In the movie musicalThe Sound of Music(1965), the Singing Nun recommends that we start to
learn at the very beginning—when you read you begin with A, B, C and when you sing you be-
gin with do, ray, me. We will begin learning about lesson planning by discussing goals, teach-
ing strategies, and finally, lesson formats.
SECTION A: WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?
William Shakespeare wrote a play calledMuch Ado About Nothing. I think much of the debate
over education in the United States today would more appropriately be titled, “Much Ado
About the Wrong Things.” For example, everybody (politicians, parents, and teachers) is
worried about high standards and the assessment of student learning. It seems like every ed-
ucational organization has its own published list of what children should know and every po-
litical unit (city, county, or state) has its own standardized tests that students are expected
to pass. But there is very little public discussion of exactly what we mean by standards. Most
experienced teachers I know respond to the call for higher standards by saying, “This is the
same thing we always do.”
I think the general public finds the call for higher standards confusing because the term
means different things in different contexts. In track and field, the standard is the record per-
formance that other athletes try to surpass. In baseball, it is the Yankees with a century of
accomplishment. In basketball and golf it is identified with one player, Michael Jordan or Ti-
ger Woods. But everybody cannot be like Mike, Tiger, or the Yankees, and that is the prob-
lem with using the top performer as a measure or standard.
In education, standards can best be described as goals—the things we hope all students
will achieve, the things we plan for them to achieve. Achieving standards is not a competi-
tion. In theory, in a well-run classroom with effective teaching strategies, every student
should be able to obtain the goals.
New York State, where I work, publishes elementary, intermediate, and commencement
(high school) standards in each subject area. They do not differ very much from standards
developed by other states (if you do not believe me, you can look up standards from other
CHAPTER3 Planning: How Do You Plan a Lesson?
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