Introduction
Planning a lesson plan involves several instructional decisions that fit the student’s grade. The teacher must identify elements such as the content and processes to be covered, the student’s strengths, needs, and interests, and the essential learnings and most effective instructional approaches to be incorporated. Each lesson plan entails the model of instruction to be used, how the lesson will change as a function of the children’s age, and the difference in the function of the content area to be covered. The science lesson entails how magnetic fields interact, while the language lesson examines fairy stories.
Model of Instructions
Late elementary lesson plans are based on the direct instruction teaching model as the teacher emphasizes explicit teaching, including lectures and didactic questioning. The teacher does not stop explaining a concept but engages in different topics for further reading (Renard, 2019). The teacher guides the students through lectures and dictations while elaborating on the different topics related to the reading. Early elementary lesson plans are based on the 5E Learning Sequence focused on engaging, exploring, explaining, elaborating, and assessing students’ comprehension. This model places students at the center of the learning process by promoting active learning and a hands-on approach to explaining topics. In this model, students are more involved in listening and reading as they ask questions, observe and discuss their understanding of the topic. The lesson plan considers how the information learned builds students’ understanding.
Changes in Lesson Plans Based on Children’s Age
The three basic changes in lesson plans regarding a child’s age entail the course’s objectives, the teaching and learning activities, and assessment methods. The science lesson plan regarding the effect of magnetic fields changes its objectives based on the age of the students. Early elementary grades’ lesson objectives entail how magnets attract and repel, while late elementary students’ lesson objective is to investigate the principle of electromagnetic induction. These concepts are similar as they refer to magnetic interactions, but the lesson activities and assessments vary. The early elementary lesson will entail learning the relationships of magnets and how they react when in contact by holding them for all students to see (Greacen, 2018). The teaching plan will entail learning through experimentation. The assessment will incorporate student participation as the teacher observes. The late elementary lesson plan activity will entail learning through lectures as the teacher dictates how the magnetic fields work.
The students will note the relevant material during the lesson and experiment with the abstract concepts to determine their validity. The assessment method will entail continuous tests and final exams to determine if students understood the concepts (Lesson Plan, n.d). Early elementary students learn the basic concept of evil and good in fairy tales’ language and arts section. In contrast, late elementary students determine the meaning of phrases used in the text, including figurative language and the theme of the stories. Early elementary students learn the stories as the teacher coherently reads to them. However, late elementary students learn by reading stories while simultaneously analyzing hidden concepts (Baharian, n.d). There is rarely any assessment regarding fairy stories in early elementary lessons, while late elementary students are assessed on the various themes and figures of speech hidden in the stories.
Change in Content
Changes in lesson plans entail the content of the specific activity. Content comprises the knowledge, concepts, and skills that students need to learn based on the curriculum. The content of science and language lesson plans differ, including key vocabulary, resources, activities, outcomes, and lesson assessment. The role of facts is highly relevant in science lessons than in language lesson plans. Furthermore, discourse is common in language lessons as it requires less knowledge of facts. The science lesson plans move from abstract to concrete concepts as students can perform experiments to determine the viability of the abstract idea.
The lesson plan encourages independent investigation by providing students with tools such as magnets to experiment with the learned concept. The language lesson plan specializes in storytelling; thus, experimental tools are not considered (Studentreasures, 2018). The process delivery differentiates the science and language lessons regarding tools used. The science lesson plan uses videos, readings, and lectures to expound on concepts. In contrast, language lessons only use audio and readings as the teacher may read a book or use it as an audio file.
Best Lesson Plan
The most captivating lesson plan is the grade three teaching guide on how magnets work. The lesson plan highlights the lesson objectives and expounds on how the lesson impacts the next class regarding relationships of magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other. The lesson starts by asking about the magnets and proceeds to general principles regarding magnetic interactions (Greacen, 2018). The teacher summarized the introduction by asking questions regarding the abstract concepts learned and proceeded to the experimentation part. The teacher then allows the students to experiment independently and asks for feedback. This lesson plan is the best example of good instruction as it arranges its thoughts coherently and focuses on student feedback.
Conclusion
Late elementary lesson plans are based on direct instructions where the teacher introduces the topic and then presents new learning material through lectures and dictations. In contrast, early elementary lesson plans entail the 5E instructional model where the teacher helps students comprehend information by providing everyday experiences, observing, and listening as students interact in groups and then as consultants. The change in lesson plan can occur based on the children’s age and content as they determine the objectives, the teaching and learning activities, assessment methods, key vocabulary, and resources incorporated in the teaching plan.
References
Baharian, S. (n.d.). Fairy Tale Lesson Plan. Teacher.org. Web.
Greacen, K. (2018). Lesson Plan: How Magnets Work. Education World. ww.educationworld.com. Web.
Lesson Plan: Electromagnetism (age 14 -16. Electromagnetic Induction. Objectives. (n.d.). Web.
Renard, L. (2019). Direct instruction – A practical guide to effective teaching. Book Widgets. Web.
Studentreasures. (2018). Magical Fairy Tale Lesson Plans for Kindergarten Classrooms. Studentreasures Publishing. Web.