essay about lesson planning

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Importance of Lesson-Planning Essay Examples

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Time Management , Education , Time , Teaching , Learning , Students , Goals , Planning

Words: 2500

Published: 02/02/2020

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Introduction

A lesson plan is a framework for any lesson that a teacher has to compile before attending a class. The lesson plans are the products of a teacher’s thoughts about their classes including what goals they hope to achieve at the end of their classes and gives the different methods/ways of achieving the goals and most of the lesson plans are in written form (O'Bannon, 2008).

Importance of lesson planning

Lesson planning is of great significance to both the learner and the teacher in very many ways. The lesson plan acts as a guide to the teachers in order to efficiently teach the same subject and topic for a presentation. The plan therefore acts as a road map to the teaching process. It therefore keeps the teachers on track in order to accomplish the lesson objectives. In some other cases, through the use of the lesson plans, the teachers are able to achieve a logical content arrangement which in turn makes the lesson to be sequential thus improving the learning teaching process through logical impact of the instructions (O'Bannon, 2008). The lesson plan is significant for enabling the early preparation of teachers making a smooth running of the lesson, this happens when the lesson plan has been effectively organized. The early preparation of the teacher enhances effective content delivery and arrangement of all the required equipment and resources for facilitating the learning of that specific content. Some of the resources and equipment that would be organized prior to the lesson involve computers, projectors, availing hand outs and the preparation of the white writing boards and even the semblance of pens. The lesson planning process is important since it adequately provides an evaluation room and process for the teachers in their teachings and resource use. This is in line with the various components of lesson plans which include the objectives, the instructional activities and assessment/evaluation of the teaching process (Mitchell, Diana, & Stephen, 1999). A lesson plan is important in ensuring time management. Through the use of lesson plans, a teacher is able to be guided by the time limits that are provided against each and every activity that is to be carried out throughout the whole lesson, sticking to the provided time limits enable the students and teachers not to exceed the timeline thereby saving more time for other activities. Each time that has been allocated for each particular learning content is professionally utilized by the teacher thus enhancing a time balance during the teaching-learning process. Through the use of lesson plans, the teacher is able to realize the use of varied activities throughout the lesson. The lesson plan enlists the varied communication and instructional activities that a teacher should engage students in during the class time. Such learning activities include questions and answers, formation of groups for discussions, practicum, discussions, presentations and argumentative statements. Through this, the learners learning ability is boosted and thus learning becomes effective and efficient due to the application of a variety of practices within the single lesson framework. Lesson planning is important in the sense that the plans at times act as the memory banks for the teachers. Since the plans have kind of short notes written on them regarding the subject content to be taught, the teacher might refer to them at the time of memory lapse. This helps the teachers not to give irrelevant or rather suspicious instructions to the students. It therefore further act as a memory defense and a point of reference for the teachers while teaching. Lesson planning is a professional requirement for all teachers. A lesson plan is therefore a professional document that a practicing teacher or rather a teacher trainee needs to posses in order to deliver and work within their professional requirements. The ability of a teacher to make a lesson plan enhances the reliability and credibility of such a teacher in the professional teaching field. Through lesson planning, the teacher is able to carry out an assessment of whether the lesson objectives have been achieved by creating and testing a balance between what the objectives of the lesson were and the probable knowledge that has been gained throughout the lesson time thus enabling the teacher to assess the importance and effectiveness of different strategies and resources in achieving the varied educational goals. Lesson planning is a basis of future planning thus increasing the teacher’s future performance in the delivery of the content to learners. The content that has been taught to a particular group at an earlier date can be delivered to a next group of learners by gaining reference to the already existing lesson plans and short notes as the benchmark (Wong, 1998).

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The teaching learning context

The teaching learning context in this case involves a case of children around the age of eight at the lower grade level of learning who are learning more than one language basically English language and other foreign languages. This is basically evident by the presence of writings on the wall marts in a foreign language seemingly Chinese with its relevant translation into the English language. The theories of second language acquisition demand that the learning takes place gradually with limited output during the initial stages of learning new words. In establishing a lesson plan therefore, I would prefer the use of simple models that seem basic such as cups, bowls, spoons and troughs as the learning resources since they are the basic materials that the learners are used to and thus are able to initialize their meanings at a faster rate. This depends on the theory of second language acquisition which states that the progress in learning should be from the less demanding vocabulary related activities towards the complex ones. Vocabulary learning becomes more effective when learners engage themselves with small work groups just like the ones on the wall marts since they are mastered first (Barcroft, 2001). The methodology of learning foreign languages is largely based on the theory stating that it concentrates on simple words with their translations are effective methods of learning and should be reinforced together with relevant together with pictures and pronunciation with maximum avoidance of elements that would distract the process of vocabulary learning such as sentence building at the beginning of the language learning stage. (Nation, 2001) In establishing a lesson plan for such a class, interactions would be a major learning activity since the second language transfer is primarily based on the principles of social interactions with the learners having a comprehensive input to the learning process.

The elements of lesson planning

The core of a lesson is the task and thus the task is organized into varied categories bearing in mind the fact that any vocabulary and grammar formation is largely dependent and increases the likelihood of learners’ distraction away from the task on the detection of errors or looking up languages in grammatical dictionaries. The basic outline of the task based learning lesson is composed of the pre-task, Task and the language focus and task activities.

The lesson or instructional objectives

These are the specific aims that the teacher has for the indicated lesson and should be achieved at the end of the lesson. These are the objectives drawn from the lesson content and should be achieved as short term objectives. The instructional objectives are useful in providing guidance to the teacher in choosing the content matter to be taught to that group of learners. The instructional objectives also guide the teacher on the appropriate selection of materials and resources to be used during the lesson in order to facilitate the learning in class. Through the analysis of the instructional objectives, the teacher is able to design the appropriate teaching strategies and methods. Having understood the lesson objectives, the teacher is able to design and provide the set standards that can be used in measuring the level of student achievements. The objectives are also significant in providing the teachers with the appropriate feedback about the learner and providing observable behaviors to the learners relating to the topic of study (O'Bannon, 2008).

The pre-task cycle

At this point of the lesson, the teacher presents whatever content is to be expected of the students in the task phase. The teacher primes the students with the key vocabulary and grammatical constructs. The learner becomes responsible for selecting the appropriate language for this learning context themselves. The teacher may at this point present the learners with a model of the task through personal involvement, presenting audio materials, video materials or rather presenting the learners with pictures. At this stage, as a teacher I would provide the learners with basic pictures and audio materials that are present as the available resources for such a learning context (Ellis, 2003).

The task cycle

During this phase, the learners are allowed to perform the real task of the lesson; this may take several forms and structures dependent on the type of task thus ranging from small group works, individuals and even stratified clusters of students. The teacher might not play a role at this phase thus changing to be only a counselor or rather an observer. This a more of student centered methodology and is significant in the second language acquisition since the learners need to be more of involved in the process than the teachers. At this point the students will be involved in recitations and group discussions concerning their second language thus their ability to acquire the second language is boosted. After the learner discussions and problem solving approaches, the learners compile a report which is then presented to the teacher and this gives the tasks they have discussed and the final conclusions that they have reached. The learners therefore present their findings in spoken or written formats (Ellis, 2003).

The language focus stage

This stage the specific features from the task and highlighted and a basis of work is instituted upon them. The feedback concerning the learners’ performance at the reporting stage is also provided at this point. The main advantages of task based learning are that the language is used for genuine purposes indicating that real communications is able to take place. At the time when the learners are reporting their discussions they are forced to consider the general language form rather than the specific nature of other models. The aim of task based model is integrating all the four different learning skills. Since the task based learning model is concerned with reading texts, listening to texts, role plays, use of questionnaires and problem solving it offers a great deal of flexibility thus leading more motivational activities of the learners (Ellis, 2003).

The methodology of learning foreign languages is largely based on the theory stating that it concentrates on simple words with their translations are effective methods of learning and should be reinforced together with relevant together with pictures and pronunciation with maximum avoidance of elements that would distract the process of vocabulary learning such as sentence building at the beginning of the language learning stage. The various task phase methodologies such as the use of group discussions and chart studies are very key in improving the second language acquisition process thus would form a basis of learning through the task based model.

Challenges facing teachers in the planning process

Lack of adequate resources The lack of enough resources is one major challenge that faces the lesson planning process. Planning involves the infusion of various resources and equipment in the lesson content and activities. The available limited resources pose a problem when it comes to their utilization and planning for use. The planning of practicum sessions is restricted in such cases since the resources for such activities are not readily available thus limiting the achievement of such instructional objectives based on learner’s practicality and application.

The reference books and dictionaries are also limited thus making the planning for language studies a nightmare to the teachers.

The resources are not up to date The available resources such as dictionaries and encyclopedia may not be up to date thus unable to provide the current information with the changing technological world. Planning for lessons therefore becomes a very heavy task in that the available data does not really match the standards of study. The teachers are therefore unable to effectively plan and deliver to the learners due to the large information gap existing between the updated and old school books.

Limited time available

There is a major challenge in time that is allocated for each and every unit in the schools. All the units are allocated same duration of time which really does not take into considerations the wider nature of certain unit syllabi which require a lot of time. Practicum lessons which require a lot of time are therefore allocated little time thus a problem with achieving the topic objectives.

Individual differences and exposure

Learners hail from different social, economic and political backgrounds thus planning for learner involving activities is a major problem when it comes to assembling technological resources which might have not been exposed to those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This diverts the attention of the planner to use alternative resources which would not be effective. Learners have individual differences such as health issues, intellectual differences within learning institutions. Learners with disabilities require more time that is dedicated to them which is rarely not provided for by the school curriculum (Wong, 1998).

Insights gained for planning in the future

Acquisition of adequate resources and up to date The subject teachers at various learning institutions should be at a position of making requisitions for the resources that are needed for the learning process. The purchase should be made such that the learners do not really strain for the resources during the lesson hours. The resources being purchased should also conform to the changing structures so that they are up to date and with relevant information to help in the knowledge transfer and reconciliation.

Compressing the syllabus content

Since the time available is inadequate for covering the basic syllabus, the syllabus should be compressed such that only the relevant and crucial content is left for study. The teachers can also overcome this by only planning for the lessons in areas of available resources and for a limited duration of time.

SAMPLE LESSON PLAN

Sub-topic: Instructional Objectives:

Barcroft, J. (2001). Second language vocabulary acquisition:A lexical input processing approach. Foreign Language Annals, 37(2), 323-363. Chenoweth, K. (2009). How it's being done:Urgent lessons from unexpected schools. Cambridge: Havard Education Press. Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: New York:Oxford Applied Linguistics. Mitchell, Diana, & Stephen, T. (1999). Exploring and Teaching the English Language Arts (4th ed.). Boston: MA:Allyn & Bacon. Nation, I. (2001). Learning Vocabulary in another language. cambridge: Cambridge University Press. O'Bannon, B. (2008). What is a Lesson Plan? Tennessee: University of Tennesseee. Wong, H. K. (1998). The first Days of School:How to be an effective Teacher. Mountainview,CA: Harry K. Wong Publications.

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Oxford Education Blog

The latest news and views on education from oxford university press., why is planning so important for effective teaching.

