Module 5 - Unit 1 – Activity 4

Marc Finks

Marc Finks

Module 5  - Unit 1 – Activity 4

This was one of the more helpful units for me so far. I’ve never had to consider standards before since most of my classes in South Korea already have lesson plans and books, and so we just show up and do what we’re asked. I have created some of my own classes, but we never had set curriculum goals for them. However, after doing this lesson, I can see how helpful this kind of a guide is.

Backwards mapping is very important. If you know where you have to get to by the end of the year, then it makes it so much easier to plan out the steps necessary to reach the goal.  For example, knowing that the students need to be able to write a cogent paragraph with excellent supporting details and punctuation by the end of the year would help me to start breaking down the steps needed to help my students reach that goal. I think that if teachers are ever stuck trying to decide what to do with a class, then backwards mapping from an end point would be an effective way of helping them come up with something that would be beneficial for their students.

After backwards mapping and figuring out where you need to get to, unpacking the standard is the part that was the newest to me. Asking myself, “What steps do I need to take to get my students to this point, and what are my objectives for each point?” really helps clarify the entire process. Without this step, we would just look at our end goal and maybe try to get there somehow. But without any organization or planning, which is what this activity really taught me, I think that many teachers would just get lost. For example, if the object was about making sure that students could write a five-paragraph essay and the teacher just tried winging it without actually unpacking the standard and realizing everything that is necessary for the students to actually be able to write a five-paragraph essay, then those students would most likely be less prepared than other classes where the teachers had completely mapped out the process and each step from the very first day until they reached that end objective.

Writing lesson objectives and a lesson plan was a bit tricky at first as I haven’t really taught to specific objectives before. However, after unpacking the standard, this wasn’t too difficult. The best way of doing this is to make sure that you clearly know what the next step is and how you want to get there. You can’t just say “Teach them how to capitalize” because new ideas and concepts sometimes take time to learn, and different students may be at different places, and so lesson planning helps prepare for the lesson in an organized and efficient manner so that there isn’t really any time wasted.

Overall, this unit has been very helpful for me. It’s given me a foundation from which I can build upon, and I think I feel more confident about understanding how to begin approaching teaching in a standard classroom.