In a perfect world, a lesson would include seven different aspects all integrated to create an ideal learning environment for students. These include the anticipatory set, objective, teacher input, checking for understanding, guided practice, independent practice, and closure. Each of these lesson parts work together to teach students in the most effective way.
Anticipatory Set and Objective
There are many ways to grab your students' attention and tell them the objective of the lesson. If you are doing a science lesson, beginning by demonstrating a science experiment would grab the students’ attention. You can also use a story from your life, either true or made up. Basically you need to get the students' attention before you tell them the objective. To share the objective, you can either simply tell the students what the objective is or write your objective on the board.
Teacher Input and Checking for Understanding
This is the time for direct instruction. Continue to add aspects of interest to keep the students focused on the lesson. Check to see that your students understand what they are learning by asking questions throughout your teaching. If you are teaching a reading lesson, for example, ask the students what they would do in the same situation as the character in the story. You can also observe students during guided practice to check for understanding.
Guided Practice
Having students complete a hands-on project after learning something is a great way to reinforce what they have learned. For example, after teaching a lesson in physics, you can have your students build a bridge. Think about how you can group students together to participate in various activities that will allow you to clear up any misunderstandings and continue teaching.
Independent Practice
Independent practice is the opportunity for students to practice what they have learned without direct input from the teacher. This can include handouts, homework, and projects. Be clear with your expectations for these independent practices, so that students know what they need to accomplish in order to succeed in your classroom.
Closing a Lesson
Providing a summary of what the students have learned, or having the students tell you one thing they learned is a great way to close a lesson. This is a method of evaluating the learning process and repeating important material that enhances the students’ memory. Other ideas include using review questions to line the students up, or playing around the world with facts learned during the lesson.
While many lessons do not always include all seven aspects, a good lesson plan will have the same general flow that these lesson parts include. Following this pattern will enable a teacher to make sure that the student is learning and is keeping up with the rest of the class.
You may be interested in more lesson plan tips.
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