9 out of 10 open teaching positions are created due to teachers who leave the profession.
More than half of them leave because of dissatisfaction with teaching. To retain passionate educators, we must create an environment where they can thrive by providing them with the resources and support they need to create meaningful learning experiences for their students. The overall process of preparing the teaching materials and the actual teaching should also be rewarding for the teachers.
This is where our board template comes in.
This board breaks down lesson plan development into a scaffolded process, which allows for brainstorming, refinement, and identification of unit goals to be assessed (celebrated). Cards should be moved from left to right to show the progression of lesson plan development through each part of the process. Once you reach the final column (container) on the board, you will have a complete lesson plan for your unit.
How to Use The Template
Step 1: Brainstorming
- Look at your standards. Use these as the basis for your plans, as required by your school and/or District.
- Develop an open-ended essential question. The essential question will cover the content of the unit.
- Refine the essential question to ensure that mastery of knowledge can be sufficiently assessed with a celebration of work when it is done.
Step 2: Learn & Practice
Learn
- Curate resources that you provide as the foundation or “starting point” for students to use in the unit.
- Resources from all types of media and/or platforms can be included to provide a variety of options to differentiate instruction for your students.
- Refine resources, ensuring sites are reputable, age-appropriate, etc.
- Celebrate the final resources list and prepare to define how they will be used by the students.
Practice
- Design how your students will “grapple” with the resources to show understanding and synthesis of knowledge.
- A variety of activities can be provided to allow students choice and voice in how they exhibit their understanding of the unit content.
Step 3: Rubrics
- Design content and/or skills-based rubrics for your unit.
- The rubrics will provide a streamlined process for you to assess learning as they progress through the unit.
- Making the rubrics visible to the students can provide the opportunity for self-assessment as well.
- The rubric containers allow for more than one rubric to be built. They also include ideas for how to write simplified rubrics that prompt student reflection before and after work is submitted.
What’s included in the Lesson Plan template?
This board template includes:
- Four main columns: Essential Question, Learn, Practice, and Rubrics.
- Explicit agreements in each column, explaining what you should do on each step.
- Four labels to help you categorize the level of the students: Elementary, Middle Grade, High School, and Feature.
- Collaborating with your team or students in real-time by sharing this board with them.
All of the above can be customized to your needs, using our Board Designer. To learn more about the inspiration behind the board, read this page or reach out to our partner, The Agile Mind.
We hope that this lesson plan template can help you prepare an inspiring lesson for your class!
