#5 Planning (Ahead!)
by Laura Guli

Background:

Many plans that look beautiful on paper fail when implemented in the classroom. Often this is due to unrealistic expectations about time, underestimation of student needs or misjudgment of a group's developmental ability. Strong teaching is often based on a teacher's ability to be flexible and "think on their feet" when necessary, changing a plan to adapt to the class' needs.

Objective:

The student teacher will increase awareness about what makes a plan effective when brought to life. The student teacher will practice critically examining written plans for strengths and weaknesses. They will also practice predicting difficult parts of a plan in advance.

Materials:

Sample Madeline Hunter lesson plan, list of reflective questions about sample plan.

Procedure:

Student teachers will read lesson plan, and analyze strengths and weaknesses when applied to a real-life setting based on their own experiences. They will be asked to anticipate problems that may arise during the lesson as planned and suggest alternative ways to accomplish its objective.

Evaluation:

During observation, student teachers will be watched for how flexible they are with their plan and how well they respond to student cues. When planning for the coming week, they will look more critically at their own plans and try to predict any snags that might occur. They will complete a short critique of one of the Madeline Hunter lessons they have planned for their comprehensive unit and revise it if necessary.

Reflective Questions:

Consider the following questions when planning...

• Can you finish the activity in the amount of time you have?
• Can the plan be cut short if necessary and still fulfill its objective?
• Is the plan appropriate for the development of all of your students? If not, can it be modified for those who need help?
• Can you realistically prepare all of the materials necessary and still be prepared for other lessons that day?
• Can you simplify the materials you need and still deliver an innovative and exciting lesson?
• If there are any interruptions during the lesson, will it be lost?
• Do students need to be in a particular frame of mind to do the activity? Should you modify your plan if this lesson would go over better at another time of day? (For example, if students do not get recess due to rain and are over-active, it might be better to postpone a very exciting lesson)
• Do you need parent assistance during this lesson for safety reasons? (Cooking, for example)
• Will any parts of this lesson cause conflicts between the students or be tempting for off-task activity? Be aware of it.