{"id":5038,"date":"2026-06-05T14:52:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T04:52:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/?p=5038"},"modified":"2026-06-05T14:52:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T04:52:26","slug":"how-to-plan-an-effective-lesson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/how-to-plan-an-effective-lesson\/","title":{"rendered":"How to plan an effective lesson!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Effective teachers know their students, have strong content knowledge and possess a wide repertoire of teaching strategies. They are well planned and very intentional about the practices they implement in the classroom. Effective teachers do not leave learning to chance!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

School leaders (and indeed the school community) can identify the effective teacher through the preparation of their lessons. This is the teachers\u2019 \u201cbread and butter\u201d. Researchers show that effective teachers include a number of distinct processes and stages in their lesson planning. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Al Yasat we have taken the research and built a targeted lesson outline that ensures not only quality teaching and learning but also consistency across the school. We call it the \u201c8 Elements of an Effective Lesson\u201d. It helps teachers direct their planning to the needs of students, while implementing our school\u2019s written curriculum; it offers school leaders direction in our class observations and walkthroughs; it provides a platform for our coaching and mentoring practices and most importantly; it is embedded in the best practice research and the many studies of what works in enhancing student learning.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me introduce the elements to you.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beginning of Lesson<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Element One: The Essential Question<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We believe in the use of an inquiry approach to our teaching and learning and the need for students to have an understanding and the purpose of the lesson. We know that <\/span>good questions direct students to dig deeper into content and processes, and delve deeper into the subject matter. More importantly they propel students to learn to ask their own questions. And within a subject they help focus content on the crucial and important parts of that subject. This is more than just letting the students know what they are learning to do in the lesson. It is about connecting prior knowledge to future applications.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essential questions are non-judgmental, open-ended, meaningful, purposeful and they relate to the students. It is through the essential question that we as teachers, connect to our students.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Element Two: An Initiating Strategy<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The purpose of an initiating strategy is to help students frame their thinking and focus on the concept at hand. The most important part of a lesson occurs during the first five minutes. If the activity engages students right away, you know there will be enough \u201csparks\u201d to fly for the rest of the lesson and your job will be relatively easy. If the activity however is not challenging, repetitious, (\u201dWe\u2019ve done this before!\u201d Sound familiar?) there will be \u201clulls\u201d that more often than not, result in discipline problems. <\/span>The key of course, is to keep the \u201csparks flying,\u201d but it all really depends on how you can spark up your classroom right away.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simply google \u201cbest lesson plan hooks\u201d and you will have plenty of ideas to \u201chook\u201d your students into the lesson.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Main Body of the Lesson<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research tells us that 80% of what a child learns is from their peers. Therefore we need to be more student centred with bulk time in co-operative\/collaborative activities.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Element Three: Limiting Teacher Talk<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We all love to talk in the classroom! So, we should; after-all, we are teachers! But \u2018teacher-talk\u2019 can (<\/span>not<\/b> solely) be a root-cause of poor behaviour and debilitate student\u2019s acquisition of knowledge and skill during a lesson. Reducing teacher talk and allowing more time in lessons for students to be active participants in their learning, we believe is an important aspect of developing outstanding teaching and learning. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Element Four: Use of Graphic Organisers<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Graphic organizers<\/b> are important and effective pedagogical tools for organizing content and ideas and facilitating learners\u2019 comprehension of newly acquired information. Gardner\u2019s <\/span>Theory of Multiple Intelligences<\/span><\/i> posits that students are better able to learn and internalize information when more than one learning modality is employed in an <\/span>instructional strategy<\/b>. Since <\/span>graphic organizers<\/b> present material through the visual and spatial modalities (and reinforce what is taught in the classroom), the use of graphic organizers helps students internalize what they are learning.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For today\u2019s classroom, nothing is more essential to successful teaching and learning than strategy-based instruction. It is through the use of specific teaching strategies and learning tools that students can be more successful learners. <\/span>Graphic organizers<\/b> are teaching and learning tools; when they\u2019re integrated into classroom experiences, students are better able to understand new material. Creating a strong visual picture, graphic organizers support students by enabling them to literally see connections and relationships between facts, information, and terms.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graphic organizers have dual functions. They are effective as both a teaching and learning tool. As an instructional strategy it helps teachers:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Introduce a topic<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Activate prior knowledge and linkit with new information<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Organize content to be presented and a visually summarize the lesson once taught<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Assess student comprehension, identify and address any questions or clarifications needed<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Element Five: Differentiated Groups<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Carol Ann Tomlinson is a leader in the area of differentiated learning and describes differentiated instruction as factoring students\u2019 individual learning styles and levels of readiness first <\/span>before<\/span><\/i> designing a lesson plan. Research on the effectiveness of differentiation shows this method benefits a wide range of students, from those with learning disabilities to those who are considered high ability.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Differentiating instruction may mean teaching the same material to all students using a variety of instructional strategies, or it may require the teacher to deliver lessons at varying levels of difficulty based on the ability of each student.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We know that teachers who practice differentiation in the classroom:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Design lessons based on students\u2019 learning styles.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Group students by shared interest, topic, or ability for assignments.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Assess students\u2019 learning using formative assessment.