Chapter 7 lesson plan

Objective(s):Studentswillbeabletoidentifywaystogivefreedom/optionstotheirstudentswhile
teachinglessons.
StudentFriendlyObjective(s):Icandesignlessonsthatgivestudentsfreedomandchoicesintheir
learning.
Assessment:Studentswillcreateacenter,project,oropenendedquestionforonecommonobjectivethat
canbedifferentiatedforhigh,middle,andlowlearnersandgivesstudentschoicesinwhattheyare
learning.
KeyVocabulary:center
AnticipatorySet:Hasanyoneeverhadaprojectwhileinschoolthattheyreallylovedworkingon?
RecallPriorKnowledge:Whatisacenter?
Input/Modeling:Studentsareresponsiblefortheirlearningduringcentertime.Eachcenterhasan
establishedpurpose.Centersshouldbeahandsonexperience.Centersallowstudentstolearnattheirown
pacewhileworkingwithdifferentmaterials.Youcanhavechoicecenterswherestudentschoosewhatthey
wanttolearnabout.Anothertypeofcenterisarotationcenter.Youhavetohavedifferentiationwithin
eachcenter.Youmusthavemanagementwithincenters.Studentsneedtohaveadefinedworkplace,
directions,labeledmaterials,andtheremustbecenterrules.Youshouldalsohaveasignaltoget
everyonesattention,andyouhavetohaveanactivitytodoforstudentswhofinishcentersfast.Assessing
duringcenterscanbemorechallenging,butithastobedone.Youcanaskquestions,monitorstudents,
havechecklists,keepanecdotalfindings,havethestudentsdoaselfassessment,orhavestudentskeepa
journal.
Projectsareanotherthingthatcanbeusedintheclassroomtoincreasestudentlearning.Aprojectisanin
depthstudyofatopic.Youcanassignprojectstoyourstudentsorhavethemchoosefromalist.Projects
canbestructured,topicrelated,oropenended.Weuseprojectstobuildonstudentsinterestsandtosatisfy
thecuriositythatstudentsmighthaveaboutatopic.Projectshelpstudentstodevelopresearchskillsand
learntomanagetheirtime.Studentsgainindependenceandselfdirectedlearningskillswhileworkingon
projects.Projectsallowstudentstoworkatmorecomplexandabstractlevelsthatmatchwheretheir
abilitiesareat.Projectshavetobedesignedwiththeendinmind.Youhavetohaveclearobjectives,but
youmustallowstudentstoreachtheseobjectivesintheirownways.Justlikeeveryotherthingthatyoudo
intheclassroom,projectsmusthaveprocedures(p.147)Rubricsareanideawaytogradeprojectsbecause
theyareflexibleandcanbeadjustedtotheprojects.
Anothertoolintheclassroomisproblembasedlearning.Thistechniqueincludesprovidingstudentswith
challengingopenendedproblemsthatstudentsmustfigureout.Theseproblemsshouldhavenooneright
answerandtheyshouldbelooselystructured.Studentsshouldhavetoapplythecontenttofigureoutthe
answer,andtheyshouldhavetodosomeinvestigating.Sharethestepsinproblemsolving(p.159)
Studentsmustknowwhattheproblemisbeforetheysolveit.Theyhavetofindtheinformation,generatea
hypothesis,andrationalizesolutions.
Academiccontractsallowstudentstotakeresponsibilityoftheirlearning.Teacherssetupacontractthat
studentsmustsignandabideto.Examplecontractsareonpages164165.

CheckforUnderstanding/GuidedPractice:Whatarecentersfor?Howdotheyallowdifferentiation?
Whatcanyouuseprojectsfor?Howmuchguidanceshouldbegivenduringprojects?Shouldopenended
questionshaveonerightanswer?
Closure:Havingdifferentlearningallowsyoutobeabletomeettheneedsandlevelsofyourstudents.
IndependentPractice:Studentswilldesignacenter,aproject,oranopenendedquestionthathas
differentiationideasandoportunitieswithinit.