Product Description
Developed by two educators with experience in both elementary and secondary classrooms, Writing Effective Lesson Plans details a unique a step-by-step procedure designed to streamline the process of lesson planning and make teaching smoother and more efficient. Coined the "Five-Star Lesson Plan" by the authors, this model consists of five classic components: lesson description, goals and objectives, materials and tools, procedures, and reflective assessment and evaluation.  This workbook guides beginning and experienced teachers through each step to create lesson plans that best meet the needs of every student.  It also explores the inherent challenges to effective lesson planning, such as time efficiency, knowledge construction, skill development, involving the students’ families, and implementing your plan.  With its mix of concise theory and hands-on activities, this book is a one-stop resource encouraging a deep and thoughtful approach to a skill that is often not sufficiently developed in teacher preparation programs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

NO STARS!
Hi, I too thought this was a good book, until I tried to use it. It gives cursory explanations but no real details or examples. Some of the topics (including the "topic" section) seem interchangeable with others because this book's explanations are too vague. None of the information is new. Previously I was a preschool teacher and we learned this 5 step process 15 years ago. It was covered more clearly in one chapter of the text for the ECE class than this entire text. Don't waste your money. Not worth it. (If you look @ my review history, I only talk about texts that are a waste of money. I earned an "A" in the class that this text is for, w/o the help of this text. It was too frustrating to bother with).

Best textbook for teaching
I have had to buy, and slog through, many textbooks for my teaching credential coursework. This book is by far the most useful, practical, and readable. So many books concentrate on theory. This book is a how to on lesson planning. It is a valuable tool for organizing your lesson, step by step, keeping all learners in mind. With an organized lesson, students are engaged, class time is maximized, and classroom management problems are minimized. This book is a keeper!

Lesson Planning
Very laborious book, but very step by step for those that need such complete detail

Excellent for planning and implementing a successful lesson
I came across this title as I was doing some research for my graduate studies. I wish that I had this book when I was doing my student teaching years ago! This is an excellent guide for creating effective lesson plans, and I like the fact that it combines both theory and hands-on activities. The 5-star approach here comprises lesson description, goals and objectives, materials and tools, procedures, and reflective assessment and evaluation.

The chapters are as follows:
Ch. 1: Structure and Stages of Development -covers the basics in terms of preparation, development, implementation of instructional methodologies, and reflection, and sequencing lesson components.
Ch. 2: Lesson Description - provides an overview of the 5-star approach, how to provide a description of the lesson (date, subject, topic, grade) and practice sheets.
Ch. 3: Goals and Objectives - how to write goals and objectives. Stresses the need for objectives to be tangible.
Ch. 4: Materials and Tools - includes technology applications such as word processor, video, e-mail, web browser, audio and projection. Handouts and manipulatives are also covered, and ideas on designing an elementary and secondary classroom.
Ch. 5: Procedure - types of procedures, activities, strategies, fieldwork, homework/extension activities, etc.
Ch. 6: Reflective Assessment and Evaluation - student-teacher-parent conference, learning assessment and revision, testing, authentic assessment & evaluation, and metacognition.
Ch. 7: Time Efficiency in Teaching and Learning - how to time lesson activities, time management and lesson variables, time for self-directed learning, etc.
Ch. 8 : Knowledge Construction and Skill Development - organizing, structuring, and modeling in education.
Ch. 9: Course and Lesson: Strategic and Tactical Planning - provides an algorithm of a lesson plan
Ch. 10: Implementing the Plan - students' diversity, state standards, balance in a lesson plan, execution,etc.
Ch. 11: Extending the Lesson Plan to Home
Ch. 12: Teacher Professional Competence - five fundamental competences

There are also appendices that include sample lesson plans, and a 5-star lesson plan worksheet, and also a glossary, suggested reading, and index.

Conclusion - this is a handy and practical resource for novice teachers, but can also be used by experienced teachers looking to refine their lesson plans.

