SSC 2: TEACHING GEOGRAPHY AND CULTURE IN

ELEMENTARY GRADES  FINALS RELATED READINGS  

PART A 
Vocabulary of Assessment and Evaluation 

One of the confusing factors in the field of assessment is that

professionals often  use the same terms to mean different things. It might be
helpful then to define some  important terms and see how they relate to
each other. 

The terms “assessment” and “evaluation” are often used

interchangeably but  they do not always mean the same thing. For many,
assessment is the process of  collecting data on student performance that is
then used to evaluate (make judgements  about) the attainment of certain
expectations, objectives, or outcomes. Because we speak  of judgements,
evaluation is never neutral. It can only be objective in that assessments 
provide us with a quantity and quality of information sufficient to make
judgements that  are fair to the strengths and needs of all learners; precise
in that students and others gain  clear insights into how they are learning
and what they can do to improve performance;  and true in that our verdicts
are valid, consistent, and accurate. It is important to  remember that all
assessments and evaluations are limited in that they do not tell us 
everything there is to know about the learning of particular individuals or
groups. 

Assessment and evaluation are continuous activities in the

classroom and they  can be both informal and formal. 
✔ Informal assessment occurs when a teacher collects information to
use for  the purposes of shaping ongoing instruction. At the end of a
segment of a  lesson, for example, the teacher might orally ask a
random sample of students  around the room to respond to questions
about what was just taught. The  responses to these questions will
give the teacher a sense of how well the class  has learned the
information, concept, or skill in question and whether they are  ready
to move on. Teachers might also carry out informal assessment of 
individual students by observing the way they are completing tasks
assigned in  class. This can tell them which students might need
corrective feedback or  more instruction in a particular area. 
While informal assessment is a continuous and sometimes almost
unconscious process,  formal assessment is normally more overt and
systematically planned. We are all familiar  with typical manifestations of formal
assessment: quizzes, tests, essays, and projects. But  formal assessment may
take a wide range of forms, including teacher observation of  student
performance. For example, a typical outcome for social studies is that
students  become more open- minded. One could imagine assessing progress
towards that goal by  having students write position papers on issues from
various points of view, but observing  students interacting in class with people
expressing views different from theirs might also  accomplish this. What makes
this kind of observation different from an informal  assessment is the structured
nature of the data collection, perhaps using a checklist or 
taking notes, and sharing the information gathered with the students involved
and perhaps  others to provide feedback. 
A key to effective assessment and evaluation is clarity about
purpose. Broadly  speaking in terms of purpose, there are two types of
assessment: formative and  summative. 
∙ The purpose of formative assessment is to provide teacher and
student with  feedback that can direct future teaching and learning.
For example, following  some instruction on the skill of comparing and
contrasting, the teacher might  assign students the task of writing a
short essay comparing and contrasting  Napoleon’s and Hitler’s
invasions of Russia. When the teacher examines the  essays she
finds that the majority of students tend to describe both invasions  but
do not actually develop comparisons and contrasts. This information
tells  her that there are areas of the skill that need further work. She
can then develop  a lesson showing students both the strengths and
weaknesses of their work in  terms of the skill, and provide further
direction in developing the skill. Most of  the assessment and
evaluation we do will be formative, and the feedback loop  that results
is very important in the teaching and learning process. 
▪ Central to formative assessment is the provision of quality
feedback.  Feedback consists of information that tells us how
we are doing and  what we need to do next, in the light of our
intentions and goals.  Feedback is not the same as praise and
blame, rather it is precise  information about where someone is
in relation to the goals they are  trying to attain and what they
might do in the future to make progress  towards those goals. 
▪ A research synthesis by Marzano, Pickering, and Pollocknoted
the  following principles of quality feedback: 
o First, feedback should be timely (the longer we wait the
less effect  it has on achievement). 
o Feedback should be specific (criterion-referenced) and 
“corrective” in order to show what went well, what
needs  
improvement, and how to improve (all three components needed  
for maximum achievement). 
o Feedback can be verbal and written and can come from
teachers,  peers, or the student him/herself. It should
ask students to  
interpret data and self-assess in the light of their goals and  
intentions, rather than ask them to react to our interpretation. 
o Finally, feedback should allow students to make
decisions as to  the nature of the improvements and
adjustments that need to be  
made. The great inventor Thomas Edison had his own way of  
describing the importance of feedback: “I’ve never made a  
mistake. I’ve only learned from experience.” 

Summative assessment provides an accounting of student

progress at a  particular point in time. It is normally a
measurement that describes where the  student stands in regard
to some sort of standard such as curriculum outcomes.  An end-of-
unit test, for example, is designed to let students know how well
they 
have accomplished the goals of the unit in terms of knowledge
and skill  acquisition. The most familiar summative assessment is
the report card that  communicates to students and their parents
the degree to which students are  meeting expectations with
regard to the curriculum. Of course summative  assessments can
be used in a formative manner—a report card might help  students
focus on particular areas where they need extra work—but that is
not  their primary intent. 
 In order to overcome the limits and minimize the errors in our
assessments and  evaluations, the assessment tools we use must be
valid and reliable. Validity and  reliability are terms usually associated
with standardized testing, but the underlying  ideas are important to
assessment and evaluation more generally. 

Validity simply means that the data collected is truly related to

the  outcomes we intend to measure. For example, social
studies curricula  across Canada call for students to develop
conceptual and procedural  understanding related to the
disciplines of social studies including history.  The new
curriculum for Alberta calls for students to develop “historical 
thinking” which, among other things, involves “the sequencing
of events, the  analysis of patterns and the placement of
events in context.” Much 
assessment in history, however (including surveys and tests
that have  garnered wide media attention), focuses on
collecting information on  discrete facts such as names and
dates. Sam Wineburg’s research  demonstrates that knowing a
set of discrete facts is not the same as  understanding the
concepts of the discipline at a sophisticated level or the 
 procedures used in an inquiry for making sense of
contradictory accounts.  He found that high-achieving senior
high students studying the American  Revolution knew more
facts measured in a test and could outscore some  history
professors whose specialties were elsewhere. Yet the
professors  were superior in analyzing primary sources
depicting the period, sincethey  had a much deeper
understanding of the procedures for making valid  historical
claims about the past. Assessment instruments that only
collect  data on discrete historical facts, then, are not valid in
assessing curriculum  outcomes related to developing
historical thinking. 
∙ Reliable assessment instruments are ones that will produce the
same (or  very similar) results in different situations. There are two
components to be  concerned about in producing reliable
instruments. 
▪ First, the activity itself should produce clear, consistent
evidence of  student achievement in the desired area. For
example, ambiguous  test questions that can be read and
answered in many different ways  are not particularly
reliable because they might produce very different 
responses from students of similar ability in the same
class. They cannot be relied upon to provide a relatively
objective sense of  student achievement. 
▪ Second, the evidence should be interpreted the same way
by  independent observers. In the case of an essay, for
example,  reliability is demonstrated when qualified
independent markers reach  similar conclusions about the
quality of the work. This kind of inter 
rater reliability is achieved when both the assignment
and the  criteria for success are clearly understood. In
standardized testing  raters are trained in evaluating
student work so that grading is  consistent and fair. This
is not possible in classroom situations but it  is important
that those involved—teachers, students, parents, and 
administrators—know the criteria for evaluation and can
see they are  being correctly and consistently applied. 

It is important to remember that no single instrument, no

matter how  carefully constructed, can collect all the
information needed for a  comprehensive evaluation of student
progress or be completely valid and  reliable. The evaluation of
student progress is a very complex process and  good
teachers build a wide repertoire of approaches to both
collecting  information and making sense of it.
Assessment and Evaluation Challenges for Social Studies Teachers 
 Designing and implementing appropriate mechanisms for tracking
student  progress and providing feedback is a complex endeavor for all
teachers, but social studies  presents some unique challenges for
assessment and evaluation. Social studies includes  many ways of thinking
and knowing: from the narrative of history and the mathematical  and
statistical reasoning of economics, to the visual and graphic components of 
geographic study and the deep understanding of differing perspectives and
beliefs 
underlying the study of public issues and current affairs. Even within a single
social  studies discipline, the kinds of learnings to be assessed cover a wide
range. 

