Pytash Chapter 6: Lesson Planning

Although this chapter was more than twice as long as the others, it was one of my favorite to read. One concern I have with teaching my first year is not really knowing how long things will take. Also, I was not sure whether I could make all my lesson plans the summer before the school year, or if I had to do it week by week; this chapter made me realize that it is really both. I like how Jago introduced the chapter with discussing the Japanese lesson planning, then led into teaching how to teach a lesson.

I really like the way the Japanese do lesson planning for three reasons:
-I like the idea of all the teachers in the school getting together once a week to talk and come up with a lesson plan; some really neat ideas could be generated this way. Also, teachers could address and work through issues, and work together to find solutions for students who need more help, or students who aren't being challenged.

-Students would get a more equal classroom experience if all teachers taught basically the same lesson. The whole grade would be on the same page with their learning and could discuss lessons with friends outside of their individual classrooms.

-Planning lessons as a group during school hours once a week would save lots of time for teachers who have to do so much planning outside of school. I know that in America, students would not be able to be left alone for legal reasons, but perhaps they could all have lunch, study hall, an elective or an advisory period during this part of the day. The more I consider this idea, the more I like it.

*My only problem with the idea is that part of my excitement with teaching is that I get to plan out lessons and put my personal touch in them. If we worked as a group, some of that personal touch would be killed; I could vary the lesson slightly, but the idea is to have the whole school on the same page and for teachers to collaborate toward one goal.

I liked how this chapter felt conversational and gave so many teaching strategies and ideas. For example, I love the "What's Important" activity on pages 134/135. If students filled out one of these worksheets, detailing the most important aspects of the reading from the previous night and included quotes, it would make writing an essay so much easier. Additionally, If I were to include a section on a test of identifying quotes, perhaps I could use the quotes students wrote on these worksheets, since they would be most important to the students.