America education to develop a system of categories of learning behaviour to assist in the design and assessment of education learning. This brought about the Bloom’s Taxonomy model. Bloom’s Taxonomy refers to a hierarchy of question stems that teachers use to guide their students through the learning process. The Bloom’s taxonomy model is defined in three (3) parts or domains:

Cognitive domain: This is an aspect of the model which deals intellectual capability thus knowledge and thinking. It also looks at data recall, understanding, application and analysis.

Affective Domain: This aspect of the model deals with emotions, feelings and behaviour. This looks at awareness, responds, reaction, values and organisation

Psychomotor domain: this deals with manual and physical skills. Thus develop precision, articulation, limitation and manipulation. This model provides an excellent structure for planning, designing, assessing and evaluation training and effectiveness.

Lesson plan is an integral part in teaching; it serves as a guide for the teachers. Lesson plan helps teachers to manage their time, effort and resources efficiently. It gives teachers a general idea of things to be taught and learned everyday. It also provides teachers many ways to keep the teaching process not boring and outmoded. Lesson plans makes teaching straightforward. Lesson plan makes the teacher more organized whilst teaching. Lesson plans easily help teachers to achieve their goals and objectives, and same can be said on the part of the students or pupils. It monitors the everyday performance of both teacher and student. It definitely improves your teaching skills.

Before any effective lesson plan takes place the teacher should consider the following: Know who your students are. Know their ability levels; backgrounds; interest levels; attention spans; ability to work together in groups; prior knowledge and learning experiences; special needs or accommodations; and learning preferences. This may not happen as quickly as you would like, but it is important to design instruction to meet the needs of the students. Know the materials that are available to help you teach for success. Take and keep an inventory of the materials and resources that are available to you as a teacher. For example: technology, software, audio/visuals, teacher mentors, community resources, equipment, manipulative, library resources, local guest speakers, volunteers.

Every lesson plan is centred on some key areas; these areas are as follows:

Goals- Identify the aims or outcomes that you want your students to achieve as a result of the lesson you plan to teach. Goals are end products and are sometimes broad in nature. Goals relate directly to the knowledge and skills you identify in part one: content.

Objectives- Identify the objectives that you hope your students will achieve in the tasks that will engage them in the learning process. Objectives are behavioural in nature and are specific to performance. Objectives tell what you will be observing in student performance and describe criteria by which you can measure performance against. In many ways, objectives represent indicators of performance that tell you, the teacher, to what extent a student is progressing in any given task. The heart of the objective is the task that the student is expected to perform. It is probably one of the most important parts of the lesson plan because it is student centred and outcomes based. Objectives can range from easy to hard tasks depending on student abilities.

Materials- List the materials and resources that will be needed for the lesson to be successful. In this case, you should also list technology resources needed to achieve objectives.

Introduction- Describe or list a focusing event or attention grabber that will motivate your students to want to pay attention and learn about what you plan to teach. This will depend on the ages and stages and of the students and will rely on students’ interests and backgrounds. Remember, getting your students to attend and respond to your introduction will set the stage for the rest of the lesson.

Development- Describe how you plan to model or explain what you want your students to do. Modelling the learning behaviours’ you expect of your students is a powerful development tool and provides demonstration that students can then imitate or practice on their own. During development, models of teaching are used to facilitate student learning. Models can include direct instruction, inquiry, information processing strategies, or cooperative learning strategies.

Activities- List or describe ways in which you will provide opportunities for your students to practice what you want them to learn. The more opportunities you provide, the better chance they have to master the expected outcomes. These opportunities are in-classroom assignments or tasks gives the teacher the chance to guide and monitor students progress.

Independent Practice- List or describe ways to provide opportunities for students to complete assignments to measure progress against the goal of instruction. These assignments are meant to give teachers the chance to determine whether students have truly mastered the expected outcomes without any guidance.

Accommodations- List or describe ways that you will differentiate instruction according to students’ needs. This can include any curricular adaptations that are needed to meet special needs students.

Checking for Understanding- List or describe ways that you will check for understanding. Assessment and ongoing feedback are necessary for monitoring progress. This can include questioning, conferencing, or journal writing/reflection writing.