Professor Chris Kyriacou

I have spent more than 30 years teaching about and doing research on what constitutes ‘effective’ teaching. Over the years I have become more and more convinced that the key to being a successful teacher, both in terms of the quality of learning you promote, and in terms of maintaining your own mental health and enthusiasm for the work you do, is to make sure you devote enough time to planning . Of course, we all know that teaching is a complex activity and involves a wide variety of tasks and qualities, but in my dealings with teachers, ranging from novices to experienced, I still come across many teachers who do not devote enough time to planning and haven’t fully realised the massive benefits that good planning offers, and how it can really help them.

How and why is your teaching effective?

As teachers, we know that teaching is, in essence, about helping pupils to learn. Careful thinking about what it is exactly that you want your pupils to learn, and how best to enable your pupils to achieve this through the learning experiences you provide for them, lies at the heart of the planning process. All successful teachers need to be pupil focused; in other words, you have to think about how the learning activity you have set up will be experienced by each pupil, and how this experience will generate your intended learning outcomes. you’ll find that the planning process forces you to make explicit how and why your teaching will be effective for every one of your pupils.

Golden Time

Lesson plans also provide a huge number of important benefits for you. Firstly, a lesson plan helps provide you with thinking time during the lesson. In particular, it enables you to reflect on how the lesson is going whilst it is in progress, and to think about whether and how small adjustments might need to be made, and time to think about how well each pupil’s learning experience is being optimised. Thinking time during a lesson is like gold-dust – it’s the most valuable commodity that a teacher needs to have and is often in short supply. Good planning means that the many decisions that you need to make during a lesson, have already been thought through before the lesson take place. If you’ve planned the learning, and the logistical arrangements for the lesson in advance then you’ll have more time to get on with the business of  assessing pupils’ progress whilst the lesson is going on – and you’ll buy yourself some golden time to deal with the unexpected.

Plans help relieve day to day stress

A second important benefit for you is in terms of stress. For newly qualified teachers, you can go into a lesson confident that you have planned what will be happening, that the materials you need to use have been checked and are to hand, that the correct answers to the questions you pose are readily available to you to refer to, and that the precise qualities and features you expect in a good piece of work will be explicit. The more you can do to build up that confidence at the start if the lesson, based on your planning, the more relaxed you will feel.

Try something new!

Finally, another great benefit of planning is that it enables you to be innovative and try out new approaches and ideas in your teaching. When busy and tired, it’s not surprising that some teachers stick with teaching activities that are tried and tested and which manifestly work successfully. There is nothing wrong with this over the short-term. The time and effort you put into planning your lessons will deliver rich dividends for your pupils in being able to experience lessons that you have homed to perfection. However, time marches on, what and how you teach today will not be what is considered to be good practice in the future. The school curriculum is ever changing (and, of course, the new Ofsted Inspection Framework will be on many teachers’ minds at the moment), be it in terms of the content of the course and lessons, the learning outcomes, the use of technology, the methods of assessment, and working with other staff.

Overhauling your planning can be a daunting challenge if you leave adopting such new approaches for too long. Devoting time to planning has an inbuilt element of reflection involved: how can I improve my teaching? Such reflection can help you stay at the forefront of innovative thinking and practice rather than feeling you are having to catch up with good practice under duress.

Professor Chris Kyriacou is based at the University of York Department of Education, and is the author of “Essential Teaching Skills” , the fifth edition of which was published by Oxford University Press in 2018.

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The importance of lesson planning for student success.

Navigate the educational landscape and unlock the secrets to successful teaching with our blog on lesson planning for student success. Explore its significance to teachers and understand why a lesson plan is important in teaching. This comprehensive guide outlines the importance of lesson planning for teachers and provides valuable insights into creating well-structured plans that resonate with curriculum goals. Immerse yourself in strategic lesson planning for a transformative teaching experience that fosters student success and educator growth.

Lesson Planning Is Essential to Teaching

Any experienced teacher will tell you that lesson planning is a big part of the job. Teachers around the world routinely spend as much as half of their working time on non-teaching activities, and lesson planning accounts for much of that time. 1, 2

Lesson planning is how teachers synthesize the curriculum goals with pedagogy and knowledge of their specific teaching context. 3 Ask ten teachers about the benefits of lesson planning, and you might very well get ten unique answers. There are also different opinions about how far ahead a teacher should plan lessons. Some recommend working a week out, while others advocate planning a month ahead. 4, 5

In the end, though, creating successful learning outcomes for students is the goal. Although well-designed lesson plans take time and thought, it's an investment that can provide returns in many ways. Explore the elements to consider when creating lesson plans and what factors teachers can include in planning to assure success for themselves, their classrooms and, most importantly, their students.

The Many Reasons Why Lesson Planning Is Important

Effective lesson planning contributes to successful learning outcomes for students in several ways. A well-designed lesson plan:

• Helps students and teachers understand the goals of an instructional module
• Allows the teacher to translate the curriculum into learning activities
• Aligns the instructional materials with the assessment
• Aligns the assessment with the learning goal
• Helps assure that the needed instructional materials are available
• Enables the teacher to thoughtfully address individual learning needs among students

Effective lesson planning can also contribute to the teacher’s own success and well-being. Teachers teach because they want to support students, and effective lesson planning can contribute to job satisfaction when a lesson is successful or a student does well on an assessment. Having a skillfully-planned lesson can also make the act of teaching more pleasurable by increasing the teacher’s confidence in themselves and letting them focus more on interaction with the students than on what is supposed to happen next. Importantly, good planning can save time by avoiding last-minute efforts to buy supplies or create materials needed for a day in the classroom. Teachers can use that reclaimed time for themselves or other parts of their lives, increasing work-life balance.

The Importance of Lesson Planning to Effective Curriculum Delivery

“Curriculum” is a word with many meanings, depending on the context. At the most abstract level, curriculum theory addresses such different aspects of teaching as what elements are included in the course of study, along with considerations of how it is taught and tested. See “What Are the 8 Types of Curriculum?” for more on curriculum theory.

Some curricula are more detailed and structured than others. 6 Regardless of the level of detail, the importance of lesson planning is that it bridges the curriculum’s intent with the daily teaching and learning in a classroom. At a minimum, lesson planning adds the element of time, breaking the curriculum into units delivered each session. Usually, though, teachers incorporate their training and knowledge of their students into the task, translating a previously developed curriculum into an action plan for their classroom.

The Importance of Lesson Planning to Student Assessment

The lesson plan translates the curriculum into clear daily goals for student learning that include a description of the objective and a way to measure the student’s attainment of it. 7 A few standard measurement methods are tests, homework assignments and group work. One benefit of the lesson plan is fitting the assessment to the particular goal while accounting for your specific situation. Some educational writers argue that teachers should design the evaluation before designing the learning activities.4 Working outward from the central idea of the learning objective allows teachers flexibility in choosing the type of assessment that will best suit their students and the classroom environment.

Why Lesson Planning Is Important for Classroom Management

Building the lesson plan outward from your learning goals also offers much-needed flexibility in adapting instructional delivery and classroom management during uncertain times. Classes that move from onsite to online or hybrid require different delivery methods, requiring adjustments to existing plans. Such situations highlight the importance of lesson planning in keeping the class moving smoothly from task to task regardless of the learning environment. Advance lesson planning also minimizes the need for discipline and allows you to make the most of your time with students.

Better Lesson Planning Creates More Student Success

Student success and good behavior are more likely when your pupils are actively engaged in classwork. A thoroughly planned lesson facilitates that desirable state by considering unique student educational needs. “All successful teachers need to be pupil-focused; in other words, you have to think about how the learning activity you have set up will be experienced by each pupil, and how this experience will generate your intended learning outcomes.” 8

​​Better Lesson Planning Is Important for Teacher Success

Teacher success is predicated on student success. Beyond that, the documents you create as part of the planning process are usually part of your evaluation by school administrators. Therefore, having well-prepared and documented plans is an integral part of your success as a teacher. Your lesson plans also become a repository of your growing knowledge as you continue to teach. The importance of lesson planning in furthering your professional growth is undeniable. Cultivating good habits for preparing and reviewing your lesson plans prepares the ground for your success.

• Retrieved on January 20, 2022, from oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/5js64kndz1f3-en.pdf?expires=1642704108&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=793A8F13FA53BD6FF0680CA7F2DDD448
• Retrieved on January 20, 2022, from businessinsider.com/teachers-time-spent-after-school-work-2019-10#planning-lessons-can-take-several-hours-a-week-4
• Retrieved on January 20, 2022, from tesol.org/docs/default-source/books/14002_lesson-planning_ch-1
• Retrieved on January 20, 2022, from edutopia.org/blog/9-ways-plan-transformational-lessons-todd-finley
• Retrieved on January 20, 2022, blog.planbook.com/lesson-plan-classroom-management/
• Retrieved on January 20, 2022, from https://www.edglossary.org/curriculum/
• Retrieved on January 20, 2022, from edutopia.org/article/how-universal-design-learning-can-help-lesson-planning-year
• Retrieved on January 20, 2022, from educationblog.oup.com/secondary/english/why-is-planning-so-important-for-effective-teaching

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Strategies for Effective Lesson Planning

Stiliana milkova center for research on learning and teaching.

A lesson plan is the instructor’s road map of what students need to learn and how it will be done effectively during the class time. Before you plan your lesson, you will first need to identify the learning objectives for the class meeting.  Then, you can design appropriate learning activities and develop strategies to obtain feedback on student learning. A successful lesson plan addresses and integrates these three key components:

• Objectives for student learning
• Teaching/learning activities
• Strategies to check student understanding

Specifying concrete objectives for student learning will help you determine the kinds of teaching and learning activities you will use in class, while those activities will define how you will check whether the learning objectives have been accomplished (see Fig. 1).

Steps for Preparing a Lesson Plan

Below are six steps to guide you when you create your first lesson plans. Each step is accompanied by a set of questions meant to prompt reflection and aid you in designing your teaching and learning activities.

(1) Outline learning objectives

The first step is to determine what you want students to learn and be able to do at the end of class. To help you specify your objectives for student learning, answer the following questions:

• What is the topic of the lesson?
• What do I want students to learn?
• What do I want them to understand and be able to do at the end of class?
• What do I want them to take away from this particular lesson?

Once you outline the learning objectives for the class meeting, rank them in terms of their importance. This step will prepare you for managing class time and accomplishing the more important learning objectives in case you are pressed for time. Consider the following questions:

• What are the most important concepts, ideas, or skills I want students to be able to grasp and apply?
• Why are they important?
• If I ran out of time, which ones could not be omitted?
• And conversely, which ones could I skip if pressed for time?

(2) Develop the introduction

Now that you have your learning objectives in order of their importance, design the specific activities you will use to get students to understand and apply what they have learned. Because you will have a diverse body of students with different academic and personal experiences, they may already be familiar with the topic. That is why you might start with a question or activity to gauge students’ knowledge of the subject or possibly, their preconceived notions about it. For example, you can take a simple poll: “How many of you have heard of X? Raise your hand if you have.” You can also gather background information from your students prior to class by sending students an electronic survey or asking them to write comments on index cards. This additional information can help shape your introduction, learning activities, etc.  When you have an idea of the students’ familiarity with the topic, you will also have a sense of what to focus on.

Develop a creative introduction to the topic to stimulate interest and encourage thinking. You can use a variety of approaches to engage students (e.g., personal anecdote, historical event, thought-provoking dilemma, real-world example, short video clip, practical application, probing question, etc.). Consider the following questions when planning your introduction:

• How will I check whether students know anything about the topic or have any preconceived notions about it?
• What are some commonly held ideas (or possibly misconceptions) about this topic that students might be familiar with or might espouse?
• What will I do to introduce the topic?

