Johns Hopkins University 

My classroom is made up of 22 young scholars with diverse strengths and needs. As their teacher, it is my responsibility to use the knowledge I have of them and create a learning environment that supports their acquisition and application of the content, which in turn, promotes progress toward achieving their rigorous goals.

 

To create an environment that is conducive to learning careful planning begins at different levels including long-term, unit, and lesson planning. To develop effective leveled plans, I’m cognizant of the long- and short-range goals my students must achieve throughout the year, and through various assessments, everyday interactions with students, and collaboration within my grade-level, I’m able to adjust plans, so all my students can access the content.

 

Long-term planning begins a year in advance and is a collaborative process with my grade level. I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to work with veteran teachers, and they provide thoughtful insight and experience as we map out our year to come. By starting with long-term planning, we can identify our grade-level long-range goals based on the common core state standards and then create an outline of the year, plotting our units and activities so we can build learning environments that incorporate cross-disciplinary skills.

 

After we establish an outline, we move to the next level of planning, unit planning where we take a closer look at the content and standards covered. As a grade level, we backward plan from the last unit, ensuring we cover all within our limited time frame, specifying the goals of each unit and the standards included. We also identify assessments that coincide with the unit’s content, so they are responsive to what was learned.

 

At the most detailed level of planning is lesson plans. Lesson planning also undergoes backward planning by first identifying the objective and then the lessons standards. Additionally, with lesson planning, it is essential to understand the pre-requisite skills students must have to access the content of the lessons. By knowing the pre-requisite skills, I’m able to differentiate my instruction so each can demonstrate success.