Welcome!
The Lesson Planning Tool provides guiding questions and supports that help teachers create lessons that align to the Shifts required by college- and career-ready standards.
How is the Lesson Planning Tool structured?
The Lesson Planning Tool is made up of six
modules; each module takes approximately one planning period to complete.
The starting module, "Planning a
Standards Aligned Lesson", serves as an umbrella to the other five
modules. In this first module you are asked the highest leverage questions to
consider from each of the other five modules. In exploring these high
leverage questions, you will be sure you are considering the elements that
are most critical to college- and career-ready standards. Once you complete the starting module,
you may choose to go into more depth in any or all of the other five
modules. You can access these modules in any order.
How do I use
it?
1. Start with "Planning a Standards-Aligned
Lesson" to tackle the most critical aspects of
alignment. Once you've completed this section, explore the other modules to
deepen the alignment of your lesson. Don't worry - all of your work will
save automatically!
2. If you need support answering a
question, you can always click on the "Examples and Support" link below each
prompt to find background information, sample answers, and the related Core
Actions and Indicators (from the complementary Instructional Practice Guide).
3. The learning goal you define in
the starting module will be accessible from every other module, so you can
keep this goal top of mind as you build your lesson.
4. From the "Home" page, you can
print and share your lesson, start a new lesson, or access previous lessons.
5. When sharing your work, you'll be asked
to choose from one of two formats:
Lesson Planning Tool format presents your answers in the order the questions
appeared in the tool.
Instructional Practice Guide format presents your answers in the order of the Core Actions
and Indicators, as they appear in the Instructional Practice Guide. This format was created
to help to facilitate discussion with a peer, coach, or supervisor who is
using the Instructional Practice Guide for non-evaluative observation.
What is the Instructional Practice Guide, and how does it
relate to the Lesson Planning Tool?
The Instructional Practice Guide is a non-evaluative observation tool that helps coaches and teachers identify the evidence that will show whether the content of a lesson aligns to the Common Core or other college- and career-ready standards. References to Core Actions and indicators found in the Instructional Practice Guide can be found throughout the Lesson Planning Tool. Teachers using the Lesson Planning Tool with a coach or colleague can use these references to more easily make connections between what content and practice has been planned and what is to be observed during classroom instruction. These lessons can be easily shared with a coach in advance of a non-evaluative observation focused on classroom instruction aligned to college- and career-ready standards, including the Common Core. The Instructional Practice Toolkit is a professional development experience that is designed to facilitate an understanding of these Core Actions and Indicators in a lesson plan, observation, and student work which will support ongoing coaching conversations.
About Achievethecore.org
achievethecore.org’s digital tools and
resources for teachers have been made possible by contributions from teachers
across the country as well as through generous support from the Leona M. and
Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust and the GE Foundation. To learn more
about Student Achievement Partners and for access to an array of free
resources, please visit us at achievethecore.org.
Welcome!
The Lesson Planning Tool provides guiding questions and supports that help teachers create lessons that align to the Shifts required by college- and career-ready standards.
How is the Lesson Planning Tool structured?
The Lesson Planning Tool is made up of six
modules; each module takes approximately one planning period to complete.
In ELA/Literacy, the tool focuses on
supporting you through the process of creating a close-reading lesson plan.
A close-reading lesson often spans multiple class sessions
The tool begins by asking you to determine
your text and then to evaluate it for complexity. If you know that the text
has already been evaluated, then you can move ahead to other modules. If
not, we recommend you:
•
First evaluate the text quantitatively
to determine the grade band
•
Second evaluate the text qualitatively,
to determine the grade level
•
Third, evaluate the text for reader
and task, to determine if the text is appropriate for your students
While this process can be time consuming,
remember that a close-reading lesson will often take multiple class periods.
Once you have determined that the text is
appropriate for your students, then you will be asked to determine the big
idea of the text and the culminating activity that will assess if students'
have mastered the concept(s). Then, you will create and sequence
text-dependent questions and associated activities. You will add the
Standards addressed.
You can move through these actions in any
order, though we recommend the above flow.
How do I use
it?
1. Start with Planning a Standards-Aligned Lesson. Once you've completed this section, we recommend you
continue to the next module to continue to analyze your text. Don't worry -
all of your work is saved automatically!
2. If you need support answering a
question, you can always click on the "Examples and Support" link below each
prompt to find background information, sample answers, and the related Core
Actions and Indicators (from the complementary Instructional Practice Guide).
3. The big idea you define in the “Big
Idea and Culminating Task” module will be accessible throughout the process,
to help you focus all supports, questions, and tasks on this big idea.
4. From the "Home" page, you can
print and share your lesson, start a new lesson, or access previous lessons.
5. When sharing your work, you'll be asked
to choose from one of two formats:
Lesson Planning Tool format presents your answers in the order the questions
appeared in the tool.
Instructional Practice Guide format presents your answers in the order of the Core Actions
and Indicators, as they appear in the Instructional Practice Guide. This format was created
to help to facilitate discussion with a peer, coach, or supervisor who is
using the Instructional Practice Guide for non-evaluative observation.
What is the Instructional Practice Guide, and how does it
relate to the Lesson Planning Tool?
The Instructional Practice Guide is a non-evaluative observation tool that helps coaches and teachers identify the evidence that will show whether the content of a lesson aligns to the Common Core or other college- and career-ready standards. References to Core Actions and indicators found in the Instructional Practice Guide can be found throughout the Lesson Planning Tool. Teachers using the Lesson Planning Tool with a coach or colleague can use these references to more easily make connections between what content and practice has been planned and what is to be observed during classroom instruction. These lessons can be easily shared with a coach in advance of a non-evaluative observation focused on classroom instruction aligned to college- and career-ready standards, including the Common Core. The Instructional Practice Toolkit is a professional development experience that is designed to facilitate an understanding of these Core Actions and Indicators in a lesson plan, observation, and student work which will support ongoing coaching conversations.
About Achievethecore.org
achievethecore.org’s digital tools and
resources for teachers have been made possible by contributions from teachers
across the country as well as through generous support from the Leona M. and
Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust and the GE Foundation. To learn more
about Student Achievement Partners and for access to an array of free
resources, please visit us at achievethecore.org.
