Unit II INSTRUCTIO

Planning is a vital key to a successful endeavor. Whether it is celebrating a birthday

party, implementing a government project, or graduating on time with honors, it is essential to
plan to ensure the achievement of the desired goals. The same holds true un the classroom
setting. Pre-service and new teachers are required to write detailed lesson plans while
experienced teachers prepare lesson logs before they teach the subjects. This will ensure that the
activities and materials are well-prepared, class time is maximized, and the instructional goals
are attained.
In this units, you will be able to familiarize yourself with the basic of instructional
planning, particularly its different types and its importance in the learning process. You will also
learn about the different things that should be considered in planning instruction, most important
of which are the content, objectives, classroom environment, materials, students and teacher.
You will also be introduced to three instructional models that are commonly employed in
teaching Social Studies, namely Direct Instruction, Inquiry, and Cooperative Learning. Finally,
you will be presented with the different formats and components of a lesson plan. By the end of
the unit, it is expected that you will be able to develop a detailed lesson plan of a Social Studies
lesson in the elementary grades.

Unit II | Instructional Planning

 LESSON 5

Objectives
 Describe the process of instructional planning
 Differentiate the types of instructional planning
 Explain the importance of instructional planning
 Develop a unit plan for one grade level based on the K to 12 Curriculum Guide for Social
Studies.
Introduction
You and your college friends booked a trio to Coron, Palawan which is scheduled in less
than two months. How would you plan your excursion? A month before the trip, it is best if you
have reserved a hotel or inn where you will be staying. If you plan on availing a tour package,
you should have coordinated your itinerary with them a week before the trip. Finally, a day
before the trip, you should have packed your bags and ensured that you have your travel
essentials with you. Coming up with a detailed plan will ensured that your itinerary is organized,
and you and your friends will fully enjoy your vacation.
Instructional planning is very much the same as planning for a trip. There are things that
should be prepared and considered in different stages of the school year – some before the year
starts, some before a particular quarter, and others before the actual lesson. Having a detailed
plan is also beneficial if you want to organize classroom instruction, maximize time for teaching
and learning, and have a fun-filled and productive school year.

Think
First, it is important to understand what instructional planning is.
According to the Department of Education (2016), instructional planning is the process of
systematically planning, developing, evaluating, and managing the instructional process by using
principles of teaching and learning. The teacher attempts to organize the different ingredients of
learning with the end goal in mind: to ensure that students attain the set curricular goals. This
process is ideally done before a lesson, unit, quarter, semester, or school year. However, it is
important to note that instructional planning is continuous process. Plans can be modified or
made flexible in order to accommodate the varied needs of learner.
For instructional planning to be considered effective, it is important for teachers to address
these three questions:
1. What should be taught?
2. How should it be taught?
3. How should instructional and student learning be assessed?

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Lesson 5 | Basics of Instructional Planning
 In planning for effective instructional, vital characteristics are expected of teachers. First,
they must be informed decision-makers. They need to be fully familiar with the curriculum in
order to determine which topics should be given greater emphasis and how standards and
competencies could best be realized. They also need to have an idea of their students’ prior
knowledge, aptitude, and interests which will be beneficial in choosing appropriate techniques
and strategies that will facilitate learning. Second, teachers must be reflective practitioners. After
delivering an instructional plan, they need to revisit the curricular standards and competencies
and ensure that these are attained. They also need to track student progress and ponder which
techniques and strategies should be retained or discarded.
Types of Instructional Planning
Instructional planning takes on many forms. One way of categorizing it is by looking ate the
time frame for planning. Under this, three classifications arise – long – range planning, unit
planning, and lesson planning.
A. Long – range Planning
This type could prove to be the most challenging for beginning teachers, especially since this
involves planning for the whole year. At this point, it is important for teachers to do a curriculum
mapping, the process of determining when you will teach each topic or concept (Beal and
Bolick, 2013). Utilizing the curriculum guide, textbooks, and other available resources, it is
imperative to ask ourselves: How is it best to divide the topics and standards into quarters and/or
semesters? Which lessons should be allotted more time and emphasis? How could social studies
be integrated with other subject or with holidays and celebrations throughout the school year?
Pondering on these questions before the start of the actual school year is an important step for
teachers to be informed decision-makers.
The curriculum guide serves as the teacher’s most important tool in long-range planning. In
the Philippines, the existing K to 12 Curriculum Guide for Social Studies Grades 1-10 was
prepared by the Department of Education. In curriculum mapping a particular grade level, it is
important to look at the following: a) Grade Level Standard, which states the overall goal for the
year; b) Topic, which describes the general them of the grade level; c) Content, which outlines
the lesson that will be covered. The table below shows the information lifted from the Social
Studies Grade 1 Curriculum Guide.
Grade 1
Grade Level Topic Content
Standard
Naipamamalas ang Ako, ang Aking I. Ako ay Natatangi
kamalayan at pag- Pamilya at Paaralan A. Pagkilala sa Sarili
unawa sa sarili B. Ang Aking Kuwento
bilang kasapin ng Ang sariling bilang C. Pagpapahalaga sa Sarili
pamilya at paaralan kabahagi ng pamilya II. Ang Aking Pamilya
at pagpapahalaga sa at paaralan tungo sa A. Pagkilala sa mga Kasapi ng
kapaligirang pisikal pagkakakilanlan Pamilya

