LESSON 4:

Basic Parts of a Learning/Lesson Plan

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

1. recognize the importance of lesson planning;

2. identify the different parts of a lesson plan using the updated LP;

3. scrutinize sample learning plans demonstrated in a public school; and

4. craft a learning plan with ICT integration.

Discussion:
A lesson plan is the instructor’s road map of what students need to learn and how it will be done
effectively during the class time. Before you plan your lesson, you will first need to identify the learning
objectives for the class meeting. Then, you can design appropriate learning activities and develop
strategies to obtain feedback on student learning.

A successful lesson plan addresses and integrates these three key components:

• Objectives for student learning

• Teaching/learning activities

• Strategies to check student understanding

Specifying concrete objectives for student learning will help you determine the kinds of teaching and
learning activities you will use in class, while those activities will define how you will check whether the
learning objectives have been accomplished. (See Key Components of Lesson Plan Design below)
Steps for Preparing a Lesson Plan
Below are six steps to guide you when you create your first lesson plans. Each step is accompanied by a
set of questions meant to prompt reflection and aid you in designing your teaching and learning
activities.

(1) Outline learning objectives

The first step is to determine what you want students to learn and be able to do at the
end of class. To help you specify your objectives for student learning, answer the following
questions:
• What is the topic of the lesson?
• What do I want students to learn?
• What do I want them to understand and be able to do at the end of class?
• What do I want them to take away from this particular lesson?

Once you outline the learning objectives for the class meeting, rank them in terms of
their importance. This step will prepare you for managing class time and accomplishing the
more important learning objectives in case you are pressed for time.
Consider the following questions:
• What are the most important concepts, ideas, or skills I want students to be able to
grasp and apply?
• Why are they important?
• If I ran out of time, which ones could not be omitted?
• And conversely, which ones could I skip if pressed for time?

(2) Develop the introduction

Now that you have your learning objectives in order of their importance, design the
specific activities you will use to get students to understand and apply what they have learned.
Because you will have a diverse body of students with different academic and personal
experiences, they may already be familiar with the topic. That is why you might start with a
question or activity to gauge students’ knowledge of the subject or possibly, their preconceived
notions about it.
For example, you can take a simple poll: “How many of you have heard of X? Raise your
hand if you have.” You can also gather background information from your students prior to class
by sending students an electronic survey or asking them to write comments on index cards. This
additional information can help shape your introduction, learning activities, etc. When you have
an idea of the students’ familiarity with the topic, you will also have a sense of what to focus on.
Develop a creative introduction to the topic to stimulate interest and encourage
thinking. You can use a variety of approaches to engage students (e.g., personal anecdote,
historical event, thought-provoking dilemma, real-world example, short video clip, practical
application, probing question, etc.).
Consider the following questions when planning your introduction:
 • How will I check whether students know anything about the topic or have any
preconceived notions about it?
• What are some commonly held ideas (or possibly misconceptions) about this topic
that students might be familiar with or might espouse?
• What will I do to introduce the topic?

(3) Plan the specific learning activities (the main body of the lesson)
Prepare several different ways of explaining the material (real-life examples, analogies,
visuals, etc.) to catch the attention of more students and appeal to different learning styles. As
you plan your examples and activities, estimate how much time you will spend on each. Build in
time for extended explanation or discussion, but also be prepared to move on quickly to
different applications or problems, and to identify strategies that check for understanding.
These questions would help you design the learning activities you will use:
• What will I do to explain the topic?
• What will I do to illustrate the topic in a different way?
• How can I engage students in the topic?
• What are some relevant real-life examples, analogies, or situations that can help
students understand the topic?
• What will students need to do to help them understand the topic better?

(4) Plan to check for understanding

Now that you have explained the topic and illustrated it with different examples, you
need to check for student understanding – how will you know that students are learning? Think
about specific questions you can ask students in order to check for understanding, write them
down, and then paraphrase them so that you are prepared to ask the questions in different
ways. Try to predict the answers your questions will generate. Decide on whether you want
students to respond orally or in writing.
Here are some guiding questions you can ask yourself:
• What questions will I ask students to check for understanding?
• What will I have students do to demonstrate that they are following?
• Going back to my list of learning objectives, what activity can I have students do to
check whether each of those has been accomplished?

An important strategy that will also help you with time management is to anticipate
students’ questions. When planning your lesson, decide what kinds of questions will be
productive for discussion and what questions might sidetrack the class. Think about and decide
on the balance between covering content (accomplishing your learning objectives) and ensuring
that students understand.

