The Lesson Plan:

1. Beginning Information
   The development of a lesson plan starts with some basic information about the plan that sets the boundaries or limits of the plan. Here is a list of some information items:
   -the grade level of the students for whom the plan is intended
   -the specific subject matter (mathematics, reading, language arts, science, social studies, etc.
   -the name of the teacher
2. The Focus of Your Lesson:
   What are you going to teach? What is your purpose?
   The focus of your lesson may vary depending on the subject matter being taught. The focus may be the solution to a problem, a skill you are teaching or whatever topic you are dealing with that day. You must have the focus of your lesson planned out and written down before you begin. Once you have the focus, you can write your objectives
   
   The instructional objective(s) is the most important part of your plan because this is what you intend to teach to your students, so, by the end of your lesson, your students will be able to perform your objective. For example, if you are teaching the 3's times tables, your objectives might be the following:
   

• The students will be able to:
  a. Say and write the 3's times table quickly and correctly.
  b. Count accurately by 3's to 18.

To check that you are writing your objectives correctly, remember that you intend for your students to be able to perform or to be able to demonstrate that they have learned. Make sure that you have an action verb in each objective.

3. Materials:
The materials are what you will need to teach the lesson. They can be simple or elaborate. You may just need the text with the page numbers written down or you may need a TV and VCR etc.
If you are going to have a fancy lesson or do an experiment, it is a good idea to make a list of what you will use.
Always note page numbers.
4. Opening Exercise:
This should be a 5-10 minute lesson that relates to what you are about to teach. It should be presented at the very beginning of the class either orally or on the board or overhead. You can use it to settle the class and to give you some time to take attendance and gather your materials. You must go over it and it must be something of importance. It can be:
-a review of something that has been covered before
-a reminder of a skill that you will be using in today's presentation
-a motivator to get the students ready to think about today's topic.
Whatever you choose, remember that your students will reach your objective more easily if they have their minds set in the correct direction before you begin.
5. Motivator
The motivator is used to get your students interested in the topic. It is a way of getting everyone into the lesson. You can begin it in your opening exercise and develop it at this point in the lesson. A good motivator can be short and, if possible, personalized. Involve each student in what you are about to present.
Examples:
1. Ask about broad concepts like fate or destiny.
2. Ask students to apply the idea to their own experiences. Has anyone had good/bad luck?
3. Bring in props like newspapers, posters, games, puzzles, photos, whatever might apply to the lesson.
4. Play music, show a tape, read a story, look at a cartoon
5. Write a quote on the board
6. Have students role play or read a dialogue

6. Teaching and Questioning:Now is the time when you will present the material for the day. The most important things to focus on are the questions you will pose to your students. They should be of different ability levels and follow the levels set forth in Bloom's Taxonomy. Most teachers' manuals give questions like these in the margins of the pages. During this part of your lesson you will want to model (to show in graphic form or to demonstrate) the result that you want and to guide the students through the steps necessary to perform the skill.

7. Checking for Understanding:
About halfway through the lesson you need to check to see that your students are following what you have been doing. You can usually do this by asking an easy question or by walking around and looking over shoulders to see how they are doing.

8. Summary:
This should tie up what you have done during your lesson. If you have written your objective on the board in the form of a question, your students should be able to answer it or they should be able to summarize the main points of the topic. You could also review what was covered.

9. Assessment:
The summary can serve as your assessment or you may want each student/group to write or verbalize something of importance that you covered in your lesson. You may also use a quiz/test to assess your work.

Major Categories in the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
(Bloom 1956)

Categories in the Cognitive Domain: (with Outcome-Illustrating Verbs)

Knowledge of terminology; specific facts; ways and means of dealing with specifics (conventions, trends and sequences, classifications and categories, criteria, methodology); universals and abstractions in a field (principles and generalizations, theories and structures):
Knowledge is (here) defined as the remembering (recalling) of appropriate, previously learned information.
defines; describes; enumerates; identifies; labels; lists; matches; names; reads; records; reproduces; selects; states; views.

Comprehension: Grasping (understanding) the meaning of informational materials.
classifies; cites; converts; describes; discusses; estimates; explains; generalizes; gives examples; makes sense out of; paraphrases; restates (in own words); summarizes; traces; understands.

Application: The use of previously learned information in new and concrete situations to solve problems that have single or best answers.
acts; administers; articulates; assesses; charts; collects; computes; constructs; contributes; controls; determines; develops; discovers; establishes; extends; implements; includes; informs; instructs; operationalizes; participates; predicts; prepares; preserves; produces; projects; provides; relates; reports; shows; solves; teaches; transfers; uses; utilizes.

Analysis: The breaking down of informational materials into their component parts, examining (and trying to understand the organizational structure of) such information to develop divergent conclusions by identifying motives or causes, making inferences, and/or finding evidence to support generalizations.
breaks down; correlates; diagrams; differentiates; discriminates; distinguishes; focuses; illustrates; infers; limits; outlines; points out; prioritizes; recognizes; separates; subdivides.

Synthesis: Creatively or divergently applying prior knowledge and skills to produce a new or original whole.
adapts; anticipates; categorizes; collaborates; combines; communicates; compares; compiles; composes; contrasts; creates; designs; devises; expresses; facilitates; formulates; generates; incorporates; individualizes; initiates; integrates; intervenes; models; modifies; negotiates; plans; progresses; rearranges; reconstructs; reinforces; reorganizes; revises; structures; substitutes; validates.

Evaluation: Judging the value of material based on personal values/opinions, resulting in an end product, with a given purpose, without real right or wrong answers.
appraises; compares & contrasts; concludes; criticizes; critiques; decides; defends; interprets; judges; justifies; reframes; supports.