B.EL.Ed Pedagogy of Core Discipline ( Language & Social Science )

Introduction of B.EL.Ed Social Science

B.EL.Ed social science with lesson planning

Social Science is a subject of study at the secondary school level which offers a systematic study of a man about his society.

A country is great not by its number but by the character of its people. In a democratic country like India, every citizen has to play a pivotal role in the upliftment of the nation. Therefore it is generally agreed that a citizen must be educated in such a way so that it would develop certain desirable skills, attitudes, and values in him for the manifestation of his self as well as for the progress of the Nation.

Hence, schools must prepare students for dealing with social controversies, cultural change, and manifold problems in society.

In the attainment of this coveted aim of education, social science is quite important because it is an unending dialogue between past and present which would help the nation to mold a better future.

B.EL.Ed Nature of Social Science

The real nature of this discipline can be well understood only by further analyzing these definitions. Such an analysis will yield to the following basic features or essential characteristics of Social

Science, which may be considered as the nature of the subject. These are

1. A unique combination of various disciplines: Though social science can be treated as a separate subject it is a harmonious blending of various subjects like History, Geography, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, Law, Literature, Art Education, etc.

In other words, it draws interrelated information from various disciplines or subjects of study and integrates these meaningfully to give a new insight into the exact nature of social life in its totality.

2 A study of human relationships: It is the study of man and his relationship with other human beings and his environment. It deals with the myriad issues of man and its solutions. It studies the web of relationships between and among people, classes, groups, institutions, traditions, organizations, etc.

A study of man’s development through ages: It offers a comprehensive study of man’s progress in each period how he succeeded in his attempts why he failed what is the unique contribution of a man who lived at various ages of human history for human development and the like.

Aims at preparing the learner for wholesome social living: By understanding and analyzing the subject matter the learner imbibes some essential knowledge of his social environment.

It may enrich his intellectual and social skills helpful to lead a purposeful and successful adult life.

1. A realistic course of study: Social Science provides real-life situations to the learner. Effective interpretation of these would necessitate the intense study of many social problems, processes, and phenomena. The learner can imbibe many values like cooperation and interdependence.

2.It forms an important part of the core –curriculum: Social science is considered as a minimum program essentially required for equipping man with the insights and skills that would enable him to lead a successful life.

Even a learner who likes to go for some other specialization like Mathematics or Science should have developed this awareness and knowledge for success in those fields also.

3.It includes Commitment to action: Social science enables every learner to be an informed individual who uses his knowledge by participating actively and constructively in the affiants of society.

Through the socially significant nature of its content, it helps the student to learn the process of individual and social action required for an informed citizen in a democracy.

Major aspects dealt with in Social Science:

Social science content includes a kaleidoscopic view of the following aspects;

1 History – Life of Man – everything that ever happened – cause and effect relationships

2 Civics – changes – time/chronology.

How man has been establishing and maintaining public authority and institutions helpful for systematic and balanced government ensuring social stability and welfare.

3 Geography – Relevant details regarding space/place where living things (including man) lives and regarding the natural and physical resources needed for

proper sustenance.

4. Economics – Insight regarding productive resources that are scarce as well regarding human wants that are unlimited which in turn would help in maintaining

5. Sociology – social welfare. Man as a social being.

6. Anthropology – Understanding of man’s uniqueness in different nationalities and cultures and across ages.

B.EL.Ed SOCIAL SCIENCE CORRELATION WITH OTHER SUBJECTS

There is no school subject which is not related to Social Science in some form or another.

It has already been pointed out that social science is the scientific study of man in the social context. In this sense, everything that happened to date has got some kind of denotations or connotations with some branch of social sciences. Johnson’s definition of history as “History is everything that ever happened” reveals this fact. In the same manner, all other subjects also are related to human life one way or another.

This common linkage with the central theme, namely the various aspects of human life warrants meaningful correlation among all the subjects of study.

Social science is no exception to this rule. In fact, it could be seen that social science provide the natural setting for meaningfully learning the various school subjects such as languages, sciences, mathematics, fine arts, etc.

a.Social Science and History: History has a close relationship with social science is often taught as part of social science at school. History plays an important role in the understanding of man in society and thus in the structuring of social science courses.

History is concerned primarily either with periods of time in the past or with themes running through centuries. Much of the materials children study in social science involves the concept of the significance of time, which can be used to bring an awareness of the need to see phenomena in terms of their place a chronological scale.

