When creating a lesson and planning it with the TPA, you need to know how long the lesson will be. A standard class time is 55 minutes, so you normally want to fill up that much time as much as possible. The difficult part about this is that it is hard to judge how long some parts of the lesson will take because so many things can factor into the day. The students filling out a worksheet may take longer than expected if there is confusion. Or it may take less time if the lesson is too easy. I believe that with experience it will be easier to judge how long things will take for the lesson. It's also important to have a bit of flexibility in the lesson so that if parts take longer or shorter you don't run out of time or end up short on your lesson.
It is also really having a learning objective in every lesson that you plan. This makes it easier not only for the teacher to structure the lesson but also for the students to know what they should be focusing on for the lesson. You should start the lesson with explaining what the objective is so that it is clear to everyone the goal for the day. The objective must also follow a content standard so the students are learning what they need to according to the Common Core.
Depending on the lesson, you don't really need to bring up the vocab, but you need to make sure that all the students know the vocab going into the lesson. If you say a new word that the students don't know you need to make sure that you explain what it means in the context of the lesson so that there is no confusion. the oral and written language bullet point in the TPA confuses me. What is the difference between that and the first bullet? Is it just clarifying more?
Assessment is a difficult section to consider for every single lesson. Since every day will not include homework or a test, it is important to think of how to test the students on what they are learning. An easy way is with an in-class worksheet on what is being taught to be able to check in with the students as they are learning if they are understanding all the way through. It is important to have formative assessments before you give a summative assessment to the students. Measuring every assessment given to the students will force you to make sure each assessment is important and is not just filler.
The research and instruction for the lesson will be one of the more difficult parts of instruction to include in the lesson plan. It is easier to just say that the lesson is good enough to give to students than actually finding proof that it works and should be taught to the students. The material you use also needs to be supported with research and that is also a difficult part to find. The lesson must also connect with past lessons and to future lessons. You really need to be thinking about everything for the lesson to make sure it is as ready as possible to teach to the students. also making sure there is a community connection to the lesson is a struggle to answer. Parents and community need to be as involved as possible. I think with practice it will get easier and easier to do these parts of the TPA.
There is a lot to juggle with filling out a TPA for a lesson plan. IT is not something to be taken lightly. But, once you have filled out every section of the TPA completely, you know that you have a full lesson to give to the students. That is what is so great about the TPA. It has what is essential to make sure the students, and the teacher, get the most out of each lesson that you teach. And that is what is most important. It will take time to get in the groove of writing TPAs but it will be worth it once I am in that groove.
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