Closure- List or describe ways that you can wrap up a lesson. This can include telling students the most important concepts that were covered in the lesson, asking them what they thought were the key concepts (or what they learned), or preparing them for the next lesson building upon what was presented. The key is to leave your students with an imprint of what you hoped to achieve in any given lesson.

Teacher Reflection- This section is to be completed after lesson. It represents what you think worked, or what did not work, and why. It is meant to give you some insight into practice and will hopefully help you to make adjustments and modifications where necessary.

Explain how lesson plan can meet the needs of individual learners

Every lesson plan is targeted towards the students in the class. This means that a well structured lesson plan should include every student in the class. Every teachers need to be ready to match the content of their lessons, units and programs of study with student interests, strengths and difficulties.

Inclusive lesson plan can be described as a plan which include learning objectives, a review, materials list, directions for preparation, an assessment component, and activities to connect the lesson to different curriculum areas. Each plan also has specific adaptations for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and impairments of speech and language, vision, hearing, and orthopaedics; cognitive and/or developmental delays, english as additional language and emotional disturbances. Legislation in the UK prohibits discrimination in education and supports inclusive education. The UK also has obligations under international human rights law to provide inclusive education for all children. Inclusive education involves the following: valuing all students and staff equally. Increasing the participation of students in, the cultures, curricula and communities of local schools. Restructuring the cultural, policies and practices in schools so that they respond to the diversity of students in the locality. Reducing barriers to learning and participation for all students, not only those with impairments or those who are categorised as `having special educational needs’. Viewing the difference between students as resources to support learning, rather than as problems to be overcome. Acknowledging the right of students to an education in their locality. Improving schools for staff as well as for students. Emphasising the role of schools in building community and developing values, as well as in increasing achievement. Fostering mutually sustaining relationships between schools and communities. Recognising that inclusion in education is one aspect of inclusion in society.

The main reason for inclusive education is include disable student into mainstream schools. It is also to increase unity of culture. Inclusion enhances learning for students, both with and without special needs.  Students learn, and use their learning differently; the goal is to provide all students with the instruction they need to succeed as learners and achieve high standards, alongside their friends and neighbours. Develop individual strengths and gifts, with high and appropriate expectations for each child. Work on individual goals while participating in the life of the classroom with other students of own age. Involve their parents in their education and in the activities of their local schools. Foster a school culture of respect and belonging. Inclusive education provides opportunities to learn about and accept individual differences, lessening the impact of harassment and bullying. Develop friendships with a wide variety of other children, each with their own individual needs and abilities. Positively affect both their school and community to appreciate diversity and inclusion on a broader level. There are many positive effects of inclusions where both the students with special needs along with the other students in the classroom both benefit. Research has shown positive effects for children with disabilities in areas such as reaching individualized education program (IEP) goal, improving communication and social skills, increasing positive peer interactions, many educational outcomes, and post school adjustments. Positive effects on children without disabilities include the development of positive attitudes and perceptions of persons with disabilities and the enhancement of social status with nondisabled peers.

Several studies have been done on the effects of inclusion of children with disabilities in general education classrooms. A study on inclusion compared integrated and segregated (special education only) preschool students. The study determined that children in the integrated sites progressed in social skills development.

Another study shows the effect on inclusion in grades 2 to 5. The study determined that students with specific learning disabilities made some academic and affective gains at a pace comparable to that of normal achieving students. Specific learning disabilities students also showed an improvement in self-esteem and in some cases improved motivation.

Critics of inclusive education include educators, administrators and parents. Full and partial inclusion approaches neglect to acknowledge the fact most students with significant special needs require individualized instruction or highly controlled environments. Thus, general education classroom teachers often are teaching a curriculum while the special education teacher is remediating instruction at the same time. Similarly, a child with serious inattention problems may be unable to focus in a classroom that contains twenty or more active children. Although with the increase of incidence of disabilities in the student population, this is a circumstance all teachers must contend with, and is not a direct result of inclusion as a concept.

