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Formative & Summative Assessment explained by me!

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Formative & Summative Assessment explained by me!

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Unpacking Math & ELA Standards Assignment

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Unpacking Math & ELA Standards Assignment

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Using learning objectives to create Lesson Plans

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Using learning objectives to create Lesson Plans

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Learning goals are broad, general statements of what we want our students to learn and provide:

Setting goals gives us a real road map to where we want to go. The same when we provide goals to learners. Learning goals are the heart of a course design and need to be made clear at the planning stage.

An instructor can use those goals as a roadmap to prepare an online class. In this article, we are going to explore in-depth the role of Learning Goals and Objectives in course design and how to prepare a lesson plan based on them.

Defining Learning Objectives

The best way to use goals as a roadmap for a course design is to make them more clear and concise by determining specific learning objectives.

Learning Objectives are measurable subgoals of a lesson and inform particular learning outcomes.

Writing learning objectives keeps you focused and helps you in planning. This is easily achieved with the use of action verbs that describe learner capabilities at the end of a course.
From the learners' point of view, objectives help them understand what the instructor expects of them and what they must expect of themselves.

What is the Difference Between Goals and Objectives?

Many people confuse the definitions of goals and objectives, and often confuse the terms.

Learning goals are long-term, broad, and achievable, but not necessarily measurable.

On the other hand, learning objectives are also referred to as learning outcomes because they are immediately linked to the expected outcomes; what we can expect learners to be able to do by the end of the course.

Learning objectives can then be broken down into small learning activities, or assessments.

Changing one of these three components greatly affects the other two. So, this process is dynamic while planning course content. The table below can help you understand how goals differ from objectives:

Is it clear enough yet?

Now, let's see a real example of an instructional goal vs. the objectives in an Art course and Photoshop course:

Learning Objectives

- Learners will be able to identify. whether a print is a woodcut or a lithograph.

- Learners will be able to justify this identification.

- Learners will be able to manipulate layers.

- Learners will be able to correct colors.

- Learners will be able to paint.

- Learners will be able to create special effects.

Why is it Important to Set Objectives?

When setting Learning Objectives:

You can adequately organize the course material because you can establish a logical sequence of learning milestones.

You can immediately align objectives with evaluation methods.

You communicate expectations to your learners, so you help them evaluate themselves.

Finally, learners can interconnect goals through your courses.

Objectives tell the learner how they will be able to know, not merely quess, whether or not they have learned and understood the lesson.

How Should Objectives be Formed?

Objectives should be specific, concise, observable and measurable. Each learning objective should target one particular aspect of student performance and be expressed with a single action verb.

There is a specific order according to which learners process information in a course. Bloom's taxonomy helps understand this natural order. What Bloom did is describe the levels of student learning, that could help a designer set the right objectives:

Following this taxonomy is the most surefire way to boost learning to a higher level. The following table depicts everything we are talking about. In it there are examples of verbs and activities you can use to formulate your course objectives. Take a look!
Examples of how to use the listed verbs:
- Learners will be able to use a rule to determine if a sentence is grammatically correct.
(Application stage)

Learners will be able to classify foods according to their origins.
(Analysis stage)

Learners will be able to discriminate the program's peculiar features.
(Evaluation stage)

See how it goes? You may struggle at first to apply this method, but it provides an analytical design, worthwhile to try out!

You will see how much more your learners will engage in your course.

While designing your objectives, it is optimal to follow Bloom's hierarchical order of objectives and not dismiss lower levels as unworthy so that learners have all the requirements regarding previous knowledge to proceed.
Important tips:

Consider developing 2-3 learning objectives for each section of your course.

If the objectives are several, organize them into subcategories.

Use simple language, speak personally (ex. 'You will be able to') and keep objectives short.

Don't use more than one sentences to express your objectives.

Don't list multiple verbs in one objective - since every action will be measured and assessed differently, each verb should be in a separate objective.

Communicate your objectives through your course page, your welcoming video or discussion with your learners. In a next article I am going to show you how to express your objectives not in a listed manner but in a very creative one!

Designing Your Course Using Learning Objectives

Let's suppose you have chosen your topic and you are determined about what to teach in your course. When in the process of completing these steps, it is optimal either to use a pen and a paper or a concept map application to create connections between your ideas.

1 Imagine your course.

Brainstorm a list of all the possible things you want to teach and might include in your course.

2 Draft your course goals.

Write at least 2-3 goals to shape your ongoing course design. Here, we give you some questions that will help you plan your course goals:

"In this course, I will emphasize in..."
"The main themes learners will go through are..."
"The big picture I want to promote through this course is..."

Suitable verbs to use to set goals are shown below. "Through this course, you will..."

3 Design Learning Objectives

Using the table above, design your Learning Objectives. Break down your goals to form more specific and measurable learning objectives. Link those objectives to the corresponding sections.

Consider: For whom are you writing your learning objectives? Analyze your target audience and their pre-existing knowledge.

Keep overall course objectives to no more than a dozen-this will keep you focused on the essentials.

Don't exaggerate trying to write even more precise learning objectives-the main point is to express as clearly and plainly as possible.

4 Write the Activities

For each objective of the course, write down some corresponding activities that you are planning to use to accomplish that objective.Through these activities, students will achieve the objectives you set for them. Other activities not mentioned above are:

Reading a text.

Reading worked-out example problems.

Answering short objective questions.

Discussing issues with other learners.

Conducting research.

5 Develop Assessments

Ideally, as you are drafting course goals and learning objectives, you are also beginning to develop the assessments for the course. Decide which questions you will include in your questionnaires or exams (as well as the type of questions you will use) or the content of your assignments based on the objectives you have set.

Align your assessment activities with your objectives. This way you can be sure that your learners have the desired progress.

Reflect on your objectives and consider the following:

Are your course objectives achievable given the available resources?

Are your course objectives in agreement with the course goals?

Can learners' performance on the objective be measured?

Are there real measures stated (rate numbers, percentages or frequencies)?

When do you want learners to accomplish the objective?

Are you attempting too much so that your objectives are not achievable?

Is the objective valuable for the learner?

What if I Have Already Created My Course?

You may argue with the above if you have already created your course without having formed clear goals and objectives. But imagine how much you could improve your material by reviewing what you want to achieve and also how happy your old or new learners will be if you add this information to your course.
How to update a course using learning goals and objectives:

1. Review all of the material of your course thus far.

2. Identify any patterns in themes, content, hopes, objectives, and activities.

3. Group similar items together.

4. Give titles to each group of items. You automatically see what your objectives are.

5. Identify the most important things you hope learners will take away from the course and what you want their learning experience to be. These are your course goals!

Then, you can create a great lesson plan based on the learning objectives, goals and activities you have decided on.

Further Reading

To prepare quality educational materials using learning goals, objectives and outcomes is a challenge worth pursuing. It will translate into a higher valued course, satisfied students and will help you in the process of creating your own course.

For this purpose, we suggest the following literature for further studying:

Learning outcomes and instructional objectives: is there a difference? Ronald M Harden - Link to article

Choosing teaching methods based on learning objectives: An integrative framework. Sarah E. Bonner - Link to article

Bloom's taxonomy revisited: Specifying assessable learning objectives in computer science. Christopher Starr, Bill Manaris, Roxann H. Stalvey - Link to article

Academic Sources

Designing and Assessing Courses and Curricula, Third Edition, 2008. Robert M. Diamond. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, CA.)

Harden, R. M. (2002). Learning outcomes and instructional objectives: is there a difference?. Medical teacher, 24(2), 151-155.

Bonner, S. E. (1999). Choosing teaching methods based on learning objectives: An integrative framework. Issues in Accounting Education, 14(1), 11-15.

Starr, C. W., Manaris, B., & Stalvey, R. H. (2008). Bloom's taxonomy revisited: specifying assessable learning objectives in computer science. ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, 40(1), 261-265.

Bloom, B. S. (ed.). Taxonomy of educational objectives: Handbook 1: Cognitive domain. Longmans, Green and Company, New York, 1956.