Great Book!!!
"Writing Effective Lesson Plans: The 5-Star Approach" is a very practical book that provides hands-on activities on lesson construction. The reproducible activity work sheets are a plus. My students just love them. I have used this book in my Internship classes, but it can be used at any level. I like the focus on all learners including the ELL and ESL students. I recommend this book highly for any teacher preparation program. Well prepared lesson plans are a recipe for effective teaching. This is one of the best books I have used on the subject of lesson planning.Valuable teaching tool.
Thanks,
... Read more

Product Description
Attention All Teachers...

Here's How To Clearly Communicate Your Ideas, Transfer Knowledge, And Raise Up The Next Generation With The Best Lesson Plan You Can Possibly Make

Do you love teaching... the students...the classroom...and the hunger to learn?

Do you want to equip students as best you can... but aren't sure how to do it? If so, then you've found the right site!

Teachers Are The Key To A Better Tomorrow And Brighter Children

Education and teachers build the foundation of any civilization.

How a society operates is directly related to how well a society is educated.

Teachers help shape the world of tomorrow.

Good education will mean a brighter future.

But poor education can spell disaster for any nation.

That's why it so important that we do our best to educate our country's future.

And in order to do that we need teachers performing at their best.

Lesson plans allow teachers to be the best teachers they can possibly be.

Many people have a great gift, and can easily get away with little to no planning.

But do you really want to hang the future of your country on your charisma?

You can still be brilliantly talented, and do a little planning.

In fact, a little planning could multiply your effectiveness!

But but many teachers just don't know how to start the process...

Lesson Plans Allow You To Effectively Transfer What You Know To The Leaders Of Tomorrow

There are a lot of different ways of going about teaching.

And each one can be benefited with a plan.

A lesson plan allows you to organize your thoughts to make sure they are explained clearly.

They allow you to come up with illustrations and activities that can help your students learn more effectively.

They also allow you to sharpen your teaching sword by improving upon what worked and what didn't.

Instead of getting in front of a class with little or no planning...

You get to bring your very best game possible.

Your students will notice the difference, and so will you.

Not only will they test higher, but they'll enjoy the process as well.

Its all too easy to tell when teachers haven't prepared, and it makes students want to disengage from class.

But when you prepare, you bring the very best you have...

Your students are more likely to be engaged, and you feel great about what you've done.

And there's nothing like ending the day feeling like you've made a difference.

Teach Your Best Lesson Ever With These Simple Yet Powerful Tips

If you don't really know how to make a lesson plan, you could be short handing your students and yourself.

And it's so easy to make a lesson plan...

But many teachers just don't know the basics of lesson planning.

That's why I've written this book, Introduction To Lesson Plans. I want everyone to know what I've learned about lesson plans without all the trouble of trying to figure it out themselves.

Lesson plans can take your classroom to another level.

Do you really want to live in the dark about how to make a great lesson plan?

How many mediocre lessons have you done because you didn't know the basics of a lesson plan?

My book can help you come out of the dark and teach your best lesson today!

You'll discover...
• Lesson Plan Basics... So you can start in the right place!
• Lesson Plan Breakdown... To teach your lessons clearly and powerfully.
• Common Lesson Plan Mistakes...So you don't fall into the same problems as others.
• Included Planning Tools... Sample lesson plans, worksheets, and more to help you make your best lesson plan ever!
• And a lot more

If You Want To Teach Great Lessons, You Want To Read THIS...

Why be held back any longer?

Turn those mediocre lessons into amazing experiences.

It's not hard to make a great lesson plan, you just have to know what you're doing...

So why not start today? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Acceptable content but poor editing.
This is more akin to an article rather than a book.While the information presented may be helpful to someone unfamiliar with lesson plans it is not for those with even minor experience preparing lesson plans.There are numerous spelling and grammatical mistakes throughout the work.The formatting for example lesson plans is incorrect and does not display correctly.This renders the last 40% of the article unusable.This is a very poor source and should be passed over.It is not worth the purchase price. ... Read more

