Why Lesson Plans are Important?
Have you ever driven to another state without a map app? Or hosted an Eid celebration without any sort of planning? We didn’t think so! Preparing what you will teach for a day, week, or even sometimes a month in advance is critical for ensuring academic success with your students.
Lesson planning is important whether you are teaching in an actual classroom, or homeschooling. It helps teachers and parents map out the day-to-day activities that will be covered for effective instruction of a subject, facilitation of an activity, as well as routine time management.
Each day comes with its own set of challenges whether your little scholar is fidgeting to go outside and play rather than learn addition facts, with a toddler crying on your hip. Or, you have three students struggling to stay on tasks while twenty others stare back at you with wide eyes of boredom. A lesson plan is there to help you stay on track no matter what you may encounter and to prepare for the worst.
The structure of your lesson plan should include the following components:
The Opening – Checking for student’s prior knowledge about topic, skill, or subject matter, what students will learn and why it is important
Introduction –Explanation of New Material
Guided Practice-Working collectively or in small groups
Independent Practice-Student practicing skills tasks independently
The Closing – Building Connections, and Checking for Understanding
Some additional elements of a lesson plan that are helpful to a classroom or home educator is that you pre-plan what materials to use so you have everything ready within reach. We understand that there are those occasions where you have to think on your feet, but if you plan ahead, we assure you that it will help to keep your day running smoothly so that you don’t have a room of children or a child running wild while you’re looking for resources, or your next activity to grab.
It’s also a great way to accommodate a student’s individual education plan when necessary to differentiate learning when working with a diverse group of students. You can note where a lesson needs to be adapted or modified, prep for student work stations with different levels of tasks, or pair students who are weaker in a skills area with students who are stronger. Even incorporate supplemental activities into one of the component areas of your lesson plan that support both the kinesthetic and visual learner.
At Everyday Ibadaah we believe if you want to provide students with an adequate level of long-term progress toward meeting subject matter benchmarks, and goals as outlined in the scope and sequencing of a curriculum, lesson planning is your way to go!
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