Basic Lesson Design

disconnected

Read a textbook. Answer the questions at the end of the chapter, or do the workbook pages. 

 

Evaluation of Curriculum

 

Connected Curriculum has the following qualities. Here's how this assignment measures up. 

 

Your child's higher level thinking abilities - F
The questions at the end of the chapter or related worksheets generally involve the lowest two levels of thinking: remember and understand (at a very basic level).
Your child's nature, and how they learn best - F

This is isolated work, with little meaningful feedback.
How the subject is "practiced" in real life - F

The texts are usually written by writing houses with little understanding of the topic.

connected

  1. Mini-Lesson. First, think of what questions you have about the topic, add stories from your life, or research findings that are interesting. Consider the best way to build curiosity or explain a confusing concept. Share these thoughts with the students in no more than 10 minutes.
  2. Challenge. Create a challenges based on what you want the students to walk away with. If the goal is just practicing creativity, the challenge may be very open ended - here are blank pages to write a book. If the goal is writing a better lead for a paper, the challenge may be to write 5 leads, and then conduct a survey to see which lead the class prefers and why.
  3. Feedback. As part of the lesson, always include a way for students to get feedback from peers or you, either with partners, class surveys, or by presenting work to the class to get feedback (public speaking practice!) Always ask why something worked or didn't work when students are reflecting, so they are thinking at a higher level.

Evaluation

 

How the subject is "practiced" in real life - A

Your stories and challenges connect the curriculum to the real world. 

Your child's nature, and how they learn best - A

The challenges involve motion and talking, which are suited to children's basic natures. Presentations at the end give students a chance to be noticed by the teacher and peers. Being noticed is a tremendous motivator to producing high quality work. 

Your child's higher level thinking abilities - A

The challenge involves the higher levels of thinking: apply, analyze, evaluate, and create.