History provides a basis and perspective to the important topics in social science such as education, population, war, trade union movements, towns and cities, customs and social moves, etc. History as a study of the origins of the present must be an essential feature of any sound scheme of social science. History and social science are interdependent.

b.Social Science and Geography: Geography and social science are inseparably connected. Social science includes the study of the living conditions of the people of various countries, their mode of living, their occupations, their standard of living, etc.

All these are very much influenced by the geographical conditions of those countries. England built a powerful navy and created a great empire mostly because of its geographical location and conditions of the country have a tremendous effect on the social life of its people.

Thus Geography and social science are intimately connected.

c.Social Science and Economics: Social science is incomplete without economics. Social science seeks to develop a competent individual into a good, independent, and patriotic citizen.

This is not possible without some knowledge of economics, which constitutes an integrated part of social science. Social science providing practical and functional knowledge is meant for the school students up to higher secondary classes.

Social science draws from Economics some of the knowledge of the basic need of human being such as food, shelter, and clothing. Therefore social science and economics are intimately connected.

d.Social Science and Languages: Language is the medium of literature and literature that reflect the cultural heritage of a nation in particular and humanity in general, in various literary forms such as poems, dramas, novels, stories, essays, travelogues, biography context is made explicit.

Conversely, topics in social sciences can be meaningfully presented and comprehended only with the help of appropriate language skills and by adopting literary forms of expression. Ancient literary works all over the world are pregnant with history – the story of man’s glorious past.

Tagore explains it aptly when he says “Literature paints what history depicts. In short languages and social sciences are supplementary and complements each other.

e. Social Science and General Sciences: All branches of sciences-physics chemistry, biology, etc. are making rapid strides both in theory and practice.

Their application in the day to day life of human society needs no explanation. The study of the facts, principles, and processes involved in these sciences can be appreciated, and the related attitudinal and value-oriented changes can be brought about in the learners only if these are linked with the history of human life and civilization.

In short, the study of general science will have to be planned in relation to societal issues. At the same time, the historical, cultural, economic, and sociological aspects of human life have to be related to the developments in the various sciences that have revolutionized all aspects of human life.

f. Social Science and Mathematics: There is no aspect of life that does not require mathematics. Mathematics has to be taught by correlating it with different aspects and activities of human life to enable children to become useful members of society.

Mathematics is useful in various socially relevant programs like banking, accounting, budgeting, trade, etc.

g. Biological and Social Sciences: Biological principles are of great use to social scientists. Social science uses biological principles to present an integrated picture of population dynamics.

Biological concepts woven into social science are of great help to the understanding of the overpopulation problem. The growth of the population is controlled by limiting factors of the environment.

h. Physical Science and Social Science: Physical science and social science are closely related to dealing with food, clothing shelter, weather, transport, and communication are used in science as well as in social science.

Advances in science and technology have revolutionized social life all over the world. Fast means of transport and communication have brought man and man and nation and nation closer to each other. Space and time have been conquered.

Countries of the world have been closely knit together due to the effect of scientific inventions and discoveries about human life.

I, Social Science and Fine Arts: Fine arts sublimate innate desires and tendencies of children and channelize these towards socially useful activities thereby making them good citizens.

The study of social sciences also aims at the same goals. The study of social science and that of fine arts could be made meaningful and goal-oriented only if the relation between the two subjects is made evident by adopting appropriate instructional strategies.

Aims and Objectives of teaching social science

Below are the major aims of teaching social science in the schools

To acquaint the child with his past and present geographical and social environment.
To enable children to appreciate India’s rich cultural heritage as also to recognize and get rid of what is undesirable and antiquated especially in the context of social change.
To build social competence. Man is a social being and as such all education meant for his all-round development is social education.
To build intelligent democratic citizenship.
To help the child acquire the right attitudes knowledge understanding and competence which he will need in the interaction with the social and physical environment.
To help the child gain insight into spiritual economic and political values as forces in human behavior and human relationships.
To provide a pattern and experience of study that will serve as a foundation for specialization later.
To develop desirable qualities for the all-round development of a rich personality.
To foster an attitude towards knowledge, life, and learning relevant to the present.
To promote understanding of all history and all human experience as a process of change and development.
To give a sense of belonging. It is one of the important aims of social science studies to give the pupils a sense of belonging to a place to a community to a nation and to the world.
To enable the pupils to use their leisure properly. It is one of the important aims of social science to afford the opportunity for young people to develop interests that will result in the creative use of their leisure.

