CONSIDERATIONS IN DEVELOPING A LESSON / UNIT PLAN:

1. WHAT'S THE POINT?
   1. Are the objectives clear? Appropriate?
   2. Do the benchmarks and standards truly relate to what we're doing?
   3. What do I hope the students will learn / experience in participating in this lesson?
   4. Have I considered the benchmarks and standards for BOTH the content areas (math, science, language arts, social studies ) AND the arts areas (dance, music, drama, art,...)?
   5. Are there additional objectives that I would like to address that are not part of state or national standards? (i.e. community building…)
   
   
2. WHAT WILL THE STUDENTS DO TO "GET" THE POINT?
   1. What specifically do the students do? (Procedure)
   2. Does this activity truly help them achieve my objectives?
   3. Have I selected the art form that BEST addresses my objectives? (i.e. if you want students to understand kinesthetically the different sizes and shapes of animals, than perhaps moving as those animals would address this better than drawing the animals)
   
   
3. WHAT WILL I DO TO HELP THEM GET THE POINT?
   1. Are my directions clear and thorough? (If you write that you will explain the life cycle of a caterpillar, HOW do you explain it?
   2. Have I considered how I will organize the students? (If you say they will be in groups, how will you organize the groups?)
   3. Have I considered how I will organize the space? (If they will be moving, have you considered how to organize the room to make this possible?)
   4. Have I considered the flow of the activities / troubleshooting? (In order to keep them focused, tell them to take their journals out so they are ready before the activity, and you don't lose the momentum by having them shuffle around for it during reflection time)
   5. Have I prepared them to do what I am expecting of them? Consider what they ultimately need to do during the lesson and prepare them for this with the earlier activities, i.e. building blocks. ? Have I considered the sequencing of activities?
   
   
4. HOW DO YOU DETERMINE IF THEY "GOT THE POINT"?
   1. How will I assess if my objectives were met?
   

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