 (3) Plan the specific learning activities (the main body of the lesson)

Prepare several different ways of explaining the material (real-life examples, analogies, visuals, etc.) to catch the attention of more students and appeal to different learning styles. As you plan your examples and activities, estimate how much time you will spend on each. Build in time for extended explanation or discussion, but also be prepared to move on quickly to different applications or problems, and to identify strategies that check for understanding. These questions would help you design the learning activities you will use:

• What will I do to explain the topic?
• What will I do to illustrate the topic in a different way?
• How can I engage students in the topic?
• What are some relevant real-life examples, analogies, or situations that can help students understand the topic?
• What will students need to do to help them understand the topic better?

(4) Plan to check for understanding

Now that you have explained the topic and illustrated it with different examples, you need to check for student understanding – how will you know that students are learning? Think about specific questions you can ask students in order to check for understanding, write them down, and then paraphrase them so that you are prepared to ask the questions in different ways. Try to predict the answers your questions will generate. Decide on whether you want students to respond orally or in writing. You can look at Strategies to Extend Student Thinking , http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/P4_4.php to help you generate some ideas and you can also ask yourself these questions:

• What questions will I ask students to check for understanding?
• What will I have students do to demonstrate that they are following?
• Going back to my list of learning objectives, what activity can I have students do to check whether each of those has been accomplished?

An important strategy that will also help you with time management is to anticipate students’ questions. When planning your lesson, decide what kinds of questions will be productive for discussion and what questions might sidetrack the class. Think about and decide on the balance between covering content (accomplishing your learning objectives) and ensuring that students understand.

(5) Develop a conclusion and a preview

Go over the material covered in class by summarizing the main points of the lesson. You can do this in a number of ways: you can state the main points yourself (“Today we talked about…”), you can ask a student to help you summarize them, or you can even ask all students to write down on a piece of paper what they think were the main points of the lesson. You can review the students’ answers to gauge their understanding of the topic and then explain anything unclear the following class. Conclude the lesson not only by summarizing the main points, but also by previewing the next lesson. How does the topic relate to the one that’s coming? This preview will spur students’ interest and help them connect the different ideas within a larger context.

(6) Create a realistic timeline

GSIs know how easy it is to run out of time and not cover all of the many points they had planned to cover. A list of ten learning objectives is not realistic, so narrow down your list to the two or three key concepts, ideas, or skills you want students to learn. Instructors also agree that they often need to adjust their lesson plan during class depending on what the students need. Your list of prioritized learning objectives will help you make decisions on the spot and adjust your lesson plan as needed. Having additional examples or alternative activities will also allow you to be flexible. A realistic timeline will reflect your flexibility and readiness to adapt to the specific classroom environment. Here are some strategies for creating a realistic timeline:

• Estimate how much time each of the activities will take, then plan some extra time for each
• When you prepare your lesson plan, next to each activity indicate how much time you expect it will take
• Plan a few minutes at the end of class to answer any remaining questions and to sum up key points
• Plan an extra activity or discussion question in case you have time left
• Be flexible – be ready to adjust your lesson plan to students’ needs and focus on what seems to be more productive rather than sticking to your original plan

Presenting the Lesson Plan

Letting your students know what they will be learning and doing in class will help keep them more engaged and on track. You can share your lesson plan by writing a brief agenda on the board or telling students explicitly what they will be learning and doing in class. You can outline on the board or on a handout the learning objectives for the class. Providing a meaningful organization of the class time can help students not only remember better, but also follow your presentation and understand the rationale behind in-class activities. Having a clearly visible agenda (e.g., on the board) will also help you and students stay on track.

Reflecting on Your Lesson Plan

A lesson plan may not work as well as you had expected due to a number of extraneous circumstances. You should not get discouraged – it happens to even the most experienced teachers! Take a few minutes after each class to reflect on what worked well and why, and what you could have done differently. Identifying successful and less successful organization of class time and activities would make it easier to adjust to the contingencies of the classroom. For additional feedback on planning and managing class time, you can use the following resources: student feedback, peer observation, viewing a videotape of your teaching, and consultation with a staff member at CRLT (see also, Improving Your Teaching: Obtaining Feedback , http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/P9_1.php and Early Feedback Form , http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/earlyfeedback.pdf).

To be effective, the lesson plan does not have to be an exhaustive document that describes each and every possible classroom scenario. Nor does it have to anticipate each and every student’s response or question. Instead, it should provide you with a general outline of your teaching goals, learning objectives, and means to accomplish them. It is a reminder of what you want to do and how you want to do it. A productive lesson is not one in which everything goes exactly as planned, but one in which both students and instructors learn from each other.

Additional Resources

Video clips of GSIs at the University of Michigan actively engaging students in a practice teaching session: https://crlte.engin.umich.edu/engineering-gsi-videos/ 

Plan the First Day's Session: How to create to a lesson plan for the first day of class:  http://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/pre-semester-intro/first-day-plan/

Fink, D. L. (2005). Integrated course design. Manhattan, KS: The IDEA Center. Retrieved from https://www.ideaedu.org/idea_papers/integrated-course-design/

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Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers

P LANNING, PARAGRAPHING AND POLISHING: FINE-TUNING THE PERFECT ESSAY

Essay writing is an essential skill for every student. Whether writing a particular academic essay (such as persuasive, narrative, descriptive, or expository) or a timed exam essay, the key to getting good at writing is to write. Creating opportunities for our students to engage in extended writing activities will go a long way to helping them improve their skills as scribes.

But, putting the hours in alone will not be enough to attain the highest levels in essay writing. Practice must be meaningful. Once students have a broad overview of how to structure the various types of essays, they are ready to narrow in on the minor details that will enable them to fine-tune their work as a lean vehicle of their thoughts and ideas.

In this article, we will drill down to some aspects that will assist students in taking their essay writing skills up a notch. Many ideas and activities can be integrated into broader lesson plans based on essay writing. Often, though, they will work effectively in isolation – just as athletes isolate physical movements to drill that are relevant to their sport. When these movements become second nature, they can be repeated naturally in the context of the game or in our case, the writing of the essay.

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• Clear objectives  easy to match to the demands of your curriculum

Planning an essay

The Boys Scouts’ motto is famously ‘Be Prepared’. It’s a solid motto that can be applied to most aspects of life; essay writing is no different. Given the purpose of an essay is generally to present a logical and reasoned argument, investing time in organising arguments, ideas, and structure would seem to be time well spent.

Given that essays can take a wide range of forms and that we all have our own individual approaches to writing, it stands to reason that there will be no single best approach to the planning stage of essay writing. That said, there are several helpful hints and techniques we can share with our students to help them wrestle their ideas into a writable form. Let’s take a look at a few of the best of these:

BREAK THE QUESTION DOWN: UNDERSTAND YOUR ESSAY TOPIC.

Whether students are tackling an assignment that you have set for them in class or responding to an essay prompt in an exam situation, they should get into the habit of analyzing the nature of the task. To do this, they should unravel the question’s meaning or prompt. Students can practice this in class by responding to various essay titles, questions, and prompts, thereby gaining valuable experience breaking these down.

Have students work in groups to underline and dissect the keywords and phrases and discuss what exactly is being asked of them in the task. Are they being asked to discuss, describe, persuade, or explain? Understanding the exact nature of the task is crucial before going any further in the planning process, never mind the writing process .

BRAINSTORM AND MIND MAP WHAT YOU KNOW:

Once students have understood what the essay task asks them, they should consider what they know about the topic and, often, how they feel about it. When teaching essay writing, we so often emphasize that it is about expressing our opinions on things, but for our younger students what they think about something isn’t always obvious, even to themselves.

Brainstorming and mind-mapping what they know about a topic offers them an opportunity to uncover not just what they already know about a topic, but also gives them a chance to reveal to themselves what they think about the topic. This will help guide them in structuring their research and, later, the essay they will write . When writing an essay in an exam context, this may be the only ‘research’ the student can undertake before the writing, so practicing this will be even more important.

RESEARCH YOUR ESSAY

The previous step above should reveal to students the general direction their research will take. With the ubiquitousness of the internet, gone are the days of students relying on a single well-thumbed encyclopaedia from the school library as their sole authoritative source in their essay. If anything, the real problem for our students today is narrowing down their sources to a manageable number. Students should use the information from the previous step to help here. At this stage, it is important that they:

●      Ensure the research material is directly relevant to the essay task

●      Record in detail the sources of the information that they will use in their essay

●      Engage with the material personally by asking questions and challenging their own biases

●      Identify the key points that will be made in their essay

●      Group ideas, counterarguments, and opinions together

●      Identify the overarching argument they will make in their own essay.

Once these stages have been completed the student is ready to organise their points into a logical order.

WRITING YOUR ESSAY

There are a number of ways for students to organize their points in preparation for writing. They can use graphic organizers , post-it notes, or any number of available writing apps. The important thing for them to consider here is that their points should follow a logical progression. This progression of their argument will be expressed in the form of body paragraphs that will inform the structure of their finished essay.

The number of paragraphs contained in an essay will depend on a number of factors such as word limits, time limits, the complexity of the question etc. Regardless of the essay’s length, students should ensure their essay follows the Rule of Three in that every essay they write contains an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Generally speaking, essay paragraphs will focus on one main idea that is usually expressed in a topic sentence that is followed by a series of supporting sentences that bolster that main idea. The first and final sentences are of the most significance here with the first sentence of a paragraph making the point to the reader and the final sentence of the paragraph making the overall relevance to the essay’s argument crystal clear. 

Though students will most likely be familiar with the broad generic structure of essays, it is worth investing time to ensure they have a clear conception of how each part of the essay works, that is, of the exact nature of the task it performs. Let’s review:

Common Essay Structure

Introduction: Provides the reader with context for the essay. It states the broad argument that the essay will make and informs the reader of the writer’s general perspective and approach to the question.

Body Paragraphs: These are the ‘meat’ of the essay and lay out the argument stated in the introduction point by point with supporting evidence.

Conclusion: Usually, the conclusion will restate the central argument while summarising the essay’s main supporting reasons before linking everything back to the original question.

ESSAY WRITING PARAGRAPH WRITING TIPS

●      Each paragraph should focus on a single main idea

●      Paragraphs should follow a logical sequence; students should group similar ideas together to avoid incoherence

●      Paragraphs should be denoted consistently; students should choose either to indent or skip a line

●      Transition words and phrases such as alternatively , consequently , in contrast should be used to give flow and provide a bridge between paragraphs.

HOW TO EDIT AN ESSAY

Students shouldn’t expect their essays to emerge from the writing process perfectly formed. Except in exam situations and the like, thorough editing is an essential aspect in the writing process. 

Often, students struggle with this aspect of the process the most. After spending hours of effort on planning, research, and writing the first draft, students can be reluctant to go back over the same terrain they have so recently travelled. It is important at this point to give them some helpful guidelines to help them to know what to look out for. The following tips will provide just such help: 

One Piece at a Time: There is a lot to look out for in the editing process and often students overlook aspects as they try to juggle too many balls during the process. One effective strategy to combat this is for students to perform a number of rounds of editing with each focusing on a different aspect. For example, the first round could focus on content, the second round on looking out for word repetition (use a thesaurus to help here), with the third attending to spelling and grammar.

Sum It Up: When reviewing the paragraphs they have written, a good starting point is for students to read each paragraph and attempt to sum up its main point in a single line. If this is not possible, their readers will most likely have difficulty following their train of thought too and the paragraph needs to be overhauled.