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Learning Goals and Objectives in Course Design | LearnWorlds Blog

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Learning goals are broad, general statements of what we want our students to learn and provide: Direction, Focus, and Cohesion Setting goals gives us a real road map to where we want to go. The same when we provide goals to learners. Learning goals are the heart of a course design and need to be ...

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JumpRope: Different Approaches to Standards-Based Grading

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Explore different approaches to unpacking standards to write clear learning targets to guide instruction and assessment.

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Benefits and Challenges Using Technology in the Classroom to Enhance Teaching and Learning

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Are you considering using technology in the classroom to enhance teaching and learning? Learn about the potential benefits and challenges that come with it.

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Formative assessment-discovering what students know while they're still in the process of learning it-can be tricky. Designing just the right assessment can feel high stakes-for teachers, not students-because we're using it to figure out what comes next. Are we ready to move on? Do our students need a different path into the concepts? Or, more likely, which students are ready to move on and which need a different path?

When it comes to figuring out what our students really know, we have to look at more than one kind of information. A single data point-no matter how well designed the quiz, presentation, or problem behind it-isn't enough information to help us plan the next step in our instruction.

Add to that the fact that different learning tasks are best measured in different ways, and we can see why we need a variety of formative assessment tools we can deploy quickly, seamlessly, and in a low-stakes way-all while not creating an unmanageable workload. That's why it's important to keep it simple: Formative assessments generally just need to be checked, not graded, as the point is to get a basic read on the progress of individuals, or the class as a whole.

7 Approaches to Formative Assessment

1. Entry and exit slips: Those marginal minutes at the beginning and end of class can provide some great opportunities to find out what kids remember. Start the class off with a quick question about the previous day's work while students are getting settled-you can ask differentiated questions written out on chart paper or projected on the board, for example.

A quick way to see the big picture if you use paper exit tickets is to sort the papers into three piles: Students got the point; they sort of got it; and they didn't get it. The size of the stacks is your clue about what to do next.

No matter the tool, the key to keeping students engaged in the process of just-walked-in or almost-out-the-door formative assessment is the questions. Ask students to write for one minute on the most meaningful thing they learned. You can try prompts like:

What are three things you learned, two things you're still curious about, and one thing you don't understand?

How would you have done things differently today, if you had the choice?

What I found interesting about this work was...

Right now I'm feeling...

Today was hard because...

Or skip the words completely and have students draw or circle emojis to represent their assessment of their understanding.

2. Low-stakes quizzes and polls: If you want to find out whether your students really know as much as you think they know, polls and quizzes created with Socrative or Quizlet or in-class games and tools like Quizalize, Kahoot, FlipQuiz, Gimkit, Plickers, and Flippity can help you get a better sense of how much they really understand. (Grading quizzes but assigning low point values is a great way to make sure students really try: The quizzes matter, but an individual low score can't kill a student's grade.) Kids in many classes are always logged in to these tools, so formative assessments can be done very quickly. Teachers can see each kid's response, and determine both individually and in aggregate how students are doing.

Because you can design the questions yourself, you determine the level of complexity. Ask questions at the bottom of Bloom's taxonomy and you'll get insight into what facts, vocabulary terms, or processes kids remember. Ask more complicated questions ("What advice do you think Katniss Everdeen would offer Scout Finch if the two of them were talking at the end of chapter 3?"), and you'll get more sophisticated insights.

3. Dipsticks: So-called alternative formative assessments are meant to be as easy and quick as checking the oil in your car, so they're sometimes referred to as dipsticks. These can be things like asking students to:

write a letter explaining a key idea to a friend,

draw a sketch to visually represent new knowledge, or

do a think, pair, share exercise with a partner.

Your own observations of students at work in class can provide valuable data as well, but they can be tricky to keep track of. Taking quick notes on a tablet or smartphone, or using a copy of your roster, is one approach. A focused observation form is more formal and can help you narrow your note-taking focus as you watch students work.

4. Interview assessments: If you want to dig a little deeper into students' understanding of content, try discussion-based assessment methods. Casual chats with students in the classroom can help them feel at ease even as you get a sense of what they know, and you may find that five-minute interview assessments work really well. Five minutes per student would take quite a bit of time, but you don't have to talk to every student about every project or lesson.

You can also shift some of this work to students using a peer-feedback process called TAG feedback (Tell your peer something they did well, Ask a thoughtful question, Give a positive suggestion). When you have students share the feedback they have for a peer, you gain insight into both students' learning.

For more introverted students-or for more private assessments-use Flipgrid, Explain Everything, or Seesaw to have students record their answers to prompts and demonstrate what they can do.

5. Methods that incorporate art: Consider using visual art or photography or videography as an assessment tool. Whether students draw, create a collage, or sculpt, you may find that the assessment helps them synthesize their learning. Or think beyond the visual and have kids act out their understanding of the content. They can create a dance to model cell mitosis or act out stories like Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" to explore the subtext.

6. Misconceptions and errors: Sometimes it's helpful to see if students understand why something is incorrect or why a concept is hard. Ask students to explain the " muddiest point" in the lesson-the place where things got confusing or particularly difficult or where they still lack clarity. Or do a misconception check: Present students with a common misunderstanding and ask them to apply previous knowledge to correct the mistake, or ask them to decide if a statement contains any mistakes at all, and then discuss their answers.

You can use sticky notes to get a quick insight into what areas your kids think they need to work on. Ask them to pick their own trouble spot from three or four areas where you think the class as a whole needs work, and write those areas in separate columns on a whiteboard. Have you students answer on a sticky note and then put the note in the correct column-you can see the results at a glance.

Several self-assessments let the teacher see what every kid thinks very quickly. For example, you can use colored stacking cups that allow kids to flag that they're all set (green cup), working through some confusion (yellow), or really confused and in need of help (red).

Similar strategies involve using participation cards for discussions (each student has three cards-"I agree," "I disagree," and "I don't know how to respond") and thumbs-up responses (instead of raising a hand, students hold a fist at their belly and put their thumb up when they're ready to contribute). Students can instead use six hand gestures to silently signal that they agree, disagree, have something to add, and more. All of these strategies give teachers an unobtrusive way to see what students are thinking.

No matter which tools you select, make time to do your own reflection to ensure that you're only assessing the content and not getting lost in the assessment fog. If a tool is too complicated, is not reliable or accessible, or takes up a disproportionate amount of time, it's OK to put it aside and try something different.

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7 Smart, Fast Ways to Do Formative Assessment

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Within these methods you'll find close to 40 tools and tricks for finding out what your students know while they're still learning.

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7 Tips for Improving High School Assessments

1. Secure success by making it achievable: Student learning has been affected by the pandemic, with learners who need additional support being most negatively impacted. As a result, these students are now trying to build new knowledge and skills on shaky or absent foundations. Of course, we try to adapt our classroom teaching to account for this and support our students as best we can. So it follows that we should also adapt our assessments with student success in mind.

Assessments that students score poorly in can be hugely demotivating, resulting in negative associations with the subject, as well as embedding fixed mindsets-we have all heard students say things like "I just can't do it" and "There isn't any point in trying" after doing poorly in a test.

Research shows that a success rate of 80 percent is optimal for learning -it motivates students by helping them to feel successful. It gives them confidence and shows them that there is still room for progress in the future. Designing our assessments with this 80 percent benchmark in mind may require us to increase the accessibility for students by reducing the challenge until they're ready to tackle more complex questions and tasks.

2. Make sure your students know how to study: As we make our way through the ceaseless curriculum, we sometimes overlook the importance of teaching students how to study independently. Prioritize teaching study skills-whether you spend a small chunk of a time here and there or devote whole lessons to it. It will probably be more impactful in the lives of your students in the long run than the depth of content you might have to sacrifice in that period of time.

In my own practice, I teach a unit of work, which usually comprises around 10-15 lessons, following which I give students an end-of-unit assessment. About a week prior to this assessment, I will devote an entire hourlong lesson to study skills and revision. This can include, for example, modeling how to construct a concept map, revision games, showing students where to find study resources such as Quizlet, and encouraging them to share ideas and practice using new learning techniques in a supportive and safe environment.