To help resolve our contemporary social and individual problems one of the most significant aims of social science is to help develop mature judgments on immediate social issues trends and prospects in the fields of regional politics commerce, industry, and national and international affairs. These will help in resolving our contemporary social and individual problems.

To foster national feelings. A special aim of teaching social science is to create a desire in the pupils to perpetuate those principles of justice and humanity that control the life of a nation.
To promote international understanding.

Essential Qualities of a Social Science Teacher

Social Science Teacher

When we talk of education with special reference to the teaching-learning process we are reminded of a person who can make instruction easy for the students by making the learning material understandable and by guiding the learner at every step such a person is known as the ‘Guru’ or the ‘Teacher’ there is a popular saying.

The teacher shows his student the right path leads him towards his goal, along that path. There is no doubt that education should be child-centered. The abilities, interests, tendencies, aptitudes, and capacities of children should be given due place. But who is going to identify these potentials and endowments of children and channelize them accordingly, of course, it is the teacher who has to do it. It is the teacher who makes education child-centered.

Various types of educational materials are required to provide education to children; different means of education have to be employed in various types of methods, tools, techniques, and devices that have to be followed. But without the teacher all these become meaningless. The whole process of teaching revolves around the teacher.

Teacher design the curriculum selects the appropriate teaching methods as well as tools and techniques and identify the needs and abilities of pupils before starting the instructional process.

Over and above all these the teacher has to provide constructive leadership for the regeneration of society and national development. The future of the nation is molded in classrooms and it is the teacher who nourishes it.

Every subject teacher occupies a peculiar and specific role to play in his own area of study. In the teaching of social science, the teacher occupies a pivotal role.

The teacher of social science deals with attitudes, values, ideals, and appreciation to a large extent than teachers if other branches of study.

This is because social science more than any other subject demands the expertise of well prepared conscientious men and women who teach the subject.

The qualities may be categorized as

Scholarship

Professional Training
Personality
Teaching Skills
Human Relations

Scholarship: Gaining scholarship warrants the following

Acquaintance with problems of present-day life and awareness about social issues
Background of a liberal education
Constant reading of newspapers, magazines and other materials
Wide reading of books on the subject taught
Sound knowledge of the subject taught

Professional Training :This involves training suitable for

Creating interest desire for improvement and urge for professional growth
Development of a positive professional attitude
Engaging elaborate reading and study of professional books
Creating interest in reading educational magazines
Mastering professional skills

Personality . It has three aspects

Physical aspects
Inner virtues
Executive abilities

Physical Aspects: These include

Personal appearance including dress body, language, social expression, mannerism and personal cleanliness
Etiquette including good manners observances of social norms, courtesy and refinement
Voice rich and mellow
Good language command including excellence in pronunciation enunciation and correct grammar
Health and hygiene

Inner Virtues: These include

Enthusiasm
Fairness
Friendliness
Optimism
Patience
Self-control
Sincerity
Sympathy
Tactfulness
Understanding
Executive abilities
Adaptability
Directive ability
Industry
Initiative
Organizing ability
Resourcefulness
Self-confidence
Self-reliance

IV Teaching Skills.

The core training program package aiming at enabling the teachers to acquire mastery of manipulative skills for enhancing their teaching effectiveness includes the skills

The skill of Class Management

Control and modulation of facial expression. The teacher should enter the class as a balanced person. Neatness and simplicity in dress and appearance should essentially be maintained. The teacher

must be calm and confident and this should be reflected in all his expressions and gestures.
Greeting and taking up proper positions in the class. The teacher is expected to offer greetings while entering the class and then occupy the central place, facing the class. He should move to the central place when students are offering greetings orally or by standing up and then face the class and respond to the greetings.
Movements (location in the classroom) Appropriate movements are required for performing balanced supervision of the class in general and for making him readily available to a student who seeks help.
Use of appropriate gestures in various situations and during various stages; Gestures that express approval, appreciation, and disapproval have a great bearing on learning. Smiling when a smile is unwanted, providing encouragement when it is not really required, and frequently showing displeasure will have negative effects. In short, gestures should be quite appropriate to the situation

TEACHER

Social responsibility demands that a social science teacher not only cares about actual students; but also must understand and prepare them and show them how to fit into the future community.