Let It Breathe: When possible, encourage students to allow some time for their essay to ‘breathe’ before returning to it for editing purposes. This may require some skilful time management on the part of the student, for example, a student rush-writing the night before the deadline does not lend itself to effective editing. Fresh eyes are one of the sharpest tools in the writer’s toolbox.

Read It Aloud: This time-tested editing method is a great way for students to identify mistakes and typos in their work. We tend to read things more slowly when reading aloud giving us the time to spot errors. Also, when we read silently our minds can often fill in the gaps or gloss over the mistakes that will become apparent when we read out loud.

Phone a Friend: Peer editing is another great way to identify errors that our brains may miss when reading our own work. Encourage students to partner up for a little ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours’.

Use Tech Tools: We need to ensure our students have the mental tools to edit their own work and for this they will need a good grasp of English grammar and punctuation. However, there are also a wealth of tech tools such as spellcheck and grammar checks that can offer a great once-over option to catch anything students may have missed in earlier editing rounds.

Putting the Jewels on Display: While some struggle to edit, others struggle to let go. There comes a point when it is time for students to release their work to the reader. They must learn to relinquish control after the creation is complete. This will be much easier to achieve if the student feels that they have done everything in their control to ensure their essay is representative of the best of their abilities and if they have followed the advice here, they should be confident they have done so.

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What Makes a Great Lesson Plan?

by Liz Beck | Aug 11, 2021 | Lesson Plans & Planning

In our last article, we explored who a lesson plan is for . Now it’s time to look at what makes a lesson plan well worth all the time and energy it takes to create one that really makes a difference in the classroom.

There are plenty of lesson planning templates out there. If you’re a teacher, we’re willing to bet you’re actually currently required to use a template, and there’s also a chance that you might hate it (can you tell that we hear this a lot?).

So here’s the thing: there is no Great Lesson Plan Template. There are some good ones, but, like we said before, it’s not about the document; it’s about the plan (which might be mostly in your head, or mostly in the Notes app on your iPhone, or mostly on a post-it note crammed at the bottom of your bag).

Madeline Hunter offers a good beginning for lesson planning

Like just about every educational researcher on the planet, I’m a big fan of Madeline Hunter. She formalized the basic concept of a lesson plan in the mid-20th century, and she’s still right. A good lesson plan follows her model : start with an anticipatory set, move to direct teaching/modeling, have the kids do some guided practice, and then check for student understanding.

But, to me, these terms have always felt a bit inaccessible.

Bringing more clarity to the idea of lesson planning

In our post, the Top 6 Myths About Lesson Plans , we defined a good lesson plan like this:

“…a good lesson plan—at the very least—ensures that all of the students learned something worth learning, and their teacher knows for certain that every one of them learned it.”

This definition may be more accessible, but it’s still a bit vague. So let’s unpack it a little bit more:

A great lesson plan is a framework for

• what your students will learn
• how your students will learn it
• how students will know they learned it
• how the teacher will know the students learned it

If you’ve been in a situation where your kids weren’t fully engaged, or they didn’t learn all of the things you wanted them to learn, we have some thoughts about how a better lesson plan might help.

How to know if you have a great lesson plan

A great lesson plan is a sketch for how you’re going to make sure every student in your class engages with the material and grows in their understanding of it during your class period.

At the end of a truly great lesson, you know (for certain!) the following:

• Every student in your class engaged with the material
• Every student in your class moved forward in their understanding and/or development of skills
• Every student in your class knows what they learned, why they learned it, and what their next steps are

If you don’t know these things at the end of the class period, then you didn’t have a great lesson.

Are your students actually engaging?

A great lesson is engaging.

We know the word “engaging” gets tossed around a lot, but it is a crucial aspect of powerful teaching and learning. (Have you ever left a PD session or completely zoned out of it because it was so boring? We have.) With most content, engagement doesn’t happen naturally.

Here’s an example: Let’s say you need your students to learn about the water cycle. They could read about it, but how do you know they learned anything from reading it? Or, honestly, how do you even know for sure that they actually even read it at all? Couldn’t the kids have just stared silently at the book, occasionally turning the pages?

Your students could watch a video about the water cycle, but you’re up against the same conundrum as reading. They may be totally zoning out (spoiler alert: most of them are totally zoning out).

Or maybe they’re going to listen to you tell them about the water cycle. Are you sure they absorbed what you said? Did they take notes? If they took notes, will they actually remember what they wrote down? Will they truly internalize it? Will they be able to explain the water cycle in 5 years? Does it even matter if they remember it? Why?

A caveat about engagement

One of the tricky things is ensuring that you don’t go too far down the spectrum of pure engagement. For example, trying to see who can build the tallest tower out of paper and tape is super engaging. But, there are few scenarios where building that tower leads to any connections to standards. On the other end of the spectrum, watching a teacher give a PowerPoint presentation while you take guided notes is (unless your teacher is a TEDTalk-level speaker), pretty seriously disengaging. Striking the right balance of engagement and actual learning is quite a task, but it’s not insurmountable.

Easy tips for great lesson plans that engage students in powerful learning

So, how do you engage students in powerful learning? You need tools. Lots of them. We recommend getting started with Doug Lemov’s Teach Like a Champion , and a good handful of tech tools . You need to be able to say, “Okay, my kids need to learn how to do _____; what are at least 5 ways I could help them learn that?”

1. Getting every student engaged

Cold-calling: Stop asking kids to raise their hands. Instead, start randomly calling on kids. Yes, this is awkward and uncomfortable. Keep a cup full of popsicle sticks with your students’ names on them if you can’t keep track.

Read, write, think, talk lesson plans: Create lessons that incorporate these four actions and you’ll guarantee some serious engagement.

Movement: Find ways to incorporate movement every 20 minutes or so. Bonus points if you can utilize activities that incorporate movement and content into the same activity (teaching vocabulary terms with movements is a great way to practice this).

2. Making sure you and your students know what they learned

Conferences : Have an individual conversation with every student every week (it’s not that hard, seriously. Set a timer for 1-minute per student if you’re stressed about time, and see if it isn’t a total game-changer for your relationships and behavior)

Exit tickets: Have kids write down what they learned at the end of each class period.

Portfolios: Have students create and maintain a portfolio showcasing their best work and their reflections on why they think it’s so exceptional. Kids can even do this through creating their own websites at free places like Wix and Weebly. The best thing about portfolios is that they require virtually zero effort on the part of the teacher.

3. Making sure you know what you want your students to learn

Questioning: Plan out all of the questions you would want to ask students about the material (that way you don’t end up throwing out tons of easy questions to your kids). Check out these question stems to get started.

“I Can” statements: Reframe your standards into “I Can” statements, and discuss these with your kids.

The 2 Question Test from Wiggins and McTighe: This is one of our favorite tools, and it will help you figure out whether your assessments, products and projects align to what you actually need students to know.

Interested in getting more training for yourself or your school?

If you’re interested in any of the ideas above, but don’t quite know how you might get started, that’s okay! We’re here to help.

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Planning a Class

If you've ever given a formal presentation on a topic, you've probably done some kind of planning. You may have considered who your audience was and gathered information to meet their needs and interests. Or, you may have considered your own objective and worked to meet this goal. Either way, you probably spent more time gathering and arranging information than you did actually presenting it. Your confidence and ability to present may have also depended on the plan you created.

Planning a class presents similar challenges. Sure, we've all known the instructor who can "wing-it" and still amaze us with their infinite wit and wisdom. But many of us feel that we are not that instructor. In fact, some readers of this guide may be teaching a writing course for the first time. If so, you're probably beginning to realize that planning can be the most challenging part of teaching.

This guide will help you construct successful lesson plans. First, we'll review some effective strategies and techniques. Since there are many factors to consider when planning a class, this chapter is broken down into six different sections. If you are reading this for the first time, is useful to look at all six sections, as each one builds off the one before. In the future, you may decide to only reference the section that serves your immediate purposes.

Guidelines for planning an effective class are:

Using Goals to Shape a Lesson

Planning transitions, planning introductions, planning conclusions, planning classroom discussions.

• Creating Write to Learn Activities

Planning Group Activities

Reflecting on lessons.

• Citation Information

How This Guide Can Help

Begin planning a lesson by considering your goals. In addition to keeping in mind the overall goals for the course, consider the specific goals for that lesson. Ask yourself what you want your students to gain most from the lesson. Often, you'll come up with a list of two or three goals for the class. A successful lesson will combine various goals into a cohesive plan.

Let's say the goals in the syllabus for one class include Discussing and Practicing Critical Reading and Exploring How Purpose, Audience , and Context Influence a Writer's Choices . Lately, however, you've noticed small puddles of drool on your students' desks, a sure sign that they aren't fully involved in class. To help your students become more engaged during class, you create a third goal: Facilitating More Meaningful Discussions . The three goals for this lesson:

• Discussing and Practicing Critical Reading
• Exploring How Purpose, Audience, and Context Influence a Writer's Choices
• Facilitating More Meaningful Discussions

Reflect on your goals for the lesson, then prioritize them. Ask yourself what students most need to gain from the lesson. As you prioritize your goals, reflect once again on the overall goals for the course. Consider, as well, the goals for the current assignment.

If, Practicing Critical Reading is the most important goal for the day, focus your activities to meet this goal. Remember, however that Practicing Critical Reading is not your only goal for the class. Try to imagine how all three of the goals you've defined for the class can translate into activities that feed into each other.

Creating Activities that Reflect Goals

Consider the following example. Over the past few days, you and your students have discussed purpose, audience, and focus. To build on these discussions, use them as a starting point. Spend ten minutes at the beginning of class analyzing the context for the essay you're working with. This will help you pursue your goal of Exploring How Purpose, Audience, and Context Influence a Writer's Choices. After you've analyzed the essay's context, meet your goal of Facilitating More Meaningful Discussions by asking students to briefly share their personal reactions to the main ideas in the text. For the remainder of class, engage your students in a critical reading of the essay and an in-depth discussion of its argument and ideas. Since Practicing Critical Reading is the most important goal for the day, the majority of class time will be spent meeting this goal.

A loose outline of goals and activities might look like this:

• Goal: Exploring How Purpose, Audience, and Context Influence a Writer's Choices Activity: Analyze the context of a text (10 minutes)
• Goal: Facilitating More Meaningful Discussions Activity: Discuss students' reactions to a text (10 minutes)
• Goal: Practicing Critical Reading Activity: Practice critical reading of a text (30 minutes)

Typically, you'll plan more than one activity per class, so creating transitions between those activities is crucial. Students need to know when you're changing the focus of the class. When writing transitions, ask yourself, what is the significance of each of these activities? How do they connect to the daily goals? Why did I arrange them in this order? Is there a more logical way to organize these procedures?

Be sure to write out transition statements in your lesson plans so you don't find yourself grappling for explanations on the spot. If you can't explain the significance of an activity, look back at the unit assignment sheet or the description of goals in your syllabus. If the relevance of an activity is still unclear, replace it with something different to satisfy the same goal.

Strategies for Creating Effective Transitions

Highlight an activity's importance.

To help students understand where they are going, use transitions to explain the goal for an activity and why it is important.

For example: "In this second unit, you'll be concentrating on how cultural contexts shape texts. What influences a writer's perspective on an issue? Why does the writer approach this issue from a particular angle? Investigating the writer's context is important because it will help you read and think critically (two skills you'll develop this semester). Let's practice some critical reading by analyzing the context for the essay you've just read. I'd like you to break into five groups..."

