Plan Backwards to Move Forwards by Teresa Troyer

Teresa TroyerELF, Colombia2015-16

Planning backwards to move your students

forward

21 years of teaching experience- and only 2 grey hairs!

EFL -Peace Corps in Slovakia – Velmi dobry!

ESL - K-12 in NYC and Ohio ESL at University level in Ohio

(USA), China and Indonesia BA in Creative Writing and in Art

History (Italia!!) MA in Composition and TESOL MA in Education – Teacher

Leadership

Hello! i`m teresa

OHIO

Hello! Thanks for joining us!

Reflect on one goal you have met in real life and how you

“planned backwards”to meet it.

(for example: we wanted to eat dinner at 6 pm, so we went to the store in the morning before going to the park, and then started cooking at 4 pm)

Motivator: Open-ended

Planning backwards to move your students forward

Raise your hand if you have experience with:1.Essential Questions2.Project-based learning3.Content objectives for a lesson4.Language objectives for a lesson5.Formative assessments

Background - Question 1: hands up

Webinar Objectives:Participants will be able to 1.Identify a good Essential Question2.Understand the value of collaborative projects for authentic assessment, and3.Practice writing Content and Language Objectives

with the support of a graphic organizer for thematic planning, a project assessment map, and sample lesson plans and objectives.

Planning backwards

WHAT?

HOW?

Sample Lesson

Standards: Colombian Ministry of Education standards, grade 9, Conversation strand.

Topic: Gender stereotypes (Women`s Month)

Objectives: Students will give opinions and use adjectives

Plan:

10 minutes – students put an adjective on the board – on a line from feminine to masculine

10 minutes – students agree or disagree with adjectives`placement by moving to a side of the room for «agree» or «disagree». Talk to a partner.

10 minutes – watch video clip from The Hunger Games and ask students how they would describe the main characters

10 minutes – students write about a female they look up to and describe her.

Was the SAMPLE a good lesson plan?

A.YesB.NoC.It has some pieces of a lesson plan

Planning backwardsQuestion 2: poll

Was the SAMPLE a good lesson plan?

A.YesB.NoC.It has some pieces of a lesson plan

Planning backwardsQuestion 2: poll

Planning backwards

Student-Centered

Teacher-Centered

Sample Lesson


Topic: Gender stereotypes (Women`s Month)


Plan:





List of Activities

Throw in an assessment- how will this be measured?

Input more than Ouput

Limited interaction

Start with a BIG idea– an Essential Question that connects to something that already motivates students

Planning backwards

Thematic Unit Graphic Organizer

Wong-Fillmore, Cucchiara, and Fillmore, 2011

Which of the following is a better Essential Question?

A.Is “brave” a masculine or feminine trait?B.Why are stereotypes helpful or harmful?C.How are males and females seen differently in different settings?

Essential questionsQuestion 3: Poll

Which of the following is a better Essential Question?

A.Is “brave” a masculine or feminine trait?B.Why are stereotypes helpful or harmful?C.How are males and females seen differently in different settings?

Essential questionsQuestion 3: Poll

Planning backwardsEssential questions

Ask BIG

questions

Higher order thinking! Engage students here!Look at those verbs!

√Start with an Essential Question

Develop the Assessment before the daily assignments

Planning backwardsProject-based Outcomes

www.bie.org

Group Video Character

traits- adjectives

Justify conclusions

Sample Lesson


Essential Question: Why are stereotypes helpful or harmful?

Final Product (Summative Assessment): A small group video, skit, or lesson that examines findings on varied opinions about male/female characteristics.


Plan:





Imagine the opportunities for building

language skills - Speaking, Listening,

Reading, and Writing – to answer a real

question for a real audience

Give one example of a Project that you have used in your class or that you have seen used successfully for student learning.

Project-based outcomesQuestion 4: Open-ended

Webinar Objectives:Participants will be able to 1.√ Identify a good Essential Question2.√ Understand the value of collaborative projects for authentic assessment, and

3.Practice writing Content and Language Objectiveswith the support of a graphic organizer for thematic planning, a project assessment map, and sample lesson plans and objectives.

