Module 1: Assignment One

Part I: Design a Lesson that Applies the Three Principles

Purpose:
To give participants an opportunity to practice applying the Three Principles for designing effective lessons for second language learners.

Materials:
Chapter or topic from current classroom textbook or curriculum

Instructions:

1. Write a lesson in which you apply the Three Principles for designing effective lessons for English language learners: increase comprehensibility, increase interaction, and increase higher order thinking skills. 

2. Choose a chapter or topic from the textbook or from the curriculum you are currently using in your classroom and apply the Three Principles. Please note that you will be asked to implement the lesson in your own classroom. As such, be sure to select a topic that fits with your upcoming plans.

3. When designing your lesson, you may design three separate activities for addressing the three principles (the way we did in class) or you may design one comprehensive activity that integrates all three principles. Either way, your lesson should include the following:

Lesson Requirements

Grade level and content area

Content Objective(s): specify what students are expected to learn as a result of your lesson

An activity that introduces new concepts before students are asked to read about them

A cooperative learning activity that fosters positive interdependence and individual accountability in order to cultivate genuine interaction

Questions or activities that require higher order thinking skills

Write the lesson in such a way that other teachers could implement it in their own classrooms. In other words, include all necessary instructions for implementing the lesson. While you are not expected to include detailed scripts of what to say at each stage of the lesson, you are expected to write the lesson in an organized, thoughtful, and detailed manner so that readers can obtain a genuine sense of how the lesson might be implemented in a classroom setting.

Part II: Critique Peer Lessons

Instructions:

  1. Share your lesson with your partner in order to receive constructive feedback.

  2. Use the guidelines provided below for critiquing your partner's lesson. Send your comments to your partner.

    Guidelines for Critiquing Lessons

    1. How does the lesson address each of the three principles? Be specific.
      A. Comprehensibility
      B. Interaction
      C. Higher Order Thinking Skills

    2. What aspect of the lesson could be improved in terms of the three principles? Provide specific suggestions about how the lesson could be improved.

 

Part III: Revise and Implement Lesson

Instructions:

  1. After you receive feedback from your partner, revise your lesson as necessary. While it is not necessary to implement all suggestions, you are asked to implement those suggestions you deem most relevant.

  2. Implement the lesson in class. If your lesson spans two or three days, you are not required to implement the lesson in its entirety but are expected to implement a portion of the lesson for the duration of one full class period (i.e., 50 minutes if that's the length of one class period).

  3. Submit your lesson, along with the feedback from your partner, to the facilitator.

Assignment #2

Assignment #3

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