(5) Develop a conclusion and a preview

Go over the material covered in class by summarizing the main points of the lesson. You
can do this in a number of ways: you can state the main points yourself (“Today we talked
about…”), you can ask a student to help you summarize them, or you can even ask all students
to write down on a piece of paper what they think were the main points of the lesson.
 You can review the students’ answers to gauge their understanding of the topic and
then explain anything unclear the following class. Conclude the lesson not only by summarizing
the main points, but also by previewing the next lesson.
How does the topic relate to the one that’s coming? This preview will spur students’
interest and help them connect the different ideas within a larger context.

(6) Create a realistic timeline

Teachers know how easy it is to run out of time and not cover all of the many points
they had planned to cover. A list of ten learning objectives is not realistic, so narrow down your
list to the two or three key concepts, ideas, or skills you want students to learn. Instructors also
agree that they often need to adjust their lesson plan during class depending on what the
students need. Your list of prioritized learning objectives will help you make decisions on the
spot and adjust your lesson plan as needed. Having additional examples or alternative activities
will also allow you to be flexible. A realistic timeline will reflect your flexibility and readiness to
adapt to the specific classroom environment.

Here are some strategies for creating a realistic timeline:

• Estimate how much time each of the activities will take, then plan some extra time for
each.
• When you prepare your lesson plan, next to each activity indicate how much time you
expect it will take.
• Plan a few minutes at the end of class to answer any remaining questions and to sum
up key points.
• Plan an extra activity or discussion question in case you have time left.
• Be flexible – be ready to adjust your lesson plan to students’ needs and focus on what
seems to be more productive rather than sticking to your original plan

Presenting the Lesson Plan

Letting your students know what they will be learning and doing in class will help keep them more
engaged and on track. You can share your lesson plan by writing a brief agenda on the board or telling
students explicitly what they will be learning and doing in class. You can outline on the board or on a
handout the learning objectives for the class. Providing a meaningful organization of the class time can
help students not only remember better, but also follow your presentation and understand the rationale
behind in-class activities. Having a clearly visible agenda (e.g., on the board) will also help you and
students stay on track.
Reflecting on Your Lesson Plan
A lesson plan may not work as well as you had expected due to a number of extraneous circumstances.
You should not get discouraged – it happens to even the most experienced teachers! Take a few
minutes after each class to reflect on what worked well and why, and what you could have done
differently. Identifying successful and less successful organization of class time and activities would make
it easier to adjust to the contingencies of the classroom. For additional feedback on planning and
managing class time, you can use the following resources: student feedback, peer observation, or
viewing a videotape of your teaching.

To be effective, the lesson plan does not have to be an exhaustive document that describes each and
every possible classroom scenario. Nor does it have to anticipate each and every student’s response or
question. Instead, it should provide you with a general outline of your teaching goals, learning
objectives, and means to accomplish them. It is a reminder of what you want to do and how you want to
do it. A productive lesson is not one in which everything goes exactly as planned, but one in which both
students and instructor learn from each other.

Summary of the Lesson:

A lesson plan is the instructor’s road map of what students need to learn and how it will be done
effectively during the class time. As proposed by Wang, In the 21st century classrooms, the three
components are needed in an ICT-based learning environment such as pedagogy, social interaction, and
technology. One approach for lesson planning is the updated LP issued by DepEd. Based on Kolb’s
Experiential Learning Theory it aims to approach the child holistically. It also acknowledges the past
schemes of the student and integrating it to a new one so most likely this format will bring out what has
been in stored and what is missing will be filled in eventually towards a deeper knowledge of the lesson.
TECHNOLOGY FOR TEACHING
AND LEARNING 2
(TECHNOLOGY IN SOCIAL STUDIES)
Prepared by: Mr. Junriv S. Rivera

LESSON 5 “Open-ended Tools in Facilitating Learning”

This lesson will provide you with open-ended tools/productivity software applications and its uses in
facilitating Social Studies Learning.

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Recall and share experiences in using open-ended tools/productivity software applications when you
were still a student.

2. Identify uses, advantages and disadvantages of open-ended tools/productivity software applications

in the teaching-learning of your field of specialization.

3. Report on new and emerging productivity tools that are beneficial for learning in your field of
specialization.

Getting Started:
Let us do some reminiscing!

Do you remember how windows look like when you were a kid? Like
how bulky computers were 15 years ago and how installing Microsoft
Office would take hours to complete. Before, access to these tools
were limited especially for teaching. But now, in the advent of a more
advanced technology, we can now utilize it more and come up with
something better than the materials from of old. For you personally,
how did technology changed the world of teaching and learning?
Write a 200-word essay for this.
Discussion:
For many years now, teaching and learning has always been aided by tools to make it more
meaningful and effective. Whether it may be the conventional or technology-integrated ones, the need
for such is totally inevitable.

In today’s classroom, the use of ICT tools particularly those called as open-ended tools or
productivity software applications, are now in demand especially these days of the pandemic. But what
are these open-ended tools and how do we use these effectively as we teach specific fields of
specialization?

