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.
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