These strategies will help you to plan out your units and daily lessons.
Strategy One: Driving Questions
With driving questions, you create a question that will interest your students and engage them with a real-world problem that relates to the current content. Driving questions help motivate students because they are trying to solve authentic problems that they may face.
To create a driving question:
To create a driving question:
- Match objectives for the unit to authentic problems people face in everyday life.
- Select the problem most relevant to the current unit of study that will interest and motivate students.
- Create a question from this problem that students can work to solve based off of their understanding of this unit.
Additional Resources:
The following link to an article talks more about writing effective driving questions:
www.edutopia.org/blog/pbl-how-to-write-driving-questions-andrew-miller
The following link describes project-based learning further, in which driving questions are used to stimulate students:
www.bie.org/
The following link to an article talks more about writing effective driving questions:
www.edutopia.org/blog/pbl-how-to-write-driving-questions-andrew-miller
The following link describes project-based learning further, in which driving questions are used to stimulate students:
www.bie.org/
Strategy Two: Backwards Design
Backwards design is a strategy in which you begin your planning by considering the objectives and outcomes you want students to learn. This helps you plan activities that will focus your students on appropriate knowledge and skills.
To implement backwards design in planning:
To implement backwards design in planning:
- Review the unit objectives, create student friendly statements and guiding questions, and anticipate student misunderstandings.
- Create or find appropriate assessments for the coming objectives.
- Develop lessons and activities to match the objectives and assessments.
Additional Resources
The following link to a PDF article discusses backwards design:
www.edutopia.org/pdfs/resources/wiggins-mctighe-backward-design-why-backward-is-best.pdf
The book Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins further explains the concept of backwards design.
Wiggins, G. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Pearson.
The following link to a PDF article discusses backwards design:
www.edutopia.org/pdfs/resources/wiggins-mctighe-backward-design-why-backward-is-best.pdf
The book Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins further explains the concept of backwards design.
Wiggins, G. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Pearson.
Strategy Three: Double Plan
Creating a double plan helps teachers to plan for student activities as well as those of the teacher. This ensures that while the teacher is showing a video or implementing a direct instruction lesson, students are also actively participating and learning.
To create a double plan for lessons:
To create a double plan for lessons:
- While creating your lessons and activities, make a t-chart. One side is for the teacher, the other for students.
- In the teacher column, list out step-by-step what the teacher will be doing throughout the lesson (even during student-driven sections).
- In the student column, explain what students will be doing for each part of the lesson (even during teacher-driven sections).
- The end result should be a list that compares what the teachers and students should be doing for each pieces of the lesson plan. Students should be actively learning during each part of the lesson and teachers should be monitoring students.
Additional Resources
The following is a link to a website that further describes the double plan:
tlackathryneavery.weebly.com/strategy-2-the-double-plan.html
You can also read the book Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov to learn more about this and other strategies.
Lemov, D. (2010). Teach like a champion. San Fransisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
The following is a link to a website that further describes the double plan:
tlackathryneavery.weebly.com/strategy-2-the-double-plan.html
You can also read the book Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov to learn more about this and other strategies.
Lemov, D. (2010). Teach like a champion. San Fransisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Strategy Four: 5E Model
The 5E model is a method of inquiry learning that helps you plan lessons in a way that allows students to interact with the math and science they are discovering. Students get a chance to engage with and explore materials and create their own connections to it before the teacher explains them.
The parts of the 5E model are:
The parts of the 5E model are:
- ENGAGE: This is the “hook” for students to become interested and involved in what they are learning. It could be a word problem, video, demonstration, song, or more.
- EXPLORE: The students will then be given a chance to work with manipulatives, complete a science lab, or otherwise involve themselves with the material. During this stage students are developing their own understanding of the concepts without direct instruction.
- EXPLAIN: This section of the 5E model is where teachers may directly explain the concept to students as they take notes and ask questions.
- ELABORATE: Students will get a chance to further work with the new concepts and practice what they’ve learned.
- EVALUATE: The teacher will assess student learning with a project, test, quiz, or other form of summative assessment and reteach as necessary.
Additional Resources
The following links further explain the 5E model and the benefits of using it:
www.wisd.org/users/0001/docs/GVC/5E%20Model.pdf
www.mheonline.com/research/assets/products/555d6702c950ecb7/5e_lesson_cycle.pdf
www.kacee.org/files/Inquiry%20&%205E%20Instructional%20Model.pdf
The following links further explain the 5E model and the benefits of using it:
www.wisd.org/users/0001/docs/GVC/5E%20Model.pdf
www.mheonline.com/research/assets/products/555d6702c950ecb7/5e_lesson_cycle.pdf
www.kacee.org/files/Inquiry%20&%205E%20Instructional%20Model.pdf