Planning templates are an important instructional tool that teachers can use to organize the details of their lessons and activities. Coaches can support teachers in using these templates to plan key components of a lesson including, but not limited to, the key learning objective aligned to state guidelines, materials needed, and scaffolding. Templates may vary depending on the teacher preferences and program requirements.
Using an exemplar while reviewing and discussing a planning template will provide the teacher with the details of the learning experience. The exemplar can highlight the necessary components of the lesson, what skills are being targeted, and materials needed for a high quality instruction. Through the exemplar, the coach can support teachers to intentionally plan for different settings that include whole group, center time, or small group instruction.
A video based exemplar can clearly support teachers in noticing all key components and ensure all steps of the lesson cycle are included. The exemplar may even reference content-focused language tied to targeted learning objectives.
You may consider using the following competencies to review and discuss planning templates:
- The coach uses content-focused language that refers to key learning objectives during feedback conversations (coach has to use domain specific language)
- The coach refers to relevant national, state, or program learning guidelines during feedback conversations (e.g.,Infant, Toddler, and Three-Year-Old Early Learning Guidelines; Texas Rising Star Standards for Family Involvement)
- The coach supports the practitioner with articulating specific action steps (e.g., lesson adaptation) that are in alignment with their reflections on or conclusions about events and interactions
- The coach supports the practitioner in identifying and planning for repeated practice opportunities in connection with goals
Mentoring Prompts
- “Looking at this template, let’s discuss the necessary components of planning for a high quality lesson… can you state the components that stand out to you the most?”
- “What do you notice about the developmentally appropriateness of the content in this lesson plan?”
- “How is this plan designed for activities, materials, and assessments that are sequenced and relevant to students?”
- “What part of the lesson plan design do you feel comfortable using?”
- “What part of the lesson plan design is new to you?”
- “What do you notice about the teaching cycle?” (introduction, model, guided practice, etc…)
- “Through this exemplar, how did the teacher introduce the lesson?”
- “What did you notice about how this teacher modeled the lesson for the students?”
- “How were the guided activities connected to the objective?”
- “Did you notice how the teacher closed out the lesson?”
- “What additional resources would you need to make this lesson your own?”