Full inclusion may in fact be a way for schools to conciliate parents and the general public, using the word as a phrase to garner attention for what are in fact illusive efforts to education students with special needs in the general education environment.

At least one study examined the lack of individualized services provided for students with IEPs when placed in an inclusive rather than mainstreamed environment.

Some researchers have maintained school districts neglect to prepare general education staff for students with special needs, thus preventing any achievement. Moreover, school districts often explain an inclusive philosophy for political reasons, and do away with any valuable pull-out services, all on behalf of the students who have no so say in the matter.

Inclusion is viewed by some as a practice philosophically attractive yet impractical. Studies have not corroborated the proposed advantages of full or partial inclusion. Moreover, “push in” servicing does not allow students with moderate to severe disabilities individualized instruction in a resource room, from which many show considerable benefit in both learning and emotional development.

Parents of disabled students may be cautious about placing their children in an inclusion program because of fears that the children will be ridiculed by other students, or be unable to develop regular life skills in an academic classroom.

Some argue that inclusive schools are not a cost-effective response when compared to cheaper or more effective interventions, such as special education. They argue that special education helps “fix” the special needs students by providing individualized and personalized instruction to meet their unique needs. This is to help students with special needs adjust as quickly as possible to the mainstream of the school and community. Proponents counter that students with special needs are not fully into the mainstream of student life because they are secluded to special education. Some argue that isolating students with special needs may lower their self-esteem and may reduce their ability to deal with other people. In keeping these students in separate classrooms they aren’t going to see the struggles and achievements that they can make together. However, at least one study indicated mainstreaming in education has long-term benefits for students as indicated by increased test scores, where the benefit of inclusion has not yet been proved.

Be able to develop an inclusive lesson plan for a mixed ability group

The practical part consists of lesson plans based on international observance and significant days. The lesson plans are complemented by evaluation of the lessons which have actually been taught. Each lesson plan includes activities suitable for heterogeneous classes as they have been described and explained in the theoretical part of this report: activities with differentiated instructions according to the students´ level of knowledge of English or the students learning styles, pair/group work and individual activities, open-ended activities and closed ones.

Teacher- Robert Mensah

Course – Maths

Number of students – 24

Students – KS 2

Number of EAL: 2

SEN: 4

Objectives

To be able to recall multiplication facts to 10 x 10.

National Curriculum

Ma2, 3a, 3f.

Resources

Online activities:

Bitesize multiplication section: play, quiz

Starship Cross the Swamp

Learning Zone Broadband Class Clips:

Multiplication with turtles

Worksheets:

Multiplication worksheet (PDF 50KB)

Other resources:

Large multiplication square

Individual multiplication squares

Counters

Interactive whiteboard

A3 paper

Teaching activities

Introduction

Show the following clip on Multiplication with turtles.

Show a large multiplication square and cover some spaces.

If we don’t know a fact, what can we do? Encourage the children to use what they know – e.g. doubling, turning facts around, fingers. Rehearse situations in which each strategy is useful.

Show the sum 4 x 7 – how can doubling be used to help with this sum (double 2 x 7)?

Write 5 x 8 on the board. Is it easier to work out 5 lots of 8 or 8 lots of 5? Why?

Discuss known facts (eg if we know 5 lots, we can work out 6 lots).

Show tricks, such as using fingers for the 9 times table (eg to work out 9 x 6, fold down the sixth finger and ‘read’ the answer, 54 – the five fingers standing on the left represent tens, the four fingers on the right represent units).

Recap on how to work out multiplications using the vertical method and the grid method.

Activity

Lower ability – Working in small groups and using a multiplication square, ask one child to cover over a number from the 2, 5, or 10 times tables. Ask the other group members to work out what the missing number is by using one of the strategies discussed in the introduction. They must explain to the group what method they used to work out the answer. Other members of the group can share how they could have done it differently. If they get the answer correct they keep the counter.

Middle ability – Working in pairs and using a multiplication square, one child covers over a number on the grid. Their partner works out what the missing number is by using one of the strategies discussed in the introduction. They explain what method they used to work out the answer. Their partner then shares how they could have done it differently. If they get the answer correct they keep the counter.

