Teachers will be able to create a lesson that is applicable and beneficial for all students’ learning goals while providing sufficient information and knowledge on the specific subject, discipline, and pedagogy, along with understanding their growth level. It is also crucial to take into account IEPs, learning styles, and pre-test scores. This standard is important as it creates learning goals and experiences specifically tailored for each student while also maintaining a level of awareness about each student’s growth in the content areas. Utilizing Virginia’s standards of learning for government in my lessons, providing clear rubrics for assignments, and having students complete an online survey on what they want to learn will allow me to plan engaging instructional methods that interest all learners.
To be able to plan effective lessons, I made sure to always include several SOLs (standards of learning) and specific class objectives for each day. I made sure to use Virginia’s state mandated SOLs for government throughout my entire unit. This helped me to begin my planning, along with collaborating with my supervising teacher. Our instructional aid worked primarily with students who had IEPs and assisted me to better understand their needs along with feedback on how to plan modifications for them.
When assigning projects for students, they must be able to easily understand teacher expectations. I always make sure to provide students with clear and detailed rubrics to ensure to students can meet the expectations I have for their work. Students created a First Amendment Freedoms Poster which was able to be done in any creative method they liked, as long as it followed the rubic. Their method of completing the poster was completely up to their own creativity to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the First Amendment.
Students will fill out an online survey titled “I Want to Learn…” explaining three content areas they want to learn most, three content areas they are not currently interested in, and three topics they want to be included in the course. This will help me understand what things students will or will not be interested in, along with planning what level of engagement will be needed for that specific lesson. By choosing their own topics, I can incorporate multiple things every student wants to learn, so they feel heard and intrigued during class time.