Many key social studies outcomes such as critical thinking, social

responsibility,  and informed decision-making are hard to define compared to
outcomes from other  subjects. Furthermore, some of these complex goals
such as the development of  responsible citizenship, may not be evident
until after students have left school and  engaged in tasks such as informed
voting, social action, and other forms of civic  participation. 

As a result of these varied and contested outcomes, the field of social

studies has  had great difficulty reaching consensus on its key concepts and
purposes, including what  constitutes sound assessment and evaluation.
Because social studies is concerned with  affairs in the real world, it has
always been subject to pressures from that world (the  political dimension
noted earlier). This has certainly been true in the area of assessment.  Tests
or quizzes purporting to test student knowledge of history, geography, or
civics are  routinely published in the media, with subsequent blaming and
hand-wringing about our  wayward youth. 

Sound Assessment and Evaluation in Social Studies 

Sound assessment begins with the learner in mind. This

“backwards design” or  “design down” process requires we: 
1. determine what the learner needs to know and or do as a
result of the  learning; 
2. identify clear evidence of learning; and 
3. design instruction so that students will have opportunities to
learn and  demonstrate their learnings. 

Good teachers will keep the following questions in mind when

planning for  assessment. 

1. What is to be assessed? As mentioned above, assessment instruments

should  be valid; that is, they should provide information about specific,
clearly defined  elements of students’ knowledge or skills. In order to
 design appropriate methods  of assessment, teachers must be very clear
about exactly what it is they want  information on. 
2. What is the purpose of the assessment? The means of collecting
information  and reporting on it will vary depending on whether the
purpose of the assessment 
is formative—to provide information for the student and teacher to
use to monitor  or improve progress—or summative—to provide end-
point information for  students, parents, and/or administrators. 
3. What assessment tools will best provide the information we need?
Tools will  vary depending on what is to be assessed and the purpose of
the assessment. For  example, an essay might not be the best way to
assess students’ ability to work  with scale and symbols on a map, but an
exercise requiring them to plan the best  route between two points might
work well for this purpose. 
4. What form will the data take? This is obviously related to the previous
question  but there may be some variety within particular assessment
tools. A teacher might,  as suggested above, ask students to compare
and contrast Napoleon’s and Hitler’s  invasions of Russia, allowing
students to present their report in written, oral, or  graphic form. In the
case of students who have difficulty writing, the latter two forms  might
provide better information about their facility with the skill being
evaluated. 
5. Who will collect the data: teachers, students, or outside judges?
Involving  students in self- or peer-assessment can be a very effective
teaching and  assessment technique. Asking students to use a checklist
to rate their peers’  performance in a debate by collecting data on several
criteria (content,  presentation, argument, etc.) both directs the students
to pay specific attention to  these important criteria (teaching) and
provides information on how well they  understand them (assessment). 
6. How often and when will the data be collected? As stated above,
teachers  assess students all the time. To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson,
“The price of  democracy is constant vigilance,” and constant vigilance
applies to assessment as  well. Having said that, particular types of, and
purposes for, assessment should  guide our response to this question.
Giving formal written tests to students every  day will probably not prove
effective, but research on skills teaching indicates that  in the early
stages of learning a skill, it is very important to provide timely and 
frequent corrective feedback. 
What will be done with the data making up the assessment? As
stated above,  we assess for different purposes and, depending on
the purpose, different things  will be done with the data. If the
assessment is formative the data needs to be  provided to the
students involved in an understandable way so they can use it to 
monitor and improve their progress. This is the feedback described
above. We  have all had the experience of getting back a test or an
assignment on which we  have not done well, but if we receive little or
 no feedback, we don’t know where we  went wrong. This is not
particularly useful for understanding how we are doing so  far and
what we might do to improve. On the other hand, if the assessment
is  summative, information needs to be provided to the relevant
people about student  achievement. In the case of large-scale
international assessments, for example,  the in- formation gathered is
of little use to individual students who have probably  moved on to the
next grade or graduated before the results are even available. It  is
valuable, however, for curriculum planners, administrators, and
teachers in  understanding the degree to which particular groups of
students are meeting the  objectives assessed. 

Underpinning all these questions, of course, is the principle that our assessments 
must align with curriculum outcomes. Constraining our use of the full range
of techniques  and tools is our ability to manage, assess, and teach at the
same time. So manageability  is a factor in our assessment planning
decisions. No one can do it all, even the most  skillful of teachers! So we
should strive to be fair by taking advantage of the many informal 
opportunities for assessment, such as simply watching our students while
they work and  giving them opportunities to reflect on their own learning.
Such opportunities are built into  sound lesson planning. With good
instruction we are well on our way to making those first  steps towards
assessment literacy. 

Is sound assessment easy? No, but nothing of value is. Even if we have
useful  answers for all of the above questions, they will not be perfect
answers for all students on  all occasions. We will now turn to an
examination of some of the specific assessment and  evaluation tools that
might be helpful in teaching social studies. 

Assessment and Evaluation used in Social Studies 

As stated above, assessing and evaluating student progress is a

complex  endeavor. Good teachers will develop a range of tools for helping
with this task. Some  will be traditional forms with which we are all familiar
and some will be newer forms such  as performance or authentic
assessment, which have been developed in response to  recent knowledge
about teaching and learning. Some options are outlined below but  these
represent only a small part of what is possible. It is important to remember
that each of these tools has strengths and weaknesses and teachers need
to be able to select  appropriate ones to serve their particular assessment
and evaluation purposes. 

∙ Selected response tests 

 Selected response tests, often called “objective paper and
pencil tests”  consist of multiple choice, true- false, matching, and fill-
in-the-blank items. The  phrase “selected response” is most accurate
since it reflects the procedure of  selecting correct responses from a
range of possibilities. We use them because  we perceive that they
are objective, because we experienced these types of tests  when we
were students, and because the ease of marking makes evaluation
more  manageable. 

▪ In true-false tests, data is quickly collected on a range of knowledge

targets  such as generalizations or propositions, with little demand
on reading ability.  Among their limitations are the strong possibility
of guessing and the difficulty  of designing items beyond the factual
knowledge level. 
Fill-in tests work for outcomes such as vocabulary
understanding and,  unlike other forms of selective response,
do not promote guessing. On the  other hand, poorly designed
items and students’ poor spelling can result in  ambiguous
answers that are difficult to score. With matching items, data is 
collected speedily with fewer demands on reading ability. 
▪ Matching is particularly useful for assessing student recognition of
how  ideas are associated. In social studies examples of
associations are 
countries and capitals; definitions and terms; or historical
figures and their  accomplishments/discoveries. Matching items
are also prone to student  guessing, and unless designed
carefully, are susceptible to the use of  irrelevant clues or
obvious answers when more than one topic for the  matching
set is used. 
▪ Multiple-choice items, usually consisting of a complete statement
of the  problem or question (stem/lead); construction of plausible
distracters (wrong  answers); random placing of the key (correct
answer), are the most versatile  form of selective response,
ranging in use from recall of basic information to  interpretation,
analogies, and other complex outcomes. Furthermore,  guessing is
discouraged and well-designed items of the type used in 
standardized tests are high in reliability. However, they take time
and effort  to design well.Reading ability may influence some
scores, thus threatening  the validity of the assessment. Moreover,
while some complex thinking can be assessed, prior knowledge
possessed by students can easily turn multiple  choice questions
into recall items. 

