Sydney Henderson

Professor Boyd
Early Childhood Education 3304
10 October 2016
Journal 2: Backwards Design
Backwards Design is the concept of creating a lesson with then end in mind. This
means already knowing the outcomes you would like to achieve with the students as
well as already knowing what assessments you will use prior to planning out the lesson.
Backwards Design allows teachers to deliver a lesson that is deliberate and focused.
Backwards Design is beneficial for both students and teachers. This design allows
teachers to more closely focus what their lesson will incorporate and how the students
will receive the information the need to know.
Students benefit from backwards design because it allows teachers to make sure
their students are receiving the most important information that the state is requiring
them to learn throughout the school year. Howard Gardners theory of Multiple
Intelligences asserts that different people/students learn best in different ways. There
are nine different intelligences that we may use. Generally in the school setting
students are given thing in the verbal/linguistic intelligence as well as the
logical/mathematical intelligence. But, what about those students who learn by doing
(bodily/kinesthetic), or those who work better alone (intrapersonal) or with a group
(interpersonal).
The more intelligences that can be incorporated into a lesson, the more students
that can be reached by the lesson. If you have an end in mind for your lesson, and you

know that half of your students have the need to work with others in order to understand
and a quarter need to move around and the last quarter like to learn using movement,
you can further focus your instruction to help engage the students to get them the
information they need in a way they learn best as well as is fun to them!
For example, if were teaching kindergarten children the parts of their bodies, we
can introduce the song Dem Bones. The use of the song will engage those
musical/rhythmic learners. We can also teach them the dance that goes along with the
song. This dance incorporates pointing to the parts of the body that the song is talking
about when the singers says them. This part of the lesson will engage those students
that are bodily/kinesthetic learners. And the fact that were all doing it together will reach
those who learn best in a group setting (interpersonal).

References
Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. Backwards Design. Understanding by Design.