Teacher's Net
Lesson 4: Instructional Design, Part Two
The Process
The Process
Choosing a Topic and Brainstorming
The Basic Requirements:
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The topic is chosen from curriculum content.
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Topics are relevant to students' everyday experiences so that they can raise valid questions.
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A topic allows for basic numeracy and literacy skills and for the integration of several subject areas.
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The topic allows students to practice previously acquired skills.
Your process of defining a topic is fairly simplified if you teach one particular subject, like English or Creative Writing or Science. Many teachers don't have this luxury, though - start with a broad subject, if you teach more than one. From there, you can refine the subject through the use of curriculum requirements or brainstorming. For the example below, I've chosen Science and have refined the subject from there, arriving at my final topic (obviously, this is far simplified- your brainstorm doesn't have to be nearly so specific or short):
Science
Curriculum Needs (as defined in my syllabus)
Weather Patterns, Seasons, Natural Events, local horticulture...
Possible specific Subjects
A break-down of "natural disasters" native locally
A look at how the dormant volcano's lava, long-broken down, have affected our terrain
Subject Chosen
A study of local herbs, and their Native Uses in medicine.
Investigation
The Basic Investigation Process:
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Explore resources that can be used both within the lesson plan, and within the student's work.
- Collect data for the lesson plan and related worksheets.
- Consult resources - lesson banks, generators, and search engines - for supporting material
During the Investigation phase of this process, you want to locate resources and material that will aid you in the successful - and pain-free - creation of your complete lesson plan. Using the specific topic that you have decided on, do a bit of research to unearth cool facts, points of interest, internet resources, and anything else that you think is worthy of your time. Record all of this information, either in the form of written notes or a compilation of URL's and Sources- whatever method you need to use that will allow you to quickly locate the information you want once you begin compiling.
What's the Project?
Our first step is fairly simple... but can be intimidating and will often take a bit of brainstorming.
We have to decide what the end project will be - a report or essay is nice, if a bit more traditional than necessary... what about a brochure, mini-book, series of flash cards, or scale model instead?
What's the Technology?
Within the creation of your project, you've likely encountered the technology you'll be using. To make it easy, though, you need to itemize this technology for use in the lesson plan.
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