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Designing Relevant Instruction
As I create my math lesson plans, I start with asking myself, “What do my students already know about this topic and where do they need to go?”
I begin collecting the information on what my students already know by examining our district’s online Instructional Focus Documents, which are aligned to the TEKS. These documents tell me what my students should have received prior to coming into 6th grade, taking into account both supporting standards and readiness standards. I then speak with prior level subject teachers, especially my 4th and 5th grade campus math teachers. They typically have amazing insight into the academic strengths/weaknesses of my current students, based not only on assessment measures but just the fact that they taught the majority of these students for an entire school year. They also provide insight into any specific content strategies that worked well with my students and clicked with those students who typically struggle in math. In addition, I already have been reviewing math concepts during our Math Mad Minutes each morning in our Science class so I see with which supporting standards my students are strong and with which they need improvement.
To determine where my students need to go in a lesson plan, I dive into the TEKS. Our district supplies our Instructional Focus Documents in an Enhanced Clarification format which does a marvelous job of breaking down TEKS into highly detailed notes on how best to teach individual math concepts. This Enhanced Clarification format includes concrete models and semi-concrete models before leading to the abstract. The district provides needed vocabulary with detailed definitions, drawings of models, examples of problems, common misconceptions, as well as in which grade levels students have already been exposed to these concepts and to what depth. Plus, they indicate what my students will learn next year in 7th grade math. Looking at the TEKS in this manner offers me a clear vision of where I need to guide my students in their learning.
Next, I develop instructional goals and objectives for the topic I am planning to teach, and then I choose the types of pedagogical techniques I feel will best convey the information my students need to gain. When writing instructional goals and objectives, I must remember to make them relevant and meaningful to my students, as well as convey them clearly. Goals are broad, generalized statements about what is to be learned. They are the target for which my students and I are reaching and are linked to TEKS. Objectives are the teaching tools I use to make sure we reach our goals, and upon which I will create my individual lessons and assessments. Objectives ensure that our learning is clearly focused and that it can be measured. They provide a platform for designing relevant activities and assessments, and help identify critical and non-critical instructional elements. The instructional activities I choose should be varied often, sequential, which is particularly important in math, student engaging, include a variety of student groupings, and make connections within math as well as across other subjects, as appropriate. They also should allow for student reflection, and provide time to explore the content from many perspectives, all while supporting goals and enhancing student achievement.
I begin collecting the information on what my students already know by examining our district’s online Instructional Focus Documents, which are aligned to the TEKS. These documents tell me what my students should have received prior to coming into 6th grade, taking into account both supporting standards and readiness standards. I then speak with prior level subject teachers, especially my 4th and 5th grade campus math teachers. They typically have amazing insight into the academic strengths/weaknesses of my current students, based not only on assessment measures but just the fact that they taught the majority of these students for an entire school year. They also provide insight into any specific content strategies that worked well with my students and clicked with those students who typically struggle in math. In addition, I already have been reviewing math concepts during our Math Mad Minutes each morning in our Science class so I see with which supporting standards my students are strong and with which they need improvement.
To determine where my students need to go in a lesson plan, I dive into the TEKS. Our district supplies our Instructional Focus Documents in an Enhanced Clarification format which does a marvelous job of breaking down TEKS into highly detailed notes on how best to teach individual math concepts. This Enhanced Clarification format includes concrete models and semi-concrete models before leading to the abstract. The district provides needed vocabulary with detailed definitions, drawings of models, examples of problems, common misconceptions, as well as in which grade levels students have already been exposed to these concepts and to what depth. Plus, they indicate what my students will learn next year in 7th grade math. Looking at the TEKS in this manner offers me a clear vision of where I need to guide my students in their learning.
Next, I develop instructional goals and objectives for the topic I am planning to teach, and then I choose the types of pedagogical techniques I feel will best convey the information my students need to gain. When writing instructional goals and objectives, I must remember to make them relevant and meaningful to my students, as well as convey them clearly. Goals are broad, generalized statements about what is to be learned. They are the target for which my students and I are reaching and are linked to TEKS. Objectives are the teaching tools I use to make sure we reach our goals, and upon which I will create my individual lessons and assessments. Objectives ensure that our learning is clearly focused and that it can be measured. They provide a platform for designing relevant activities and assessments, and help identify critical and non-critical instructional elements. The instructional activities I choose should be varied often, sequential, which is particularly important in math, student engaging, include a variety of student groupings, and make connections within math as well as across other subjects, as appropriate. They also should allow for student reflection, and provide time to explore the content from many perspectives, all while supporting goals and enhancing student achievement.
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