WeAreTeachers Blog

[#1]

Last month, we sat down with a panel of teachers to learn more about their best lesson ideas.  Since then, we've read through hundreds of lessons and talked to dozens of teachers to help narrow down exactly what makes a lesson great.  And, while there is no one factor that makes a tried-and-true lesson work, we did find five commonalities that seemed to be woven through all of our panelist's favorite lessons.  Here they are:

1. It works for students on various levels.  One 3^rd grade teacher we talked to told us that she had students in her class that read at a kindergarten level and then had one student who was reading at an 8^th grade level.  With a wide range of backgrounds, teachers need lessons that challenge every student—from those who are struggling to those who are excelling.
2. It works with various learning styles.  One-dimensional lessons—for example, ones that include only a visual or auditory component—tend to fall flat for students who don't process information in that learning style.  So, great lessons involve a variety of techniques that address each student's unique needs.
3. It's interesting.  Admit it:  you don't enjoy listening to a monotone lecture or doing the same thing over and over.  So, great lessons mix it up and employ a variety of activities, games, projects and more to make learning fun.  (Here's somewhere to start:  We have over 700 teacher-submitted ideas on how to build interactivity into lessons.  Click here to learn more.)
4. Students are involved in the teaching.  One of the best ways to make sure your students truly understand a concept is to have them teach it.  And great lessons often involve a component of student-led instruction to help deepen student understanding.
5. It pulls information from a multiple sources.  Great lessons don't just use textbooks—instead, they engage students with art, music, video, literature and more from multiple sources.  (Need ideas?  Click here to find hundreds of creative ways to incorporate primary source documents into your lessons.)

Question for you:  What do you think makes a great lesson?