Developing a Lesson Planning and Implementation

When planning and developing a lesson, I first start with the end result in mind and begin by
analyzing the major components. The majority of lessons taught in the classroom are to address
the objectives detailed in the TEKS for that grade level, so I will first identify the measureable
objectives of that lesson. Using the objectives as starting point I create statements known as
SWBAT statements. SWBAT is an acronym for students will be able to.. and help to focus the
lesson on the important goals.
With the end goal in mind, I can then focus on an activity that both engages the students interest
and helps to promote curiosity as to why things happen, how they work and how that might
apply to real life. Recently I taught a lesson on weather and climate. I created a water bottle
observation, which was a variation on the cloud-in-a-bottle. Students were first given a bottle
with water, a set of directions and asked to observe what occurred when they compressed the
water bottle, creating high pressure. This was partly to emphasize that science is about
observation. I then had them add match smoke to the water bottle and this time a cloud formed
at the top of the bottle when the bottle was compressed.
Lesson plans are rarely static but are more like works-in-progress. After the water bottle
observation I realized I need an area on the lab sheet for student hypothesis and more time for
inquiry based discussion. My allowing time to discover the students misconceptions and
redirect the questions to help them discover the answers, they truly own the lesson.
The source for lesson was from an internet site that was designed for middle school students. By
rewriting the lesson using the TEKS, I knew what concepts needed to be covered as well as what
concepts the student should already have mastered. I discussed the lesson with my mentor
teacher to verify the that her students were familiar with the basic concepts and proceeded to
design the lesson with her feedback, to make sure the lesson was appropriate to the grade level.
As part of my research for this lesson, I also consulted with other teachers as to students most
common misconceptions and incorporated their suggestions for modifications within my lesson
plan.
The assessment started with initial verbal responses. As I walked around the room I could hear
some speculation was to why nothing was happening. The students also recorded their
observations on the lab sheet, providing further demonstration that they were developing the
correct line of reasoning. This was followed by a discussion of how clouds are formed.
Assessments are an ongoing part of each lesson. One lesson leads in to the next, so subsequent
assessments may point out a need for clarification or a student misconception, allowing the
opportunity for that misconception to be address to the class as a whole. Besides allowing for a
snapshot of the students progress, assessments are an opportunity to modify the lesson(s) to
better communicate the concepts.