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Manage the classroom to create a safe and supportive environment.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Continually assess and adjust lesson content to meet students\u2019 needs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Element Six: Targeted Instructional Strategies & Active Teacher Movement<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Connected to the differentiated groups is the need to decide on the essential teaching strategy for that engages small groups of students. Educational researchers have known for decades that a student learns best when teaching is targeted to what he\/she is ready to learn. If the material is too easy, students can become bored and disengage. If it is too hard, students will flounder and may choose to misbehave or give up rather than face continued failure. In either case, little is learnt. But if teaching is targeted at what students are ready to learn, powerful progress can be made. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Choosing appropriate teaching strategy is the key to this element. It is not about \u201cbusy work\u201d while you work with a group of students. It is your direct intervention, checking for understanding, monitoring and providing feedback as you move from group to group.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The active teacher is roaming, identifying the disengaged student, and bringing them back on task.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Element Seven: Higher Order Questioning<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      In today\u2019s world it is necessary, but not sufficient, for students to achieve minimal competence in areas such as reading, writing and numeracy. Beyond the achievement of minimal competence, students also need to develop what are often called \u2018higher order\u2019 thinking skills including critical literacy, critical numeracy and cross-curricular competencies. A useful conceptualisation of higher order thinking skills distinguishes two contexts in which these skills are employed: contexts where the thought processes are needed to solve problems and make decisions in everyday life; and contexts where mental processes are needed to benefit from instruction, including comparing, evaluating, justifying and making inferences. The ability to employ higher order thinking skills in both these contexts is seen as essential in a rapidly changing world and the first context in particular is being adopted as a starting point for international assessment programs. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Afterall, isn\u2019t this is the outcome of implementing the vision of the school.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Remember:<\/span><\/i> Retrieving relevant knowledge from long-term memory (recognizing, recalling)<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Understand:<\/span><\/i> Determining the meaning of instructional messages, including oral, written, and graphic communication (interpreting, exemplifying, classifying, summarizing, inferring, comparing, explaining)<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Apply:<\/span><\/i> Carrying out or using a procedure in a given situation (executing, implementing)<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Analyze:<\/span><\/i> Breaking materials into its constituent parts and detecting how the parts relate to one another an to an overall structure or purpose (differentiating, organizing, attributing)<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Evaluate<\/span><\/i>: Making judgments based on criteria and standards (checking, critiquing)<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Create:<\/span><\/i> Putting elements together to form a novel, coherent whole or make an original product (generating, planning, producing)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Information learned and processed through higher-order thinking processes is remembered longer and more clearly than information that is processed through lower-order, rote memorization. This may be the most important benefit of high-order thinking. Knowledge obtained through higher-order thinking processes is more easily transferable, so that students with a deep conceptual understanding of an idea will be much more likely to be able to apply that knowledge to solve new problems. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        End of Lesson<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Element Eight: Summarise and Reflection<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        The closure of the lesson is the time when you wrap up a lesson plan and help students organize the information in a meaningful context in their minds. This helps students better understand what they have learned and provides a way in which they can apply it to the world around them. A strong closure involves summarising and reflecting on the lesson. It can help students better retain information beyond the immediate learning environment. A brief summary or overview is often appropriate; it doesn’t have to be an extensive review. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        In order to maximise the lesson there are a number of tactics which can support you to make the time more organised and productive.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • \n
            \n
          • End early<\/span><\/i>. Don\u2019t try to cover too much material in one hit. Don\u2019t mistake pace for manic activity. Leave at least eight minutes to finish off the lesson properly.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Use a structured plenary\/reflection to end the session<\/span><\/i>. This should be a group or individual reflection on what has been learned. <\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Ask the pupils to identify two or three key points they have learned from the lesson. <\/span><\/i>These can be shared in small groups either written or as drawings and cartoons. A review of these points could become a regular feature of a homework routine.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Summarise the learning.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Set the scene for the following lesson.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Have clear routines for an organised departure.<\/span><\/i> Don\u2019t fall into the trap of not clearing away apparatus in good time.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Vary the way in which the pupils are dismissed<\/span><\/i>, for example, row-by-row, small groups, alphabetically, one by one after answering a question. This will help keep the lesson focused right until the end.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            The impact of effective lessons can not be underestimated, even for the more experienced teachers. Our lesson expectations offer teachers guidance and support for the teaching and learning, but more importantly, helps lead to improved outcomes for our students.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Effective teachers know their students, have strong content knowledge and possess a wide repertoire of teaching strategies. They are well planned and very intentional about the practices they implement in the classroom. Effective teachers do not leave learning to chance!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[109,107,111,113],"tags":[142,207,217,176,179,173],"class_list":["post-5038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-instruction","category-leadership","category-learning","category-teaching","tag-international-schools","tag-outstanding-schools","tag-personalised-learning","tag-professional-learning","tag-supporting-teachers","tag-teaching"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5038"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5039,"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5038\/revisions\/5039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qbp.websitedemopreview.com\/jake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}