Emphasize the Relationships Among Activities

Think of activities as building blocks, carefully arranged to lead students to a predetermined destination. If you want students to write from a rhetorical approach, consider the steps they have to take and plan accordingly. Then, explain to students how one activity leads to another.

For example: "Now that we've talked a bit about purpose, context, and audience in the writing process, let's identify these three concerns in the first essay assignment."

Emphasize Connections between Activities and Students' Own Writing

Students are more likely to participate when they see how activities relate to their own writing. For this reason, explain to students how an activity will help them become better writers for the next assignment.

For example: "To write effectively, we have to consider the context of our audience. This will help focus our writing so that it speaks to someone with different expectations. Since the context for essay three is not a familiar academic situation, you'll need to analyze your context and audience before constructing your argument. This next activity is aimed at helping you think more about the context for which we'll be writing."

Sample Outline of Lesson Plan with Transitions

The three goals for this lesson:

Activities and Transitions:

Transition: Now that we understand the context for this essay, let's think about it in the context of our classroom. We are not the audience this writer had in mind, so our reactions may be different. What were some of your reactions to the ideas in this essay?

Transition: It's useful to react informally to the ideas in a text but when you write a response for an academic audience, you'll need to show that you've read the text critically first before sharing your views. So let's practice critical reading for the last thirty minutes of class.

• Practice critical reading of a text (30 minutes)

Now that you have a loose outline of your lesson, think about how you'll introduce it. Introductions are important because, like transitions, they guide students' understanding of the course and its goals. When you provide an introduction, students see that you have a sense of where the lesson is headed. Not only will this add to your credibility, but students will be less inclined to ask, "Why do we have to do this?"

Use introductions to connect concepts from earlier classes to the upcoming lesson. Also use them as checkpoints or reminders for yourself and your students - this is where we've been and this is where we're going.

When writing introductions, look back at the previous lesson and tie up any loose ends. Perhaps students were walking out the door when you explained the connection between an activity and an upcoming essay assignment. Introductions are ideal times to reinforce important concepts.

Your introduction should include an outline of daily activities; but it is equally important to explain the purpose of these activities. Why do students need to practice critical reading in a writing class? How will their writing benefit from learning to analyze the rhetorical context surrounding a text? Without explanations, students wonder if their time would be better spent at home eating cheese puffs.

Methods for introducing class:

• Write an outline on the board, "What we'll do today" to provide a clear focus and keep the class on track.
• List activities on an overhead and uncover them as you address each one.
• Have students summarize what you did last class and how it connects to the upcoming essay. Then, explain how the next lesson will build on that.

Sample Outline of Lesson Plan with Transitions and Introduction

Introduction: Last time we discussed the ways context influences the choices a writer makes. Today we'll keep that in mind as we analyze the context for the essay you just read. Since our context is different from the one the writer intended, we'll spend a few minutes discussing your responses to the essay. Then, we'll focus on critical reading because this will help you accurately represent an author's ideas in the summary part of your essay. It will prepare you for the analytical writing we do in units two and three and it will also assist you in gaining the most from texts encountered beyond COCC150.

Effective transitions and introductions guide students' understanding of how activities, discussions and assignments relate to their own writing. Still, some students won't make these connections until they've engaged in class activities. Conclusions reinforce important connections and help students anticipate the goals for the next class.

Methods for concluding class:

• Summarize the information just covered in the class in your own words. Explain how the lesson builds on previous lessons and connects to the upcoming assignment.
• Have students conclude by summarizing or interpreting the significance of the lesson. What did they learn? How will it relate to their assignment?
• Ask students to do a brief "Write To Learn" activity reflecting on one thing they can take from today's class and apply to their writing.

Sample Outline of Lesson Plan with Transitions, Introduction, and a Conclusion

Transition: It's useful to react informally to the ideas in a text but when you write a response for an academic audience, you'll need to show that you've read the text critically first before sharing your views. So, let's practice critical reading for the last thirty minutes of class.

Conclusion: Today we reviewed the ways context influences the choices a writer makes. We also shared some of our responses to the essay and practiced critical reading strategies to help you write an accurate summary for essay one. Next time we'll focus on writing a response and consider the choices you'll have to make when drafting your own writing.

Instructors like to believe that if students are awake and engaged in conversation it's a cause for celebration. But there's more to consider. You may witness a spectacular discussion on the effects of teen magazines on youth culture or the implications of cyborgs in science fiction novels, but at some point you need to ask, "How do these discussions help students become better writers?"

When planning a discussion, consider your daily goals. Ask yourself, what do I want students to gain from this discussion? How will it contribute to the overall goal for the lesson? How does it connect to students' own writing?

Shape your outline or discussion plan to reflect the daily goals.

Discussions happen for different reasons. Perhaps you're leading a discussion to introduce a new concept or assignment. Maybe you're critiquing a sample essay, or looking closely at an assigned reading. Whatever the situation, you'll want to consider your role, as well as the goals. Taken together, these provide a starting point to give shape to your classroom discussions.

Planning to Introduce a New Concept or Assignment

When you are explaining what is meant by context, audience, or purpose ; or you are describing the writing situation for an essay, it is useful to engage students by asking questions that encourage them to reflect on their own knowledge. For example, when introducing audience as a rhetorical concept, you might ask, "Who did you think of as your audience when you completed your assignment for today? How did you make choices based on that audience?"

At some point though, students will begin to ask specific questions. This is an excellent time to define the concept you're introducing and provide them with clear answers.

Suggestions for Planning to Teach a New Concept

When planning to teach a new concept, write detailed notes in your lesson plans to help guide the discussion. Also, have several examples ready in case you need to present your points differently. After you explain a concept, plan to have students apply it to their own thinking or writing. Prepare questions or activities to gauge students' understanding and consider assigning additional reading to reinforce the lesson.

Suggestions for Introducing a New Assignment

When introducing a new assignment, be sure you've carefully reviewed it yourself beforehand. Highlight key places where you'll want to elaborate with examples or explanation. Also, anticipate any questions or confusions students may have.

Plan to check for understanding by asking students to summarize or interpret certain aspects of the assignment. For example, have them analyze the writing situation by asking, "How does this compare to the essay you just finished? Who is your new audience? How will you need to shape your writing to meet the needs of this audience?"

If a student raises a question about a concept or an assignment that you don't have an answer for, simply tell them you'll get back to them next class.

Planning to Model or Critique Student Samples

The goals for these types of discussions are clearly connected to students' own writing. You are showing them how concepts discussed in class translate into a particular type of writing. Or you are determining whether a writing sample meets the criteria for an assignment. During these discussions, you'll want to guide students with questions like, "What's effective about this piece of writing?" But don't hesitate to point out the problems areas in the sample.

Discussions about writing should be student-centered, but you also need to provide clear judgments. If an essay has some serious problems, be sure students are aware of this when they leave. When planning, highlight places where an essay is effective or ineffective. If students do not raise the same concerns, point these out for them. Your goal for these discussions is to have students walk away with a greater sense of what to focus on and what to avoid in their own writing.

Suggestions for Modeling Effective Writing

Model effective writing from your own students' work whenever possible. It's a good to do this even if some students are still having difficulty with a concept. For example, say you've finished teaching students how to write a summary, but the homework suggests that only eight students got it. You might decide to model two or three strong student samples in class.

Ask these individuals before class if they mind that you share their work (be sure to tell them that you are using their work as a positive model - it is never a good idea to put a student's problematic work on display for critique). Carefully plan out how you will facilitate this process. One approach would be to present a student's sample on an overhead and discuss what is working well in this piece with the class. Or you could ask the student to read their summary aloud. Consider other approaches as well, and decide which works best with your class and your teaching style.

Try to select work from various students throughout the semester. That way, students will see you're not basing judgments on one model for writing, but locating what's effective among various styles and approaches.

Suggestions for Critiquing Sample Writing

The samples for critique should not come from your own students. You should generate these samples or obtain them from another class. Be sure that whomever wrote the sample has given you permission to use it in class, and cross off their name before making copies.

It's useful to do critiques at the end of a unit, or just before a workshop. Have students read the entire sample piece of writing before coming to class and ask them to comment on how well it meets the criteria for the assignment. Consider various approaches to critiquing the sample and choose the approach that works best for you and your students:

Techniques for Teaching Students to Critique

• Make an overhead of the writing sample and mark it with students' comments during class.
• Role-play a student who is eager to hear a critique of their writing. Then have students pose as a workshop group whose job it is to inform you of how your paper could be improved. Encourage students to give specific and constructive criticism that will help you, as a writer, improve your piece.
• Arrange students in groups. Have students critique another writing sample. Then, have them present their critique to the class.

Planning to Lead a Discussion on an Assigned Reading

The goals for discussions will vary depending upon where you are in the sequence of your course. Perhaps you are using an author's ideas to generate ideas for students' writing, or pulling main ideas from a text and arranging them into an academic summary. You might want to determine whether or not a writer's choices are effective. You'll want to ask yourself, when planning these discussions, "What features of a text should we focus on in order to meet the daily goal?"

If the goal is to teach students summary skills, your discussion questions should be geared to accommodate this. You might create questions that ask students to define a writer's purpose and locate the main ideas. In most cases though, discussions will be dynamic, taking into account multiple purposes and goals.

Your text, course outline, or syllabus may include discussion questions as starting points. Use these as a guide, but also practice developing your own. If you are teaching students how to write a good essay, write out a list of questions that you think are relevant to an essay. Then look back at the daily goals and select those that best reflect these goals.

Arrange discussion questions in a logical order, but also plan to be flexible. Make a list of things that must be covered. Create a hierarchy of questions, but try not to insist on a particular order (discussions usually do not follow a linear path). Rather, think about how questions connect to one another. This way you can adapt during discussions.

Unfortunately, students won't always provide the insightful responses we dream of. Anticipate where your questions may receive shallow answers and plan to engage students with questions like, "Interesting, can you give a specific example for that? Or, can anyone take what Tony just said a go a bit further with it?"

Also, think about how you might phrase questions differently. Sometimes students are silent because they're not sure of what you're asking. Next to each question, list a few alternative ways to ask it. This may be all it takes to turn a tedious discussion into something exciting.

Planning Write to Learn Activities

Write to Learns (WTL) are short writing exercises intended to help students collect their thoughts, start a discussion, or reflect on an assignment. As with most activities, consider your goals when planning a WTL. What do you want students to most gain from the WTL? Your questions or prompts should clearly reflect this. If the goal is to have students evaluate a text, ask them to analyze the effectiveness of something rather than react to the main ideas. If the goal is to engage students' ideas and evaluate a text, plan questions that address both goals. Have students react to ideas first, then ask them to evaluate the author's use of evidence to support these ideas.

Think about how a WTL fits into your lesson. How does it connect with other activities? How might you use it to focus students' thoughts for a discussion or another activity? You can put WTL prompts on the board, display them on an overhead projector, or post them on your class Web site.

When to Use Write to Learns

The following are just a few suggestions. Most likely, you'll discover other uses for Write to Learns as you become familiar with your students and their needs. Since WTL's are informal exercises, you don't need to collect or grade them. Let students know that you'll discuss their answers if there's time. Also, let them know that you won't always read WTL's. If time permits, have students read each others' WTL so their responses can be validated by peers.