Open-ended tools or productivity software applications as implied earlier are ICT tools, which
help the teachers and learners make their learning together as concrete, efficient, encouraging and
meaningful as possible. These tools help meet the demands of the learners in the 21st century
classrooms. In the previous module, you learned about the 21st century skills that students ought to
develop, and teachers ought to cater to. As a reminder, below is a list of what teachers should do to
respond to the demands of the 21st century.

1. Create a learner-centered classroom and make instruction personalized because learners

have different personalities, goals, and needs;

2. Facilitate learner’s productivity skills by helping students produce creative blogs, digital
stories and movies that are helpful to enhance their language/mathematics/science proficiency.

3. Learn new technologies since technology keeps on developing. Learning a tool once is not an
option for a teacher.

4. Be smart and allow the use of devices as aids to language/mathematics/science concept and
skill acquisition

5. Do blogging to give students real experience to see the value of writing for real audience and
establishing their digital presence.

6. Go digital to promote the advocacy and to help level up the language/mathematics/science

learning experience of the students through digital discussions.

7. Collaborate with other educators and students. This will allow the sharing of great ideas
beyond a conversation and paper copy.

8. Use web chats to share research and ideas and stay updated in the field.

9. Connect with like-minded individuals by using media tools like the social media.

10. Introduce Project Based Learning to allow students to develop their own driving questions,
conduct research, contact experts, and create their projects for sharing with the use of devices present.

11. Build positive digital footprint that aims to model appropriate use of social media, produce
and publish valuable content and create shareable resources.
 12. Code as it is today’s literacy. This will boost students’ writing skills as the feeling of writing a
page with HTML is amazing.

13. Innovate expand your teaching toolbox for the sake of your students, engage social media
for discussions and announcements and use new formats like TED talks in presenting your lessons.

14. Keep learning.

What then are some of the open-ended tools/productivity software applications that we can use? And
how do we use these tools properly and effectively?

The most common of which are word applications, presentation software applications, and
spreadsheets. Nothing that you do not know about, right? But these tools are really the basics that one
ought to know how to use correctly and properly.

Since we are all very familiar with what Microsoft offers us, let’s begin by listing down online Microsoft
Office Alternatives that almost has the same features.

Microsoft Office Alternatives Description

1.
 This comes as part of the Microsoft Office
Online suite.
 Although free, some features of the full-
fledged version of the paid MS Word,
Presentation, and Spreadsheet cannot be
accessed.
 It only allows you to open, create, and edit a
document although you may see and access
updates from co-authors to your docs from
anywhere in real time with Internet
connection.
 One alluring feature of Office Online is its
cross-platform compatibility.
2.
 Allows you to create, collaborate, and share
documents, spreadsheets, presentations,
drawings, and even forms.
 It needs a free google account.
 It automatically saves files online and store
it there.
 You can have the documents published as a
web page, downloaded, or emailed as an
attachment.
 You can invite collaborators to work on the
document with you or only allow others to
view it without the ability to edit.
 There’s a feature that enables access of
documents offline.

 It offers around 20 free online applications for

3. Word Processing, Slide presentations, and
spreadsheets.
 Accounts in Zoho can be linked to your Google
and Yahoo accounts. It is also free.
 The writer’s interface is comfortably familiar.
 One weakness is that there’s always a risk of
losing data due to lost internet connection,
accidentally closing the browser, or having a
browser crash although it saves the document
as one finishes typing.
 It is equipped with features like two-way
desktop sync, large file transfer, encryption, file
recovery, two-step authentication, inapp chat,
and more.
 You can import and work with MS Word
documents
 It can plug into Echosign for digital signatures,
publish the document to a blog or make it
public for all to see.
4.
 Is an open source that actually includes six
programs: Writer (word processor),
Calculate (spreadsheets), Impress
(presentations), Draw (graphics) and Base
(database manipulation), and Math
(mathematical equations).
 Can open PDF files without the addition of
a plug-in that Word cannot.
 It is maintained by a large community
meaning help and bug fixes are freely
available and quickly created.
 This is the leading free alternative to
Microsoft Word/Office.

 A free document processing suite which is

also a good Microsoft Word alternative
5.
 Can open and save to a long list of file
formats
 You can get the application in languages
other than English: French, German,
Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, and Russian
 Has a similar look and feels as that of MS
Office with one exception – it has a tabbed
viewing window so you can open more than
one document at a time.
 It has a WPS cloud which is the company’s
cloud document storage service that offers
up to 1GB of free storage
 It is not only scalable for teams but can also
be as collaborative and seamless as its
Microsoft counterpart.

 A free suite that also offers a full

featured Microsoft Word alternative.
 Offers essential editing features and
basic templates for creating and
editing documents.
6.  Tables, charts, shapes, and graphics
are available along with standard
formatting options
 The entire suite is available for
Windows, Linux, and Android.