Homeschooling Teachers: Write Homeschool Lesson Plans like a Pro

Education is changing. With extensive research over the past thirty years, educators are looking for new, more effective ways to deliver content to students in the hopes that they attain more skills.

Lesson Planning isn't the most difficult task in the world, but at first it can be daunting. With this easy-to-use guide and a little practice, you will be planning those lessons for your homeschooled child like a well-trained pro.

Step 1: Out with the Old? No Way!

The majority of learning occurs by connecting new information to old information. It is important that you have your child recall important points from the previous day's lesson and, perhaps, some key concepts from previous weeks.

When beginning your lesson, plan to have a few questions (no less than three and no more than seven) that ask your child to recall information. Make sure the questions range in difficulty. This activity is called a "Do Now" or a "Warm Up" activity.

Step 2: Time to Teach!

With Direct Instruction, you, as the teacher, provide the most valuable information on the subject at hand. This is your time to introduce the new concept, demonstrate how the skill or concept is applied to the content, and to answer any questions the student may have.

The importance of Direct Instruction is that you show the student what you expect them to be able to do. There are a number of ways to accomplish Direct Instruction: 1. Lecture; 2. Presentation; 3. Discussion; or 4. Demonstration.

Vary your approaches. Lecturing everyday is a good way to lose your child's interest.

So, plan wisely. Always have your plans for Direct Instruction laid out specifically. Using a numbered list or bulleted points is a fine way to organize how you want to present your information.

Step 3: Hold their Hand!

Guided Practice is the next step in lesson planning. Now that you have demonstrated the skills or concepts to your child, you need to guide them through the process with some hands-on work with you at the helm.

This is where the student gets to try out the new information. Have some interactive activities that allow wiggle room for mistakes. Encourage your child to try out new ideas and different approaches. This is their chance to really get a sense of the purpose of the lesson with you present to answer questions and give them nudges in the right direction.

Basically, this section of your plan repeats the Direct Instruction section, but with a more interactive element.

Step 4: Here's a clue: 1776.

The final step for instruction is Independent Practice. This is the student's opportunity to try out the skills or work with a concept on their own without any instructor interference.

Have an activity or assignment for the student to work on either on their own time or during some preplanned time. Students need a chance to find out what they have learned from a lesson and what is still giving them trouble.

The practice that you give your student will help you with the next step.

Step 5: Assessment

One of the most important steps in a lesson is Assessment. It is imperative for the success of your student to make sure they understand the subject they were just taught.

There are two ways to assess a student: 1. summative assessment and 2. formative assessment.

Most people are most familiar with summative assessments, which are your standard tests that assess a "summary" of the information.

However, there has been a tremendous push in education for formative assessments, which assess students as they learn. This is the most effective form of testing your child because you can determine what aspects of a lesson were perfectly clear and which aspects of the lesson were difficult for your child.

The best way to conduct formative assessments is to ask specific questions along the way. For example: "So, what was a denominator again?" or "How can you reduce a fraction?"

Make your students think the whole way through the lesson.

In addition, Assessment allows you to go back and reteach weaker aspects of a lesson so that the student feels more confident about that skill or concept.

Remember, education isn't about the quantity of material a child learns, but the quality. It's great that your child has heard of a fraction after a lesson, but if your child cannot use them then what was the point of teaching it in the first place?

Step 6: Phew! Cool Down

At the very end of your lesson, have a few basic questions (once again, three to seven questions is perfect) that reviews the key concepts or skills that you want your child to remember. What's really great is that you can reuse your Cool Down as your Warm Up exercise the next day!

Great Work! You've written your first lesson plan! This structure is highly flexible and can be used from Pre-School to College and for any length of time you can imagine.

Good luck!