So to prepare students to be good citizens by providing them ways to help the institution itself be a good citizen while learning to be good citizens themselves; Therefore the social responsibility of teachers’ emphasis on how:

To create leadership development opportunities for students and to foster a commitment to social and civic responsibility;
To enhance the employability of students by providing opportunities to build a strong resume and to explore career goals;
To promote learning both for students and for community members;
To play a role in creating capacity in the community to work on complex societal problems.
To design a more effective way for the campus to contribute to economic and community development;.
Challenging encounters with important issues
More a way of learning than specific content
Prepares students to be intentional learners who can adapt to new environments, integrate knowledge from different sources and continue to learn throughout their lives
Prepares students who will be intentional, empowered, informed, and responsible.
Open up boundaries and stimulate the exchange of ideas using some of the strategies of learning organizations:
Celebrate the diversity of the school community. Recognize all of the intellectual levels of the students and allow them to participate in the community.
Incorporate environmental literacy into all of the content areas. Teach students about the interdependence of life forms; that materials flow through our ecosystems; that we are consumers of resources; that humans have an effect on environmental systems.
Create school democracies that have real power. Allow student governments to make recommendations to parents and school leadership groups. Assist students in learning the process of decision making.

14. Encourage students to make small changes through group action.

PROBLEMS FACED BY SOCIAL SCIENCE TEACHERS

Breadth VS Depth Social Science standards are often written so that it is virtually impossible to cover all the required material in the school year.
Dealing with controversial Topics Many topics in social science course deal with sensitive and at times controversial issues (E.g) Casteism, Religious issues.
Making connections to students lives Many of the topic deal with past and very difficult to connect with the lives of students The teacher have to work very hard to make those topics interest.
Need to vary Instruction There is a tendency to give a lot of lectures But social science must be taught through various methods and activities.
Staying at the lower level of Bloom’s Taxonomy: Much of teaching social science revolves around names, places and it is very easy to create assignments and tests that do not move beyond the recall level of Bloom’s taxonomy.

History is interpretative History is written from the viewpoints of the writer History text might describe the same event in a different way based on who wrote them. This gives a tough problem for the teacher who deals with them.

Too much reliance on Textbooks: Some social science teachers rely too much on their textbooks in class.
Lack of Interest Many students come into social science classes with a particular dislike of the some will complain that it has nothing to do with their lives others will just say it is boring.
Lack of resources available: The schools sometimes lack the learning sources for teaching social science.

NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

1. To achieve definite goals and objectives: The teacher should keep before him the general and specific aims of each lesson. Thus his field of work will be delimited. He should think of ways, means, and devices to realize his aim most successfully.

2. To prevent wastage: Planning prevents wastage of time and energy of both the teacher and the taught. Prepared beforehand the treatment of the lesson will be logical, orderly, and systematic with no thoughtless teaching.

3. To create self-confidence in the teacher: By planning the lessons wisely about his topic and his class the teacher shall enter the classroom with full confidence in himself. He shall know to proceed what general lines are to be followed, what material to be used, what activities are to be carried out by himself, and by pupils.

4. To create thoroughness and effectiveness: Keeping in view the mental capacities, attitudes, habits, interests, and aptitudes of the pupils to be taught a good lesson is planned before actual teaching. The teacher collects all the teaching aids, illustrative materials, and other essential things that contribute to effective teaching.

5. To make evaluation possible: A good lesson planning enables the teacher to evaluate his work as the lesson proceeds. Evaluation is possible only definite aims and objectives are kept in view.

LESSON PLANNING

A lesson plan is a systematic preparation done in a scientific manner. Effective and successful teaching mainly depends on perfect lesson planning. A lesson plan represents a single teaching unit meant for a class period. Generally, a lesson plan is a teacher’s mental and emotional visualization of classroom activities.

Definition: “Lesson plan is the title given to a statement of the achievement to be realized and the specific means by which these are to be attained as a result of the activities engaged in during the period”.

Bossing

“Daily lesson planning involves defining the objectives, selecting and arranging the subject matter and determining the method and procedure”.

Binging and Binging

A lesson plan is a teacher’s detailed description of the course of instruction or “learning trajectory’ for a lesson. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class learning. Details may vary depending on the preference of the teacher, subject being covered, and the needs of the students.

There may be requirements mandated by the school system regarding the plan. A lesson plan is the teacher’s guide for running the particular lesson, and it includes the goal( what the students are supposed to learn), how the goal will be reached the method, procedure) and a way of measuring how well the goal was reached ( test, worksheets, homework, etc.)

Objectives

• Create a well-organized lesson plan

• Understand the needs of the student and learning style

• Be prepared and confident while teaching in the classroom

• Help the students to achieve the aim/objective of the lesson

Why is lesson planning important?

