Lab Experience Observation Project
Four Lesson Plans and Teaching – 75 points each = 300 points
Due December 5
Rationale: Creative thinking and the ability to communicate in and through the arts does not
just happen. It takes a teacher’s considerable thought, planning, and valuing possibilities, to
formulate an effective lesson.
Objective: The teacher candidate is to focus on the development of the whole child, infusing
creativity and the arts across the curriculum, aligning activities with the most current arts to the
content area standards, and making children partners in their learning through the choices and
decisions they make.
Goal: The teacher candidate is to develop a lesson that can guide children in their lab experience
classroom. Each lesson created should be in the creative arts and promote creativity and
divergent thinking.
Overview Directions: The teacher-candidate will choose the type of lesson to plan based on
information from the textbook and the lab classroom teacher.
Choose 4 different topics from the following lesson choices: creative learning games and play,
art, music, movement, dance, drama, culturally responsive creative activities, reading literature,
connecting literature with art, or drama, or one of the other creative arts.
Each one of these topics may also have in class instruction, lessons, PowerPoint presentations,
active participation and a homework activity or event separate from the Lab Experience Project.
The foundational information on the following topics are taken from the textbook and Module 2
on CANVAS:
o Promoting Children’s Art: Chapter 3 pages 84-126
o Engaging Children in Music, Movement or Dance: Chapter 4 pages 129-168
o Exploring Drama: Chapter 5 pages 171-213
o Fostering Creative-Thinking and Arts-Based Learning: Chapter 6: pages 234-250 only
Lesson Plan Goal: Teacher-Candidates are to design a children’s lesson plan based on the
aforementioned topics, that is a connected to a core subject and promotes creativity.
The lesson should delineate the teacher-candidate’s role from a philosophical, pedagogical and
curricular stance by addressing key components, including classroom environment, materials,
and resources, behavior management, assessment, and culturally responsive teaching.
Instructions
o Give a hard copy of the lesson plan to lab school teacher for (a) her approval, (b) to make
comments before and after teaching and (c) to sign off that you taught the lesson.
o The classroom teacher will return this copy to you to be placed in your portfolio under
Lab Experience Observation Project.
o All four of these lesson plans will be turned in later with your other Lab Experience
paperwork due on December 5. Give a hard copy to lab school teacher class for her to
make comments and to sign. Place signed lesson plan in portfolio in the lab experience
section. On December 5 you will turn in all signed paperwork and lesson plans in a lab
experience project for a lab experience grade.
Lesson Plan Format
Name and APA Heading on Paper
Age of the Children: Give students age range for this lesson or activity. See textbook and lab
school teacher’s for assistance.
Classroom Environment: Give the design of the classroom. You can use a picture of the
classroom ONLY if the teacher gives her approval.
Classroom Materials and Resources: If the subject is a book, give the title and author of the book
in APA format. For websites that are directly involved in the lesson, list them using APA
formatting for the citation.
Time Frame: List the amount of time needed to the teach the lesson. (In your reflection, note
how the time worked out – was the allotted time too little? too much? Explain your answer.)
Objective: Give the objective for the lesson and identify any core objectives. Your lab teacher
may help you with core objectives.
Core Subject Connection: Identify the subject and explain briefly how the creative activity is
connected to this subject. This information will be listed within the chapter of the topic activity
you have chosen to teach and the teacher may assist you with this from her curriculum.
Procedures: List the procedure of the lesson and activity, step-by-step.
o Be sure to explain: (a) how the activity will begin and (b) how it will end; (c) getting out
materials and (d) distributing materials.
o If the activity is displayed, explain how the activity will be displayed.
o See pages 112-113 for some ideas. See page 106 Figure 3.9 and page 109 Figure 3.10 for
some ideas. Be specific in details.
Discussion and Questions: As a teacher, one of your essential roles will be to support children’s
creative connection through discussion. Identify three good questions for discussion that the
teacher should have with the children to enhance learning. See pages 113-114 for some ideas.
For further assistance in the teacher’s role in the process see pages 104-106.
Reference Page:
o For Reading Literature or Book used give the title and author of the book in APA format.
o For websites that have contributed to the lesson use APA formatting for citation and do a
reference page.
o For assistance in APA formatting see https://www.apastyle.org
Reflection: Identify how you thought the lesson worked in the classroom. Discuss this with your
lab teacher and review her notes.
o Discuss any behavior management issues and how they were handled.
o Identify how the lesson was culturally responsive to the population. For further assistance
with this answer, see chapter 8 pages 292-293; 295; 304-305; 311.
o Reflect on anything you may do differently or would keep the same. This reflection
should be a minimum of 5 sentences.
Formatting Instruction
o Single space within the section, double space between each section.
o The lab experience lesson plans project is to be typed, 12-point font, New Times Roman,
be free of misspelled words and grammatical errors.
o APA format is to be used. Place heading on all papers.
o Title Page: The title is Lab Experience Observation Project. A title page with your
heading and the title is required. Make the title page attractive.
o Staple or affix all pages together in order of the dates that you taught the lesson.