3. Make sure your students know what to revise: Prepare a list of topics that might come up in the assessment, and share it with your students. If you have a class that is struggling with confidence, the more detailed you can be with this study list, the better. Help them to feel that their time spent studying is worthwhile in order to build them up to a place where they have the motivation to study on their own, even when they know not every topic will be assessed.

4. Complete the assessment yourself first: It goes without saying that you should proofread assessments before students take them, and it's even better to complete the assessment yourself. I find this most useful for open-ended assessments that I've written myself, as it allows me to put myself in the student's place. I can assess whether it's clear or confusing, and if it has covered an appropriate range and depth of topics on the study list.

I've found that doing this has been really important in reducing the stress and frustration that my students might feel when they're given a suboptimal assessment, and it has strengthened their trust in the assessment process.

5. Model and scaffold: When completing your assessment, make a note of the skills and exam techniques required to answer the questions. Then consider if you and your students have covered these techniques in enough detail. Just like with the content of the test, there shouldn't be any surprises. For each skill and technique, make sure that students have been exposed to models of good work, so that they know what success looks like. They'll also feel more confident during future assessments if they previously had the opportunity to apply these skills and techniques in a supported environment so that they know that they're capable of achieving success.

6. Allow students to make mature decisions about the assessment date: When assessment dates aren't fixed, give students some options for dates and times. You can also encourage students to take more responsibility for organizing their time in the run-up to the assessment by asking them to point out potential clashes with other deadlines or important dates.

7. Factor in choice within the assessment: Within the assessment, you might be able to provide students with a choice of questions to answer or tasks to complete. I usually give my high school students a choice of two extended-answer questions to complete in their end-of-unit assessments. I then set the question they chose not to answer as an open-book homework task.

The downside of providing choice within an assessment is that it can be harder to standardize, but the upside is that you confer a much greater feeling of control to the student, which in turn can be highly motivating.

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7 Tips for Creating Motivating Assessments

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1. Secure success by making it achievable: Student learning has been affected by the pandemic, with learners who need additional support being most negatively impacted. As a result, these students are now trying to build new knowledge and skills on shaky or absent foundations.

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Differentiation means tailoring instruction to meet individual needs. Whether teachers differentiate content, process, products, or the learning environment, the use of ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes this a successful approach to instruction.

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Differentiated Instruction for English Language Learners

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Each student comes to school, not only with unique academic needs, but also with unique background experiences, culture, language, personality, interests, and attitudes toward learning. Effective teachers recognize that all of these factors affect how students learn in the classroom, and they adjust, or differentiate, their instruction to meet students' needs.

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University of San Diego - Professional & Continuing Education

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Imagine trying to learn a classroom lesson when you don't understand the language in which it is being presented. Teaching English language learners requires specialized strategies; and at the most basic level, one of those strategies is to "put yourself in their shoes."

More than 5 million children in U.S. schools are classified as English language learners (ELLs), according to the Department of Education. These students face the dual challenge of learning the material while also learning the language, as their teachers face the added challenge of using the right educational strategies to help them succeed.

Some of the most effective English language learner strategies start with common sense and respect for cultural differences. Simply getting to know the students is considered to be an essential part of the process.

For educators who teach English language learners, developing a deeper understanding of their unique needs and the best practices for teaching them has many benefits. These include:

Better and easier lesson planning

Improved ability to monitor student goals and achievements

The satisfaction of making a difference in the lives of young people learning to communicate in what can be a pretty confusing language

Here, we will review a range of time-tested English language teaching strategies that benefit students and educators alike.

How Can ELL Strategies Help Me as an Educator?

In addition to achieving better learning outcomes for students, embracing best practices and strategies for working with English language learners offers some fundamental, organizational benefits for educators as well.

For example, when you have a well-thought-out plan for engaging and teaching your ELLs, you are able to more effectively manage your lesson planning and monitor the progress of your students. You will also waste less time on strategies that don't work for your students.

Ultimately, an organized and focused approach to teaching non-native speakers is also the most effective way to create a solid foundation for them to become autonomous learners in English.

What About Using 'Scaffolding' for English Language Learners?

Scaffolding can mean a number of things when it comes to language development. First, it can refer to allowing students to continue limited use of their first language while learning English. Though the point is to train students to become independently proficient readers, writers and speakers of English, allowing native speech can help students figure things out, rather than go silent if they don't understand or know an answer.

According to CollaborativeClassroom.org, "A scaffold is a temporary framework that is put up for support and access to meaning and is taken away when the student feels success and masters tasks, concepts, and, in this case, language acquisition."

The use of sentence frames - partial sentences that include blank spaces where students fill in missing words or information - is another example of scaffolding-type techniques that can help students learn language. In a broader context, scaffolding refers to giving students the support, context and tools they need to learn new materials, ideas or skills.

11 Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners
1. Cultivate relationships
This one is a "no-brainer" no matter what language you speak. As a teacher, getting to know each student helps you understand who they are, where they come from and, perhaps, gain some insight into what teaching and learning styles are most effective for them.

For the students, knowing that your teacher cares enough to make the effort to get to know you as a person can have a motivating effect. It contributes to an atmosphere in which each student feels known and appreciated, and is therefore more likely to fully open themselves to the learning process rather than succumb to feelings of reticence or shyness that can often accompany a lack of language skills.
2. Be culturally aware
Since many English language learners come from outside the U.S., part of creating the ideal learning atmosphere may include cultivating an appreciation of diversity. Developing an awareness of each student's background, religious and cultural practices may also provide insights that affect how you interact with a particular student (for example, if they come from a cultural tradition where eye contact with adults is viewed as disrespectful).

At a very basic level, engaging in discussions about the different cultural backgrounds of students helps everyone get to know each other and reinforces the idea that different cultures include many similarities and differences - an important concept when some students are in the process of acquiring a new culture and language. Some educational advocates also suggest home visits as an effective "extracurricular" way for educators to invest in building rapport.
3. Teach language skills across all curriculum topics
In many cases, your English language learners may also be receiving specific English as a Second Language instruction from an ESL specialist. However, it is helpful for teachers of all curriculum topics in mainstream classrooms to understand and embrace the role of language teacher as well.
4. Speak slowly and be patient
You have a lot of material to cover, but there is no need to rush. In fact, teachers of ELLs are encouraged to consciously slow things down. This can mean:

Speaking in a slower, measured cadence

Being a bit more aware of your enunciation

Allowing extra time (an additional 3 to 5+ seconds) for students to respond

The extra seconds give all students a little extra time to think and formulate a response. "Researchers have found that typically most teachers give 1 to 2 seconds between asking a question and expecting a student response," Larry Ferlazzo, a teacher, education blogger and co-author of "The ESL/ELL Teacher's Survival Guide," told Edutopia. "The same researchers have shown that if you wait 3 to 5 seconds, the quality of responses is astronomically greater."
5. Prioritize "productive language"
Speaking and writing are sometimes characterized as "productive language" because they both literally require students to "produce" language output, in contrast with reading and listening, which are described as "receptive" skills.

Teachers who are not language specialists may not be aware that English language learners are likely to develop those receptive skills first. It is important to emphasize the fact that evidence that students are reading, listening or understanding does not necessarily equate to progress in expressing themselves through fluency in speaking or writing.
6. Use a variety of methods to engage learning
The idea here is to provide students with multiple options for taking in information, processing and making sense of ideas, and sharing what they are learning. This is often referred to as "differentiated instruction" - an educational practice that involves recognizing that "students each have their own unique gifts and challenges; interests, aptitudes and learning styles" and tailoring instruction to meet students' individual needs.

According to Edutopia, "All kids learn better when they engage with material in multiple ways: Lessons that involve writing, speaking, drawing and listening, for example, give students four opportunities to deepen their understanding of the work. For ELLs, those additional engagements also provide a little breathing room so they can work through the language barrier."
7. Utilize visual aids
The strategy of using visual aids also connects to the idea of differentiated instruction, which is considered central to teaching English language learners. In this case, it is understood that some students are "visual learners" whose ability to digest and process new concepts and material is enhanced by the use of pictures, diagrams, charts and other visual tools.

