InTASC Standard #7: Planning for Instruction

Planning for instruction is the key to a successful lesson. InTASC Standard #7 demands
that a lesson supports the learning of every student in the classroom through adequate scaffolding
and teacher knowledge of content. In order to do this, its important to know where the students
are coming from, what the community is like, and what their prior knowledge is. With this
knowledge, along with a solid understanding of pedagogy, planning for instruction leads to
success. A good way to begin planning is through a diagnostic test of student knowledge: by
knowing my students strengths and weaknesses, I can plan my lessons to bolster their
weaknesses and maintain their strengths. Sequencing is also crucial when curriculum planning.
Through a good understanding of students prior knowledge, I can plan when to teach what,
building off of previous lessons and the funds of knowledge students bring into the classroom.
In the English classroom most planning is around the units major texts. Through an
understanding of the student body I will be teaching, I can plan for how best to make the text
accessible to every one of my students. I approach this task through backwards design: first I
decide what I want my students to get out of the unit, the essential questions and learning targets;
then I plan the summative assessment; and finally I plan the lesson calendar and activities. The
lesson calendar is the most challenging because I need to make sure that I am planning for
enough scaffolding while still retaining high expectations for all students. An issue I've run into
while teaching is not quite understanding myself what I want from my students. I've overcome
this by filling out on my own any graphic organizers that I hand out to the students. This allows
me to provide them with concrete examples when they are confused or uncertain. I've also begun
creating my own responses to prompts given by their teacher so that when they run into problems
I can model for them how I solved that problem in my own work.

Planning for instruction is the best way to make sure that students are being fed the
information they need in a valuable and engaging way. Students in a classroom with a well
prepared teacher will have the advantage, not just of better instruction, but also of a less frazzled
teacher who is able to return work to them in a timely manner and has the time to give them the
feedback and attention they deserved. When students see a teacher who is confident in her
lesson plans, they are more likely to respect that teacher and get more out of the class.