How to Write The Perfect Lesson Plan For A Teacher Observation

Observations are a fact of life for any teacher, whether they are new or veteran teachers. Some teachers don't mind them, others are terrified of them. Whatever the situation is when you're being observed however, there are some basic ground rules to follow when writing a lesson plan that will impress your principal or whoever else is observing you.

K.I.S.S. This a principle brought to us by high tech people all over the world. It stands for "Keep it simple, stupid!" One of the biggest mistakes that teachers make when writing a lesson plan for an observation is trying to sound like a Harvard professor instead of say, a 6th grade teacher in a public school. Don't try to impress your principal by showing off all the highfalutin concepts you learned in college. They want to know that your kids are actually learning something useful in your classroom.

Do a subject / topic you know well. If you're a math teacher, but are somewhat uncomfortable with quadratic equations, then whatever you do, do not teach quadratic equations on the day of your observation. Do something you feel confident at, something you could teach in your sleep. Maybe you know algebra really well. If so, teach that. Obviously, you still need to stick with the curriculum, but that doesn't mean a lesson can't be a little further ahead or behind to suit the schedule of your principal.

Be well prepared. Even if you ordinarily prepare for your lesson plans a few days before and you generally do a good job of it, you need to be extra ready for everything here. Know your stuff backwards and forwards. Even if you know your subject, review it and refresh your memory. Nothing will look worse than needing to hunt through your lesson plan and or books because something came up you weren't prepared for.

Test your lesson. No teacher works with just one class and most have multiple classes learning the same thing. Why not test out what you're planning to do with another class. This isn't a matter of making them guinea pigs. Rather, it's a matter of fine tuning your lesson. Whatever you do with them, you'd still have to teach a lesson. This is just a chance to make sure there are not glitches in what you prepared.

Have a copy for your evaluator. It's remarkable how often teachers forget this when preparing for an evaluation. Your evaluator will have an easier time following along and seeing if you know your stuff if she can actually read what you have planned out. And for that reason. . .

Type your lesson plan. First, you do not want to be standing in front of your class trying to make out what you wrote. That's not good even when there is no evaluator there. However, it's especially disastrous when there is an evaluator watching. Second, even if you can read your handwriting perfectly, it doesn't mean your evaluator can. Make sure she can follow along as well.