Second Time Around *

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Two down... The second lesson went well! For our second lesson, the framework we used was "Plants and animals have life cycles that vary." During our lesson we mainly discussed life cycles and how they are different from one another; we compared and contrasted the frog life cylce to the human life cycle. This really got the point across that not all life cycles are the same. Having a framework to follow during your lesson plan ensures that your students are learning material that is relevent for the Massachusett's MCAS testing. Frameworks are a great feature, as it keeps all teachers on track and teaching the same information to the students. This means that all students will recieve equal and adequate information.

A key feature in lesson plans starts with the introduction. Introductions are extremely important, as it is the time to introduce the lesson and review past lessons. Introductions should grap the students attention and get them wanting to learn. With our lesson plan we put the introduction into a story and tried to relate to the students. We mentioned how Katelyn and I were walking around Freeman Lake, which is a lake right in Chelmsford, that many of the students have heard of. Talking in a story form, engages the children and gets them to listen closely. During the introduction there should also be a time where the students talk or share their opinions on a topic, so when we were talking about frogs and how one of us thought baby frogs looked like fish, we asked them, "so what do you think?" Introductions should be really thought out carefully; you want to engage your students right from the beginning and to do that you must connect it to their own lives, that is why introductions are so important in starting a successful lesson.


The third aspect of lesson planning and teaching is materials managements, which is also very important when trying to conduct an efficient lesson. Materials should always be prepared ahead of time, before the lesson even begins, so that the lesson will run smoothly. Knowing where your materials are and how your going to give them out to your students is something to think about before hand. For our lesson plan, we have "Science Activity Folders," which we handed out before our lesson even began, so there was no wasted time. Inside of the folders we put in all the materials the students will needs, whether its a worksheet, pictures, graphic organizers or activities to do if the students have spare time. The folders are great, as they have journal paper inside already and it keeps everything orangized and together. After every class we take back the folders so that we can put future worksheets and activities inside each one. The folders are color coordinated by groups of desks in the classroom, so when it comes time to passing them out, we know which group is what color.


These three aspects of lesson planning are crucial for conducting a successful and efficient lesson. =)