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Lesson 5 | Basics of Instructional Planning
 gamit ang konsepto bilang indibidwal at B. Ang Kuwento ng Aking
ng pagpapatuloy at kasapi ng komunidad, Pamilya
pagbabago, gamit ang konsepto ng C. Mga Alituntunin sa Pamilya
interaksiyon, pagpapatuloy at D. Pagpapahalaga sa Pamilya
distansya at pagbabago, III. Ang aking Paaralan
direksiyon tungo sa interaksiyon at ang A. Pagkilala sa aking Paaralan
pagkakakilanlan pagpapahalaga sa B. Ang Kuwento ng Aking
bilang indibidwal at kapaligirang pisikal at Paaralan
kasapi ng pangkat paaralan. C. Pagpapahalaga sa Paaralan
ng lipunan at IV. Ako at ang Aking Kapaligiran
komunidad. s A. Ako at ang Aking Tahanan
B. Ako at ang Aking Paaralan
C. Pagpapahalaga sa
Kapaligiran

The current curriculum guide for every grade level already divided the content into for
quarters, each one revolving around a specific theme. While this is indeed helpful in planning the
whole year, it is important to note that curriculum guides exist as mere guides. Students have
different pacing and diverse needs which should ultimately be considered in curriculum
mapping. Reflective teachers take into account these factors and do not just teach for the purpose
of covering all the topics. Moreover, reflective teachers ensure that the goals they set for
themselves and their students for the school year are aligned with the Grade Level Standards and
Topic. It is important to revisit these goals often and use them to monitor, implement, and assess
their instruction.
B. Unit Planning
A unit is a major division of the year-long plan. It is cluster of related lessons organized
around a central topic, theme, issue, or problem and developed in a logical sequence (Beal and
Bolick, 2013; Ellis, 2010). Let’s look at the K to 12 Curriculum Guide for Social Studies for
example of units. In the Grade 1 curriculum, each quarter can be considered a unit. The first
quarter revolves around the self (Ako ay Natatangi), the second quarter focuses on the family
(Ang Aking Pamilya), the third quarter talks about their school (Ang Aking Paaralan), and the
fourth quarter discusses their immediate environment (Ako at ang Aking Kapaligiran).
Meanwhile, in the Grade 6 curriculum, a quarter may contain a number of units. The overall
theme of the first quarter is “Kinalalagyan ng Pilipinas at and Malayang Kaisipan sa Mundo.”
However, it can be subdivided into three units: a) Kinalalagyan ng Pilipinas; b) Kilusang
Propaganda, Katipunan, at Himagsikan; and c) Panghihimasok ng mga Amerikano. While the
quarter follows a chronological progression, it is necessary to come up with smaller units since
each subdivision revolves around different themes and issues. While the existing curriculum is
already divided into units, teachers should practice good decision-making in developing and
organizing units.
In planning a unit, Beal and Bolick (2013) recommended taking into account the following
elements and processes:

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Lesson 5 | Basics of Instructional Planning
 1. Unit Title. Develop an idea or adopt a topic for study and translate it into a brief, clear
statement of your theme or problem focus.
2. Tim Requirement. Determine approximately how much time will be spent on the unit.
3. List of Topics. Brainstorm and break the big idea or theme for the unit into a set of more
specific ideas and subtopics.
4. Target Students. Indicate for which group of students or grade levels the unit is intended.
Include them in the planning by allowing them to identify big questions and issues of
interest to them.
5. Rationale. Construct a brief overview of what the unit is about and why it is important to
learn it.
6. Goals. Identify a goal or set of basic goals that the unit will be designed to accomplish.
7. Objectives. Outline the specific objectives that enable the goals to be accomplished.
Make sure to arrange them in logical and sequential order.
8. Teaching Strategies. Identify and develop related significant teaching strategies and
activities.
9. Resources. Identify, locate, and organize all the individuals and the instructional
resources that are available and will be needed.
10. Evaluation Procedure. Develop a plan to evaluate the effectiveness of the unit. Include
formal and informal assessment.
C. Lesson Planning
After doing curriculum mapping and producing a unit plan, the next challenge for teachers is
to come up with a lesson plan. This document serves as an outline of what you will be teaching
in a given day or days. It should follow a logical sequence that will facilitate maximum learning
for students.
To illustrate how a unit can be broken down into different lessons, let us go back to the he
curriculum guide for Social Studies Grade 1. The first quarter/unit, which is Ako ay Natatangi,
can be broken down into many lessons based on the given learning competencies. For the firsts
two days, the teacher may focus on achieving competency no. 1, “Nasasabi ang batayang
impormasyon tungkol sa sarili: pangalan, magulang, kaarawan, edad, tirahan, paaralan, iba pang
pagkakakilanlan at mga katangian bilang Pilipino,” and title the lesson “Mga Batayang
Impormasyon tungkol sa Aking Sarili.”
In the Philippines, lesson planning is a major requirement for teachers in basic education.
Newly hired teachers are required to prepare a daily Detailed Lesson Plan (DLP) during their
first year, while those with at least one year of teaching experience are expected and the DLL
based on DepEd Order No. 42, s. 2016.
Daily Lesson Plan (DLP) Daily Lesson Log (DLL)
A teacher’s “roadmap” for a lesson. It A template teacher use to log parts of
contains a detailed description of the steps a their daily lesson. It covers a day’s or week’s
teacher will take to teach a particular topic. A worth of lessons and contains the following
typical DLP contains the following parts: parts: Objectives, Content, Learning
Objectives, Content, Learning Resources, Resources, Procedures, Remarks, and

