Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail!

By creating lesson plans you are increasing the probability of having a successful lesson.  Like a road map, a lesson plan provides you with directions for reaching the objective you expect your class to achieve.  

Your lesson plan provides you with a structure for your objectives and instruction activities; your plan states what you intend to assess your students on and how you have deteremined you will assess them.    As you write your plan you will contemplate what skills, concepts, and language the students need to possess to be successful.  You will consider and detail any accommodations you need to make for your students, the safety concerns the lesson may present, and the materials and tools you need to make sure you have on hand.   During the lesson, you will refer to your plan to make sure you are staying on track - are you working towards your objective and are you working within your alloted time?  If your class gets sidetracked, by for example a goose laying an egg, you will have your plan in front of you to allow you to bring the class back to where you were.  Or the plan will help you to determine you do not have enough time left to complete the lesson that day.  As you complete your lesson, your plan will remind you if you have a means of extending the lesson, is there something that could go home to continue the lesson?    

Perhaps most important, having a lesson plan in place will give you confidence.   When you are standing in front of your class you will have the knowledge that you have an objective in place, you know how you are going to teach your objective and how you are going to determine your kids have achieved the objective.   Having a lesson plan doesn’t guarantee your lesson is going to be a success but it improves your chances!  

 

Although each section is crucial to having a thorough lesson plan, I think two very important components of the plan are the materials section and the scripting of how you are going to carry out your lesson   Writing your intended dialouge will allow you to anticipate issues that may arise with the lesson as well as foresee questions your students may pose.  Scripting out your lesson will also provide you insight as to how much time you should allot for each portion of the activity.    Another important part is the materials section.  As simple as it sounds, it is incredibly beneficial to have a checklist of materials you will need. You can ensure before the lesson starts you have everything you will need at hand.   Your lesson will be derailed if ten minutes in you realize you need to find twenty eye droppers.    You can have the most engaging lesson in the school planned but if you do not have what you need to carry it out, you have nothing!

www.SteveSpangler.com

I discovered Steve Spangler's website right around the time my son would not longer accept "It’s magic!”  for an explanation of why things happen.    His site has cool experiements with videos, links to his blogs, and has kits and experiments you can buy (of course!).    You can sign up to receive an email for experiment of the week.    He does an amazing job of making science cool and fun!

A Snowball in June

Until I had children my science story is best summed up by this cartoon...

I don't remember much from my elementary science classes except for the obligatory observations of cork under a microscope or the study of the lifecycle of the frog.    I am not sure to blame my lack of interst or my teacher's lack of engaging teaching style.  Since I hate taking the blame for anything I am going to blame my teachers.  I just don't have memories of being engaged or excited about science.    My secondary studies were mainly business focused so it didn't provide much opportunity for higher level science exploration.

Then I had children and my life turned into a science experiment.    What is that smell coming from that backpack...what happens to a peach if it is left in a car console for two summer months... can a goldfish survive if it is fed potatochips??   Children really are like minature scientists that are constantly thinking "Why does that?" "What would happen if?"   I have seen how a well timed science experiement can turn a boring, rainy day into a day filled with excitement and wonder.  My kids don't even know that they are learning and through them I am learning just how captivating teaching science can be.    I love watching and hearing them think "could birds really have evovled from T-Rexs?"  "How does the starfishes leg grow back?"   I like to think that science, if taught right, keeps that free thinking alive.   Although our students might not spend a lot of time thinking "why can't you start a sentance with a preposition," I am sure we will have more than one that thinks "if i put a snowball in the freezer can I throw it in June?"