Midpoint check-in:Planning backwards

WHAT? Content

HOW? Language

Raise your hand if you agree that these are good examples of learning objectives:1.Students will study how to give opinions2.Students will verbally give their opinion about gender stereotypes using sentence starters3.Present adjectives to describe feminine and masculine characteristics

Learning Objectives Question 5: hands up

1. Students will study how to give opinions (How could I measure this? What is the student OUTPUT?)

2. Students will verbally give their opinion about gender stereotypes using sentence starters

3. Present adjectives to describe feminine and masculine characteristics (This is what the teacher might do… but how? And why?)

Planning backwardscontent and language objectives

Content

Language

Planning backwardsformative assessments

Teachers also do not wait until the Final Product to assess student progress on

Content and Language Objectives.The assessment along the way is called Formative Assessment.

Which of the following is an example of a formative assessment:A.Exit ticketB.A 10- point, fill-in-the blank quizC.A rubric for the final project

Formative assessmentQuestion 6: Poll

Formative assessments are NOT graded.

Formative assessments DO:Help students really understand the learning goalsShow the teacher and students evidence of learningAllow for feedback between teachers and studentsHelp students be responsible for their own learningHelp students learn from each otherInform the teacher’s instructional decisions

Planning backwardsformative assessment

Which of the following is an example of a formative assessment:A.“Exit ticket” 3-2-1 (3 things you learned, 2 things you knew, 1 thing you didn`t understand) B.A 10- point, fill-in-the blank quizC.A rubric for the final project

Planning backwards to move your students forward

SUMMARY

SAMPLE Lesson PlanTopic: Sports

Learning Objective: ?

Task 1: I will show to the students 5 pictures related to different sports then I will ask them some questions such as:What sport is it?What elements (equipment) do you need to practice it?Is it indoors or outdoors? (10 min)

Task 2: Students will listen to people talking about the exercise they prefer to practice. They will choose the best option for each. (10 min)

Task 3: The students will select a sport mentioned and write 5 sentences related to the sport (easy to play, fun, etc). Some students read their sentences (20 min)

Task 4: Students will read about Parkour and answer some questions about the text (10 min)

Reflect on the SAMPLE lesson plan I just showed about “sports”

In one word, what was the goal of the lesson?

SUMMARY - Question 7: Open-ended

Which would be a better Essential Question to start planning from?

A.What sport is most popular?B.Why are athletes paid more than teachers?C.How can sports change a community?

Summary - Question 8: poll

Now, think about how the topic of “sports” could be re-imagined in a thematic unit.

Let’s choose option C as a group: How can sports change a community?Now, imagine Final Projects that your students might really like to do. Type in 1 or 2 words to describe your ideas (example: mini-documentary)

Summary - Question 9: open-ended

√ Fill in the learning objective for one specific content and language piece you might teach for

How can sports change a community?Students will be able to ________(verb) _________(content) using ____________(strategy or support)Example:(Students will be able to form questions about what sports mean to other people using models from documentary film clips)

Summary - Question 10: open-ended

Sample backwards planning map developed by teachers in Manizales, Colombia after we brainstormed BIG Questions together

Example- Planning backwards

Example Lessons


Essential Question: Why are stereotypes helpful or harmful?

Final Product (Summative Assessment): A small group video, skit, or lesson that examines findings on varied opinions about male/female characteristics.

Objectives:

Find my completed “stereotype” lesson plans for beginners and intermediate students in the materials for the webinar!

These lessons were great fun and students DEFINITELY had

OPINIONS to express!

Thank you!Credit also to Lilia Fernando Rocha of the Centro Colombo Americano in Bogotá for the use of her ideas about lesson objectives.

Teacher Resources: The SIOP Model – lesson planninghttp://www.cal.org/siop/http://siop.pearson.com/about-siop/index.html

The Buck Institute for Education(Project-Based Learning)http://bie.org/

MORE information:Lesson Planning 101 – American English at State Webinar by Katie Bain (ELF)http://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/lesson_planning_101-pre-recording.pdf

Planning Backwards Takes Thinking AheadEdutopia blog:http://www.edutopia.org/blog/backwards-planning-thinking-ahead-rebecca-alber

A Ten-Step Process for Developing Teaching Units. English Teaching, Forum, Vol. 53, No.3. Authors: Geoffrey Butler, Simon Heslup, and Lara Kurthhttp://americanenglish.state.gov/resources/english-teaching-forum-volume-53-number-3#child-1982

Planning backwards