The belief is that combining "nonlinguistic representation" along with the linguistic component of each lesson benefits all students and not just English language learners - the operative strategy here is to "show" as well as "tell." In addition to pictures, diagrams, etc., teachers are encouraged to write everything on the board so students can see as well as hear the information.
8. Coordinate with the ESL teacher
Since ELLs are often receiving specific English as a Second Language instruction from an ESL specialist, it can be very helpful to check in with their ESL instructors. Doing so can help the educators involved develop a fuller understanding of how regular classroom work can support ESL instruction, and vice versa.

Such discussions can yield insights into individual students and their learning styles or challenges; they can also be helpful for sharing information about curriculum topics, potentially providing ESL teachers with ideas for highly relevant vocabulary words that can reinforce academic lessons.
9. Pre-teach new vocabulary words
When you have a challenging reading assignment coming up, some experts encourage you to preview or "pre-teach" new vocabulary words that may be unfamiliar to ELLs, or even to give them a copy of the article or link to the material ahead of time.
10. Build in some group work
Instructor-led, whole-class activities may make up most of your class period but it can also be very helpful to build in time for group work as well. This is because it affords additional opportunities for ELLs to practice their language skills with peers in a less formal, lower-risk setting.
11. Respect moments of silence
Many new language learners tend to be a little reticent and quiet, opting for silence over speaking up and saying something "wrong" in a language that is still unfamiliar. Therefore, teachers are encouraged to be mindful of this and not be too aggressive in forcing students to open up at the outset. Ongoing support and patience is preferable to pressure, since such initial silence is considered to be a normal stage in learning a second language.

Academic Support for Teaching English Language Learners

Teachers whose work involves supporting the language development of non-native speakers also have the opportunity to take courses that are focused on skills, techniques and best practices for teaching English language learners.

For example, the University of San Diego offers an online course titled "Teaching Strategies for ELLs" that is ideal for K-12 teachers. Participants earn 2 graduate-level extension credit units while focusing on:

Ways to integrate language acquisition and academic content learning

Assessment approaches that measure student achievement within a linguistically diverse classroom

Research-based strategies for differentiating instruction to promote student learning

To learn more about the curriculum, expected learner outcomes and cost, contact us today or review the "Teaching Strategies for ELLs" course page.

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University of San Diego - Professional & Continuing Education

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11 Essential Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners [For Any Teacher] - University of San Diego - Professional & Continuing Education

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11 Essential Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners [For Any Teacher]. Advance your career with professional and continuing education from the University of San Diego.

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Instructional Strategies to increase Student Engagement

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Instructional Strategies to increase Student Engagement

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Strategies for communicating as an Educator

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Strategies for communicating as an Educator

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There are plenty of qualities that make up an effective education leader-a relentless focus on teaching and learning, a steadfast commitment to their school vision, and consistent self-reflection, to name a few. It goes without saying, however, that none of these qualities would be possible without excellent communication skills.

Being a great communicator sounds easy in theory, but in the case of a school or district leader, there are several nuances that can make communication challenging. For one, it's critical that you're able to personalize your communication style depending on the stakeholder group. Teachers, staff members, parents, students, and community members all have different needs, concerns, and goals-and the message that works for one likely won't be ideal for the others.

Another important nuance is that communication is about so much more than simply relaying the right message to the right audience. It's a way to convey empathy and inclusivity, and can go a long way towards creating school environments where voices are heard, connections are forged, and missions can be fulfilled.

The good news is that there are plenty of small actions you can take to ensure your communication style is not only clear, but inclusive. We've outlined four best practices below:

Audit your own communication skills

Let's be honest: it can be tough to improve on something if you're not quite sure where you are. Auditing your own communication preferences, style, and frequency is a great opportunity to establish a baseline for how you communicate-and what you might want to do differently.

There are a few different ways to approach your audit. One option might be to keep track of everyone you come into contact with during a typical school day-or week-and the communications that happen as a result. Take a moment or two to think about these communications: what the subject matter was, the outcome and key takeaways from the encounter, and how you think the interaction affected your relationship with that person.

Another option is to engage in a bit of more intentional self-reflection by asking yourself a few questions, such as:

How often do parents, staff, and my other audiences fully understand my messages, emails, and conversations? Do I give enough information and detail, or too much?

Do people often misunderstand my messages? Am I often surprised that they don't understand what I'm saying? Where does most of the confusion occur?

How well do I predict possible causes for confusion or miscommunication, and how well do I deal with those situations?

How good am I at reading people's body language when I'm communicating with them?

Having your own data for your audit is important, but it's equally critical to ask those that you communicate with regularly for their thoughts, too. Sending a survey with a few questions to your teachers and staff will most likely uncover blind spots about your communication style that aren't apparent to you. In all cases, take the time to analyze the information you've compiled. Are there recurring themes that show up in this data, and if so, what are the actions you can improve on?

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Build a culture of two-way communication

Equity-focused leaders are always looking for new ways to make sure all members of their school community feel seen and heard-and one of the most effective ways to do this is to prioritize reciprocity through two-way communication.

Think of two-way communication like a tennis match-a game can only happen when the ball is volleyed back and forth.

Two-way communication is exactly what it sounds like: an intentional interaction between two or more people or groups where all participants not only share information and ideas, but also actively listen to what each other is contributing. Think of two-way communication like a tennis match -a game can only happen when the ball is volleyed back and forth.

When implemented consistently, two-way communication can improve the collective performance of the teachers and staff at your schools and districts, build stronger teams and relationships, and create better and more innovative ideas. Teams are also encouraged to collaborate and learn from one another rather than work in silos.

Creating additional opportunities for two-way communication begins with systematizing it. You might implement a series of weekly office hours when parents and school staff know they can come in and talk freely with you. Or, consider holding regular "Ask Me Anything" meetings, where your team can submit questions ahead of time and you spend an hour in-person addressing their asks. If you're short on time and additional meetings are tough to schedule, sending an email with a one-question survey to take a temperature check can provide additional insight. Regardless of the format, the goal is the same: creating an open line of communication between you and your stakeholders, and vice versa.

Use storytelling to connect and engage

Humans love stories. When you hear a well-told story, it sets off powerful emotional connections in your brain, and in many cases, this emotional connection often causes you to shift your perspective, or even take action.

It's because of this emotional connection that storytelling can be an essential part of an educational leader's toolkit. It's how you build credibility for yourself and your vision -and it's how you inspire your team to become a part of it. Here are a few strategies to keep in mind as you're considering anecdotes to share with your school community:

Focus on showing empathy. Let's say you're talking with your teachers. Are there stories from your early education experiences that show you understand their worries? Empathy establishes you as a partner-someone who knows what the groups in your community are going through.

Connect your story to their context. As you're telling a story, be sure to pause and ask others to think about their own experiences related to a topic. Let's say you're sharing an anecdote about why you decided to become a principal or district leader. Following up your story with, "Has anyone else felt the same way I did?" or "Think about that person in your life who believed you could do more" will go far in terms of making your message more relatable.

Always connect your story to a goal. Whether you're telling a story in person or in writing, consider what you want to achieve by sharing it. What are you hoping the story will accomplish? Begin with your goal in mind, and then think about stories you have that might move your audience toward the desired result.

Rely on compelling data. Not everyone feels comfortable telling stories, especially about their own experiences-and that's okay. Instead, consider compiling a set of interesting statistics that accentuate the point you want to make. There are plenty of emotional connections that can be made through data points and facts.

Give-and ask for-impactful feedback

Speaking of feedback, don't be afraid to ask for it. School and district leaders are often the last people to receive feedback, so developing a structure to ask for feedback will be your best bet.

As a school or district leader, you're no stranger to giving feedback to your teams. Feedback is a necessary part of your role. It's essential for your teachers and staff to receive feedback not only to improve their skills and level up their confidence, but also to improve the outcomes of the students in your care.

When we think about feedback, so much of the focus tends to be on what we're going to say, or the format in which we're going to say it. While this is no doubt important, it's how effective leaders communicate feedback that matters most to their teams.

If you find yourself struggling with how to best do that, think about how you prefer to receive feedback. Most likely, you'd want the conversation to begin on a positive note before having what needs to be improved described to you in a non-judgemental way that targets your work, not you personally. You might also appreciate a two-way discussion that includes active listening, guidance on how to improve, and an offer to revisit or discuss after you've had time to reflect and implement any suggestions. Your teachers and staff are looking for the same course of action.