Selected response items have the advantage of being easy to

administer  and score and, if well-constructed, are high in validity
 and reliability. Using  selective response for assessment beyond
routine knowledge or simple skills,  however, is difficult.
Furthermore, it is too easy to include irrelevant data in  selective
response items, allowing students to guess a correct answer
without  actually knowing anything. 

∙ Extended• or essay response tests 

Essays are items that require an extended or constructed

written answer  to a relatively open-ended question for which a variety
of appropriate responses  are possible. Along with short-answer
questions, selective and essay responses  constitute the traditional
assessment options in social studies classes. 

Essay responses can come in various forms such as writing a

letter to the  editor of the local newspaper about a current issue or
writing a detailed analysis of  a case similar to what a judge would
write. Essay tests or assignments may be  more valid than selected
response items in that they are more likely to pro- vide  data on
important outcomes such as the ability to identify an issue, organize 
relevant information into an argument, reveal cause-effect
relationships, recognize  human-environmental interactions, weigh
evidence, and so on. The essay can  range from a short paragraph to
many pages. 

Essays do, however, raise serious design and scoring issues.

Without clear and precise scoring criteria, applied consistently by
teachers, one person’s “A” can be another person’s “C.” The
unreliability of teacher scoring on essay items is one  reason for the
rise of standardized testing. This lack of reliability can be offset 
somewhat by the use of carefully developed examinations at the
provincial level,  as is the case in British Columbia and elsewhere.
Committees of specialists,  especially teachers, meet to design
questions based on curriculum outcomes, to 
be assessed with clear criteria and reliable scoring systems. Where
there are no  carefully designed, administered, and scored provincial
examinations, social  studies teachers can work together using the
above process to reach consensus  on scoring. 

Language joins reliability as a scoring issue in essays. Social

studies  requires a high degree of literacy. Throughout Canadian
classrooms, there are  many students who struggle with basic literacy
skills or for whom the language of  instruction is not their first
language. Thus, in designing, administering and scoring  essay-type
questions we should not penalize students unduly for difficulties in 
 initial comprehension of questions or writing of answers, if the goal of
the essay  question is to reveal other abilities. 

We are increasingly aware of the need to support students’

learning by  providing supports or scaffolds. Scaffolding helps many
learners writeappropriate  responses until they are able to respond
more independently. The elements of the  writing process in language
arts classrooms, including the role of collaborative  small group talk,
can prepare students for doing higher-quality work than when left  to
sink or swim on their own. 

How can we modify an essay question to meet the diverse

needs of our  students? We can narrow or broaden the content focus
by increasing or  decreasing the factors or variables to consider. For
example, an essay may  challenge students to focus on a narrow
historical period such as the 1920s. Other  essays might have
students look at a larger period such as the 1920s and 1930s.  Still
other essays could require students to examine (usually for purposes
of  comparison and contrast) the interactions among geographic and
economic  patterns in two regions of Canada or reduce the cognitive
demands to an analysis  of these interactions in one region. 

We can also specify the cognitive demands. Some questions

can provide  additional support for learners by specifying what is
required in an answer; for  example, which events need to be
examined or what factors need to be compared.  Some questions
offer a context that can serve as a thesis statement while other 
questions require students to develop their own thesis statements.
Vague  instructions offer no support for students, as these instructions
fail to define criteria  for success. 

Some questions personalize responses through role play to offer a

more authentic context for writing; for example, students are asked
about an event or an idea using a newspaper story format, including
an appropriate headline. Other  essays present a quotation or
provocative proposition and ask students to make  an argument
based on evidence to support or refute the validity of the statement. 

Finally, we can direct students to respond in structured ways

using action  verbs connected to Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive
Objectives (i.e., describe,  explain, analyze, synthesize, and
evaluate). This works if students know the 
meaning of the verbs and see examples of their use in sample responses. 

∙ Document based questions 

 As outlined above, Alberta and most other provinces have
identified  procedural understanding as a key goal for social studies
education. In other  words, students are supposed to be able to use
the concepts and procedures of  the disciplines involved in social
studies such as history, geography, and  economics. It is not enough
to know what the causes of World War I are; students  should also
understand something of the way historians arrived at those causes, 
including what evidence they considered and how they made sense
of that  evidence. In teaching history in primary grades, curricula
across the country  recommend the use of primary sources: pictures,
artifacts, maps, and written and  oral accounts. We have been less
successful in using these in assessment. In  North America,
document-based questions (dbqs) used to be considered  appropriate
only for senior high students in International Baccalaureate or 
Advanced Placement programs, though the British have been using
“sources” for  decades. Now we can use them to bring more
authenticity to instruction and as sessment. The Begbie Contest in
British Columbia has used document-based  questions since 1994 for
high-school students. Some jurisdictions have used them  in
elementary grades as well. These questions are not designed to test
student’s  recall of information but rather their abilities to critically use
sources as the basis  for constructing historical accounts. 

∙ Performance Assessment 

Performance assessment is considered new although it is as old

as  assessment itself. Unlike selected response, the assessor does not
count correct  responses in order to render a judgement. Instead she or
he collects data on the  process or makes a judgement about the quality
of the final product as students  actually do something. In some
jurisdictions performance tasks serve as end-of-unit  assessments or
culminating activities instead of the traditional quiz or project. 
Performance assessment tasks are not add-ons, fillers, or breaks for the
teacher, but  opportunities to combine instruction with assessment. There
are many examples of  social studies performance tasks, such as the
following: 
✔ Three prominent international conflicts are drawn from newspapers.
Students  select one of the three, write a summary of the conflict, and
discuss the  influence of climate, resources, and location on the
conflict. As well, the students sketch from memory a map of the
region of the world showing national  boundaries, capitals, and salient
landforms. A legend and compass rose are  included. 
✔ Students identify, then compare and contrast, a diverse set of
examples  of societies organized under, or attempting to
organize under, the  democratic ideal, with examples drawn
from three continents. 
 ✔ Students analyze a transcribed excerpt of a discussion of a
recurring  public issue, distinguishing among factual, definitional,
and ethical is sues, and judging the quality of each participant’s
contribution.
According to Bower, Lobdell, and Swenson, culminating
performance  activities or projects: 
✔ are central to the unit and its big question 
✔ are known to students in advance 
✔ require students to think deeply about important issues 
✔ ask students to create a meaningful product or performance 
✔ demand students use different learning styles and
intelligences ✔ make clear to students the standards by which
their work will be judged ✔ foster the habit of self-
assessment 
✔ allow teachers to act as coaches 

∙ Authentic Assessment 

Authentic assessments are a particular form of performance

assessment  where students are required to perform a real-life activity
and an assessment is made  based on that activity. Students in a grade 3
class studying their community, for  example, might be asked to do an
assessment of the area around their school  (sidewalks, parks, public
places) for wheelchair accessibility and prepare a report for  a relevant
civic body such as a committee of city council. The activity does not 
necessarily have to relate to contemporary situations. Currently, some
Acadian people  are asking that the Queen apologize for the expulsion of
their ancestors from the  Maritimes. Students might be asked to prepare
a recommendation for the Crown on  whether or not, considering the
historical evidence, such an apology would be justified. 