Some examples of when to use WTL's are:

To Begin a Write-to-Learn Lesson

Allow students time to focus their thoughts before asking them to engage in activities.

Sample WTL: Take about 5 minutes to free-write your personal reaction to one of the main ideas from one of these authors. Pick one, and keep writing. Don't stop. Just generate any thoughts or feelings you have about what the texts are saying. You can jot down any personal experiences you may have had that relate, or any observations that comment on the idea.

To Jumpstart a Discussion

Students typically participate more if they've had time to pre-write on the topic they're discussing.

Sample WTL: Please take out a piece of paper and write for five minutes or so about what you expect out of today's class. What do you hope to learn and contribute?

To Complete a Portfolio

Ask students to reflect on their writing process before collecting portfolios.

Sample WTL: Reflect on the summary/response paper. What are the strengths in your essay? What did you find most challenging? What did you discover about yourself as a writer when completing this portfolio? How can this discovery be useful to you in the future?

To Check for Understanding

See if students are getting something.

Sample WTL: Please take out a sheet of paper and summarize what we did in class today. What was the significance of each activity and how does it connect to the upcoming assignment?

To Generate Ideas for Papers

Have students begin the writing process with their own ideas and interests.

Sample WTL: List as many contemporary, debatable issues as you can on a piece of paper. Then go back and write down everything you've heard recently about these issues. Also include the sources for this information.

To Refocus a Discussion

Focus a discussion that gets off track or doesn't feel constructive.

Sample WTL: It seems a lot of you are having personal reactions to the ideas in this text. Take about five minutes to write these reactions down. If there's time at the end of class we'll discuss these concerns.

Writing is a dynamic process. As instructors of composition, we value lectures and discussions, but we also believe that writers benefit from collaborating and sharing ideas with other writers. For this reason, we encourage you to try different strategies for planning group activities.

When planning group activities, think about your goals. Then, design very clear and precise tasks to meet these goals. You should provide detailed instructions. Avoid complex language and confusing directions. If students don't understand a task, they tend to zone out and get distracted.

Your role during group work will vary depending on your teaching style and your students' needs. Some instructors roam the class while students are working, making themselves available if a student requests help. Or they join a discussion if students are off track. Other instructors sit quietly away from groups, without interfering. Whatever your approach, keep in mind that group work should center on students' ideas. You may guide their thinking, but the instructional goal for these activities is to help students learn more about the writing process. Therefore, you should try to work with students' ideas and push them to think harder rather than giving them your ideas.

Strategies for Facilitating Group Activities

The following are just a few strategies that instructors have found useful. You will discover other methods for employing group work that best match your own teaching style and your students' needs.

Assign Each Group Member a Role

Assigning roles is helpful in situations where students work as a group. For example, have students act as: the time keeper (who keeps everyone on track), the note taker (who does the writing), the task master (who makes sure everyone is participating), the devil's advocate (who challenges group ideas to ensure they are significant and well-supported), etc. This will keep all students involved and on task.

Give Each Group the Same Task

Put various questions on an overhead and ask all groups to address them. Then, have each group become an "expert" on one question. Have them present their responses to the class. Or, have each group address the same questions and compare their responses.

Give Each Group a Separate Task

Have each group look at a different text. Ask them to summarize it and present their work to the class.

Have Groups Practice Writing Collaboratively

Ask each group to summarize a text on a sheet of paper or an overhead transparency. Then have them display their summaries to the class or post them on the class Web site. You might also ask other groups to critique and comment on the writing.

Ask Groups to Role Play

Ask groups to role play various audiences (students, parents, teachers, city council persons, government officials, etc...) and analyze the same text. Then, collaborate as a class on the text's effectiveness for each audience.

Logistics of Group Activities

Much of the "know-how" concerning the logistics of group work comes from trial and error. The student who took meticulous notes in class is absent the day his/her group is to present. Or three students forget to bring drafts to class, as you requested. There is no way to avoid all of these hassles, but here's a list of things to think about to help you with some of the trouble shooting.

Things to Think About

• Contemplate how many groups you'll need and how many students you'd like in each group. Have students choose their own groups or form groups by counting off numbers or some other means (everyone who's wearing red in group one, etc...). Or arrange groups prior to class, based on your knowledge about students' personalities or writing abilities. Either way, anticipate student absences.
• Decide how much time to allow for each part of the activity.
• Determine how to present the activity. Will you distribute instructions on paper? List tasks on an overhead or board? It's best to provide visual as well as oral instructions for activities to help students stay on task.
• Think about whether students should turn in the work they do in groups.
• Decide if students should meet with groups outside of class and how they can facilitate this (in person, over e-mail, by phone, etc...).

Reflecting on each lesson will save you time when planning in the future. It will also help you become a more mindful teacher. We recommend saving a space at the end of your lesson plans where you can jot down brief notes on the following:

• What went well? Which activities or discussions would you like to use again next time you teach this course?
• What didn't work? How might you change a discussion or an activity to make it more effective next time?
• Did you get through all of the material for the lesson? If not, how might you combine this material with the activities and goals for an upcoming lesson (without falling too far behind)?
• What are students beginning to understand and what are they still struggling with? How might you reinforce the more challenging concepts in upcoming lessons?

Eglin, Kerri. (2008). Planning a Class. Writing@CSU . https://writing.colostate.edu/teaching/guide.cfm?guideid=95

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A Step-by-Step Plan for Teaching Argumentative Writing

February 7, 2016

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For seven years, I was a writing teacher.  Yes, I was certified to teach the full spectrum of English language arts—literature, grammar and usage, speech, drama, and so on—but my absolute favorite, the thing I loved doing the most, was teaching students how to write.

Most of the material on this site is directed at all teachers. I look for and put together resources that would appeal to any teacher who teaches any subject. That practice will continue for as long as I keep this up. But over the next year or so, I plan to also share more of what I know about teaching students to write. Although I know many of the people who visit here are not strictly English language arts teachers, my hope is that these posts will provide tons of value to those who are, and to those who teach all subjects, including writing.

So let’s begin with argumentative writing, or persuasive writing, as many of us used to call it. This overview will be most helpful to those who are new to teaching writing, or teachers who have not gotten good results with the approach you have taken up to now. I don’t claim to have the definitive answer on how to do this, but the method I share here worked pretty well for me, and it might do the same for you. If you are an experienced English language arts teacher, you probably already have a system for teaching this skill that you like. Then again, I’m always interested in how other people do the things I can already do; maybe you’re curious like that, too.

Before I start, I should note that what I describe in this post is a fairly formulaic style of essay writing. It’s not exactly the 5-paragraph essay, but it definitely builds on that model. I strongly believe students should be shown how to move past those kinds of structures into a style of writing that’s more natural and fitting to the task and audience, but I also think they should start with something that’s pretty clearly organized.

So here’s how I teach argumentative essay writing.

Step 1: Watch How It’s Done

One of the most effective ways to improve student writing is to show them mentor texts, examples of excellent writing within the genre students are about to attempt themselves. Ideally, this writing would come from real publications and not be fabricated by me in order to embody the form I’m looking for. Although most experts on writing instruction employ some kind of mentor text study, the person I learned it from best was Katie Wood Ray in her book Study Driven (links to the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon ).

Since I want the writing to be high quality and the subject matter to be high interest, I might choose pieces like Jessica Lahey’s Students Who Lose Recess Are the Ones Who Need it Most  and David Bulley’s School Suspensions Don’t Work .

I would have students read these texts, compare them, and find places where the authors used evidence to back up their assertions. I would ask students which author they feel did the best job of influencing the reader, and what suggestions they would make to improve the writing. I would also ask them to notice things like stories, facts and statistics, and other things the authors use to develop their ideas. Later, as students work on their own pieces, I would likely return to these pieces to show students how to execute certain writing moves.

Step 2: Informal Argument, Freestyle

Although many students might need more practice in writing an effective argument, many of them are excellent at arguing in person. To help them make this connection, I would have them do some informal debate on easy, high-interest topics. An activity like This or That (one of the classroom icebreakers I talked about last year) would be perfect here: I read a statement like “Women have the same opportunities in life as men.” Students who agree with the statement move to one side of the room, and those who disagree move to the other side. Then they take turns explaining why they are standing in that position. This ultimately looks a little bit like a debate, as students from either side tend to defend their position to those on the other side.

Every class of students I have ever had, from middle school to college, has loved loved LOVED this activity. It’s so simple, it gets them out of their seats, and for a unit on argument, it’s an easy way to get them thinking about how the art of argument is something they practice all the time.

Step 3: Informal Argument, Not so Freestyle

Once students have argued without the support of any kind of research or text, I would set up a second debate; this time with more structure and more time to research ahead of time. I would pose a different question, supply students with a few articles that would provide ammunition for either side, then give them time to read the articles and find the evidence they need.

Next, we’d have a Philosophical Chairs debate (learn about this in my  discussion strategies post), which is very similar to “This or That,” except students use textual evidence to back up their points, and there are a few more rules. Here they are still doing verbal argument, but the experience should make them more likely to appreciate the value of evidence when trying to persuade.

Before leaving this step, I would have students transfer their thoughts from the discussion they just had into something that looks like the opening paragraph of a written argument: A statement of their point of view, plus three reasons to support that point of view. This lays the groundwork for what’s to come.

Step 4: Introduction of the Performance Assessment

Next I would show students their major assignment, the performance assessment that they will work on for the next few weeks. What does this look like? It’s generally a written prompt that describes the task, plus the rubric I will use to score their final product.

Anytime I give students a major writing assignment, I let them see these documents very early on. In my experience, I’ve found that students appreciate having a clear picture of what’s expected of them when beginning a writing assignment. At this time, I also show them a model of a piece of writing that meets the requirements of the assignment. Unlike the mentor texts we read on day 1, this sample would be something teacher-created (or an excellent student model from a previous year) to fit the parameters of the assignment.

Step 5: Building the Base

Before letting students loose to start working on their essays, I make sure they have a solid plan for writing. I would devote at least one more class period to having students consider their topic for the essay, drafting a thesis statement, and planning the main points of their essay in a graphic organizer.

I would also begin writing my own essay on a different topic. This has been my number one strategy for teaching students how to become better writers. Using a document camera or overhead projector, I start from scratch, thinking out loud and scribbling down my thoughts as they come. When students see how messy the process can be, it becomes less intimidating for them. They begin to understand how to take the thoughts that are stirring around in your head and turn them into something that makes sense in writing.

For some students, this early stage might take a few more days, and that’s fine: I would rather spend more time getting it right at the pre-writing stage than have a student go off willy-nilly, draft a full essay, then realize they need to start over. Meanwhile, students who have their plans in order will be allowed to move on to the next step.

Step 6: Writer’s Workshop

The next seven to ten days would be spent in writer’s workshop, where I would start class with a mini-lesson about a particular aspect of craft. I would show them how to choose credible, relevant evidence, how to skillfully weave evidence into an argument, how to consider the needs of an audience, and how to correctly cite sources. Once each mini-lesson was done, I would then give students the rest of the period to work independently on their writing. During this time, I would move around the room, helping students solve problems and offering feedback on whatever part of the piece they are working on. I would encourage students to share their work with peers and give feedback at all stages of the writing process.

If I wanted to make the unit even more student-centered, I would provide the mini-lessons in written or video format and let students work through them at their own pace, without me teaching them. (To learn more about this approach, read this post on self-paced learning ).