Product Description
Novice teachers graduating from teacher education institutions often feel that the knowledge they have acquired during their pre-service training does not prove to be useful when they start teaching, is not practical enough and is removed from the reality of teaching. Thus, there is need for research which will examine the knowledge pre-service teachers acquire in the teacher education institution, and its relation to the process of the formulation of teachers' knowledge. This book, therefore, examines the process through which pre-service teachers acquire their professional knowledge throughout their lives, with a special emphasis on the pre-service education stage. The study described in the book was conducted through narrative research, and is based on the work of Mikhail Bakhtin on discourse. The lives and work of two high school English teachers are examined in depth, resulting in a description of discourse development throughout their lives. The relevancy of all this for teacher education is discussed, including suggested changes, which might be of interest to both teacher educators and academics interested in the domain of teachers? knowledge. ... Read more

Product Description
Designed for content area methods and computers in education courses, this searchable CD-ROM database contains approximately 250 lesson plans and strategies to integrate technology into the K-12 curriculum. The lessons are classroom tested and published examples of how others have used technology successfully in each of several major content areas and across content areas. The summaries are provided in a format such that instructors and students can search by key word and key characteristics to locate examples in a specific area of interest. This CD-ROM database is the only one of its kind to include classroom tested, published classroom technology integration strategies. ... Read more

Product Description
Complete lesson plans for teaching Steinbeck's ThePearl. Includes introduction to the unit, unit objectives, readingassignments, unit outline, study questions (short answer), study/quizquestions (multiple choice), vocabulary worksheets, daily lessonsplanned, related nonfiction reading assignment, oral readingevaluation, biographical info about the author, three detailed writingassignments (inform, persuade, personal opinion), vocabulary reviewgames & activities, unit review games & activities, at least one groupactivity assignment, discussion questions on all levels (factual,critical, interpretive, personal response), 2 short answer unit tests,2 multiple choice unit tests, 1 advanced short answer unit test, unitand vocabulary crossword puzzles, unit and vocabulary extra worksheets& games, bulletin board ideas, ready-to-copy student materials, answerkeys, and more! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great Plans!
I am looking forward to using this CD in teaching "The Pearl". I have already printed off quite a few pages and am compiling a workbook for each student to use while reading the book. I plan to use the crossword puzzles as extra credit assignments. The CD includes such things as lesson plan ideas, bulletin board ideas, questions and answers to discuss while reading the book, vocabulary words and activities for each chapter, quizzes and tests, and ideas for student essays. This beats trying to find ideas on the internet and coming up with my own ideas. The only thing that I would have liked to see included are the reading standards that are covered in each lesson. I recommend this highly to all teachers who plan to read "The Pearl" with their classes. It is well worth the money spent.

A little expensive, but very helpful
This download (which requires Adobe) is fairly accommodating for educators who need some fairly quick resources for John Steinbeck's novel The Pearl, but don't know where to start. You can look online for some materials, and probably find some sporadically, but this file is quite thorough in giving a teacher an ample amount of materials to choose from in trying to plan and build a unit.

Included are study questions, quizzes, activity ideas, background information on Steinbeck and the novel, symbols, themes, crossword puzzles, a lengthy list of vocabulary words, and several different tests for the novel. The lengthy vocabulary lists are quite handy for anyone who pre-teaches the vocabulary for a novel ahead of time. I also liked the writing activities included, which can be used at certain points in the reading of the novel, as well as the ideas for essay prompts.

If there is one beef I have, it is the price. While this product is informative and helpful, I think a shade below seventeen dollars is a bit pricey. Still, overall, I thought everything in the download was organized nicely, and this makes it quite easy to refer to.
... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Scholastic Choices, published by Scholastic, Inc. on January 1, 2008. The length of the article is 1810 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The rebel in you: it's normal for teens to want to defy rules set by adults, especially their parents. Here's how to express yourself without taking things too far.(family)
Author: Leah Paul
Publication: Scholastic Choices (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2008
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Volume: 23Issue: 4Page: 18(6)

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

Product Description
Detailed lesson plans and activities useful to teacher and tutors who are working with adult ESL learners. Suitable for college or advanced high school ESL classes. HTML version is interactive and will be useful in a computer classroom or lab setting. Word processor version allows for easy duplicating of lessons, tests, and exercises. A site license is included for the purchaser at his/her place of instruction. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great for training employees
I used this training VHS to train my employees and successfully increased my sales and boasted company moral, great VHS! Award Winning. ... Read more