Power Planning: Developing Effective Lessons for ALL Learners

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Power PlanningDeveloping Effective Lessonsfor
ALL Learners

• Presented by Heather Sparks, NBCT2009 Oklahoma
  Teacher of the Year
• Taft Middle School

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Lets Describe a

• Student

• Learner

• Active
• Engaged
• An independent thinker
• Internally motivated
• Focused on the learning

• Passive
• Bored
• Told what to think
• Typically unmotivated
• Focused on the grade

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Get Ready

• Focus on the objective.
• Begin with the end in mind.
• Consider your learners.
• Consult additional resources
• Colleagues
• Professional organizations
• Internet

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Get Set

• Prepare all lesson materials in advance.
• Minimize opportunities for pitfalls.
• Incorporate former routines if possible.

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Go!

1. Anticipatory set
2. Objective or purpose
3. Instructional input
4. Modeling
5. Check for understanding
6. Guided practice
7. Closure

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Check for Understanding

• Signaled responses
• Thumbs up/thumbs down
• Scale of five
• White board responses
• Quick notes
• Ticket out the door

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Now What?

• A lesson ends earlier than you expected, so you
• A. Give the class free time
• B. Assign additional work
• C. Tell the students to put their heads down
• D. Use a sponge to soak up the time

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Sponges

• Effective sponges have five characteristics.
  They are
• 1. Fun,
• 2. Based on prior learner knowledge,
• 3. Used by the whole class or individuals,
• 4. Easily implemented,
• 5. Capable of being implemented for
• varying lengths of time.

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Math

• Mental math
• gtAdd the number of months in a year plus the
  number of wheels on a tricycle.
• Play Target
• gtThe target is 24. Write an expression
• e.g., 30 6 or 3 x 8 or 36/3 x 2

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Science

• Play Classify
• Give the students a group of objects. Challenge
  them to find as many subgroups as possible.

Flashlight, a penny, and a stapler
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Language Arts

• The List Game
• Things that fly

• Who can find something in the room that
• has a long a or short a sound?

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Social Studies

• Guess the country or state
• gtIm thinking of a state that borders Canada and
  Lake Superior, and is known for its
• 10,000 lakes.

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Other Sponge Ideas

• I Spy
• Riddles
• Mind benders
• Word games
• Oral alphabetizing
• Synonyms, homonyms, vocabulary words
• Skip-counting
• Flash cards

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Take a Deep Breath Enjoy!
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Contact Heather at Taft MS

• hesparks_at_okcps.org
• hisparks_at_aol.com
• www.hisparks.com