Planning Lesson Planning

I talked before, in the Teaching Models post, about the importance of having a framework with which to structure lessons.  Today we looked at lesson plans, seeing how they help with the delivery of the lesson, but also increase the efficiency of what is taught, making each lesson a sleekly muscled racehorse, with every task directly linked with the achievement of the learning objectives, rather than the blousey wandering donkey of some of the lessons I have experienced in my career.  They might get you there eventually, but it'll be a slow, bumpy and uncomfortable experience.



I started trying to fill in the L.O's of my intended writing workshop.  It's going to be difficult.  Because I want the main outcome to be an increased emotional understanding (within the Emotional Literacy aspects of SEAL), it does not fall into the SMART bracket - it is neither specific, nor measurable, and because of the difficulties of the students I intend to work with (students excluded from or unable to engage with mainstream education) I'm not even sure if it will be attainable.



Though I've pinned my objectives down to a rough outline.... Engaging with the text, Involvement in Discussion, Expressing emotion through drawing and text.  I think my aims are vague and potentially unachievable.

Partly my problem is the group I wish to target.  Possibly, I've bitten off more than I can chew.  It might be that students in a PRU have too many issues, SEN, behavioural, emotional, to engage with a workshop of this kind, especially in the 6-11 year old bracket I was going to take the workshop too.  There are too many variables.

I might have to rethink, and go toward an older age group, and one with less specific issues. Though I was hoping to try something completely new and something valuable to the participants, I know realistically that PRU students have ingrained behaviours and to break through even to one pupil would be an outstanding achievement.  Perhaps I need to walk before I run, and conduct a safer workshop for observation and practise!

SEAL (social and emotional aspects of learning) are important skills in all students and accessing empathy, self awareness and emotional literacies (see diagram below) through creative writing could provide an effective workshop.