Every teacher is required to prepare a lesson plan because this is considered a guide for the day’s lessons. Lesson planning is important because it gives the teacher a concrete direction of what she/he wants to take up for the day Research has shown that student learning is correlated to teacher planning.

One major explanation is that when the plan is ready, teachers can focus on its implementation. When teachers do not have to think so much about what they need to do next they are able to focus on other parts of the lesson.

1. Lesson planning is important because it helps teachers ensure that the day-to-day activities that go on in their classrooms are providing students with an adequate level of long-term progress toward the goals outlined in their scope and sequence, as well as their individual education plans when necessary.

2. An effective lesson plan includes several elements: learning objectives, quality questions.

Supplies and activities. It is essential to have the learning objectives in mind because those should drive the development and implementation of all activities in the classroom.

Quality questions are inquiries that the teacher plans to direct at the students over the course of the lesson. Sometimes these questions are rhetorical in nature, but more often they are designed to help the student think at a higher level than simple memorization and comprehension. It is important to come up with a plan for assessment to determine whether the class has met its targets.

3. Lesson planning is a complex vet essential part of the teaching process that changes over time as teachers gain more hands-on experience.

Need for lesson planning

• Through lesson planning the subject is organized properly

* It keeps the teacher free from the faults of thoughtless teaching

* It makes the proper atmosphere for the learning process.

• The teacher also starts to get a clear idea about when they should start their evaluation and when they should proceed to the next lesson.

• Lesson plan helps in organized teaching and saves time

* Lesson plan allows the teacher to apply the appropriate strategy.

* The Teacher will be more prepared and confident while teaching the lesson.

Advantages

1.Organized Teaching

Each step has been organized in a logical order which provides an opportunity for the fresh teacher to become aware of future mistakes. Originality is never affected and the teaching goes on in a very organized way.

2. Acquiring thoughts as apperception

Herbart believed that when the new thought related to the thoughts lying in the unconscious mind of the pupils are presented, the thoughts of the unconscious mind come to the conscious mind, establish a relationship with the new thought and again go to the unconscious mind. Herbart termed this material process of acquiring thoughts as apperception.

3. Use of Inductive and Deductive Methods

While presenting the new knowledge, the help of various examples is sought through generalization, and rules are derived. It is an inductive method. In the step application, these rules are to be executed, this is a deductive method. Thus, both indicative and deductive methods are used in these five steps..

4. Recapitulation

Such a question is asked while recapitulating which, on answering results in the learning and application of the acquired knowledge in new situations.

5. Correlation Possible

Herbart considered entire knowledge as a single unit. The knowledge of the pupils is acquired in a single unit. This allows establishing a correlation between previous and new knowledge and between all subjects of the curriculum.

Disadvantages

1.Mechanical Method of Teaching

The use of these steps takes away the freedom of the teacher as he cannot incorporate his independent thought in any step. This reduces his originality. Hence, the Herbartian approach is a mechanical method of teaching.

2.No Place for Individual Differences

While using the Herbartian approach. Similar questions are asked to the entire. This overlooks individual differences.

3. Useful in Knowledge Lesson only Herbartian approach is useful in the knowledge lesson only, not in appreciation and skill lessons.

4. Teacher More Active

In the Herbartian approach, the teacher has to be more active. It is more desirable if the pupils remain more active than the teachers. As this teaching method is not activity-centered, pupils don’t get any motivation for learning.

5.No need for Generalization

Generalization is not needed while teaching language, geography, history, music, and arts, etc. Thus, all five steps are not needed while teaching.

6. Uninteresting

This approach stresses the teaching of all the subjects of curriculum in a similar sequence overlooking the interests, attitudes, abilities, and capacities of the pupils according to their mental development. The entire teaching becomes monotonous. The pupil does not show any interest in acquiring new knowledge. Thus, Herbart’s teaching method is not interesting.

7.The difficulty of Correlation.

Considering the knowledge as a complete unit, Herbart emphasized the correlation between different subjects for the unity in the mental life of the pupils, but following these five steps teachers impart the knowledge of different subjects to the pupils differently. They seek to establish a correlation between various subjects to bring integration in the mental life of the pupils, which is essentially difficult, if not impossible, this approach with necessary changes keeping its merits in view.

