Title of Lesson: How do You Write A Lesson Plan Using the Five-Step Backward Design Process? Part Three

When mentoring our pre-service and in-service teachers we need to describe and model both research-based and clinically tested best practices. This is one of many lessons we will be sharing on teaching Judaic content, lesson planning, models of teaching, differentiated and individualized instruction and learning activities designed to transform the classroom into a Jewish community of cooperative learners. The title of this lesson is “How do You Write a Lesson Plan using the Five-Step Backward Design Process?” Since there are 13 elements in each lesson plan we will divide this lesson plan into five parts. Here are the first and second parts of this lesson. The third part of the lesson follows.

Developmental Activity: (Set of steps or procedures to reach the objective/learning outcome)

1. After distributing the two handouts shared in the previous post, the teacher explains the four steps involved in the cooperative learning procedure called Team Projects.

The Four Steps Involved in Team Projects

(1) The teacher assigns a particular topic for each quad or one for all the quads.

(2) Members of each quad are given or choose a role to play

(3) Quads complete the project.

(4) Quads present the project to another quad or the entire class.

2. The teacher divides the class into teams of four (i.e. quads). If the class has fewer members, place students in dyads or triads. Each team creates its own Backward Design lesson plan by following the example in the first handout, Sample Lesson Plan Incorporating Backward Design. Each team’s lesson plan should be written within the Sample Lesson Plan Template Incorporating Backward Design.

3. Upon completing its Backward Design lesson plan, each team either (a) explains how the lesson would be implemented in a classroom, or (b) actually implements the lesson through engaging the members of both teams during class time. Thus, in two quads, you will have eight students. The team who created the lesson determines the logistical issues with this proviso; all members of the quad should have a part in presenting the lesson. Accordingly, each team may divide its lesson in terms of these eleven component parts:

(1) Title of the lesson

(2) Enduring Jewish knowledge rationale

(3) Essential questions

(4) Assessment/s

(5) Lesson objective/learning outcome

(6) Anticipatory set

(7) Introductory activity

(8) Developmental activity/activities

(9) Guided practice

(10) Independent activity/activities

(11) Closure

Guided Practice: (Students apply new skill/s or strengthen previously learned skills during classroom instruction.)

The teacher monitors how each team implements its lesson plan.

In the next post we will share the fourth part of this five part lesson.