∙ Structured Observation 

Many performance and authentic assessments will include “hard”

evidence of student  progress such as written components, constructed
models, and visual  representations, but often much of the evidence of
student progress will be gathered  through watching them work. For
example, many social studies outcomes arerelated  to that important and
hard-to-define term “thinking.” However, thinking is defined,  conventional
tests reveal only so much. One approach is to determine what thinking 
looks like when we see it. Such “intelligent behaviors” are “habits of
mind”: a repertoire  of mindful strategies we use when faced with
problems or decisions. If we are going  to provide useful feedback, either
of a formative or summative nature, about  something like thinking, we
need to say more than, “John has shown great  improvement in critical
thinking.” We need to be able to be more specific about what  we mean
 and that kind of specificity can be obtained by structured observation: 
watching for, and collecting evidence on, particular behaviors. In the area
of thinking,  for example, we might watch for: 
✔ Perseverance: Do students give up or back up and use a
different  strategy if the first ones do not work? 
✔ Decreased impulsiveness: Do students blurt out answers
and make  many corrections in their written responses or do
they pause before  answering, make sure they understand
the learning task, and consider  the responses of others in
building arguments?
✔ Flexible thinking: Do students use the same approaches for
different  problems or do they use and weigh the merits of
alternative strategies,  consider the approaches of others, and
deal with more than one  classification system
simultaneously? 
✔ Metacognition: Are students unaware of how they learn or do
they  describe and reflect on the processes they used in
learning? 
✔ Careful review: Do students hand in uncorrected or unedited
work as  soon as it is done or do they take time to review and
edit? 

These observations would be structured not only in the sense

that the  teacher looks for evidence for precise criteria like these but
also in the sense that  some form of record is kept of the observations
such as checklists or anecdotal  notes. 

For all of these assessment tools other than limited response

items a  difficulty is designing consistent and fair ways to make
evaluations based on them.  A common way to deal with this
challenge is to design rubrics that describe clear  criteria for making
evaluative judgements. A rubric is an achievement scale: a set  of
scoring guidelines for evaluating student work. Rubrics answer
questions such  as: By what criteria should performance be judged?
What should we look for when  we judge performance tasks? What is
quality? How can different levels of quality  be described and
distinguished from one an- other? The word “rubric” comes from  the
Latin word for “red.” In the European Middle Ages it referred to the
highlights  of a legal decision as well as the directions for conducting
religious services, found  in the margins of liturgical books—both
written in red. 

What is a rubric? 

A rubric is a scoring guide used to evaluate performance, a

product, or a  project. It has three parts: 
 1. performance criteria; 
2. rating scale; and 
3. indicators. 

For you and your students, the rubric defines what is expected and
what will be  assessed. Whether for online or face-to-face courses, it
indicates that you will  evaluate according to specified criteria, making
grading and ranking simpler, more  transparent, and fairer. 

A rubric is a multi-purpose scoring guide for assessing student

products  and performances. This tool works in a number of different
ways to advance  student learning, and has great potential in
particular for non-traditional, first  generation, and minority students.
In addition, rubrics improve teaching, contribute  to sound
assessment, and are an important source of information for program 
improvement.
What does a rubric look like? 

On the left side, the criteria describe the key elements of a

student work or  product. At the top, the rating scale identifies levels
of performance. Under each  section of the rating scale, the indicators
provide examples or concrete descriptors  for each level of
performance. 

Determine the Criteria to Assess Student Work 

Figure out what areas really matter to the quality of the work
that’s being  produced. Whether it’s an essay, a project, a digital story
or essay, or a  presentation, what do you want evidence of in the final
product? 
∙ List all the possible criteria you might want students to
demonstrate in  the assignment. Include criteria for the process
of creating the product  and the quality of the product. 
 ∙ Decide which of those criteria are “non-negotiable.” Ideally, your
rubric  will have three to five performance criteria. If you’re
having a hard time  deciding, prioritize the criteria by asking: 
a) What are the learning outcomes of this unit? 
b) Which learning outcomes will be listed in the rubric? 
c) Which skills are essential at competent or proficiency levels for  
the task or assignment to be complete? 
d) How important is the overall completion of the task or project? 
Develop a Rating Scale 

Rating scales can include either numerical or descriptive

labels. Usually, a  rating scale consists of an even number of
performance levels. If an odd number  is used, the middle level tends
to become a catch-all category. 
Show your rating scale beginning on the left with the highest.
On the chart  below, the highest level of performance is described on
the left. A few possible  labels for a four-point scale include:

Develop Indicators of Quality 

Define the performance quality of the ideal assessment for
each criterion,  one at a time. Begin with the highest level of the scale
to define top quality  performance. Remember, this is the level that
you want all students to achieve and  it should be challenging. 
1. Create indicators that are present at all performance levels. 
2. Make certain there is continuity in the difference between the
criteria for  exceeds vs. meets, and meets vs. does not meet
expectations. The  difference between a 2 and a 3
performance should not be more than  the difference between
a 3 and a 4 performance. 
3. Edit the indicators to ensure that the levels reflect variance in
quality and  not a shift in importance of the criteria. 
4. Make certain that the indicators reflect equal steps along the
scale. The  difference between 4 and 3 should be equivalent to
the difference  between 3 - 2 and 2 - 1. “Yes, and more,” “Yes,”
 “Yes, but,” and “No” are  ways for the rubric developer to think
about how to describe performance  at each scale point.

Developing a Rubric 

✔ Identifying Performance Criteria. 

The first step in developing a rubric is to identify the criteria

that define the  performance. Suppose the performance task or
expected learning outcome is that  “students will be able to give an
effective oral presentation.” What are the key  features or criteria of
an effective oral presentation? While it depends upon the  purpose
and context for the speech, four general criteria might be identified: 
delivery, content, organization, and physicality. 

Three to six criteria seem to work best. It is not so many that it

overwhelms  the memory and not so few that meaningful distinctions
in the performance can’t  be made. Sometimes these criteria can be
weighted as well. There may be one or  two criteria that are valued
more than the others and they could be given a higher  value when
calculating the overall score for the performance or product. 

Another important consideration is that the performance to be

assessed  should be observable and measurable. Some descriptions
of learning outcomes  or performance criteria are so vague that
accurate measurement is difficult. For  example, if the criterion is that
“Students will know the states of the union,” it may  not be clear what
“know” means. Does ‘knowing” mean that students need only to  be
able to list the states, or be able to fill in the names on a map, or draw
a map of  the United States, or discuss the history of the state, or ….?
The measurement  problem can be lessen if the performance to be
assessed is described with more  specific action verbs where
possible, such as list, identify draw, discuss, explain,  compare,
critique, predict, and so on. 

Often the performance criteria are determined ahead of time

by the  instructor or a professional organization, but sometimes they
can be created by  the students in a course, especially if the
assignment is new to the instructor.  Having students generate the
criteria for assessing the performance can serve  several purposes.
Engaging students in a discussion about “What makes for a  good
speech” (or essay or model or dance or…) can help them deepen
and  internalize their understanding of the criteria for a quality
performance in that 
particular area. As well, involving students in this conversation before
they begin  the assignment or project can help them make more
informed choices as they  begin to identify the topic for their
laboratory study, the medium for their  performance, or the design for
their model. Another benefit is that students can  sometimes offer
insights into the performance that the instructor may not have 
envisioned. When a student asks if their oral presentations can be a
video of  themselves before a live audience rather than a live in
person in class presentation,  it can open possibilities the instructor
hadn’t considered. An additional pedagogical  benefit is that the
students’ comments can reveal to the instructor misconceptions  that
students may have about the topic, and the instructor can adjust his
or her  teaching of these concepts accordingly. A valuable activity can
be to make a list of 
the assessment criteria that students identify as the project is
introduced and  another list again after they have completed the
project, and then have them  compare their pre-and post-lists to see if
their understanding of the key concepts  have changed or deepened.
Even if the rubric has already been developed in  advance however,
asking students to engage in a discussion about the  assessment
criteria before the rubric is handed out can still be a valuable activity 
for many of these same reasons. 

✔ Setting Performance Levels. 

