What goes into lesson planning and lesson plans

6. Assessment

Did the lesson meet its objectives? Teachers can find out by including some form of assessment – or a check for student understanding – into each lesson. If the objective was about understanding a concept, the teacher might ask students to complete an activity around explaining or using that concept. If the objective was to learn a new skill (or even strengthen an existing one), the assessment might require students to perform that skill to demonstrate their proficiency. This step is made easier if the objective itself is a measurable one.
Examples:

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  Quizzes
  
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  In-class assignments
  
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  Group presentations
  

7. Evaluation and reflection

Once the lesson is over, teachers can step back and take a few notes about both their observations during class and their own thoughts about the lesson. This component is all about continuous improvement, identifying gaps in learning and building stronger lessons in the future.
Examples:

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  What worked well, what didn’t and why?
  
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  What did students need the most help with?
  
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  Were the objectives met by the students?
  

Planning with a sequence in mind

When planning, teachers need to consider the sequence of the lesson (and ideally, this sequence is repeatable across the many lessons they teach). For that, learning activities can be split into phases:
An introduction that explains the lesson’s purpose, objectives and the core concepts students will learn. To make this engaging and exciting, teachers can try an ice-breaker activity, share an anecdote, tell a story, play a video or present a quick survey to kick things off.
A foundational review of what students have previously learned, reinforcing details that will be needed for the current lesson. This will help frame new concepts and content in something already familiar to the class.