As students begin to complete their essays, the mini-lessons would focus more on matters of style and usage. I almost never bother talking about spelling, punctuation, grammar, or usage until students have a draft that’s pretty close to done. Only then do we start fixing the smaller mistakes.

Step 7: Final Assessment

Finally, the finished essays are handed in for a grade. At this point, I’m pretty familiar with each student’s writing and have given them verbal (and sometimes written) feedback throughout the unit; that’s why I make the writer’s workshop phase last so long. I don’t really want students handing in work until they are pretty sure they’ve met the requirements to the best of their ability. I also don’t necessarily see “final copies” as final; if a student hands in an essay that’s still really lacking in some key areas, I will arrange to have that student revise it and resubmit for a higher grade.

So that’s it. If you haven’t had a lot of success teaching students to write persuasively, and if the approach outlined here is different from what you’ve been doing, give it a try. And let’s keep talking: Use the comments section below to share your techniques or ask questions about the most effective ways to teach argumentative writing.

Want this unit ready-made?

If you’re a writing teacher in grades 7-12 and you’d like a classroom-ready unit like the one described above, including mini-lessons, sample essays, and a library of high-interest online articles to use for gathering evidence, take a look at my Argumentative Writing unit. Just click on the image below and you’ll be taken to a page where you can read more and see a detailed preview of what’s included.

What to Read Next

Categories: Instruction , Podcast

Tags: English language arts , Grades 6-8 , Grades 9-12 , teaching strategies

58 Comments

This is useful information. In teaching persuasive speaking/writing I have found Monroe’s Motivated sequence very useful and productive. It is a classic model that immediately gives a solid structure for students.

Thanks for the recommendation, Bill. I will have to look into that! Here’s a link to more information on Monroe’s Motivated sequence, for anyone who wants to learn more: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/MonroeMotivatedSequence.htm

What other sites do you recommend for teacher use on providing effective organizational structure in argumentative writing? As a K-12 Curriculum Director, I find that when teachers connect with and understand the organizational structure, they are more effective in their teaching/delivery.

Hey Jessica, in addition to the steps outlined here, you might want to check out Jenn’s post on graphic organizers . Graphic organizers are a great tool that you can use in any phase of a lesson. Using them as a prewrite can help students visualize the argument and organize their thoughts. There’s a link in that post to the Graphic Organizer Multi-Pack that Jenn has for sale on her Teachers Pay Teachers site, which includes two versions of a graphic organizer you can use specifically for argument organization. Otherwise, if there’s something else you had in mind, let us know and we can help you out. Thanks!

Dear Jennifer Gonzalez,

You are generous with your gift of lighting the path… I hardly ever write (never before) , but I must today… THANK YOU… THANK YOU….THANK YOU… mostly for reading your great teachings… So your valuable teachings will even be easy to benefit all the smart people facing challenge of having to deal with adhd…

I am not a teacher… but forever a student…someone who studied English as 2nd language, with a science degree & adhd…

You truly are making a difference in our World…

Thanks so much, Rita! I know Jenn will appreciate this — I’ll be sure to share with her!

Love it! Its simple and very fruitful . I can feel how dedicated you are! Thanks alot Jen

Great examples of resources that students would find interesting. I enjoyed reading your article. I’ve bookmarked it for future reference. Thanks!

You’re welcome, Sheryl!

Students need to be writing all the time about a broad range of topics, but I love the focus here on argumentative writing because if you choose the model writing texts correctly, you can really get the kids engaged in the process and in how they can use this writing in real-world situations!

I agree, Laura. I think an occasional tight focus on one genre can help them grow leaps and bounds in the skills specific to that type of writing. Later, in less structured situations, they can then call on those skills when that kind of thinking is required.

This is really helpful! I used it today and put the recess article in a Google Doc and had the kids identify anecdotal, statistic, and ‘other’ types of evidence by highlighting them in three different colors. It worked well! Tomorrow we’ll discuss which of the different types of evidence are most convincing and why.

Love that, Shanna! Thanks for sharing that extra layer.

Greetings Ms. Gonzales. I was wondering if you had any ideas to help students develop the cons/against side of their argument within their writing? Please advise. Thanks.

Hi Michael,

Considering audience and counterarguments are an important part of the argumentative writing process. In the Argumentative Writing unit Jenn includes specific mini-lessons that teach kids how, when and where to include opposing views in their writing. In the meantime, here’s a video that might also be helpful.

Hi, Thank you very much for sharing your ideas. I want to share also the ideas in the article ‘Already Experts: Showing Students How Much They Know about Writing and Reading Arguments’ by Angela Petit and Edna Soto…they explain a really nice activity to introduce argumentative writing. I have applied it many times and my students not only love it but also display a very clear pattern as the results in the activity are quite similar every time. I hope you like it.

Lorena Perez

I’d like to thank you you for this excellence resource. It’s a wonderful addition to the informative content that Jennifer has shared.

What do you use for a prize?

I looked at the unit, and it looks and sounds great. The description says there are 4 topics. Can you tell me the topics before I purchase? We start argument in 5th grade, and I want to make sure the topics are different from those they’ve done the last 5 years before purchasing. Thanks!

Hi Carrie! If you go to the product page on TPT and open up the preview, you’ll see the four topics on the 4th page in more detail, but here they are: Social Networking in School (should social media sites be blocked in school?), Cell Phones in Class, Junk Food in School, and Single-Sex Education (i.e., genders separated). Does that help?

I teach 6th grade English in a single gendered (all-girls) class. We just finished an argument piece but I will definitely cycle back your ideas when we revisit argumentation. Thanks for the fabulous resources!

Glad to hear it, Madelyn!

I’m not a writing teacher and honestly haven’t been taught on how to teach writing. I’m a history teacher. I read this and found it helpful but have questions. First I noticed that amount of time dedicated to the task in terms of days. My questions are how long is a class period? I have my students for about 45 minutes. I also saw you mentioned in the part about self-paced learning that mini-lessons could be written or video format. I love these ideas. Any thoughts on how to do this with almost no technology in the room and low readers to non-readers? I’m trying to figure out how to balance teaching a content class while also teaching the common core skills. Thank you for any consideration to my questions.

Hey Jones, To me, a class period is anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour; definitely varies from school to school. As for the question about doing self-paced with very little tech? I think binders with written mini-lessons could work well, as well as a single computer station or tablet hooked up to a class set of videos. Obviously you’d need to be more diligent about rotating students in and out of these stations, but it’s an option at least. You might also give students access to the videos through computers in other locations at school (like the library) and give them passes to watch. The thing about self-paced learning, as you may have seen in the self-paced post , is that if students need extra teacher support (as you might find with low readers or non-readers), they would spend more one-on-one time with the teacher, while the higher-level students would be permitted to move more quickly on their own. Does that help?

My primary goal for next semester is to increase academic discussion and make connections from discussion to writing, so I love how you launch this unit with lessons like Philosophical Chairs. I am curious, however, what is the benefit of the informal argument before the not-so-informal argument? My students often struggle to listen to one another, so I’m wondering if I should start with the more formal, structured version. Or, am I overthinking the management? Thanks so much for input.

Yikes! So sorry your question slipped through, and we’re just now getting to this, Sarah. The main advantage of having kids first engage in informal debate is that it helps them get into an argumentative mindset and begin to appreciate the value of using research to support their claims. If you’ve purchased the unit, you can read more about this in the Overview.

My 6th graders are progressing through their argumentative essay. I’m providing mini lessons along the way that target where most students are in their essay. Your suggestions will be used. I’ve chosen to keep most writing in class and was happy to read that you scheduled a lot of class time for the writing. Students need to feel comfortable knowing that writing is a craft and needs to evolve over time. I think more will get done in class and it is especially important for the struggling writers to have peers and the teacher around while they write. Something that I had students do that they liked was to have them sit in like-topic groups to create a shared document where they curated information that MIGHT be helpful along the way. By the end of the essay, all will use a fantastic add-on called GradeProof which helps to eliminate most of the basic and silly errors that 6th graders make.

Debbi! I LOVE the idea of a shared, curated collection of resources! That is absolutely fantastic! Are you using a Google Doc for this? Other curation tools you might consider are Padlet and Elink .

thanks v much for all this information

Love this! What do you take as grades in the meantime? Throughout this 2 week stretch?

Ideally, you wouldn’t need to take grades at all, waiting until the final paper is done to give one grade. If your school requires more frequent grades, you could assign small point values for getting the incremental steps done: So in Step 3 (when students have to write a paragraph stating their point of view) you could take points for that. During the writer’s workshop phase, you might give points for completion of a rough draft and participation points for peer review (ideally, they’d get some kind of feedback on the quality of feedback they give to one another). Another option would be to just give a small, holistic grade for each week based on the overall integrity of their work–are they staying on task? Making small improvements to their writing each day? Taking advantage of the resources? If students are working diligently through the process, that should be enough. But again, the assessment (grades) should really come from that final written product, and if everyone is doing what they’re supposed to be doing during the workshop phase, most students should have pretty good scores on that final product. Does that help?

Awesome Step 2! Teaching mostly teenagers in Northern Australia I find students’ verbal arguments are much more finely honed than their written work.

To assist with “building the base” I’ve always found sentence starters an essential entry point for struggling students. We have started using the ‘PEARL’ method for analytical and persuasive writing.

If it helps here a free scaffold for the method:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREE-Paragraph-Scaffold-PEEL-to-PEARL-3370676

Thanks again,

Thank you for sharing this additional resource! It’s excellent!

I’ve been scouring the interwebs looking for some real advice on how I can help my struggling 9th grader write better. I can write. Since it comes naturally for me, I have a hard time breaking it down into such tiny steps that he can begin to feel less overwhelmed. I LOVE the pre-writing ideas here. My son is a fabulous arguer. I need to help him use those powers for the good of his writing skills. Do you have a suggestion on what I else I can be using for my homeschooled son? Or what you may have that could work well for home use?

Hi Melinda,

You might be interested in taking a look at Jenn’s Argumentative Writing unit which she mentions at the end of the post . Hope this helps!

Mam it would be good if you could post some steps of different writing and some samples as well so it can be useful for the students.

Hi Aalia! My name is Holly, and I work as a Customer Experience Manager for Cult of Pedagogy. It just so happens that in the near future, Jenn is going to release a narrative writing unit, so keep an eye out for that! As far as samples, the argumentative writing unit has example essays included, and I’m sure the narrative unit will as well. But, to find the examples, you have to purchase the unit from Teachers Pay Teachers.

I just want to say that this helped me tremendously in teaching argument to 8th Graders this past school year, which is a huge concept on their state testing in April. I felt like they were very prepared, and they really enjoyed the verbal part of it, too! I have already implemented these methods into my unit plan for argument for my 11th grade class this year. Thank you so much for posting all of these things! : )

-Josee` Vaughn

I’m so glad to hear it, Josee!!

Love your blog! It is one of the best ones.

I am petrified of writing. I am teaching grade 8 in September and would love some suggestions as I start planning for the year. Thanks!

This is genius! I can’t wait to get started tomorrow teaching argument. It’s always something that I have struggled with, and I’ve been teaching for 18 years. I have a class of 31 students, mostly boys, several with IEPs. The self-paced mini-lessons will help tremendously.

So glad you liked it, Britney!

My students will begin the journey into persuasion and argument next week and your post cemented much of my thinking around how to facilitate the journey towards effective, enthusiastic argumentative writing.

I use your rubrics often to outline task expectations for my students and the feedback from them is how useful breaking every task into steps can be as they are learning new concepts.