Speaking of feedback, don't be afraid to ask for it. School and district leaders are often the last people to receive feedback, so developing a structure to ask for feedback will be your best bet. Consider some of the ideas to enhance two-way communication-these can be great avenues for getting insight into your own leadership performance as well.

Communication: more than information exchange

An effective communication strategy is more than the sharing of information-it's the sharing of meaning. The more you're able to tailor your communication so that everyone in your school community feels welcomed, valued, and respected, the easier it will be to find common ground and work together to make sure students succeed.

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Inclusive & Effective Communication: 4 Strategies for Education Leaders | New Leaders Blog

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Effective communication is the foundation of high-performing schools and districts-where there's good communication, there's also trust, transparency, and strong relationships. Strengthen your own communication skills with these four strategies.

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PDMS Course listing of professional learning opportunities educators can register for in DOE’s Professional Development Management System Click on the course number to visit the course page in PDMS. Click on the course title to see a description. Note that you will need to log into PDMS to access the course information

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Frequently at DataWORKS, we are asked what it takes to craft a standards-based Learning Objective for use in the classroom. As many of you know, Common Core State Standards are often verbose and complex. This presents the problem of creating a concise Learning Objective without sacrificing clarity. In today's post, we'll take a look at how to craft a student-friendly Learning Objective from a Common Core Standard.

First, it is important to make the distinction between a content standard and a Learning Objective.

Content standards (such as Common Core State Standards) describe what students are to be taught over the course of a school year.
A Learning Objective is a statement that describes what students will be able to do at the end of a lesson, as a result of instruction.
Perhaps most importantly, a Learning Objective defines the purpose of the lesson, giving it direction from the very start. While it may appear to be a small part of the lesson, a well-written Learning Objective lays the foundation for a great lesson.

Within a Learning Objective, we have a Skill, Concept, and (often) Context.

The Skill of a Learning Objective is the measurable verb, or what the students will be doing. The Concept is the topic or big idea of the lesson, usually being a noun. The Context is the restricting condition of the lesson and may not be present - or may be removed for brevity in lower grades. Focusing on these three components can be useful in decreasing the word count (and cognitive load) of the Learning Objective for students.

To get a better picture of the components of a Learning Objective and its relationship to a standard we can use a simple third-grade example:

As you can see, there is a considerable amount of language in the standard that would be inappropriate for a third-grade student. We can, however, extract from the standard the three components of a Learning Objective.

For the Skill, we look to the verb - in this case represent - which is what the students will be doing in this lesson.

Once we know the Skill, we can ask a simple question to identify the Concept: "What will our students represent?" The answer, of course, is fractions. The students will represent fractions.

Finally, we look to see if there is a Context, or circumstance, we are limited to. Once again, we can ask ourselves a simple question: "Where or how will the students represent fractions?" The answer here is on a number line. To meet the expectations of this particular standard, students need only represent fractions on a number line - and nowhere else.

Now that we have identified each individual component, we can piece them together to craft our Learning Objective:

The result is a teachable Learning Objective that provides clear, concise direction for the lesson. For the next 50 minutes, students know exactly what they will be doing. Equally important, teachers will set expectations for the lesson and a goal for student achievement which can be objectively measured.

Having trouble coming up with Learning Objectives for Common Core State Standards? DataWORKS has done the work for you!

Check out our Common Core Learning Objectives and Essential Tools Video

Is your school or district crafting Learning Objectives in preparation of implementation of Common Core State Standards? Share your tips or experiences in the comment section below.

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How to Write a Learning Objective from a Common Core State Standard

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Frequently at DataWORKS, we are asked what it takes to craft a standards-based Learning Objective for use in the classroom. As many of you know, Common Core State Standards are often verbose and complex. This presents the problem of creating a concise Learning Objective without sacrificing clarity.

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Example of app for communicating with families

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Example of app for communicating with families

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TalkingPoints - Improving student outcomes through meaningful school-family partnerships.

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TalkingPoints - Improving student outcomes through meaningful school-family partnerships.

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Shauri- Student Motivation & Engagement PD

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Standards and Assessments Review information on academic standards and assessments in Delaware. Standards specify what students should know and be able to do in the classroom. They serve as goals for teaching and learning. Assessments are an integral part of the instructional cycle and fulfills several purposes

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Differentiating Instruction: It’s Not as Hard as You Think

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Tackling CRSD new parent communication service.

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Tackling CRSD new parent communication service.

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Login Company Products Services Careers Contact Search Request a Demo Parent or Student Teacher Current Customer Future Customer

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Family Engagement: Strengthening Family Involvement to Improve Outcomes for Children

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https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/examples-of-differentiated-instruction/

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Amy Stock, MSCustomer Experience Manager

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Effective Lesson Planning: 3 Proven Ideas

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It’s essential to teach your students using careful time management and effective methods.

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Inquiry classrooms are magical places; creative, student-driven, and dynamic. But when it's only the lesson you see unfolding, you're missing half the show. For years, I've focused my coaching work on the pedagogy of inquiry, trying to demystify what inquiry looks like in real classrooms.

While it's not as fun perhaps to write (or read) about what happens at the planning table, we cannot pretend that the magic of inquiry-classrooms just happens, well, magically. Planning for inquiry reminds me of the proverb: A river needs banks to flow. I see my lesson planning as creating the proverbial 'banks.' These banks provide the space and order necessary to encourage the freefall of ideas, divergent questions, and cognitive dissonance to take place.

In fact, I've found that lesson planning is the most creative part of my job. I've learned to embrace rather than dread it using this simple 5-Step Inquiry Lesson Plan.
Step 1: Connect with and question the content as a person, not as a teacher
Take off your teacher hat for a moment. How can you strengthen emotional bonds with and between your students within the context of this lesson? How can you share your own curiosity, doubts, and personality with students using the lesson as a vehicle? If the content isn't important, fascinating, and/or relevant to you, it's unlikely your students will find an emotional connection to it either.

What questions still perplex and fascinate you?

What relevant stories can you tell relating to the content?

Are there metaphors that might be helpful to students?

Do you remember the first time you learned this yourself?

Are there websites that explore these questions and ideas in greater detail?

Here's how I might approach the first step for an upcoming lesson. Let's say I'm teaching Shakespeare's Macbeth and we're on Act IV, Scene I[1]. You may remember this scene by its opening line: "Round about the cauldron go..." or it's repeated chorus: "Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble." It's an entire scene where witches create a complicated spell; full of challenging vocabulary and foreshadowing.

My emotional connection to the content:

This scene is bursting with gross, descriptive words-a recipe for disaster! It reminds me of potions class from the Harry Potter series. My husband is a former chef and he always talks about the importance of getting the right ingredients. The process involved here reminds me of him in the kitchen; so incredibly detailed and painstakingly precise.
My lingering questions and wonders relating to the content:

There are phrases in here that have been repeated for hundreds of years like "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble."

Tons of rumors about the production issues haunted by prophesies. Why?

How can a cauldron simultaneously boil and bake?

How many times does the cat mew? Is the witch adding the number or repeating the previous witch? How do we know for sure?

Why such a long scene describing this concoction?

What's the difference between a spell and a charm?

Resources that will provide reliable and diverse perspectives on the content:

Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/macbeth

Raphael Holinshed published his Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande in 1577. The second edition, published in 1587, was Shakespeare's primary reference work for most of his histories and many of his other plays, including Macbeth.

This 'emotional brain dump' was fun and took me no more than five minutes to accomplish. To get the students to connect with one another, I'll ask them to share their favorite dishes and analyze the ingredients that go into them (thinking about the role of ingredients in making a dish or a charm so special and memorable).
Step 2: Get clear on the goals and assessments
This is usually where we start when lesson planning: our objectives. Think about what you want students to get out of your lesson, and how you might measure these goals (even imperfectly). What mix of formative assessments will you use? Are there authentic assessments (products, performances or presentations) that you can use to motivate them individually or in teams? What do you want students to know (content), be able to do (skills), and/or believe (dispositions) by the end of this lesson or unit?

