1.4 – A Lesson Planning Guide

The TELL criteria chosen for this CLASSRoad program calls upon a researched process known as “Backward Design.” This process is a research-based design for lesson planning that will help us to stay focused on the important learning targets and objectives established for a particular lesson or activity.  We’ll devote special attention to learning targets in the next section, but for now, let’s read the STARTALK publication, From Paper to Practice (Links to an external site.), which will guide our thinking as we gradually assemble the “puzzle pieces” of the final synchronous lesson you’ll teach.  Specifically, this guide:

provides a framework for thinking about the elements essential to foreign language lesson plans and guidelines for developing plans that reflect theory and practice in language education today. 

Before You Read

Before you read this guide, review the following guided reading questions and download the STARTALK 2015 Student Program Lesson Template that you will use to plan the lesson you’ll teach during the final week of this CLASSRoad program.

• Click the following link to download the lesson plan template (Word file): STARTALK 2015 Student Program Lesson Template
• Review this template and keep it open as you read.
• This guide speaks of planning for traditional, face-to-face lessons.  How do the techniques mentioned translate to the online environment?
• Page 4 lists generally accepted lesson features and instructional strategies considered to be essential in the design process.  Take a moment to review them and note how many of these are familiar to you.  

After You Read

Now that you’ve read From Paper to Practice and reviewed the STARTALK 2015 Student Program Lesson Template that you’ll use later in this course, let’s take a moment to share some insights into our own practice in light of our work with the TELL Project. We learned about the core beliefs of the TELL Project in Module 1.1. These beliefs will guide us in this activity as well as in the work we do in this course. These beliefs are based on a growth mindset. If we can identify the characteristics and behaviors of model world language teachers we can work to become that model world language teacher. 

Using a free, virtual poster board called Padlet (Links to an external site.), you’ll share anonymously one area of strength in your teaching, specifically, one way you have made strategic use of an online tool or an online learning environment to maximize your students’ learning. You will also share anonymously one area for growth in your teaching, specifically, one way you of how you would like to learn more about or improve your use of an online tool or an online learning environment to maximize your students’ learning. The purpose of this activity is to help us develop a comprehensive snapshot of the strengths of this cohort while also learning about areas of need or focus. This is one way we can use technology to provide us information on student learning.

Click on the following link to share your ideas in this activity:  My Practices (Links to an external site.)  Please follow the instructions carefully.  Later in the week, we’ll share a follow up summary of your ” Areas of Strength” and “Areas for Growth”. 

For more information on Padlet, check out the Padlet Resources post in our Tools, Tips, and Resources support forum!