Additionally, we made the leap into blogging as a grade at https://mrsdsroadrunners.edublogs.org/2019/01/04/your-future/ It feels much like trying to learn to change a tire while the car is speeding down the highway. Reading your posts over the past years was a factor in embracing the authentic audience. Thank You! Trish

I love reading and listening to your always helpful tips, tricks, and advice! I was wondering if you had any thoughts on creative and engaging ways to have students share their persuasive writing? My 6th students are just finishing up our persuasive writing where we read the book “Oh, Rats” by Albert Marrin and used the information gathered to craft a persuasive piece to either eliminate or protect rats and other than just reading their pieces to one another, I have been trying to think of more creative ways to share. I thought about having a debate but (un)fortunately all my kids are so sweet and are on the same side of the argument – Protect the Rats! Any ideas?

Hi Kiley! Thanks for the positive feedback! So glad to hear that you are finding value in Cult of Pedagogy! Here are a few suggestions that you may be interested in trying with your students:

-A gallery walk: Students could do this virtually if their writing is stored online or hard copies of their writing. Here are some different ways that you could use gallery walks: Enliven Class Discussions With Gallery Walks

-Students could give each other feedback using a tech tool like Flipgrid . You could assign students to small groups or give them accountability partners. In Flipgrid, you could have students sharing back and forth about their writing and their opinions.

I hope this helps!

I love the idea of mentor texts for all of these reading and writing concepts. I saw a great one on Twitter with one text and it demonstrated 5-6 reasons to start a paragraph, all in two pages of a book! Is there a location that would have suggestions/lists of mentor texts for these areas? Paragraphs, sentences, voice, persuasive writing, expository writing, etc. It seems like we could share this info, save each other some work, and curate a great collection of mentor text for English Language Arts teachers. Maybe it already exists?

Hi Maureen,

Here are some great resources that you may find helpful:

Craft Lessons Second Edition: Teaching Writing K-8 Write Like This: Teaching Real-World Writing Through Modeling and Mentor Texts and Mentor Texts, 2nd edition: Teaching Writing Through Children’s Literature, K-6

Thanks so much! I’ll definitely look into these.

I love the steps for planning an argumentative essay writing. When we return from Christmas break, we will begin starting a unit on argumentative writing. I will definitely use the steps. I especially love Step #2. As a 6th grade teacher, my students love to argue. This would set the stage of what argumentative essay involves. Thanks for sharing.

So glad to hear this, Gwen. Thanks for letting us know!

Great orientation, dear Jennifer. The step-by-step carefully planned pedagogical perspectives have surely added in the information repository of many.

Hi Jennifer,

I hope you are well. I apologise for the incorrect spelling in the previous post.

Thank you very much for introducing this effective instruction for teaching argumentative writing. I am the first year PhD student at Newcastle University, UK. My PhD research project aims to investigate teaching argumentative writing to Chinese university students. I am interested in the Argumentative Writing unit you have designed and would like to buy it. I would like to see the preview of this book before deciding to purchase it. I clicked on the image BUT the font of the preview is so small and cannot see the content clearly. I am wondering whether it could be possible for you to email me a detailed preview of what’s included. I would highly appreciate if you could help me with this.

Thank you very much in advance. Looking forward to your reply.

Take care and all the very best, Chang

Hi Chang! Jenn’s Argumentative Writing Unit is actually a teaching unit geared toward grades 7-12 with lessons, activities, etc. If you click here click here to view the actual product, you can click on the green ‘View Preview’ button to see a pretty detailed preview of what’s offered. Once you open the preview, there is the option to zoom in so you can see what the actual pages of the unit are like. I hope this helps!

Great Content!

Another teacher showed me one of your posts, and now I’ve read a dozen of them. With teaching students to argue, have you ever used the “What’s going on in this picture?” https://www.nytimes.com/column/learning-whats-going-on-in-this-picture?module=inline I used it last year and thought it was a non-threatening way to introduce learners to using evidence to be persuasive since there was no text.

I used to do something like this to help kids learn how to make inferences. Hadn’t thought of it from a persuasive standpoint. Interesting.

this is a very interesting topic, thanks!

Hi! I’m a teacher too! I was looking for inspiration and I found your article and thought you might find this online free tool interesting that helps make all students participate meaningfully and engage in a topic. https://www.kialo-edu.com/

This tool is great for student collaboration and to teach argumentative writing in an innovative way. I hope this helps!

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Five-Paragraph Essay Lesson Plan: Producing Writing

*Click to open and customize your own copy of the Five-Paragraph Essay Lesson Plan .

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic, Five-Paragraph Essay , and supports the standard of developing an organized piece of writing with a clear thesis, relevant details, and a concluding statement. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

As a class, or individually, have students read Tim’s model essay, The Case For a Longer School Year. Ask:

• What argument is Tim making in his essay?
• What are his reasons or evidence for his argument?
• Is Tim’s argument persuasive? Why or why not?
• What is the purpose of the first paragraph? middle paragraphs? Last paragraph?

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

• Read aloud the description on the Five-Paragraph Essay topic page . 
• Play the Movie , pausing to check for understanding.

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Assign the Five-Paragraph Essay Quiz , prompting students to apply essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about writing five-paragraph essays while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

• Make-a-Movie : Produce a movie where you present a persuasive argument that follows the format of a five-paragraph essay. 
• Make-a-Map : Create a concept map that shows the features of each paragraph in a five-paragraph essay. 
• Creative Coding : Code a meme that shows the benefits of using the five-paragraph essay format.

More to Explore

Related BrainPOP Topics : Deepen understanding of the writing process with these topics: Types of Writing , Writing in Sequence , Research , and Outlines . 

Teacher Support Resources:

• Pause Point Overview : Video tutorial showing how Pause Points actively engage students to stop, think, and express ideas.  
• Learning Activities Modifications : Strategies to meet ELL and other instructional and student needs.
• Learning Activities Support : Resources for best practices using BrainPOP.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

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EL Education Curriculum

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• ELA G5:M3:U2:L10

Writing an Opinion Essay: Planning

In this lesson, daily learning targets, ongoing assessment.

• Technology and Multimedia

Supporting English Language Learners

Universal design for learning, closing & assessments, you are here:.

• ELA Grade 5
• ELA G5:M3:U2

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

• W.5.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
• W.5.1a: Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the writer's purpose.
• W.5.1b: Provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details.
• W.5.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
• W.5.5: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
• W.5.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
• W.5.9b: Apply grade 5 Reading standards to informational texts (e.g., "Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point[s]"").
• SL.5.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
• I can plan an essay that states an opinion and has reasons that are supported by facts and details. ( W.5.1, W.5.4, W.5.9b )
• I can give kind, helpful, and specific feedback to my partner. ( W.5.5, SL.5.1 )
• Opinion Writing Planning graphic organizer ( W.5.1, W.5.4, W.5.5, W.5.9b )
• Strategically pair students for the peer critique in the Closing with at least one strong reader per pair.
• Review the Opinion Writing Checklist ( see the Tools page ).
• Post: Learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

• Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout Modules 1-2 to create anchor charts to share with families; to record students as they participate in discussions and protocols to review with students later and to share with families; and for students to listen to and annotate text, record ideas on note-catchers, and word-process writing.

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 5.I.A.1, 5.I.A.3, 5.I.A.4, 5.I.A.5, 5.I.C.10, 5.I.C.11, 5.I.C.12, 5.II.A.1, 5.II.A.2, 5.II.C.6 , and 5.II.C.7

Important points in the lesson itself

• The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs by referring to the Factors for Success anchor chart from Unit 1 to plan their essays, inviting students to draw on conclusions from the text-based discussion to form their focus statements, allowing time for discussion throughout the lesson, and explicitly reviewing the characteristics of opinion writing as a class.
• ELLs may find it challenging to go from annotating the Model Essay: Branch Rickey in Work Time A to planning their own opinion essays with the graphic organizer in Work Time B without having seen this process modeled. Consider filling in the graphic organizer with components of the model essay in Work Time A, providing students with concrete examples to refer to during their planning (see Meeting Students' Needs).

Levels of support

For lighter support:

• Encourage students to use the focus structure from the Language Dive in Lesson 9, but it was _____, to write their focus statement, supporting students in using linking words and phrases to connect ideas. Challenge students to think of more than one way they could use this linking language to write their focus statement.

For heavier support:

• Consider color-coding the text in the displayed Opinion Writing Planning graphic organizer to match the corresponding information in the Painted Essay(r) template, signaling the information that goes in each section. For example, in the introduction paragraph box, the text "What context do you need to give to your reader?" would be color-coded red; "State your opinion:" would be green; all text in "Proof Paragraph 1" would be yellow; etc.
• Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): Students provide kind, helpful, and specific feedback during a peer critique of their opinion writing planning. As this familiar learning target is displayed, consider inviting students to share examples of this type of feedback from previous lessons and note their responses for visual display.
• Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): Continue to support a range of fine motor abilities and writing needs by offering students options for writing utensils. Also, consider supporting students' expressive skills by offering partial dictation of student responses.
• Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Since peer review can be threatening to some students, continue to emphasize the benefits of peer review and feedback for all students. Make this activity relevant by reminding students that writers have editors who provide feedback for their writing through each step in the writing process, which improves their writing.

Key:  Lesson-Specific Vocabulary  (L);  Text-Specific Vocabulary  (T);  Vocabulary Used in Writing  (W)

• states, support, specific, reason, evidence, use my strengths (L)
• Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
• Academic Word Wall (begun in Module 1)
• Vocabulary logs (from Module 1; one per student)
• Opinion Writing Planning graphic organizer (one per student and one to display)
• Model Essay: Branch Rickey (from Lesson 9; one per student and one to display)
• Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
• Directions for Opinion Essay (from Lesson 9; one per student and one to display)
• Opinion Writing Checklist (from Lesson 9; one per student and one to display)
• Colored pencils (green, yellow, blue; one of each color per student)
• Preparing for a Text-Based Discussion: Jackie Robinson note-catcher (from Lesson 7; one per student)
• Discussion Notes Form: Jackie Robinson (from Lesson 8; one per student)
• Promises to Keep (from Unit 1, Lesson 1; one per student)
• "This I Believe: Free Minds and Hearts at Work" (text; from Lesson 2; one per student)
• Listening Closely: "Jackie Robinson: Royals to Obamas" note-catcher (from Lesson 4; one per student)
• Factor for Success anchor charts (begun in Unit 1)
• Domain-Specific Word Wall (begun in Unit 1, Lesson 1)
• Opinion Writing Planning graphic organizer (example, for teacher reference)
• Sticky notes (two per student)
• Working to Contribute to a Better World anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
• Directions for Peer Critique (from Module 1; one to display)
• Peer Critique Protocol anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
• Language Dive I Practice: Model Essay: Branch Rickey homework (from Lesson 9; one per student)
• Language Dive I Practice: Model Essay: Branch Rickey homework (example, for teacher reference)

Each unit in the 3-5 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

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Writing An Argumentative Essay: Planning The Essay

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• Grade 7 ELA Module 2A, Unit 1, Lesson 16

Bilingual Language Progressions

These resources, developed by the New York State Education Department, provide standard-level scaffolding suggestions for English Language Learners (ELLs) to help them meet grade-level demands. Each resource contains scaffolds at multiple levels of language acquisition and describes the linguistic demands of the standards to help ELA teachers as well as ESL/bilingual teachers scaffold content for their English learning students.

• CCSS Standard:

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