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Lesson 5 | Basics of Instructional Planning
 Procedures, Remarks and Reflection. Reflection.

Base on the definitions, what are the similarities and differences of the two documents?
The Importance of Instructional Planning
To some teachers, instructional planning is a burdensome task. In the Philippines teachers
accomplish many paper works, attend to school meetings and parent-teacher conferences, check
students’ outputs, serve as class adviser or club moderator, and perform various teaching and
non-teaching duties. As such, instructional planning is not given priority or is done hastily. Why,
then, is important for us teachers to allot ample time for planning? How will this activity benefit
us?
First and foremost, planning gives the lessons focus and direction. In planning a year-
long curriculum, quarterly unit, or daily lesson, teachers contemplate on the standards, goals, and
objectives of the subject. The selection and highlighting of themes, topics, and ideas should
always lead to the overall goal of the program. As educator Stephen Covey said, we should begin
with the end in mind. Second, thought-out planning is way better than on-the-spot teaching.
plans help teachers to remain focused during instruction, especially when lessons go off-topic
due to students’ questions and recitations. However, it is important also for teachers to seize
“teachable moments,” those unplanned opportunities which arose from students’ queries and
opinions that broaden and deepen the scope of the lesson. Such detours can be of great help
especially in connecting the lesson to the personal lives of students. In this case, written plans
can help teachers get back on track as quickly and smoothly as possible after going on such
detours. Planning can also help counter classroom management problems. Teachers who plan
can foresee how to enforce discipline in the classroom to handle students’ misbehaviors. Coming
up with a checklist of instructional materials in planning will also help teachers to prepare them
in advance and maximize their utilization in the classroom. In this case, planning develops a
teacher’s confidence by making him/her feel prepared and organized in the execution of the
lesson. Lastly, planning also facilitates teacher reflection. After implementing the plan, it is
important for teachers to evaluate the experience, learn from their mistakes, repeat effective
strategies, and modify for future instruction. They should contemplate if they were able to meet
the standards, goals, and objectives and determine if there are more successful ways of achieving
their target.
Instructional planning is an important activity for those who aspire to be effective
teachers. In the words of Ellis (2010, p. 120): “Careful planning empowers you. It makes you a
true professional. Careful planning helps distinguish teachers who do it from those who, content
with mediocrity, merely make their way through textbooks with no strategic vision, occasionally
hitting on a good activity here and there. That’s not teaching; that’s monitoring.” Thus, amidst

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Lesson 5 | Basics of Instructional Planning
the multitude of teaching and non-teaching tasks assigned to teacher, instructional planning
should always be a top priority.
Experience
Interview a social studies teacher. Ask him/her the following questions:
1. In your school, are you required to do curriculum mapping, unit planning, and lesson
planning? Why or why not?
2. What are the benefits of instructional planning?
3. What are the challenges of instructional planning?
4. If instructional planning is not required in your school, will you still do it? Why or why
not?
Assess
I. True or False. Write T if the statement is true and F if the statement is false.
______ 1. Instructional planning is an ongoing process.
______ 2. Teachers need to be informed decision-makers and reflective practitioners
in planning instruction.
______ 3. Curriculum planning is usually done before the start of the unit.
______ 4. A unit lasts for one day to one week.
______ 5. In the Philippines, all teachers are required to construct a daily Detailed
Lesson Plan.
II. Answer the following questions.
1. What is instructional planning?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2. Describe the three types of instructional planning.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3. Why is instructional planning important?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Challenge
1. Compare and contrast long-range, unit, and lesson planning through a Venn Diagram.

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Lesson 5 | Basics of Instructional Planning
 2. Many teachers in the Philippines view instructional planning as a major burden. Why do
you think this perception exists? What could be done to address it?

Harness
Read the K to 12 Curriculum Guide for Social Studies and choose one quarter or unit from
grade 1 to 6. Come up with a unit plan by using the elements given by Beal and Bolick (2013) as
guide.
1. Unit Title:

2. Time Requirement:

3. List of Topics:

4. Target Students:

5. Rationale:

6. Goals:

7. Objectives:

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Lesson 5 | Basics of Instructional Planning
8. Teaching Strategies:

9. Resources:

10. Evaluation Procedures:

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Lesson 5 | Basics of Instructional Planning