Again, using the Shakespeare example, I might choose the following mix of content and skill-related objectives for my lesson. I try not to list more than five main objectives so that I can stay focused (less is more). I also really try to make sure I balance the knowledge, skills (especially communication, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration) and dispositions (patience, empathy, growth mindset) when listing out my objectives.

What will students know, do, and believe?(Knowledge, Skills, Dispositions)

How will we know we've achieved this?(Assessments)

Understand the scene's meaning (knowledge) CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.4

Ingredient Analysis and Questions group presentation; listening in on conversations

Take risks with ideas; communicate clearly

(skills)

Observations and student reflection survey

Back up conjectures with evidence (either from text, experience, or websites) CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.1

(skills)

Ingredient Analysis (source citations)

Gain confidence and interest in tackling challenging texts like this one (dispositions)

Student reflection survey

Step 3: Design the lesson and plot questions
Once I have a sense of the why and how, I am ready to create the 'flow.' This is where traditional lesson planning comes in. What's your hook or anticipatory set? How much time do you think you'll need to provide instruction before releasing students? Will assignments be rigorous enough, but not completely out of reach? Will students be grouped together, when and how? How will students be held accountable for their work?

As you go through the lesson sequencing, you'll want to simultaneously think about the driving questions for this lesson (in the event that students don't raise these questions on their own during the lesson), as well as 'pivot questions' that you can use to transition students to new activities or discussions. These questions are the ones you want students to really take time to think about. I often transfer these onto notecards and post them on the wall during a lesson and take them down as we address them. Students now alert me if there are questions still up on the wall.
Step 4: Check for questions, voice, and choice
After mapping out the lesson flow and the driving questions, I go back through it to check for two important things: opportunities for student questions and student choice.

Now, look back through each of your activities to make sure you've created time and opportunities for students to ask questions and make choices. Student voice (question-asking) and student choice are the bedrock of inquiry classrooms, so make sure you're providing space and structure for these things. In my own lesson planning, I'd place an "X" next to activities that explicitly provide this. There is no rule around how much or how many opportunities you provide, although I'd strive for a 50/50 balance between teacher-directed/teacher talk-time and student-directed/student talk-time.

Again, using the Macbeth example, here is what my lesson plan might look like at this point:

Personal Story (10 mins.)

What are the most important ingredients in your favorite dish?

What do recipes have to do with this scene (connection)?

Reading & Review (5 mins.)

What does this scene leave you feeling?

What questions does it raise for you?

Group Task: Ingredient Analysis (15 mins.)

How easy, difficult, impossible, and/or immoral would it be to obtain each ingredient here today?

Small Group Choice (10 mins.)

1) What's the most critical ingredient? Why?

2) How would you reverse the charm?

3) What ingredients may be missing?

Whole Group Sharing (5 mins.)

Which words were confusing and how did you find their definitions?

Which choice question did you choose and what did you come up with?

Closing (5 mins.)

What kind of 'prep work' for the charm needs to happen?

What questions linger? (share my own)

A Note about Unit Planning
While this plan is designed for a lesson, you can easily adapt it for an entire unit. Rather than plotting out the activities in minutes during Step 3, simply extend them into days.
Great Questions
Questions are the energy source inside inquiry classrooms. Even though I've written out driving questions, there should be questions peppered throughout the lesson; coming from me and hopefully the students. I like to share a short list of Great Questions with my students. These questions are great regardless of the content or grade level. They are divergent and encourage clear and critical thinking (and are also perfect for laminating onto desks). These questions are especially helpful when students are leading their own small groups and having discussions together.
Step 5: Rapidly reflect
This step is often ignored, but is a critical part of the inquiry cycle because it requires us as teachers to flex our reflective inquiry muscles! This step shouldn't require a lot of time, and can always be completed with the students after a lesson or a unit-after all, they're some of your best evaluators, having engaged in the lesson from start to finish. Set a timer for five minutes and answer two simple questions:

What went especially well?

What would I do differently next time?

Here is what I wrote after trying out the Macbeth lesson:

What went well?

* Great engagement and discussions while sorting ingredients

* 20 minutes was perfect amount of time for group projects

What would I change?

* Allow them to access websites to find definitions (reinforce source-citing)

* Groups no larger than 4 people, otherwise students can disengage

* Shorten favorite recipe-sharing time

Going through this process helps me reflect on perennial questions like: Did students pursue the anticipated line of inquiry? Did they latch onto a misconception and refuse to let it go? Was everyone is engaged; how do I know? Did students ask their own questions? Was it enough or too much student choice?
Conclusion
Successful inquiry classrooms may at times appear aimless and perhaps chaotic, but nothing could be further from the truth. Great inquiry lessons are actually some of the most carefully and thoughtfully planned learning events on the planet. Remember that a river needs banks to flow when thinking about guiding student inquiry. Be clear on why the river is flowing, where it's going, and how it will get there. The Five-Step Inquiry Lesson Plan will allow you to keep your knees bent and not fall over.

To download a template of 5-Step Inquiry Lesson Plan, go to: https://www.inquirypartners.com/new-page-3 and click "Downloadable PDFs."

[1] This lesson idea comes from Andrew Finley at West Seattle High School

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author: Nicole Law and Sonja Hollins-Alexander

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author: John Almarode and Kateri Thunder

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The 5-Step Inquiry Lesson Plan - Corwin Connect

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Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linkedin Inquiry classrooms are magical places; creative, student-driven, and dynamic. But when it's only the lesson you see unfolding, you're missing half the show. For years, I've focused my coaching work on the pedagogy of inquiry, trying to demystify [...]

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Whether exploring space phenomena in science or deciphering word problems in math, questions are bound to arise: Is there anything faster than the speed of light? Why am I not supposed to divide by zero? How do rockets fly in space? So, why not tap into students' natural curiosity and have them lead their own learning? With the 5E instructional model, students can explore life's mysteries all while being active participants in their learning through inquiry-based activities.

What Is the 5E Model?

The 5E model uses a constructivist approach to learning, which means it focuses on students constructing knowledge from experiences. The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) initially developed the 5E model, or center inquiry practices, in a cycle that provided a process to facilitate learning. Since then, the model has been widely adopted and adapted by a variety of groups, but the initial goal remains the same.

The 5E instructional model consists of five phases: engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate. Throughout the process, students work collaboratively to observe, investigate, analyze, and draw conclusions. Meanwhile, the teacher serves as a facilitator, guiding students in the learning process. This framework can be used to teach STEM subjects, like math and science, to introduce and investigate new concepts. Plus the 5E model provides students the opportunity to explore new concepts critically and retain information through meaningful learning experiences. In fact, research shows that the 5E model is tied to "a significantly better acquisition of scientific concepts" compared to traditional textbook focused instruction.

5E Learning Cycle

The 5Es describe the phases of this inquiry-based learning cycle. As students move through the 5E learning cycle, they build on to their prior knowledge and construct meaning about the concept at hand.

Engage

Engage is the first phase of the 5E model. During this phase, teachers are activating students' prior knowledge to identify what students know or do not know about the upcoming concept. As teachers tap into students' background knowledge, students can make connections and teachers can identify any knowledge gaps. This phase also serves to pique students' interest and curiosity about the topic at hand. To engage students, ask open-ended questions, lead a class discussion, or view videos to introduce a concept.

During the Explore phase, teachers are guiding students in exploration and problem-solving in a concrete way. Through hands-on activities, such as creating models or conducting experiments, students can investigate the new concept and discuss ideas and observations with their peers.

Explain

The Explain phase is run by the teacher. During this phase, the teacher facilitates a whole-class discussion by asking questions, comparing student responses, and helping to guide the class towards the key ideas being taught.

During the Elaborate phase, students have the space to apply what they learned. They can take their new knowledge to form a new hypothesis, explore real-world scenarios, or create a presentation to share with their peers. This phase allows students to extend their learning and create richer connections to concepts.

At this phase, the teacher assesses student learning through formal and/or informal assessments. Informal assessments, like exit tickets or oral presentations, or formal assessments, like tests or quizzes, can be used to determine whether students understood the key concepts. During this phase, students can also evaluate their learning using self-assessment tools like rubrics.

