Understanding what is “Acceptable” and what is “Target”
Presented by Dr. L. J. Clark




Plans should be submitted at least 2 days before the
observation.
Lesson plans should be for lessons where you will
teach new content for your supervisor to observe; it
should not be a review or test day (Skowron, 2006).
Plans should include all that you are planning for the
lesson and include the use of technology for the
presentation of the lesson (rating of 2) and student
use of technology (a rating of 3 possible) (Hopson,
Simms, & Knezek, 2001).
Lesson plans should include more than 1 activity and
more than 1 group size. There should be enough
detail in procedures to explain the activities and
some detail of what you will say and do, and what the
students will be doing and learning (lesson content).



Every lesson should include HOTS questions and not just
knowledge and comprehension questions. Every topic of
any lesson presents opportunities for high order thinking
(Pogrow, 1996).
Every lesson should include review of previous learning to
connect to new learning.
Every lesson should have a purpose and importance and
must be stated orally to the students. They want to know
“why we got to learn this”.


The objectives of the lesson must match with your GLEs or
standards and benchmarks and include where the
objective falls on Bloom’s Taxonomy (Forehand, 2005).
Every lesson must have accommodations for diverse
learners in the strategies chosen, group size, materials
used, and assessment (Tomlinson, 2005).




All lessons should include a plan for remediation,
early finishers, and enrichment (see ideas).
Students needing remediation should not be given
just some extra work to do and left alone. They need
to work with someone until they grasp the concept.
Break it down into smaller pieces. Give me depth of
understanding here.
There is a difference between early finisher activities
and enrichment activities (see ideas).
Early finishers are sometimes students who rush
through their work, but often are students who learn
fast. Don’t assume that you will not have early
finishers. Early finishers can finish an activity early in
the middle of a lesson or near the end. Plan for it.





Every lesson should include either informal or formal
assessment. The informal assessment should be MORE
than just asking questions. Use some sort of check list.
Not every lesson needs to include homework, but the
lesson your supervisor observes should (see your rubric).
Not every activity, but every lesson must end with closure.
Closure is the teacher asking students about their
learning. Closure is NOT the teacher telling students what
they did today or what they learned today or “Here’s your
homework” (see closure ideas) Peter & Ryan, 2007).
Every lesson should include a reflection of the lesson.
Here’s an opportunity to be honest and realistic about
your growth as a professional. There are strengths and
weaknesses in every lesson.
Remember: When you fail to plan well, …you plan to fail
miserably.






There should be a daily routine for students when
entering the class. It helps to have an agenda on the
board so students know what will occur that day, and
it keeps you focused.
Have something for students to be doing as soon as
they enter so that you may silently take roll.
Now that you have their attention, state and/or point
to the objective for the day’s lesson.
Once you get them on the bus, they will need to know
where they’re going, wouldn’t you?
Have a physical signal that you use to get students’
attention. Mine is a raised open palm.
When you implement activities, tell students what
your expectations are for the activity, e.g. cooperative
learning groups, games.





It is easy to allow a student who is passive or not engaged to
disappear in the classroom. Call on that student to do or speak
in class in a manner that he or she will not be embarrassed. As a
teacher it is your responsibility to bring the student out of the
shadows into the marvelous light of learning.
Learn students’ names as soon as possible so that you can call
their names to answer questions and be engaged.
Help less-engaged, shy, passive students, and slow learners to
find success in your class by baiting them with easy questions or
tasks until you can eventually give them more challenging
questions and tasks.
Plan for and ask open ended, thought provoking, critical thinking
or high order thinking questions in every lesson. Do a search on
critical thinking and cultivate this strategy for yourself.
Use wait time (Wong, 1998).

Motivation Discussed:
◦ The motivation of a lesson is the appetizer for the meal.
◦ It is the salsa and chips while you wait for the meal to begin.
◦ When we think of motivation we think of the “hook” that baits
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
students to want to know what the lesson or current learning will
involve.
Motivation should not be a topic to test students nor should it be
an opportunity for students to complete a work sheet.
The ideas must in some way relate directly to the lesson so there’s
no doubt in the students mind how the motivation relates to the
lesson focus.
The motivation is a separate activity that should take no longer
than a few minutes prior to introducing your objective.
In your lesson plan, you should indicate enough explanation to
communicate “how” the motivation will be used.
Merely listing a motivation in the lesson plan is really not enough
(Hunter, 2004).







Streaming videos pertaining to the lesson
focus
Video clips related to the current lesson or
topic (Cowan, 2008).
Objects procured from rummage sales, yard
sales or your home
Items from vacation trips, gardens
Relics of any sort
Items pertaining to various cultures
Children’s literature or excerpts from other
literature that pertain to the lesson

Remediation Discussed: Students needing
remediation should not be given just some
extra work to do and left alone, but should be
given tasks that are significant, meaningful
and relevant. They need to work with
someone until they grasp the concept. Break
it down into smaller pieces.









