First Grade Lesson Plan Development and Implementation

Buckler, Brittney

Publication

First Grade Lesson Plan Development and Implementation

Buckler, Brittney

Description

Curriculum development is an in-depth process that considers many facets such as materials, student interest, standards, content, and the development of higher order thinking skills. Sequential development is important, as information should build on each other. This technique is beneficial for presenting materials in a clear, concise way and allows for ample practice of the skills which would help students put the information into their long-term memory (Arends, 2015). According to the child psychologist Vygotsky, content should also be presented in a scaffolded manner that creates a Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) so students are able to learn and reach their full potential in the curriculum. I created and taught a series of four lessons that use scaffolding to teach first grade students place value. The project involves lesson development, teaching, and assessment. Each section is accompanied by rationale and reflection. Only through assessment and reflection will the teacher know if the lessons and methods of teaching were effective. Overall, the students understood the basic concepts that were asked of them, although the wording on some of the assessment questions tricked a couple of the students. In addition, some changes could have been made to the lesson plans themselves to better fit the time frame and the students’ needs.