The 5E instructional model empowers students to lean into their curiosity and explore the world around them. Implement the 5E model to guide students in meaningful, inquiry-based learning.

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See how Go Math! K-6 uses the 5E model as the foundation for lesson designs, guiding students toward proficiency by building on their previous understanding of mathematical concepts.

Explore how the HMH Into Science K-5 and 6-8 curricula use the effective 5E lesson design, which encourages students to Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate science, in hands-on and digital environments.

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5E Instructional Model Explained: A Framework for Inquiry-Based Learning

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Learn how to use the 5E instructional model to engage students in inquiry-based learning.

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Using learning intentions and success criteria can help teachers ensure that their activities align with what they want students to know.

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As an instructional coach, I collaborate with nearly 65 teachers at an urban high school. My goal is to support teachers of many subjects in embedding literacy in their lessons without disrupting their classroom objectives.

I often work with our novice teachers and student teachers by reviewing their lesson plans and recommending literacy skills that reinforce their learning intentions and success criteria, which are defined by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey as "what you want students to know and be able to do by the end of one or more lessons." Without learning intentions and success criteria, they write, "lessons wander and students become confused and frustrated."

When I ask new teachers to tell me the purpose of their lessons, they often describe the activities they've created. For example, recently I was collaborating with a student teacher who was eager to teach the Bill of Rights to her freshmen. She began our conversation by explaining that she was going to read real-life scenarios with differing perspectives and ask students to move to the front of the classroom if they agreed with a particular scenario or to the back of the classroom if they disagreed. Afterward, she would ask students to explain their decisions.

Her excitement was palpable. She showed me the scenarios she had written, the "Agree" and "Disagree" signs she had created, and the worksheet she had designed so that students could brainstorm their own Bill of Rights.

When she finished, I commended her on the work she had done. Clearly, she had thought about the activity in detail. Next I asked her about the point of the lesson-what she wanted students to get out of it.

What she wanted-for her students to know what the Bill of Rights is, where to find it, why it's important, and why we still need it today-was not actually conveyed by the activity. She hadn't written a learning intention and the accompanying success criteria yet because she had been so excited to refine her activity. Without them, however, all she had was an activity-one that was not aligned with her goals for the day.

Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

Crafting a quality learning intention takes planning. Often, teachers will use an activity as their learning intention-but a learning intention goes beyond an activity. It focuses on the goal of the learning-the thing we want our students to know and do. The learning intention helps students stay focused and involved.

It's important to create the learning intention first, and then determine the success criteria that students can use to assess their understanding-and then create the activity and some open-ended questions that help students learn.

When I was working with the teacher on her Bill of Rights lesson, we took a step back to develop the learning intention and its success criteria. The learning intention was this: "I can explain the Bill of Rights, its purpose, and its relevance to my life." The success criteria were built around students' ability to annotate and paraphrase the Bill of Rights, and to explain its importance, both in general and in their own lives. Annotating, paraphrasing, and analyzing are skills that are based on ACT College and Career Readiness Standards and Common Core State Standards, and they could be seamlessly incorporated into the lesson with minimal effort.

Learning intentions and success criteria are valuable across all subjects. In algebra, for example, a learning intention might be "I can understand the structure of a coordinate grid and relate the procedure of plotting points in quadrants to the structure of a coordinate grid." The success criteria for this intention could be that students can talk and write about that procedure, using the correct vocabulary; that they can plot and label points in each quadrant on a coordinate grid; and that they can create a rule about coordinates for each quadrant.

In environmental science, if the learning intention is "I can recognize the history, interactions, and trends of climate change," the success criteria could be that students are able to locate credible research about the history of climate change and share their research with their peers, that they can demonstrate the interactions of climate change and explain the value of those interactions, and that they can show the trends of climate change utilizing a graph and explain the value of the trends.

A Way to Focus Lesson Planning

Although engaging students in their learning is certainly necessary, the student teacher I was working with became acutely aware of the value of the skills she was attempting to help students develop and why those skills-not the activity-should drive instruction.

During her next class, she posted the learning intention and success criteria where students could readily see them. Next, she asked her students to paraphrase the success criteria, making sure they understood what they were about to do. She referred to the learning intention and success criteria several times throughout the lesson so that students could determine their own level of understanding and, if necessary, decide which skills they understood and which ones still needed support. She followed up with an exit ticket, asking students what they had learned in the lesson, how they learned it, and why learning it was important.

What do you want your students to know? Why is that important?

Can they learn this information another way? How?

No matter what subject you teach, as you plan your instruction, ask yourself these questions:

Only once you've thought though your answers should you begin writing your learning intention and success criteria. Keep the activities you've created-but don't make them the center of the lesson or the goal of the lesson. Spend your time designing a learning intention and success criteria that will support your students' learning and skills that they can apply to all facets of their academic life.

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Using learning intentions and success criteria can help teachers ensure that their activities align with what they want students to know.

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Planning lessons for every subject each week can be overwhelming. By creating a pacing guide and batching lessons, teachers can focus on one topic at a time.

This is what lesson planning looks like when using the traditional method: you grab your reading textbook, a pacing guide (if you have one), read alouds, and a few center activities. You try to plan for Monday, but the first ten minutes are spent staring at a blank screen, then typing something and immediately deleting it. About ten minutes in, you start to find your groove, and the remaining days of reading plans go a lot faster.

Then you have to stop and grab your math textbook, pacing guide, and some worksheets, and open a few websites you like to use. Or maybe you spend an hour scrolling through Pinterest. Once again, you are stuck when it comes to the first day or two of lessons. It takes a while to find your groove again.

Task switching is time-consuming! Just getting out different materials for each subject takes up time. But even more time is consumed getting your brain in the flow. When you switch from one subject to another, it takes your brain some time to catch up. Lessons that should be relatively easy to plan end up taking twice as long.

When you batch, you are focusing only on one subject. You only need to get out one set of materials. It will still be challenging to get started, but once you get going, your brain will be able to stay focused on the one task and stay in a flow. According to Psychology Today,* we take only about a tenth of a second to switch tasks, but that switch can reduce our productivity by 40 percent! Basically, when we switch tasks, we use different parts of our brain, which tires us out way quicker than when we're focused on a single task at a time. And that doesn't even include having to pull out different materials every few minutes.

A fantastic reason to adopt the habit of batching your lesson plans is that it leads to higher-quality plans. The majority of your lesson plans will be created from that state of flow. This is when your brain will do the best work, because it is more focused. The lesson plans you write last-minute on Sunday night while watching your latest Netflix obsession are almost never your best work.

Another bonus of batching your lesson plans is that you will have more time to prep for the actual lesson. If you need materials from the store, you will have time to grab them the next time you grocery shop. This means you won't have to make a last-minute trip after school when you are exhausted and wearing a Ms. Frizzle dress that was the perfect addition to your science lesson that day.

If you need to make copies, you will have time to plan a photocopy session. This means you won't be waiting in a long line on Monday morning stressing because the person in front of you is making copies of every single spelling list for the entire year. The extra prep time will also allow you to laminate materials so that you can use them year after year.

Getting ahead on your lesson plans means materials can be prepped during school time rather than during personal time. Not to mention starting your week without materials and feeling unprepared is super stressful!

START WITH PACING

Before we jump into planning lessons, we need to talk about how to break down an entire school year into semesters, quarters, weeks, and individual days.

In my early days teaching, I was winging it. I would think, "At this pace, are we going to cover all of the standards before testing? I sure hope so! We will find out soon enough."

This usually resulted in tons of stress at the end of the year when I discovered we needed to squeeze two whole math units into the last week. Sound familiar?

It's sort of crazy how little help we get about how we should teach students everything in a school year. One time, my school gave us teachers a list of what we had to teach our students that calendar year . . . but that was it. Another time, an administrator in my district said that she should be able to walk into any third-grade classroom and that all the teachers should be doing the exact same lesson at the exact same time. But she didn't give us a schedule, so I'm still not sure how that was supposed to work.

The best preparation I received was when my district gathered a couple teachers from each grade level and had us create a full-year pacing guide for reading, writing, and math. My mind was blown! This document was like getting a copy of my own treasure map. I actually had a map that helped me pace out my lessons for the year. If the map said I had three weeks to work on fractions, then I knew I was on track if I spent a full three weeks on that unit. No more guessing and scrambling.