The second step in the process is to decide how many levels
of performance  are appropriate for the assessment. Typically, rubrics
have from three to six rating  levels. What drives the choice of the
number of levels is the purpose for the  assessment. If the main
purpose is to make summative decisions, such as whether  someone
will pass or fail a course or an exam for example, then fewer levels
are  better. The fewer the levels of performance for the rater to
consider, the greater  the reliability and efficiency in scoring the
 performance. The more levels, the lower  the reliability in scoring and
the more time it will take for raters to make the decision. 
If, however, the primary purpose of the assessment is
formative, or to give  feedback to learners to support them in
improving their performance, then more  performance levels (and
more performance criteria) give the learner more specific  information
about the features of the performance that need attention. The trade 
off again is that the greater number of scoring levels and performance
criteria, the  more time it takes the rater to assess the performance. 

The headings for the different performance levels can vary

depending upon  the purpose and contexts for the assessment. For
some contexts, developmental  language is the best choice, such as
“Emerging, Developing, Arrived.” A  developmental scale is respectful
to the learner and recognizes that all of us are  learners in any
number of areas. The emphasis is on growth. Other times, more 
mastery-oriented language is appropriate as in “Below Proficient,
Proficient, Above  Proficient.” If the purpose of the assessment is to
demonstrate whether or not  students have met the standards for the
course or program or profession, then  identifying whether a learner is
proficient or not is the key. Sometimes, numbers  are used instead of
words, while at other times numbers and words are used  together
(see Table 2).

✔ Creating Performance Descriptions. 

The third step in the process is to write a description for each cell in the matrix. For example,
“delivery” is described in a brief statement at each of the three performance levels  (see Table
3). The challenge in creating these paragraphs is to provide enough  information to guide the
creation and scoring of the project, but not so much that it  overwhelms the reader or the
performer. Keep in mind thatthe rubric is not intended to replace the instructor but instead to
guide and support him or her in exercising informed judgment. 

Parallel structure across descriptions for each criterion (e.g., delivery) is important. The  more
parallel the descriptions are in form and content, the more dependable and efficient  the scoring
will be. One way to increase parallelism across descriptions is to identify a set of attributes for
each criterion and then build each statement around those attributes. For  example, the
“delivery” descriptions were developed around three attributes: volume, pacing, and rapport.
The sameprocess is then followed for the other three criteria (e.g.  content, organization,
physicality) until all of the cells in the matrix are completed (see  Table 4).

When using the rubric in making an overall decision about a

performance,  the final rating can be based on an analytic process of
adding up the scores for  each of the four criteria (i.e., content,
delivery, language, physicality) and  calculating an average, or,
alternatively, by looking over the ratings for the four  criteria and
making a holistic judgment that considers each of the scores but
blends  them in an overall judgment-based rating process. For
example, if the scores were  delivery = 2, content = 3, organization =
2, and physicality = 3, then an analytical  rating (assuming equal
weighting of the four criteria) would give an overall mean  score of
2.5. A holistic rating might end up as a 2 or 3 however, depending
 upon  the rater’s overall sense of the performance. When the criteria
are not equally  weighted, numerical calculations need to be adjusted
accordingly. 

Sample Rubric: Rubric sa Pagtataya ng Talata o Sulatin

 Benefits of Rubrics 

✔ Rubrics make the learning target more clear. 

▪ If students know what the learning target is, they are better able to
hit it  (Stiggins, 2001). When giving students a complex task to
complete, such  as a building an architectural model or putting
together a portfolio of their  best photographs, students who know
in advance what the criteria are for  assessing their performance
will be better able to construct models or select  photographs that
demonstrate their skills in those areas. 
✔ Rubrics guide instructional design and delivery. 
▪ When teachers have carefully articulated their expectations for
student  learning in the form of a rubric, they are better able to
keep the key learning  targets front and center as they choose
instructional approaches and design  learning environments that
enable students to achieve these outcomes  (Arter & McTigue,
2001). 
✔ Rubrics make the assessment process more accurate and fair. 
By referring to a common rubric in reviewing each student
product or  performance, a teacher is more likely to be
consistent in his or her  judgments. A rubric helps to anchor
judgments because it continually draws  the reviewer’s
attention to each of the key criteria so that the teacher is less 
likely to vary her application of the criteria from student to
student.  Furthermore, when there are multiple raters (e.g.,
large lecture classes that  use teaching assistants as graders),
the consistency across these raters is  likely to be higher when
they are all drawing on the same detailed  performance criteria.
Additionally, a more prosaic benefit is the decided  decrease in
student complaints about grades at semester’s end. 
✔ Rubrics provide students with a tool for self-assessment and peer
feedback. ▪ When students have the assessment criteria in hand as they
are completing  a task, they are better able to critique their own
performances (Hafner &  Hafner, 2004). A hallmark of a professional is
the ability to accurately and  insightfully assess one’s own work. In
addition, rubrics can also be used by  classmates to give each other
specific feedback on their performances. (For  both psychometric and
pedagogical reasons, we recommend that peers  give only formative
feedback that is used to help the learner make  improvements in the
product or performance, and not give ratings that are  factored into a
student’s grade.) 
✔ Rubrics have the potential to advance the learning of students of
color, first  generation students, and those from non-traditional
settings. 
 ▪ An often unrecognized benefit of rubrics is that they can make
learning  expectations or assumptions about the tasks themselves
more explicit  (Andrade & Ying, 2005). In academic environments
we often operate on  unstated cultural assumptions about the
expectations for student  performance and behavior and presume
that all students share those same  understandings. However,
research by Lisa Delpit (1988) and Shirley Heath  (1983), for
example, highlights the many ways that expectations in schools 
are communicated through subtle and sometimes unrecognizable
ways for  students of color or non-native English speakers who
may have been raised 
with a different (but valid) set of rules and assumptions about
language,  communication, and school performance itself. 

Limitations of Rubrics 

While well-designed rubrics make the assessment process

more valid and  reliable, their real value lies in advancing the teaching
and learning process. But  having a rubric doesn’t necessarily mean
that the evaluation task is simple or clear cut. The best rubrics allow
evaluators and teachers to draw on their professional  knowledge and
to use that professional knowledge in ways that the rating process 
doesn’t fall victim to personality variations or limitations of human
information  processing. 

A serious concern with rubrics, however, is how long it takes to

create them,  especially writing the descriptions of performances at
each level. With that in mind,  rubrics should be developed for only
the most important and complex assignments.  Creating a rubric that
is used to determine whether students can name the parts  of speech
would be like using a scalpel to cut down a tree: Good instrument,
wrong  application. 

Another challenge with rubrics is that if poorly designed they can

actually diminish  the learning process. Rubrics can act as a
straitjacket, preventing creations other  than those envisioned by the
rubric-maker from unfolding. (“If it is not on the rubric,  it must not be
important or possible.”) The challenge then is to create a rubric that 
makes clear what is valued in the performance or product— without
constraining  or diminishing them. On the other hand, the problem
with having no rubric, or one  that is so broad that it is meaningless, is
to risk havingan evaluation process that  is based on individual
whimsy or worse—unrecognized prejudices. Though not as
dangerous as Ulysses’ task of steering his ship between the two
fabled monsters of 
 Greek mythology, Scylla and Charybdis, a rubric-maker faces a
similar challenge  in trying to design a rubric that is neither too narrow
nor too broad. 

While not a panacea, the benefits of rubrics are many—they

can advance  student learning, support instruction, strengthen
assessment, and improve  program quality. 

Types of Rubrics 

Analytic Rubrics 
An analytic rubric resembles a grid with the criteria for a
student product  listed in the leftmost column and with levels of
performance listed across the top  row often using numbers and/or
descriptive tags. The cells within the center of the  rubric may be left
blank or may contain descriptions of what the specified criteria  look
like for each level of performance. When scoring with an analytic
rubric each  of the criteria is scored individually.
 Advantages of Analytic Rubrics 
▪ Provide useful feedback on areas of strength and
weakness. ▪ Criterion can be weighted to reflect the
relative importance of each  dimension. 

