Standard Four: Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experience for All Students

4.3 Developing and sequencing instructional activities and materials for student learning.

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Description of Practice

Strong Practice that Exemplifies the Standard

Instructional activities and materials are differentiated to reflect individual students' interests and developmental needs, and engage all students in meaningful learning. Activities support the learning goals and are logically sequenced to clarify content and concepts.

Maturing Practice

Instructional activities and materials are appropriate to students and the learning goals, make content and concepts relevant, and engage most students in meaningful learning. Activities are logically sequenced within individual lessons.

Developing Practice

Instructional activities and materials are partially appropriate to students and the learning goals, and engage some students in meaningful learning. Some activities are logically sequenced within individual lessons.

Practice Not Consistent with Standard Expectations

Instructional activities and materials are not appropriate to the students, or the instructional goals do not engage students in meaningful learning. Activities are not logically sequenced.

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What the classroom looks like

• Structures learning activities over time to help students achieve specific learning goals
• Sequences instruction by choosing or creating instructional activities and materials that follow each other
• Builds on previous activities or activates prior knowledge to help students achieve the intended learning goals
• Offers a variety of materials or options within activities that reflect multiple modalities
• Enables each student to engage with the content in a way that they can understand
• For English learners, materials and activities are structured in a way that is accessible, given their current level of language development
• Activities are linked to students' interests and prior knowledge that is likely to result in student learning
• Sequence of activities and materials reflect learning goals that specify knowledge skills, and abilities that student are to acquire
• Sequence of activities reflect a logical plan to clarify the content or concepts to develop the skills (and/or memorize the basic facts required to meet the learning goals)
• Ensures that all students have the knowledge and skills needed to complete a learning activity, e.g.,
  • vocabulary
  • concepts
  • procedures
  • reading
  • writing
  • measuring
  • language
  • Other_________________________
• Comprehensively explains to students how the content of a particular lesson or learning activity fits with what came before and what will follow
• Identifies and explains the connections between activities, materials, and learning goals
• Sequences activities and materials
• Includes giving directions for an open-ended task
• Provides opportunities to work on the task in small groups
• Writes individual descriptions of what was learned - anecdotal records
• Sequence of activities depends on knowledge to be gained in later activities
• Examines a learning goal and determines the knowledge skills and abilities required to meet the goal
• Selects or creates a series of activities to help students acquire what they need to successfully achieve the goal

Student Activities

• Read
• Write
• Talk together/exchange ideas
• class discussion
• Perform
• Present
• Experiment
• Art/craft activities
• Group work
• Centers
• Work with side
• Other_______________________

Student Materials

• Texts
• Objects
• Manipulatives
• Workbooks
• Crayons, markers, paints
• Handouts/worksheets
• Paper, pencil
• Audio tapes
• Computers
• Scissors, glue (cut & paste)
• Video tapes/Laserdiscs
• Others__________________________________

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As teachers develop, they may ask, "How do I . . ." or "Why do I . . ."

• sequence subject matter concepts to support student learning?
• use formal and informal student assessment in short-term and long-term planning?
• plan to use instructional strategies appropriate to the complexity of the lesson content and student learning needs?
• select and sequence curriculum to promote understanding and critical thinking for all students?
• sequence instruction to help students see relationships and connections across subject matter areas?
• choose and adapt instructional materials to make subject matter relevant to students' experience and interests?
• develop and sequence instruction that supports students' second language learning and subject matter knowledge?