When It's Bad...

I am an advocate for the collaboration of teachers within a given field.  Sharing ideas and lesson plans allows our students to benefit from a wealth of ideas and knowledge.  The unfortunate reality is that for every good (or great!) lesson plan that is available, there are a least two poor lesson plans.  For my EHS 600 class, my group and I have been posting on our blogs about characteristics of great lesson plans and examples of these great characteristics in lesson plans that we have found via the world wide web.  It is imperative that we also bring to light the examples of bad lesson plans that do not exemplify these characteristics.  For my research, I have supported that differentiation and adequate details are two key characteristics of great lesson plans.  Here are some examples of lesson plans that did not showcase these characteristics:

DIFFERENTIATION:  Poor Example
"Verbs and their Tenses"
While this lesson plan offers thorough instruction to the students regarding the subject matter, it appears to be very lecture-based with no outlet for the students to engage in the material in alternate ways (i.e. group work, activities, etc.) 

ADEQUATE DETAILS:  Poor Example
"Color Poems"
This lesson plan allows the students to be creative and reflective in their reading of "Hailstones and Halibut Bones," but there are minimal details provided in this lesson plan.  We are only given the instructions and materials.  We are not informed of any goals, standards, objectives, modifications/accommodations, differentiation, etc. 

Detailed Lesson Plans are the Key to Teacher Collaboration

In continuation of my research for my EHS 600 class, I am expanding my search for characteristics of great lesson plans.  Please also reference my group mates' blog posts regarding this research at Andrew's Teaching the Future blog and Kristen's The Heart of an Educator blog.  As I continue to find lesson plans that inspire me as a future educator, I am reflecting on what it is that makes a lesson plan truly great.  I am still firmly committed to my previous thoughts in support of differentiated instruction.  I am also finding that adequate details can make or break a lesson plan in the eyes of fellow educators.  As I am searching through the world wide web, I am finding that there are many lesson plans that have potential and could be great, but the details that would enable me, as an educator, to execute the lesson plan are far from sufficient.  These details range from objectives, state standards, time, materials needed, technology needed, etc.  Without these valuable pieces of the puzzle, a lesson plan can not achieve its full potential when attempted by someone other than the originator. I support the idea of shared lesson plans: if someone has a great idea, share it so that other students can have that impacting educational experience.  Here are some examples of lesson plans that I feel went above and beyond to provide the details necessary for dynamic execution:

1 - Poetry Slam
This lesson plan gave very thorough details on the state standards and objectives.  Additionally, this lesson plan provides extension and remediation alternatives to make the lesson applicable to all learning types.  It is also extremely helpful when the originating teacher attaches her original handouts and rubrics, which this lesson plan did.

2 - Translating in your own words: Pride and Prejudice
This lesson plan offers details in the standards and objectives but also thoroughly explains the materials needed and incorporation of technology.  This lesson plan offers documents to further highlight the lesson as well as offering remediation for challenged learners.