Disadvantages of Analytic Rubrics 

▪ Takes more time to create and use than a holistic rubric. 
▪ Unless each point for each criterion is well-defined raters may
not arrive  at the same score 

Developmental 
Rubrics 
Developmental rubrics are a subset of analytic trait rubrics.
 The main distinction between developmental rubrics and other
analytic trait  rubrics is that the purpose of developmental rubrics is
not to evaluate an end  product or performance. Instead,
developmental rubrics are designed to answer the question, “to what
extent are students who engage in our programs/services  developing
this skill/ability/value/etc.?” 
Generally, this type of rubric would be based on a theory of development.
 Advantages of Developmental Rubrics 
▪ Useful when the goal of evaluation is to determine level of
development  rather than the quality of a final product. 
▪ Especially when there is no expectation that students should or
could  fully develop a skill or ability during the course of their
education or  potentially ever (such as in “Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs,” there is no  expectation people can or will become
“self-actualized”). 
▪ Rubric can be based on relevant developmental theory. 

Disadvantages of Developmental Rubrics 

▪ Conceptually, this type of rubric is more difficult to design. 
▪ Developing a developmental rubric requires a close tie between  
assessment criteria and the theory of development. 

Holistic Rubrics 
A holistic rubric consists of a single scale with all criteria to
be included in  the evaluation being considered together (e.g., clarity,
organization, and  mechanics). With a holistic rubric the rater assigns
a single score (usually on a 1  to 4 or 1 to 6-point scale) based on an
overall judgment of the student work. The  rater matches an entire
piece of student work to a single description on the scale. 

Example Holistic Rubric 

Articulating thoughts through written communication— final

paper/project. 4 - Above Average: The audience is able to easily
identify the focus of the work  and is engaged by its clear focus and
relevant details. Information is presented  logically and naturally.
There are no more than two mechanical errors or  misspelled words
to distract the reader. 
3 - Sufficient: The audience is easily able to identify the focus of the
student work  which is supported by relevant ideas and supporting
details. Information is  presented in a logical manner that is easily
followed. There is minimal interruption  to the work due to
misspellings and/or mechanical errors. 
2 - Developing: The audience can identify the central purpose of the
student work  without little difficulty and supporting ideas are present
and clear. The information  is presented in an orderly fashion that can
be followed with little difficulty. There  are some misspellings and/or
mechanical errors, but they do not seriously distract  from the work. 
1 - Needs Improvement: The audience cannot clearly or easily identify the
central ideas or  purpose of the student work. Information is presented in a
disorganized fashion causing the  audience to have difficulty following the
author's ideas. There are many misspellings and/or  mechanical errors that
negatively affect the audience's ability to read the work. 
 Advantages of Holistic Rubrics 
▪ Emphasis on what the learner is able to demonstrate, rather than
what s/he  cannot do. 
▪ Saves time by minimizing the number of decisions raters make.
▪ Can be applied consistently by trained raters increasing reliability. 

Disadvantages of Holistic Rubrics 

▪ Does not provide specific feedback for improvement. 
▪ When student work is at varying levels spanning the criteria
points it can  be difficult to select the single best description. 
▪ Criteria cannot be weighted. 

Checklists 
Checklists are a distinct type of rubric – where there are only
two  performance levels possible. Checklists tend to be longer than
other types of  rubrics since each aspect of performance you are
looking for in students’  work/performances essentially becomes its
own criterion. When you are using a  checklist, every decision is
binary (yes/no, present/absent, pass/fail, etc.). Most  rubrics can be
converted rather directly into a checklist. For example, here is a 
rubric for grading journal entries:
Advantages of Checklists 
Checklists are generally a simpler and faster way to grade than
using a  more traditional rubric since you are making discrete
decisions for each individual  performance criterion rather than trying
to determine where students’ work fall into  performance criteria that
generally encompass a range of difference performance 
expectations. This also makes the grading clearer to students. Using
checklists  may result in less arbitrary (and more consistent) grading
decisions. Forexample,  most instructors are clear on what the top
performances look like and what the  bottom performances look like,
but the middle gets fuzzier. When students  understand that their
grades will be based on all or nothing decisions, checklists  also have
the potential to raise the rigor of and students’ performances on our 
assignments. 

Disadvantages of Checklists 
Creating checklists for your assignments might be a slightly
onerous  process. This is both because checklists are longer than a
traditional rubric and  because identifying each of the discrete
elements of “clearly written” or “well  organized” might be difficult. You
may find that cannot easily convert every  performance element you
are looking for into a checklist format. Performance  criteria that are
difficult to operationalize will also be difficult to convert into a 
checklist. It may also be difficult to decide on the exact level of
granularity that  might be appropriate for each assignment. For
 example, “uses good grammar”  might be appropriate for most
classes, but would be far too broad if you are  teaching a course on
grammar. Checklists also lose the middle so there is not a  way to
award credit to students who get most of the way toward achieving a 
criterion.
PART B 
Lesson Planning 
A lesson plan is a teacher’s detailed description of the course of
instruction or  ‘learning trajectory’ for a lesson. A daily lesson plan is
developed by a teacher to guide  class learning. Details may vary
depending on the preference of the teacher, subject being  covered, and the
needs of the students. There may be requirements mandated by the  school
system regardingthe plan. A lesson plan is the teacher’s guide for running
the particular lesson, and it includes the goal( what the students are
supposed to learn), how  the goal will be reached( the method, procedure)
and a way of measuring how well the  goal was reached ( test, worksheets,
homework etc.) 

❖ Why is lesson planning important? 

Every teacher is required to prepare a lesson plan because
this is  considered as guide for the day’s lessons. Lesson planning is
important because  it gives the teacher a concrete direction of what
she/he wants to take up for the day. Research has shown that
student learning is correlated to teacher planning.  One major
explanation is that when plan is ready, teachers can focus on its 
implementation. When teachers do not have to think so much about
what they  need to do next they are able to focus on other parts of
the lesson. 

Lesson planning is important because it helps teachers

ensure that the  day-to-day activities that go on in their classrooms
are providing students with an  adequate level of long –term
progress toward the goals outlined in their scope and  sequence, as
well as their individual education plans when necessary. 

An effective lesson plan includes several elements: learning

objectives,  quality questions, supplies and activities. It is important
to have the learning objectives in mind because those should drive
the development and implementation  of all activities in the
classroom. Quality questions are inquiries that the teacher  plans to
direct at the students over the course of the lesson. Sometimes
these  questions are rhetoric in nature, but more often they are
designed to help the  student think at a higher level than simple
memorization and comprehension. It is  important to come up with a
plan for assessment to determine whether the class  has met its
targets. 
 Lesson planning is a complex yet essential part of the
teaching process  that changes over time as teachers gain more
hands-on experience. 
❖ Need of Lesson Planning 
FAIL TO PLAN = PLAN TO FAIL 

∙ Through lesson planning the subject is organized properly. 

∙ It keeps the teacher free from the faults of thoughtless teaching. 
∙ It makes the proper atmosphere for learning process. 
∙ The teacher also gets a clear idea about when they should start  
evaluation and when they should proceed to the next lesson. 
∙ Lesson plans helps in organized teaching and saves time. 
∙ Lesson plans allow the teacher to apply appropriate strategy. 
∙ Teacher will be more prepared and confident while teaching the  
lesson.
❖ Characteristics of Good Lesson Planning 
Learning to plan is just like any other skill. It takes time and practice.
At first lesson planning may seem like a time consuming process but by
creating detailed lesson plans  as a beginner teacher one is able to develop
routines that can become more automatic  over time. 
1. Lesson planning should be in a written form. 
2. In lesson planning, the general and important objectives
shouldbe clearly defined. 
3. The lesson plan should relate to suitable teaching
method and its use. 4. A continuity component reviews and
reflects on content from the  
previous lesson. 
5. Subject, time , class, average age of the students should be
mentioned  in the lesson plan. 
6. Important examples should be included in lesson planning. 
7. Inspirational or motivational methods should be experimented
in lesson planning. 
8. In lesson planning, the time for each topic should appropriately
be pre determined. 
9. In lesson planning, the techniques and supportive materials of
education  like charts, maps and other audio-visual materials
and its utilization  should be written. 

