Lesson Planning: Not for the Faint of Heart

In previous posts I have discussed lesson planning, UDL, and supports/accommodations for students.  Each of these elements is key to helping students understand new material and giving them the best opportunity to succeed.  The tricky thing is putting all of this together.  In the past I have presented lesson plans that utilize the learning map and give overview, but the lesson plan I am sharing today combines these elements and discusses them in depth.

Learning Map

Referring back to the TPEs: 

TPE 1: Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning Elements Beginning teachers: 

1. Apply knowledge of students, including their prior experiences, interests, and socialemotional learning needs, as well as their funds of knowledge and cultural, language, and socioeconomic backgrounds, to engage them in learning.

 4. Use a variety of developmentally and ability-appropriate instructional strategies, resources, and assistive technology, including principles of Universal Design of Learning (UDL) and Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) to support access to the curriculum for a wide range of learners within the general education classroom and environment.

 6. Provide a supportive learning environment for students' first and/or second language acquisition by using research-based instructional approaches, including focused English Language Development, Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE), scaffolding across content areas, and structured English immersion, and demonstrate an understanding of the difference among students whose only instructional need is to acquire Standard English proficiency, students who may have an identified disability affecting their ability to acquire Standard English proficiency, and students who may have both a need to acquire Standard English proficiency and an identified disability. 

7. Provide students with opportunities to access the curriculum by incorporating the visual and performing arts, as appropriate to the content and context of learning. 

8. Monitor student learning and adjust instruction while teaching so that students continue to be actively engaged in learning.

You can see that the lesson plan hits several elements of TPE 1.  Before going into the lesson my group and I considered what funds of knowledge and skills our students already possessed.  We considered their ability levels and needs including a more in depth discussion about a student with an IEP and an ELL student.  We incorporated scaffolds and supports and included multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression.

But perhaps the key element that was added in this particular lesson plan that was not include was element 8.  At the end of the lesson plan there is a portion where we discussed the outcomes of the lesson.  We reflected upon what we learned about our learners, what worked and didn't work, and how we can use this knowledge moving forward in a way that will support our class.

This is one of the most important lessons that I have learned, and is a lesson I have heard echoed from many teachers, teachers need to be able to reflect upon and adapt to the needs of their students.  Every student is different, and every class will have different needs.  The key to being effective is listening to those needs by analyzing what worked and what didn't and using that knowledge to guide your decisions moving forward.

What lessons have you learned about your classes?  How did you adapt?