Planning for Learning
Page overview:
The following content includes evidence related to my planning for lessons that I taught, including lesson plans and resources.
Click to view full lesson plans with resources:
Definition
Planning is a crucial part of students' learning. According to Zeiger (2018), "All educators must be capable of designing lesson plans to meet student needs and cover the standards." (Zeiger, 2018). A big part of planning happens prior to a lesson, during the preparation period. It is when the teacher can anticipate problems that might occur, and ways in which they can be dealt with. Therefore, a competent teacher must be skilled at planning.
Professional Development Plan (PDP) Goal
Planning for Challenging Activities for the Low Achievers
Rationale
Description
Part of my Professional Development Plan (PDP) was to plan for challenging work for the low achievers. As I created activities for them, I checked their progress in order to see how well they were doing, and if the work is challenging enough. I began to see the importance of making sure that students are being stretched, because it leads to new discoveries and acquisition of new skills.
Link to Goal:
It is important that we create opportunities for students to go past their existing knowledge and understanding, because that is where real learning happens (Ling, 2013). As I observed their performance, I was able to plan for the follow-up activities accordingly.
Achievable Lesson Objectives
1.Explore Animal Facts
2.Report Facts about Favourite Animal
3.Answer "wh" Questions
Description
When writing lesson plans, I ensured that all the outcomes will be feasible for students to achieve during the lesson based on the activities and skills they will be practicing.
The lesson outcomes were written based on verbs from Bloom's taxonomy, including both lower and higher order thinking skills.
Rationale
While in the past, I would sometimes use vague outcomes, I now make use of achievable and specific objectives using verbs from Bloom's taxonomy. The images above display a lesson that I taught about favourite animals. Students were able to practice the skills needed to achieve the objectives by the end of the lesson.
According to Chatterjee and Corral (2017), "A well-written learning objective outlines the knowledge, skills and/or attitude the learners will gain from the educational activity and does so in a measurable way" (np.).
Unit Planning and Thematic Planning
Unit 4: The UAE Desert
This unit revolved around the UAE desert. Students learned about what plants and animals live in the desert, and what the environment looks like.
Unit 4 Lesson 1: The UAE Desert
Description
Lesson Overview
Students learned about the different parts of the desert (sand, tree, camel, fox, snake, goat), and they were asked to label them. They looked at linking verbs (is, are) and used them to talk about the parts of the desert. The main outcomes were to be able to label the parts of a desert and to determine the correct linking verb (is, are).
PDP Goals
Goal 1 – Planning for challenging activities for the low achievers: The activity required learners to read a passage and circle the linking verbs. It helped them activate their reading skills.
Goal 2 – Reducing Teacher Talking Time (TTT): Students participated in discussions using questions from Bloom's taxonomy and engaged in targeted activities using their listening and writing skills.
Goal 3 - Develop my knowledge and skills of reflective practices through structured reflective writing to produce productive reflections: Use of Gibbs reflective cycle to reflect on a particular aspect.
Unit 4 Lesson 2: Desert Animals
Lesson Overview
The focus of the lesson was the identification of the UAE desert animals (camels, foxes, oryxes). Students looked at facts about each animal. As for language usage, students also learned to recognize the difference between using “They” and “It’ when talking about a group of animals, and when talking about one animal. The objectives were to identify desert animals, create an animal fact file, and to determine when to use “It” and They” in a sentence.
PDP Goals
Goal 1 – Planning for challenging activities for the low achievers: Students participated in an open-ended activity where they could draw whichever animal they pick from the ones discussed during the lesson. Giving them a chance to draw and utilize tools increases their autonomy.
Goal 2 – Reducing Teacher Talking Time (TTT):
Students participated in a virtual tour in which they observed their surroundings, and then they discussed what they saw. In addition, I was able to elicit information from students, as opposed to only explaining things, and then I used the gamification strategy and had students play a game.
Goal 3 - Develop my knowledge and skills of reflective practices through structured reflective writing to produce productive reflections:
At the end of the lesson, I created an action plan to target the areas I want to develop.
