The Lesson Plan

Part A: Lesson Plan Review

The following lesson being reviewed is a sixth through eight grade science lesson

teaching students about dichotomous keys. The lesson included content standards, student

objectives, essential questions, evidence of understanding, and a breakdown of the lesson which

are all best practices. The content standards were “the students will use and create dichotomous

keys” and “the students will recognize how scientific knowledge is subject to change as new

evidence becomes available, or as new theories cause scientists to look at old observations

differently” which aligned well with the two student objectives “students will be able to create a

dichotomous key or flow chart using a logical method to classify at least ten individual objects”

and “compare their own classification methods and difficulties to those of professional

scientists”. The materials outlined in the lesson plan also aligned with the lesson and objective.

In the lesson, there is an introduction, then students are placed into groups to create their own

keys, and the conclusion students are brought back together to present their own keys and answer

questions from the teacher about their process. While this lesson is most likely part of a larger

unit, there does not seem to be any building off of prior knowledge for students to build

understanding. It does seem to be an introduction lesson and may be the beginning of

scaffolding. There is also no mention of differentiation for students in the lesson. There is no

presence of technology to enhance the lesson. As mentioned earlier, there is a section outlining

evidence of learning, the presentation and students being able to answer questions from the

teacher being the formal assessment. This lesson does seem to be engaging for students and

promotes collaboration which can help students to better understand the lesson and material

presented to them. This lesson can also be a call back when discussing similar themes and items.
Part B: Coaching the Teacher

This lesson was detailed in the incorporation of standards and alignment with the

essential questions and requirements for student achievement. Learning objectives that are clear

are appreciated and crucial in learning “Clear learning objectives, once decided upon, determine

the nature of assessments that will follow the exposition of new content. Clear learning

objectives suggest a method or methods for teaching. Clear learning objectives determine the

level (Bloom’s) of cognitive thought expected from students.” (Womack, et al. 11). Well done

with the learning objectives. The lesson was also engaging for students as it required students to

work together in order to achieve the objective. While this lesson is an introductory lesson and

may be for students who are new to the teacher, there needs to be evidence of differentiation for

different learners within the classroom. Differentiation is evidence that the teacher knows their

students and their individual needs to meet the curriculum, “[teachers] must know their learners

well if they are to initiate modifications for them. They must be well grounded in the

professional literature about diversity and must be able to recognize diversity in the classroom.

They must accept responsibility for initiating modifications for atypical learners.” (Womack, et

al. 10). This does not mean that there needs to be differentiation for each individual student

written out in the lesson but understanding and anticipating needs of students within the lesson

will help students to be successful in meeting objectives and expectations. Also stated by Monett

and Weishaar “Educators should be able to change them depending on the specific learning

situation the learners interact in, on the achievement of the intended learning outcomes, on the

completion of the learning activities, and so on. This is why [lesson plans] should be adaptable in

a straightforward way” (7). The ability to adapt a lesson quickly and efficiently comes easier
when it is planned for in the planning process, this way a teacher can anticipate need and provide

accurate differentiation for students.

 References

Monett, D., & Weishaar, T. (2015). Evolving Lesson Plans to Assist Educators: From Paper-

Based to Adaptive Lesson Planning. Proceedings of the Multidisciplinary Academic

Conference, 1–8.

Womack, S. T., Pepper, S., Hanna, S. L., & Bell, C. D. (2015). Most Effective Practices in

Lesson Planning. In Online Submission. Online Submission.