Lesson Plans, Webquests, and Scavenger Hunts: Session Ten: 11/08/12

“What did I learn and how can I use it in the future?”

I really enjoyed this week's lesson.  I thought there was a great amount of variety and student choices in terms of what to write about, which activities to try out, and how to respond.  I remember learning a very similar lesson planning format during my first course at Temple back in January of 2010.  I still use the exact same format whenever submitting or composing a formal lesson. I have found this format to be so efficient and effective in the planning, classroom execution, and post-planning parts of a lesson plan.  Using all seven parts of the lesson plan format leaves no room for confusion or miscommunication. I remember one of my instructors at Temple said that the lesson plan should be so clear that if a substitute teacher came in to read it, he or she could execute the lesson without any questions at all. I like to keep that goal in mind as I am brainstorming, planning, outlining, writing, carrying out, and reflecting on a lesson.  I was happy to prepare the lesson plan assignment; it was a great reminder and refresher to me.  Unfortunately, I do not use this format for every lesson. It is simply too intricate and too detailed and there are not enough hours in the day to make one for each class I see ( I teach at least six different classes a day!).  I use a modified version of this format on a daily basis, but I was glad to challenge myself with a refresher on this.

I also learned a lot about Webquests and Scavenger Hunts! I think that these are both great tools I can use in my dance classroom.  My students tend to respond well to activites with a concrete goal at the conclusion.  I think both of these resources induce inquiry-based thinking and allow the teacher to work more as a facilitator while students take the wheel.  I love how both Webquests and Scavenger Hunts have a rather stiff outline that can be personalized and customized to almost any lesson, concept, or classroom! I think these can even offer special accommodations to different grade levels and learning styles. I am excited to use both because I can be creative in designing them, and my students can be creative in completing them!