Description
Rationale
Unit plans should follow themes and proper sequence of delivery so that students can form a cohesive idea of the topic. Furthermore, there must be a specific focus within the theme as not to confuse learners (Horton & Barnett, 2008). As a teacher, this helped me ensure that the content would be delivered in a logical sequence as I planned for two consecutive lessons. First, students learned about the desert and it's characteristics. The next lesson incorporated the topic of animals that live in the desert. Moreover, making links between lessons makes language more likely to be remembered (Numelin, 1998). Planning prior to the lesson helps in knowing when and where to include the integration of content.
A part of my teaching philosophy explains the importance of planning for teachers:
Planning for the 4 Language Skills
Listening
Speaking
Previous Semesters Work
Description
During one of my previous teaching practices, I created listening packs consisting of a story, an audio recording with a transcript, and instructions for the activity.
Reading
Description
After the listening activity, a speaking pack was given to students and it allowed them to focus on honing their speaking skills. This activity asked students to talk about the sequence of events.
Writing
Description
Description
One reading activity I gave to students was done using the read-aloud approach. I read a chapter of the book to students, and then asked them to imagine what senses they would feel if they were characters in the story. Then, students wrote down their answers on a template.
Writing is an important skill students must practice. Therefore, I gave learners a word bank from which they can form their own sentences and write their own story.
Rationale
Language contains two process; receiving and sending or producing information. The receptive skills are reading and listening, whereas the productive skills are writing and speaking. Both processes are crucial for communication and language acquisition. Students need to gain knowledge from others, and then put it into practice through production (Sreena & Ilankumaran, 2018). As I taught English with a focus on these skills, I was able to plan activities accordingly whereby learners can practice all four skills.
Math and Science
Math
Description
In one of my previous semesters, I was able to teach math, from which I learned to plan for math activities. Some students have trouble understanding math or have a fear toward it. For them to feel less intimidated, I turned the topic of the lesson into a board game.
Rationale
When students feel anxious towards math, teaching them in a way that makes learning fun leads to engagement and less anxiety (Shaffer, n.d.). Therefore, researching for ways that makes lessons engaging ultimately eliminates any fear learners might have. Thus, it is crucial for teachers to be aware of the different strategies they can use.
Science - STEM Lesson
Science
Technology
Engineering
Math
Description
I incorporated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) in one of my Science lessons by having students go through different stages of the activity by practicing different skills. First of all, the scientific aspect was the concept of sound. Listening to an audio recording and recreating the tune is the technological aspect. Engineering was done through the creation of the flutes. Math was practiced by ordering the straws to create the flute.
Rationale
It is believed that STEM education lets students explore real-world problems related to science, technology, engineering and mathematical fields (Brown R., Brown J., Reardon, and Merrill, 2011). One thing the UAE's ministry of education emphasizes is creating innovative learners. I believe my role as an Emirati teacher is to integrate various subjects into the lesson in order to achieve this objective.
References
Brown, R., Brown, J., Reardon, K., & Merrill, C. (2011). Understanding STEM:
Current perceptions. Technology and Engineering Teacher, 70(6), 5-9.
Chatterjee, D., & Corral, J. (2017). How to write well-defined learning
objectives. The Journal of Education in Perioperative Medicine, 19(4).
Horton, T. A., & Barnett, J. A. (2008). Thematic unit planning in social
studies: Make it focused and meaningful. Canadian Social Studies, 41(1).
Ling, M. (2013, January 18). Stretching and challenging learners. Oaklands
College. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54cb2e66e4b049ee78a97b14/t/
54d0cf22e4b0b745f2d317f0/1422970658898/
Melissa-Ling-Stretching-and-challenging-learners.pdf
Numelin, K. (1998, November). The importance of sequencing & planning when
integrating language and content. Retrieved from https://carla.umn.edu/
immersion/acie/vol2/Bridge2.1.pdf
Sreena, S., & Ilankumaran, M. (2018). Developing productive skills through
receptive skills – A cognitive approach. International Journal of
Engineering and Technology(UAE), 7, 669-673. https://doi.org/10.14419/
ijet.v7i4.36.24220
Zeiger, S. (2018, June 28). List of core competencies for educators. Retrieved
April 23, 2020, from https://work.chron.com/
list-core-competencies-educators-8916.html