Chapter 12

There are many key elements to a successful lesson plan as pointed out in chapter twelve. First of all, teachers must have prerequisite knowledge about the content of there lesson. If teachers did not have background knowledge of what they were teaching then they turn out to be life-long substitutes. A clear introduction, detailed and layered objectives without repetition, and finally a closure/reflection section are essential. Although it seems simple, putting together a lesson plan and incorporating technology surpasses lesson plans of the past. As I have said before in my previous blog, it is important to understand what type of technology is being used in the lesson; the lesson must not be just about the technology itself (unless learning how to type is in fact the lesson). If one is using multiple types of technology, it is important to have the correct materials for every one and to be sure to have a back up plan.

My own reflection of this section reminded me most of how my high school required a technology section in our band classes. I thought that the programs that we were practically forced to spend a certain amount of time on just wasted the valuable time I had during the day to play music. The only benefit of making band-students use music writing computer programs lies in the individual who actually wanted to be a composer; I can't remember a single person who actually produced something from those programs. However I also pondered that maybe it was my instructor who was using the technology in the wrong way; maybe there was some other beneficial aspect to the programs we were required to use.

One question I have about this section revolves around the concentration of subject matter. There are multiple examples in the text which rely around every subject but literature and English except for Huck Finn who graced us with his example in Ch. 4. I think that the second section of the chapter was the most beneficial for me; the contextual examples of the lesson plans themselves strengthened my theories of what my own lesson plans are going to look like. Unfortunately it is hard to use excel in explaining The Scarlet Letter. I do believe that programs such as Inspiration will be especially helpful in creating character maps and maybe plot development of some of the more tricky novels.