"Effective teachers are capable of meaningful long, medium, and short-term planning."

 

 

Planning is key to good teaching.  Not only does a teacher need to devise good lessons on a day-to-day basis, but he or she must also cover all of the learner expectations as defined by the curriculum.  In order to be certain of covering the entire year’s curriculum, teachers must undertake long-term planning.  Unit plans, on the other hand, need careful planning in order to connect the content and concepts in a logical or aesthetic order.  Finally, lesson plans and day-to-day plans are essential for the purposes of the coherent, orderly flow of learning in the classroom.  Flexibility in planning is paramount to this coherency.  In addition, teachers need to keep in mind the inherent give and take of day-to-day routines with a clear awareness that they themselves are flexible while curricular objectives are not. 


I recognize that advanced planning removes unpleasant surprises from my classroom.  Knowing what materials are needed for each day, and understanding the flow of learning on a weekly, monthly and semestrial basis, brings real meaning to the 45-minute lesson block for both the teacher and students.  On the other hand, teachers need to consider student needs and the phenomena of timeliness, so that planning does not get in the way of learning.  

  Artefacts Artefacts





Reflection On Planning Artefact One

Reflection on PlanningArtefact Two



Reflection -- Planning a Web Quest cooperatively with another teacher.Artefact Three 

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Artefact One Reflection On Planning


Reflection on Artefact one
Reflection on Artefact one



This lesson plan was very difficult to prepare. Not only was I not sure what the students were capable of doing, but also I needed to know intimately what they would have to do to complete the assignment. As a result, I created the maps myself as I was doing the assignment. It was a fun activity even though I was very busy at the time. This particular lesson shows what I call tandem planning. In order to plan a set of objectives you must know what skills the students already possess. Then you must develop the skills that they need to complete a particular assignment so that they will not be overwhelmed.

















Artefact One

China Geography lesson #2 -- Simple Map of China

 

April 18/2000               Covering lessons on the week of the 17th    Time: 100-140 min.

 

Objectives: Students will . . .

·                    Make a regional map to show a variety of features

·                    Read and interpret legends of physical features and regions using an atlas.

·                    Begin to understand how the physical environment of a country affects the way people live.

·                    Estimate then compute distances within a country.

·                    Infer relations in data shown (i.e. physical region and occupation or population).

·                    Using an atlas locate places in China

 

Anticipatory Set: Begin by displaying the Chinese folk-art cut outs.  Discuss these art forms and get some reflection on how they were made and the kind of skills are required.

Procedure:     

 

1.                  Why are we studying China?  Ask this question and get the groups to discuss it for a few minutes.  Discuss.

2.                  Review the answers to the world map (show them the master).

3.                  Create Rubric for map of China (visual appeal, completeness, accuracy & poor, fair, good, excellent).

4.                  Once Rubric has been designed hand out the self-evaluation sheets and ask each student to rate their world map by this rubric and set goals for the next map. (Instruct students that once completed they will go over their maps in pen so they will be legible (published copy)).

5.                  Emphasize that these will go into their portfolios.

6.                  Rework the map with pen.

7.                  Begin map of China section: Review the transparencies of China and its regions/physical features/population density.

8.                  Show overhead of the worksheet and model one or two answers, model the scale question.

 

Assessment:  Design a Rubric with the class have them self-evaluate their first map and use this rubric as a guide for their second map.

 

Questions:

v     Why study China (and not Vietnam for example)?

v     How does geography affect the way we live (where we live)?

 

 

 

 

 

Name: ________________

 

Map of China Worksheet

 

Do the following activities using pencil, eraser, and ruler only.  Use your textbooks "Changing China" as the source for the following information.  You can use an atlas as well.  Later when you are ready to do your published copy you can use pens.

 

1.       What goals have you set, based on the last mapping project? ______________________

______________________________________________________________________

 

2.      Label your map "China".

 

3.      Leaf through your textbooks and take note of useful maps and other information on China.  Here is some space to jot down the information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.      Find a map that indicates some major rivers of China.  Mark these rivers on your map (be sure to adjust for the difference in scale).  Use the shapes of China’s borders to guide the placement of your rivers.

 

 

5.      Find the appropriate map in your textbook or in an atlas to find the location of major cities.   Notice that the scale of this map is quite different from the scale in your book -- be careful.  Use the border shapes of China to guide you in properly placing features of China on your map.  Mark at least 5 major cities in their appropriate place.

 

 

 

6.      Based on a map in the atlas China is approximately 5000 km in length along the 30 degree line of latitude.  Based on this information create your own scale for this map (be as accurate as you can).  Make this scale in the bottom left hand corner of your map.

 

 

7.      Develop a legend, and using pencil crayons lightly colour in the areas of the map that are: mountain, plain, and plateau.  Put your legend in the bottom left corner of the map.

 

 

8.      Find a map that indicates the regions (hint: there are three regions) of China.  Mark the borders of these regions.

 

 

9.      Find a map that indicates the population of China and mark it on your map (at the bottom or top).

 

 

 

10.  Find a map that indicates the population density of different regions of China.  Near the legend write a few words about where the majority of Chinese live (which regions and why?). Remember to write lightly so you can make a nice published copy of this map.

 

 

11.  On your map, indicate several of the countries that border on China, including India.  You will probably need to look at a modern map of the world if you want to be accurate.  Why is that write? ______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

12.  Why do you think the majority of Chinese live in this region (or regions)?

_____________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Self-evaluation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:_____________

 

Based on the Rubric provided:

Out of 4, I rate my work as a __________

 

Because . . . ________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next time I do a project like this one I would like to set these goals: _________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Comments:

________________________________________________________

 

 

 

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Artefact Two The Unit Plan. 300 kb
 
Reflection On Artefact Two




This thematic unit plan was extremely difficult for me to develop. I had little experience with Kindergarten children before this plan and I was not sure what I could expect them to do. I devised a great number of learning centres for this classroom. Along with the skills I developed in singing to my Kindergarten class, I also developed some skills in creating learning centres.
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Artefact Three Planning a Web Quest with a cooperating teacher.
 

Reflection on Artefact Three



This Web Quest was a collaborative effort by Tom Stewart and Shawn Monaghan.  In collaborating on this quest, I had an interest in providing a good background for my China Mapping Unit. In my original unit plan, I took the students on a virtual tour of China. Although this worked quite well, I think the process could be much more interesting if students went on that tour themselves (with guidance). Perhaps they could then show me a thing or two about China.

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