I have always realized that when you start teaching it is

90% planning  and 10% management. But for an experienced
teacher, it is 10% planning  and 90% management. If, having
developed a set of effective management  skills and teaching
routines, having experienced how to be resourceful with  very
little, and above all having learned to trust your learners, you
are ready  to fly on your own. It’s then that you will experience
the (almost) unbearable  lightness of teaching. 
❖ Prerequisite of Lesson Planning 
∙ When should we plan a lesson? 
Avoid planning lessons several days or weeks ahead of time
because a  teacher will not be aware of the students’ needs or what
problems they might be faced with at that particular time. It is best to
plan lessons daily and bring them into  class because as the lesson is
progressing (as students are interacting with their teacher and with
the language they are studying) things evolve and develop, 
depending on what has happened and what is happening moment to
moment, and  this way the teacher has a better and more accurate
understanding of what students  need to focus on in future lessons. 
∙ Why should we plan a lesson? 
Lesson planning is essential because: 
▪ It helps the teacher conduct his/her lesson in an orderly fashion
and it  allows students to know what they are going to be
learning and how it  fits into the course syllabus. 
▪ Students also feel that the lessons are sequenced properly.
Having a  good lesson plan will also increase confidence in
the teacher; on the  other hand, not having a plan will result
in complete failure for both  teacher and students. In addition,
a detailed plan clearly demonstrates 
that the teacher has takenthe time, as well as, put in the
thought and  effort into making the lesson. 
▪ Teachers who do not produce a lesson plan are often lazy, or
feel that  they can create a lesson (known as jungle path
lessons) based on what is happening in the room at that
moment. This can sometimes work, but  to continue to never
have a lesson plan proves to be ineffective,  besides, your
students will become frustrated and feel a sense of 
negligence or carelessness on the teacher’s part as well as
not getting  their money’s worth. 
▪ Planning detailed lessons will avoid problems in class. This will
give the teacher confidence that they have done their best to
plan for any  eventuality, or at least minimize some
problems. 

It is important to note that lesson planning is a thinking

process, not the  filling in of a lesson plan template. Lesson plan
envisaged a blue print, guide map for action, a comprehensive chart
of classroom teaching learning activities. A  systematic approach for
the teaching of concepts, skills and attitudes. 

1. Needs, capabilities and interest of the learner should

be considered. 2. Prepared on the sound psychological
knowledge of the learner. 
3. Provide a new learning experience; systematic but flexible. 
4. Related to social and physical environment of the learner. 
5. Setting objectives. The first thing a teacher does is create an
objective, a  statement of purpose for the whole lesson. An objective
statement itself should  answer what students will be able to do by
 the end of the lesson. Harry Wong states that “Each (objective) must
begin with a verb that states the action to be  taken to show
accomplishment. The most important word to use in an  assignment
is a ‘verb’, because verb states how to demonstrate if 
accomplishment has taken place or not.” The objective drives the
whole lesson,  it is the reason the lesson exist. Care should be taken
when creating the  objective for each day’s lesson, as it will
determine the activities the students  engage in. The teacher also
ensures that lesson plan goals are compatible with  the
developmental level of the students. 
6. Selecting lesson plan material. A lesson plan must correlate with the
text book  the class uses. 
7. Lesson planning and tools. Making use of technology is an absolute
best way of  meeting the target of lesson plan. Teacher can use
various technology like  Projectors, Computer, Internet, etc. to give
that interesting learning atmosphere  to the students. 

❖ Strategies for Effective Lesson Planning 

A lesson plan is the instructor’s road map of what students need to
learn and how  it will be done effectively during the class time. Before you
plan your lesson, you will first  need to identify the learning objectives for the
class meeting. Then, you can design  appropriate learning activities and
develop strategies to obtain feedback on student  learning. A successful
lesson plan addresses and integrates these three key components: 
∙ Objectives for student learning 
∙ Teaching/learning activities 
∙ Strategies to check student understanding 
Specifying concrete objectives for student learning will help you
determine the  kinds of teaching and learning activities you will use in class,
while those activities will 
define how you will check whether the learning objectives havebeen
accomplished.
Steps for Preparing a Lesson Plan 

Below are six steps to guide you when you create your first lesson
plans. Each  step is accompanied by a set of questions meant to prompt
reflection and aid you in  designing your teaching and learning activities. 

1. Outline learning objectives 

The first step is to determine what you want students to learn and
be able to do  at the end of class. To help you specify your objectives for
student learning, answer  the following questions: 
∙ What is the topic of the lesson? 
∙ What do I want students to learn? 
∙ What do I want them to understand and be able to do at the
end of class? ∙ What do I want them to take away from this
particular lesson? 
 Once you outline the learning objectives for the class meeting, rank
them in terms  of their importance. This step will prepare you for managing
class time and accomplishing  the more important learning objectives in case
you are pressed for time. Consider the  following questions: 
∙ What are the most important concepts, ideas, orskillsI wantstudentsto
be able  to grasp and apply? 
∙ Why are they important? 
∙ If I ran out of time, which ones could not be omitted? 
∙ And conversely, which ones could I skip if pressed for time? 

2. Develop the introduction 

Now that you have your learning objectives in order of their
importance, design  the specific activities you will use to get students to
understand and apply what they  have learned. Because you will have a
diverse body of students with different  academic and personal
experiences, they may already be familiar with the topic. That  is why you
might start with a question or activity to gauge students’ knowledge of
the  subject or possibly, their preconceived notions about it. For example,
you can take a  simple poll: “How many of you have heard of X? Raise
your hand if you have.” You  can also gather background information
from your students prior to class by sending 
students an electronic survey or asking them to write comments on index
cards. This  additional information can help shape your introduction,
learning activities, etc.When  you have an idea of the students’ familiarity
with the topic, you will also have a sense  of what to focus on. 
Develop a creative introduction to the topic to stimulate interest
and encourage  thinking. You can use a variety of approaches to engage
students (e.g., personal  anecdote, historical event, thought-provoking
dilemma, real-world example, short  video clip, practical application,
probing question, etc.). Consider the following  questions when planning
your introduction: 
∙ How will I check whether students know anything about the topic or
have any  preconceived notions about it? 
∙ What are some commonly held ideas (or possibly misconceptions)
about this  topic that students might be familiar with or might
espouse? 
∙ What will I do to introduce the topic? 

3. Plan the specific learning activities (the main body of the lesson)
Prepare several different ways of explaining the material (real-life examples, 
analogies, visuals, etc.) to catch the attention of more students and appeal to
different learning  styles. As you plan your examples and activities, estimate
how much time you will spend on  each. Build in time for extended explanation
or discussion, but also be prepared to move on  quickly to different applications
or problems, and to identify strategies that check for  understanding. These
 questions would help you design the learning activities you will use: ∙ What will I
do to explain the topic? 
∙ What will I do to illustrate the topic in a different way? 
∙ How can I engage students in the topic? 
∙ What are some relevant real-life examples, analogies, or situations that
can help  students understand the topic? 
∙ What will students need to do to help them understand the topic better? 

4. Plan to check for understanding 

Now that you have explained the topic and illustrated it with different examples,
you  need to check for student understanding – how will you know that students
are learning? Think  about specific questions you can ask students in order to
check for understanding, write them down, and then paraphrase them so that
you are prepared to ask the questions in different  ways. Try to predict the
answers your questions will generate. Decide on whether you want  students to
respond orally or in writing. You can also ask yourself these questions: ∙ What
questions will I ask students to check for understanding? 
∙ What will I have students do to demonstrate that they are following? 
∙ Going back to my list of learning objectives, what activity can I have
students do  to check whether each of those has been accomplished? 

