Successful lessons don’t just happen.

They are designed with intention and created to be align with best teaching practices.

So, what makes a good lesson, great?

What elements turn a student from a passive learner into an engaged one?

Let's explore the first 3 components of a successful lesson in this part 2 series.

COMPONENT #1: SUCCESSFUL LESSONS OFTEN INCLUDE STUDENT INDEPENDENCE

A lesson that offers student independence gives students just what they need (directions, modeling, modifications, etc)... but then allows students to do the work.

It may be an unpopular opinion, but teachers don’t actually need to be doing all the teaching. There are so many other ways that students can learn and consume new information that DOESN’T come from the teacher directly - but rather through discovery.

When students are given the opportunity to discover new information on their own they buy-in to the process. They learn the process of - well, learning!

They take more ownership of their learning and they learn to be seekers of knowledge - which ultimately is one of the main purposes of education.

COMPONENT #2: SUCCESSFUL LESSONS INCLUDE ENGAGING VISUALS.

All students can benefit from engaging visuals. This one you are likely already doing, but it’s worth noting. And it’s also worth noting that these visuals should vary.

For example, if you’re teaching about the Civil War in social studies you can include a variety of visuals to help students fully understand the concepts.

These visuals might include things like timeline graphics so students can see how all the events and battles line up, OR visuals like real photographs of the time period, OR newspaper articles, artifacts, or a T-chart showing the differences between the North and the South during that time, and yes - even clip art.

You never know what kinds of visuals will connect with students. Switching up your visuals and keeping them fresh will keep students engaged and interested.

Visuals reiterate what they are learning. They reinforce things that they might be hearing or reading about. It adds another layer of understanding.

COMPONENT #3: SUCCESSFUL LESSONS ALLOW STUDENTS TO BE SELF-PACED.

Your students are all on different levels. And for some students, they simply can’t keep up with the pace of working with a whole class, or even in a small-group.

On the flip side, sometimes the pace of the class is much too slow for a student - which then just leads to a whole host of issues: they get bored, act out….you know how it is.

For many students to succeed, often they just need to slow down! And in some cases, they need to speed up. In both cases, we can provide more opportunities for students to go at their own pace - whatever that pace may be.

If we allow students to work through an activity in a pace that works for them as often as possible, we will give our students the space they need to take ownership of their learning and to make sense of what they are learning in their own time.

We still need to provide the necessary support and guidance to get them started - but then we need to empower students to go from there.

Component #3 above will lead us right into the next component of a successful lesson... which you'll learn about in part 2!