Higher ability – Go through the Bitesize multiplication activity using the whiteboard.

Plenary

Play a times-tables relay race in small teams.

Stick large A3 sheets of paper around the room (one for each team).

On each sheet write a number that is the answer to various multiplication questions (eg 36). Give some answers that extend beyond the 10 times table.

Ask each child to go to their team’s sheet and write a multiplication sum to correspond with the answer on the sheet (eg 36 = 1 x 36, 2 x 18, 3 x 12, 4 x 9, 6 x 6).

The team with the most correct answers wins.

Extension

Ask the children to work through the Bitesize multiplication quiz or complete the Multiplication worksheet (PDF 50KB). The children could also try the Starship Cross the Swamp multiplication game.

Homework

Give the children an individual multiplication square to 12 x 12.

Suggest they learn any multiplication tables they feel unsure about and then move onto 11s and 12s if they feel confident enough.

Be able to create an IEP for a specific learner.

According to the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice, the purpose of an individual education plan (IEP) is to record short-term targets for the progress of pupils on School Action and School Action Plus, as well as pupils with a statement of SEN.

The code advises that an IEP should only record that which is additional to, or different from, the differentiated curriculum plan that is in place as part of normal provision.

An IEP is designed to meet the special educational needs of one child, who may have a disability, as defined by federal regulations. The IEP is intended to help children reach educational goals more easily than they otherwise would. In all cases the IEP must be tailored to the individual student’s needs as identified by the IEP evaluation process, and must especially help teachers and related service providers (such as paraprofessional educators) understand the student’s disability and how the disability affects the learning process.

The IEP should describe how the student learns, how the student best demonstrates that learning and what teachers and service providers will do to help the student learn more effectively. Key considerations in developing an IEP include assessing students in all areas related to the known disabilities, simultaneously considering ability to access the general curriculum, considering how the disability affects the student’s learning, developing goals and objectives that correspond to the needs of the student, and ultimately choosing a placement in the least restrictive environment possible for the student.

As long as a student qualifies for special education, the IEP must be regularly maintained and updated over the student’s primary educational years (i.e. up to the point of high school graduation, or prior to the 22nd birthday). If a student in special education attends university upon graduation, the university’s own system and procedures take over. Placements often occur in “general education”, mainstream classes, and specialized classes or sub-specialties taught by a specifically trained individual, such as a special education teacher, sometimes within a resource room.

A child who has difficulty learning and functioning and has been identified as a special needs student is the perfect candidate for an IEP. Kids struggling in school may qualify for support services, allowing them to be taught in a special way, for reasons such as: learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), emotional disorders, cognitive challenges, autism, hearing impairment, visual impairment, speech or language impairment, developmental delay.

During an IEP meeting the team and parents decide what will go into the plan. In addition to the evaluation team, a regular teacher should be present to offer suggestions about how the plan can help the child’s progress in the standard education curriculum.

At the meeting, the team will discuss your child’s educational needs and come up with specific, measurable short-term and annual goals for each of those needs. The IEP outlines the support services the student will receive and how often they will be provided (for example, occupational therapy twice a week). Support services might include special education, speech therapy, occupational or physical therapy, counseling, audiology, medical services, nursing, vision or hearing therapy, and many others.

Example of Individual Education Plan

Name: Mark Osei start date: sept 2011 DOB: 12/03/01 year: 3

Teacher: Robert Mensah proposed support: 5 hrs/week

Target to be achieved: 1. To understand a variety of maths skills to raise his level

2. To go straight to his seat on entering the class and get ready for the days lesson.

Achievement Criteria: 1. To be able to complete tasks at the correct level

2. Achieved daily

Possible resources/technique: 1. 10 mins session daily

2. Clearly establish a routine to check his equipments and replacing them.

Possible class strategy: 1. Provide clear instruction

2. Establish a route for entering the classroom

Ideas for support/ assistant: 1. Teach strategies for learning different activities

Parents/ carer contribution: supply some spare resources

2. make sure his home work is done

3. Check his classroom progress

Student contribution: 1. Sit down straightaway and do as he is told.