Learning-Focused
Lesson Planning
LEARNING
PRODUCTS
AND ASSESSMENTS INC.
___________________________________
LEARNING THAT WORKS!
_________________________
For More information:
Phone: 828 264-1527
Fax: 828 262-5952
Dr. Max Thompson
Dr. Julia Thompson
Learning-Focused
Instruction Information
•
Essential
Questions for
Lesson Planners
•
•
•
How do I plan lessons which focus
on student learning?
What are the three levels of
learning that all learners pass
through?
Which teaching-learning strategies
are most successful at each level?
How will learning-focused lessons
increase my students' depth of
knowledge and long term retention
and understanding?
LEVEL 1
Acquisition
Students learn new knowledge / skills with teacher input and
direction and guided / independent practice
Linking Prior Knowledge, Motivating / Preparing, Constructing
Meaning, Collaborative Pairs, Distributed Guided Practice, Graphic
Organizers, Summarizing,
Mnemonic Devices
LEVEL 2
Extending / Refining
Incorporate thinking skills and writing prompts to increase
depth of understanding
Cause and Effect, Compare / Contrast, Classify, Constructing
Support, Analyzing Perspectives, Justification, Induction, Deduction,
Error Analysis, Evaluation, Abstracting, Example to Idea, Idea to
Example, Writing Prompts / Extensions
LEVEL 3
Authentic Use & Mastery
Students demonstrate their knowledge in some meaningful
way to help them retain what they have learned over a longer
period of time
Decision Making, Invention, Investigation, Problem Solving,
Experimental Inquiry
Acquisition Learning Lessons
This graphic represents a learning-focused acquisition lesson
What is the Essential Question of
the Lesson?
1,2,4,5 1,3,4,
5,6,7
1,4,8
Distributed Guided Practice
Opening
Teaching
Activities
Closure
Distributed Guided Summarizing
Acquisition Learning
Lessons
1. Learners Mentally Active
2. Link Prior Knowledge
3. Distribute Guided Practice /
Summarizing
4. Collaborative Pairs
5. Cognitive Strategies
6. Graphic Organizers
7. Differentiated Instruction
8. Learners Summarize Lessons
Extending / Refining Lesson
This graphic represents a learning-focused extending / refining lesson
What is the Essential Question of the
Lesson?
1,2,4
Teachers Conferencing with
Individual / Small Groups
2,3,4,5,6,7,8
3,4,5
Opening
MiniLesson
Independent and / or Group
Workshops
Summarizing
/ Sharing
Extending / Refining
Lesson
1. Mini-Lesson Demonstration
2. Individual / Group Work
3. All Tasks With Rubrics
4. Thinking Skills Activities
5. Writing / Thinking Extensions
6. Review Strategies for Mastery
7. Differentiated Assignments
8. Teacher Conferencing /
Monitoring
Learning-Focused Lessons,
Units
Structured Review
Learning-Focused
Lessons
Learning-Focused Lessons
Acquisition Lesson
(ACQUISITION OF
KNOWLEDGE) NEW
LEARNING
Extending/Refining Lesson
(EXTENDING KNOWLEDGE / SKILLS)
GETTING DEEPER INTO LEARNING
Structure
• Essential Question of Lesson
• Opening
• Teaching Activities •
Summary
Structure
• Essential Question of Lesson • Opening / Mini Lesson •
Group Work and / or Independent Practice • Teacher
Conferencing
Skills
DECLARATIVE KNOWLEDGEACQUIRE FACTS
• Construct Meaning • Organize
• Store
PROCEDURAL KNOWLEDGEINTEGRATE KNOWLEDGE
AND SKILLS
• Construct Model • Shape •
Internalize
Skills
• Cause and Effect • Compare / Contrast • Classifying •
Constructing Support • Analyzing Perspectives •
Justification • Induction • Deduction • Error Analysis
•Evaluation • Abstracting • Hypothesizing
Strategies
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS AND
THINKING MAPS
FOR NOTES AND READING
• Mnemonic Devices •
Assignments with Rubrics •
Distributed Guided Practice /
Collaborative Pairs
• Formative Assessments
Strategies
• Student Workshop Format • Teacher Conferencing /
Monitoring • Writing Extensions from Graphic Organizers
and / or Thinking Maps
• Question Mapping • Jeopardy Review
Learning-Focused Unit
Learning-Based
Review
Theme / Concept / Skill Based
Review Strategies
(DEMONSTRATION OF MASTERY / MAINTENANCE)
• Begin review habit at first of
__________________________________________________ the year
• Short review at end of each
lesson
Decisions
• Short review at end of each
week
1. Main topic / theme / issues / skill
• Structured review of previous
2. Essential unit question
month's content every 4- 6
3. Essential lesson questions (Curriculum objectives)
weeks (4 x 4 and semester
4. Culminating (meaningful use) performance / product
block every 2-3 weeks)
(Written for students)
• Set aside 1-2 class periods
5. Culminating project / performance rubric (Given to
for review every 4-6 weeks (2-
students first day of unit)
6. Launch activity
7. Acquisition lessons / activities (Minimum of one per
essential question)
8. Extending / refining lessons and activities (Essential
questions with thinking skills and / or writing
extensions / prompts)
9. Daily time line with lesson plans/ student assignments
10. Resources / materials needed
3)
1. Help students gather and
reorganize last month's
content, into a study /
survival manual
2. Use guides / manuals to
study for some form of new
test
on that material (Jeopardy
Review, collaborative test
taking, thinking extension,
writing prompt, etc.)
• Resume teaching new
content at this point
• Repeat review steps in 4-5
weeks
• At test time (end of course /
spring) students use
collected review materials for
studying
Processes
THINKING PROCESSES FOR AUTHENTIC USE
OF KNOWLEDGE
• Invention • Decision Making • Problem Solving •
Experiment • Investigation
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USE THINKING PROCESSES TO DEVELOP AUTHENTIC...
• Performances • Projects • Products
Strategy
DEVELOP RUBRICS FOR THE SPECIFIC TYPE OF
CULMINATING (MEANINGFUL USE) ACTIVITY
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