But most schools don't work that way.

Thanks to Common Core, most states in the United States have similar standards when it comes to what skills students need to learn at each grade level. Using those standards, teachers figure out how much time to spend on a particular skill-for instance, teaching multiplication in third grade, as I did.

Having a map will make lesson planning faster because you no longer have to make decisions about timing. Should I spend one week on nouns or two? Should we start with fiction standards or nonfiction standards? All of these decisions are made already! You are actually batching all the pacing decisions.
Start with one subject at a time.
If you already have a pacing guide, you are among the lucky ones. Go do a little happy dance. If you do not have a pacing guide, you aren't alone. (You can still do a happy dance if you want.) Most districts do not provide this resource for all subject areas. The good news is that you can create your own pacing guide. It's not hard! Making the decisions in one sitting is so much easier than having to come back to pacing every single week when you are doing your planning.

1. Break the subject into units of study. For example, for math you might have to teach your students topics like place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, fractions, et cetera.

2. Break these units down into more specific lessons. In your multiplication unit you will have lessons on repeated addition, equal groups, arrays, and so on.

3. Write the number of weeks you would like to spend on each unit. Pretend it is your dream world and you have all the time that you want.

4. Calculate the number of weeks you actually have for teaching this subject. Remember to take into account things like the first week of school, Thanksgiving, spring break, and testing.

5. Determine the difference between the actual number of weeks you have to teach and your dream number of weeks. Start carefully editing the number of weeks based on your reality. Play with these numbers until you feel comfortable. Or at least as comfortable as possible, because we all know that there is never enough time!

6. Put dates next to each unit and/or lesson.

Now you have your very own pacing guide! Will it be perfect?

Nope. In fact, I can guarantee you will find problems with the pacing during the year. Just make notes and adjust the pacing guide each year. It's an evolving document that serves as a map rather than a written-in-stone document you must vow to live by.

Once you have your pacing guide, take out a calendar. Map out how many weeks you expect to spend on each unit. (And yes-I know timing changes based on the unique needs of your learners. We are simply outlining a plan that's meant to be flexible. I'll talk about how to adjust these plans later on.)

Now you are ready to batch!

HOW TO BATCH LESSON PLANS

A typical lesson planning session includes creating plans for one week for five different subjects. Batching your lesson plans is different from the traditional lesson planning because you are creating several weeks of plans for just one subject. There are two different ways to batch your lesson plans, and you will want to choose the recipe that best fits your personality. I recommend trying both before you decide what you'll use moving forward.

Let's go back to the cookies I mentioned earlier. I believe there are two different types of chocolate chip cookie bakers. Which one are you? I am the kind of person that buys premade cookie dough. This works for me because I don't have to think much about how to make the cookies and the results are exactly the same every time. This is how the five-week batching plan works. Every batching week looks the same and produces the same results. You are always creating five weeks of lesson plans during your lesson planning time. You don't have to think much about the plan because it doesn't change week to week. It's as simple as done-for-you cookie dough.

Some people make the cookies from scratch using the Toll House recipe. You have to admit that these cookies are more work, but they are so freakin' delicious. This baker has to do a little more planning to get ingredients, measuring, mixing, and dishes. The extra effort is worth it for this person. This is how the unit batching plan works. With this plan, you will create a batch of lesson plans for an entire unit within one subject. It's the ultimate time-saver because you aren't batching only for a specific subject; all the lessons you are planning are related in some way. This means your brain can focus on just one topic. And when you finish the batching session, you won't have to plan for that unit ever again. All your opinion-writing lessons could be completed in one planning session! All your fraction lessons could be completed in another planning session.

The unit batching method takes a little more planning effort because every unit isn't the same length. One week, you might plan a three-week unit for reading, and another week, you might plan a five-week unit for math. You will have to keep track of this on your calendar so that you don't unexpectedly run out of math lesson plans and have to do last-minute planning on Sunday night. That said, the unit batching plan makes it very easy to save the plans from a unit and reuse them for next year! Just imagine how fast lesson planning will be next year when all you need to do is pull up your multiplication plan file and make minor adjustments.

Which type of batching should you do? That really depends on your preference and your personality. If you prefer a simple, predictable routine that requires the same amount of effort, time, and lessons produced each week, then you will probably like the five-week batching plan. But be aware that this method might have you lesson planning multiple topics in one planning session. For instance, you could plan addition, subtraction, and multiplication lessons during the same day. If that doesn't bother you, this might be the plan for you.

Some people like to organize their thoughts and lessons thematically. Their vision is more big picture and they prefer to tackle all the lessons in one unit at a time. If it's going to drive you crazy to stop lesson planning in the middle of a unit, or after week three of a four-week unit, you might prefer the unit batching plan.

With this plan, you'll know that at the end of your batching session you will have completed every lesson you needed for the whole unit, whether that's geometry or plants. But you'll have to be more flexible with your batching sessions because not all units are exactly the same length. You'll also have to be very organized and keep detailed notes about when you need to plan the next unit. If this doesn't sound like you, you might want to stick with the five-week batching plan.

The reality is that both batching plans are time-savers. I just want you to be honest with yourself and choose the strategy that you are most likely to be successful with and continue using all year. If you're still not sure which will work best for you, pick the one that resonates with you the most. If you love it, great! If not, try the other method. Even if you switch batching methods, you'll still be ahead of the game.

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2 Secrets to Making Lesson Planning Easy

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Planning lessons for every subject each week can be overwhelming. By creating a pacing guide and batching lessons, teachers can focus on one topic at a time. This is what lesson planning looks like when using the traditional method: you grab your reading textbook, a pacing guide (if you have one), read alouds, and a few center activities.

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Learning Adventure Maps

Turning lessons into a treasure hunt helps young learners stay engaged by making progress visible and rewarding. Each “map stop” creates excitement, builds persistence, and motivates students to complete tasks in order to unlock the final goal.

Puppet Question Time

Using a puppet to ask questions creates a playful, low-pressure way for children to share what they know. This approach reduces anxiety, encourages participation from all learners, and makes classroom discussions feel fun and interactive.

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Build & Break Challenges
This strategy keeps students engaged by encouraging them to construct a solution and then reimagine it in a new way. It fosters creativity, problem-solving, and motivation by showing that there are multiple pathways to understanding a concept.

Brainstorm Jigsaw
Collaborative brainstorming allows each group to tackle a piece of a larger question, then combine their ideas into a complete picture. This approach promotes teamwork, critical thinking, and ownership of learning while highlighting the value of every contribution.

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Hot Seat Expert
Placing a student in the “hot seat” keeps the class energized and encourages deeper questioning. This strategy builds confidence, strengthens content knowledge, and motivates learners through active participation and role-play.

Solve It, Swap It
Students stay engaged by solving a problem and then improving a peer’s work through collaboration. This approach promotes critical thinking, accountability, and motivation by showing that solutions can evolve through shared effort.

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Emoji Exit Reflections

Using emojis to summarize learning helps students quickly express understanding and feelings about a lesson. This strategy increases motivation by making reflection simple, visual, and fun while giving teachers insight into student engagement.

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English Language Learners (All Grades K-8)

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Picture Paths (ELL Students)

Step-by-step picture cards paired with bilingual labels make lessons easier to follow and understand. This strategy boosts engagement by connecting visuals with language, helping English learners build confidence and participate more fully.

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Students with Disabilities (All Grades K-8)

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Chunk & Cheer Reading (Students with Disabilities)

Breaking texts into smaller sections with built-in celebrations makes reading less overwhelming and more encouraging. This strategy fosters persistence, builds confidence, and keeps students motivated through positive reinforcement.

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Mystery Reveal Quiz (Digital)
Answering questions to uncover a hidden image turns review into an interactive game. This strategy builds excitement, persistence, and motivation by making practice feel like a challenge to unlock.

Flipgrid Voices
Recording short video reflections and responding to peers fosters connection and collaboration. This strategy increases engagement by giving students a voice, encouraging reflection, and promoting interactive dialogue in a digital space.