An important strategy that will also help you with time management is to
anticipate students’  questions. When planning your lesson, decide what kinds of
questions will be productive for  discussion and what questions might sidetrack the
class. Think about and decide on the balance between covering content
(accomplishing your learning objectives) and ensuring that students understand. 

5. Develop a conclusion and a preview 

Go over the material covered in class by summarizing the main points of the lesson. You
can 
do this in a number of ways: you can state the main points yourself (“Today we
talked  about…”), you can ask a student to help you summarize them, or you
can even ask all  students to write down on a piece of paper what they
thinkwere the main points of the lesson. You can review the students’ answers
to gauge their understanding of the topic and then  explain anything
unclear the following class. Conclude the lesson not only by 
summarizing the main points, but also by previewing the next lesson.
How does the topic relate to the one that’s coming? This preview will
spur students’ interest and help  them connect the different ideas within a
larger context. 

6. Create a realistic timeline 

How easy it is to run out of time and not cover all of the many points
they had planned to cover. A list of ten learning objectives is not realistic, so
narrow down your list to the two or  three key concepts, ideas, or skills you want
students to learn. Instructors also agree that they  often need to adjust their
lesson plan during class depending on what the students need. Your  list of
prioritized learning objectives will help you make decisions on the spot and
 adjust your  lesson plan as needed. Having additional examples or alternative
activities will also allow you 
to be flexible. A realistic timeline will reflect your flexibility and readiness to
adapt to the specific  classroom environment. Here are some strategies for
creating a realistic timeline: ∙ Estimate how much time each of the activities will
take, then plan some extra time  for each 
∙ When you prepare your lesson plan, next to each activity indicate how
much time  you expect it will take Plan a few minutes at the end of class
to answer any  remaining questions and to sum up key points 
∙ Plan an extra activity or discussion question in case you have time left
∙ Be flexible – be ready to adjust your lesson plan to students’ needs
and focus on  what seems to be more productive rather than sticking to
your original plan 

Presenting the Lesson Plan 

Letting your students know what they will be learning and doing in class will
help keep them more engaged and on track. You can share your lesson plan by
writing a brief agenda on the  board or telling students explicitly what they will be
learning and doing in class. You can outline on the board or on a handout the
learning objectives for the class. Providing a meaningful  organization of the class
time can help students not only remember better, but also follow your  presentation
and understand the rationale behind in-class activities. Having a clearly visible 
agenda (e.g., on the board) will also help you and students stay on track. 

Reflecting on Your Lesson Plan 

A lesson plan may not work as well as you had expected due to a number of
extraneous circumstances. You should not get discouraged – it happens to even
the most experienced teachers! Take a few minutes after each class to reflect on
what worked well and why, and what  you could have done differently. Identifying
successful and less successful organization of class  time and activities would
make it easier to adjust to the contingencies of the classroom. For additional
feedback on planning and managing class time, you can use the following 
resources: student feedback, peer observation, viewing a videotape of your
teaching,  and consultation with a staff member.
Conclusion 

To be effective, the lesson plan does not have to be an exhaustive

document that  describes each and every possible classroom scenario. Nor
does it have to anticipate  each and every student’s response or question.
Instead, it should provide you with a  general outline of your teaching goals,
learning objectives, and means to accomplish  them. It is a reminder of what
you want to do and how you want to do it. A productive  lesson is not one in
which everything goes exactly as planned, but one in which both  students
and instructor learn from each other. 
Preparation of Lesson Planning 

Following points should be kept in mind while preparing a lesson plan: 

1. Lesson number 
2. Date 
3. Time 
4. Class 
5. Subject 
6. Average age of children 
7. Topic of the lesson 
8. Aims of the lesson 
a. Specific aim 
b. General aim 
9. Material aids 
10. Previous knowledge 
11. Introduction 
12. Statement of the aim 
13. Presentation 
14. Comprehensive question 
15. Black-board summary 
16. Application or Recapitulation 
17. Home-work 

DETAILED LESSON PLAN (DLP) 

The DLP format includes the following parts: 

∙ OBJECTIVES 
∙ CONTENT 
∙ LEARNING RESOURCES 
∙ PROCEDURES 
∙ REMARKS 
∙ REFLECTIONS
✔ OBJECTIVES 
As mentioned above, the lesson plan objectives are
statements that  describe the expected learning outcomes of the
learners at the end of the lesson.  The objectives specify what
students need to learn and thereby guide learners in  carrying out the
lesson's activities. They also direct the teacher in selecting the 
appropriate learning resources and methods to be used in teaching.
The lesson  plan objectives should also be the bases for assessing
student learning BEFORE,  DURING, and AFTER THE LESSON. 
 According to Airasian (1994), the lesson plan objectives "(1)
describe a  student behavior that should result from instruction; (2)
state the behavior in terms  that can be observed and assessed; and
(3) indicate the content on which the  behavior will be performed
(p.57)," Lesson plan objectives should be aligned with  curriculum
standards and must be stated in terms of what learners can/will be
able  to do at the end of the lesson. 

✔ CONTENT 
This pertains to the subject matter or the specific content that
the lesson  aims to teach. In the Curriculum Guide, a particular topic
can be tackled in a week  or two. 

✔ LEARNING RESOURCES 
This is a list of resources that a teacher uses to deliver the
lesson. These  includes the references used and the other resources
needed for the different  lesson activities. As stated above, the
references a teacher may use include the  Teacher's Guide (TG),
Learners' Materials (LM), and resources found in the  LRMDS portal
used for the lesson. The other resources include those described in 
the DLL above. 

✔ PROCEDURES 
The procedure details the steps and activities the teachers and
learners will  do during the lesson towards achievement of the
lesson's objectives. The  procedure describes the learning
experiences that learners will go through in  understanding and
mastering the lesson's content. Teachers may utilize  procedures that
are generally recognized and accepted in their field of  specialization. 

∙ The procedure will also depend on the abovementioned instructional

strategies  and methods that a teacher will use to teach the lesson.
Flexibility is  
encouraged in the implementation of the DLP procedure.
Changes in the  procedure are allowed based on time
constraints ow when adjustments in teaching are needed to
ensure learners' understanding. 

✔ THE PROCEDURE 
Should clearly show the different parts of the lesson including
BEFORE  THE LESSON, DURING THE LESSON, and AFTER THE
LESSON. As discussed
above, integrated into a DLP are assessment methods used by
the teacher to  regularly check understanding of the material
being tackled. 
 Formative assessment of student learning may be done
before, during, and  after a lesson and should be carried out to
measure attainment of the lesson  objectives. 

Providing assignment or "homework" is a form of post-lesson

formative  assessment. The assignment should be RELATED to the
day's lesson. The  assignment should allow learners to master what
was learned during the lesson or  reinforce what has been taught.
Teachers must check assignments promptly. 
✔ The giving of assignments is OPTIONAL 
Should follow the provisions of DepEd Memorandum No. 329,
s. 2010  entitled Guidelines on Giving Homework or Assignment to All
Public Elementary  School Pupils. Giving of assignment shall also be
optional in all other grade levels. 

✔ REMARKS 
This is the part of the DLP in which teachers shall document
specific  instances that result in continuation of lessons to the
following day in case of re teaching, insufficient time, transfer of
lessons to the following day as a result of  class suspension, etc. 

✔ REFLECTION 
This part of the DLP should be filled out right after the delivery
of the lesson.  Teachers are encouraged to think about their lessons
particularly the parts that  went well and the parts that were weak and
write about it briefly. 

In the reflection, teachers can share their thoughts and

feelings about their  lessons including things about the lesson that
were successfully implemented,  needs improvement, or could be
adjusted in the future. As in the DLL, teachers  can also talk about
their learners who did it well in the lesson and those who need  help.