Essential Elements of Instruction
In Action
Name ____________________________________
Directions: In the next two weeks self-assess your implementation of the Essential Elements of
Instruction by reflecting upon your own classes. You can use one particular lesson to complete this
assignment, or a combination of more than one. The form can be accessed electronically from Ann
Tebo’s website by clicking on her name under the Staff tab of the MPS CTE site:
http://www.mpsaz.org/cte/
Teach to the objective:
Do you post your objectives on the board daily? ______ (Some sites require it, others don’t)
Record one lesson objective that you feel was “right on target” for what you wanted to accomplish:
Introduction / Anticipatory Set (can include bellwork):
Having students relate new information to previous experience of background knowledge helps them
understand the new concepts. Describe an introduction that you had students do this.
Teach to the correct level of difficulty:
Describe a lesson you taught that you felt was: (circle letter of which one you are describing)
A) “just right” for the students ability,
B) ended up being too difficult for the students to grasp, or
C) seemed like it was too easy for the students
Include what led to this analysis.
Active participation:
Identify a strategy that was particularly engaging for your students and describe why it was successful.
Monitor and adjust:
Describe a situation in which you had to change what you had originally planned to do. Describe the
circumstances and what the change entailed.
Motivation / Relevance:
What have you done to motivate your students to learn at optimal levels? Relate how you described to
students the relevance of a lesson topic to their lives. How do you know one way or another if the
students were motivated?
Retention / Transfer:
What have you done to insure that your students retain what is taught from one day to the next? Relate
how you showed students the connection between concepts learned in a previous lesson to the one
being taught.
Closure / Checking for Understanding:
Describe a specific activity or strategy in which you had the students summarize their learning at the end
of a lesson.