Effective Lesson Plans

Posted by Susan Hyde Sep 30, 2007

Time spent in class is often limited by assemblies, pep rallies, fundraising, fieldtrips, fire drills, and other interruptions. As the school year rushes by, teachers may feel pressured to hurry into each new unit in order to cover all of the required elements of a subject. However, when it comes to the retention of important information, the careful introduction of a new topic is every bit as important as a review.

The term "advanced organizer" was coined by David Ausubel in the 1960's to describe introductory activities for new study topics. Advanced organizers can be written, graphic, or spoken, but they should always make new information relevant to what students may already know.

Types of Advanced Organizers

• Expository: A teacher orally makes connections from past lessons to the present. Expository advanced organizers may take the form of a lecture or question and answer period.
• Narrative: Sometimes an entertaining story, real or invented, provides a wonderful introduction to a lesson. The Boston Museum of Science's Engineering is Elementary series and Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World history collection both effecticely use narration to introduce new information.
• Scanned Reading: Providing students with time to skim new material is another effective way to initiate a lesson. Ask students to record questions that they may have, and do your best to answer those questions during the course of study.
• Graphic or Visual Organizers: Flow charts, pictures, Venn diagrams, models, and other visual elements can be effective in introducing new topics. Graphic organizers can be teacher initiated or student created.

Paired with an effective review or follow-up, advanced organizers can help students to contextualize new information for long-term recollection.