(IN POINTS) Advantages of Lesson Planning

1. It inspires the teacher to improve further lessons.

2. It helps the teacher in evaluating his teaching,

3. It develops self-confidence in the teacher.

4. Proper care is taken into consideration, the level and previous knowledge of students.

5. The teaching matter is organized in a time-frame.

6. It inspires the teacher to ask for proper and important questions.

7. It provides guidance to the teacher as to what and home he should teach.

8. It helps in creating the interest of students towards the lesson.

9. It stimulates the teacher to think in an organized manner.

10. It helps the teacher to understand to objectives properly.

Limitations of Lesson-Planning

1. In new or odd situations a teacher feels helpless.

2. Sometimes simple matters become complicated.

3. More time is required to plan a lesson.

4. The teacher cannot work/teach independently.

5-There is a lack of flexibility in lesson planning.

TYPES OF LESSON PLANS/VARIOUS FORMS

Many schools require that teachers submit lesson plans in a specific format on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. For teachers who do not have a required format, a variety of formats are available to meet individual needs.

Five-Step Lesson Plan

A five-step lesson plan is a form of daily lesson planning that includes the following components: anticipatory set, instruction, guided practice, closure or assessment, and independent practice.

In the anticipatory set, a teacher should note the objective of the lesson, explain how it connects to past learning, and describe the purpose of what is being learned.

These items should be written in a student-friendly form so the teacher can easily convey them to the students during the lesson.

For the instruction section, a teacher must list how she will use direct teaching through modes such as lecturing, providing notes or showing a video, and modeling by demonstrating how to complete a process or activity.

This section should also include questions or brief activities the teacher will use to check to see if students are understanding the material.

The third step is guided practice, which asks the teacher to list any activity students will complete in the classroom with a teacher or peer assistance.

This is followed by the fourth step, closure or assessment, which requires an activity to help the teacher get a snapshot of what students learned that day.

This section can include an exit slip, a short reflection, or something more in-depth such as a quiz or a test.

Independent practice is the fifth section of this format. In many cases, the independent practice can be completed in class; however, in the five-steps plan, independent practice is the place the teacher lists any homework assignments students will be expected to complete related to that day’s lesson.

Five-E Lesson Plan

The five-E lesson plan format asks teachers to list components that deal with engaging, explaining, exploring, elaborating, and evaluating.

This lesson plan begins with a question or brief activity that hooks or engages students at the beginning of the lesson. In the second phase, the teacher lectures or provides a video, reading passage, or demonstration to explain the material and its key terms.

After explaining the concept, a teacher must show what activity students will complete helping them explore the material. These activities can include stations, cooperative learning groups, games, worksheets, or other instructional methods.

The fourth component, elaborating, can be compared to independent practice. Activities should help students apply the concept to a variety of situations. This work can be completed in class or as a homework assignment.

Each five-E lesson plan ends with an evaluation component to determine whether students have learned the material. This can come in the form of a formal, graded assessment, or students can be informally assessed with a question and answer session, exit slip, or short writing prompt.

Lesson plans are an essential component of successful teaching experience. These plans help ensure that all standards and materials are covered, providing a teacher and students with a structure for each class day. Many schools require that teachers submit lesson plans in a specific format on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. For teachers who do not have a required format, a variety of formats are available to meet individual needs.

Weekly Lesson Plan

A weekly lesson plan is an ideal format for teachers who are covering a similar topic throughout the week. At the top of the lesson plan, teachers should list the standards, objectives, and essential questions being covered that week. Under that section, each day of the week is listed with a short description of the activities for that day. At the end of the plan, a section should be included to list any assessments that will cover the week’s instruction, such as a unit or chapter exam or special project.

Unit Plan

For teachers who do not work well with elaborate plans, a unit plan is a simple way to guide instruction. At the top of the unit plan, teachers list all of the standards and objectives covered in the unit along with the projected time-frame for the unit.

Below is a list of all activities expected to be part of the unit, followed by a list of all assessments related to the unit. Each day, a teacher presents lessons to students with that unit in mind, but since there is no specific plan laid out, there is some flexibility in what is covered each day.

Inquiry-Based Lesson Plan

Inquiry-based lesson plans are especially useful for the science classroom because they involve experimentation and hands-on activities that allow the teacher to be a facilitator of learning rather than an instructor.

Lesson plans that are inquiry-based include very little lecture or notes. Teachers begin this type of lesson plan by listing the standards and objectives to be covered. After that should be a detailed description of any activities students are to complete during the day’s lesson.

Activities should not include worksheets or exams, but instead hands-on problem-solving experiences through experiments, cooperative learning groups, or stations.

After the activity, teachers should list a variety of inquiry-based questions to ask students to promote discussion of the concepts and material covered in the activity and help further facilitate student learning.