Allow students to work in groups where he is assigned a partner
to work with him.
Design alternate forms of an assignment that breaks tasks into
smaller pieces.
Ask another student in the class to explain a concept to the
student.
Create a graphic organizer that shows the concept in another
way.
Use tables, charts, or other graphic organization.
Reteach the concept or content using another teaching strategy
by breaking it into small bites.
Use individualized teaching.
Rather than giving a worksheet, tailor the work to fit the needs of
the student who needs help.
Remediation activities must match the objectives and the lesson
(MacIver, 1991).

Early Finishers Discussed:
◦ Early finishers are sometimes students who rush
through their work, but often are students who
learn fast.
◦ They need other tasks that are significant,
meaningful and relevant.
◦ Don’t assume that you will not have early finishers.
◦ Early finishers can finish an activity early in the
middle of a lesson or near the end. Plan for it.




Allow students to create a graphic organizer
of the concepts or content.
Give students a crossword puzzle or
magazine featuring the content of your
lesson to explore.
Have them to draft 5 questions that might be
used on the test and present them to you.
Early finisher activities must match the
objectives and the lesson (Cicciarelli,
Klawitter, Lewis, Schwartz, &Shiotsu, 2009).





When thinking of enrichment activities, think
high on Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Think “analysis, “synthesis”, and “evaluation.”
These students are your advanced students
who are ready to be challenged on another
level.
They need other tasks that are significant,
meaningful and relevant.
You may also bring in materials that might be
used on a grade level higher than their
current grade level.




Give students an open ended or controversial,
debatable question to discuss in their groups.
Have them to present the opposite view from
their own.
Allow these students to draft essay questions to
propose for use on the test.
Always have some issue in mind that pertains to
the content to give to the students to research on
the computer or research in the school library.
Then have them to report back to the class what
they found.
When the students express strong interest in an
issue, be ready to allow them to explore a
concept or idea that pertains to the lesson.



Allow them to change the ending to a story,
change an event in history, create, debate,
challenge an idea, contrast an event history with
today, test a theory, create a dance step, and
compose a song. The ideas are limitless.
Have students craft a questionnaire to investigate
an idea or concept from your content.
Enrichment activities must match the objectives
and the lesson. These activities must be
significant, meaningful, and relevant.
(Croome & Saunders, 1985).




Closure is the teacher asking students about
their learning.
Closure is NOT the teacher telling students
what they did today or what they learned
today.
Closure informs you of what you may need to
reteach or which direction you need to
proceed in the next lesson.
Closure references the objectives.



With your objective(s) in mind, compose
questions that aligned with your objective and
lesson. Within the final five minutes of class, ask
these questions of students to determine
whether they learned what you taught.
Ask them about the activities and how those
activities helped them to learn.
Use exit tickets: Purchase 5x7 cards and have
students to write down what they’ve learned and
give it to you before they leave class. Help them
understand that they can’t leave until they write
something.


Exit tickets can also be used to request
students to write a question that they would
like to be answered next class meeting.
Require students to turn to each other to discuss
points of the lesson that are important as teacher
monitors (contributed by MAT candidate).
Discourage asking questions to the whole group
for group answers because the passive learners will
simply wait for others to answer. You want to know
which of your students reached the objective(s) for
the lesson (Wolf & Supon, 1994).





Cicciarelli, Klawitter, Lewis, Schwartz, Shiotsu, (2009). Early
Finishers-Book G. R.I.C. Publications.
Cowan, J.E. (2008). Strategies for Planning Technology-Enhanced
Learning Experiences. Clearing House, 82(2).
Croome, Saunders, (1985). Curriculum Enrichment Handbook.
Prince George.
Forehand, M. (2005). Bloom's Taxonomy. Retrieved from
http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Bloom's_Taxonomy.
Hopson, M., Simms, R., & Knezek, G. (2001). Using a Technology
-Enhanced Environment to Improve Higher-Order Thinking
Skills. Journal of Research and Technology.

Hunter, R. (2004). Madeline Hunter's Mastery
Teaching: Increasing Instructional Effectiveness in
Elementary and Secondary Schools. Thousand Oaks,
CA.: Corwin Press.

MacIver, D.J. (1991). Helping Students Who Fall
Behind: Rededial Activities in the Middle Grades. Center for
Research on Effective Schooling for Disadvantaged Students.


Peter, S., & Ryan, M. (2007). Writing Effective Lesson
Plans: The 5 Star Approach. Allyn & Bacon.
Pogrow, S. (1996, November). HOTS: Helping Low
Achievers in Grades 4-8. Retrieved from
http://www.hots.org/article_helping.html.