Describe the steps you use to plan a lesson.

     Q:  Please describe the steps you use to plan a lesson.

     A:   A good lesson plan provides an outline for the accomplishment of specific tasks, while at the same time allowing for a measure of flexibility in terms of student interests and needs.  My lesson plans consist of several critical elements.  First, there must be a set of specific objectives.  I know that a well-crafted objective has two components: The students for whom the objective is intended and the anticipated performance.  Next, there must be an anticipatory set or motivational opening – that is, how will I stimulate student interest in a topic or subject.  Next, I must provide a series of guided practice activities.  These should incorporate several elements including specific instructional methodologies, creative thinking opportunities, “hands-on, minds-on” activities, and various ways in which students can practice the desired behavior(s).  There must be some form of closure to the lesson.  This can take the form of a teacher summary, a student summary, or some type of lesson product – a poster, brochure, mobile, or portfolio, for example.  Finally, I need to address evaluation and assessment – not as something done solely at the end of a lesson, but rather as a concept woven throughout the entire lesson.  Above all, I have to make sure that everything in a lesson is geared towards the identified objectives or a set of specific standards.

            If you don’t know how to write a lesson plan you’re going to have a very difficult time convincing any interviewer you are a competent teacher.  Make sure you know all the elements of a good lesson plan…cold!