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Guadalupe Centers High School 

How We Plan - Overview 
 
Effective lesson planning begins with understanding the end goal of a unit of study - the standards, summative
assessment, products, essential understandings, etc. Through backward design, a sequence of lesson plans
are created with both language and content objectives to provide students with a pathway to achievement. To
maintain our core values and serve our student population our lesson plans are thoughtfully designed to
activate students background knowledge, connect that knowledge to the learning goal, and evaluate their
understanding of the learning objective. The information below gives a brief synopsis of each lesson format
that we believe leads our school to high achievement, the fulfillment of our values, and the support of our
culturally and linguistically diverse students.

Core Lesson  Lesson Purpose  Key Indicators of Engagement 

Formats  All Lessons Unique  

Workshop -Introduce and Explicitly ❏ Ask Question ❏ Interact Constructively

Teach ❏ Follow Directions ❏ Track Learning
❏ Work Diligently
-Practice and Review

Guided Practice -Introduce and Explicitly ❏ Ask Question ❏ Sit Up and Track Speaker
Teach ❏ Follow Directions ❏ Copy Notes
❏ Work Diligently ❏ Eager to Respond

Explore -Investigate and Build ❏ Ask Question ❏ Interact Constructively

(5Es) Curiosity ❏ Follow Directions ❏ Track Learning
❏ Work Diligently ❏ Volunteer Information
-Opening Units Exploring
New concepts

Seminar Building habits of discussion ❏ Ask Question ❏ Interact Constructively

❏ Follow Directions ❏ Track Learning
❏ Work Diligently ❏ Eager to Respond
Deepen Understanding
❏ ❏ Sit Up and Track Speaker

Content Area  Lesson Purpose 

   
Literacy Lessons 

Close Read/Guided Building Metacognitive ❏ Ask Question ❏ Track Learning

Reading Habits ❏ Follow Directions ❏ Volunteer information
❏ Work Diligently

Process Based Building Metacognitive ❏ Ask Question ❏ Track Learning

Writing Workshop Habits ❏ Follow Directions ❏ Volunteer Information
❏ Work Diligently ❏ Track Speaker

 
 
 
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Guadalupe Centers High School 

Lesson Planning Template 
 
The lesson plan types in our “How We Plan” document are proven designs for delivering content knowledge.
Mastering all of these types is a key step in honing our teaching practice. However, we realize that there are a
myriad of combinations of these lesson that can also lead to successful lesson plans and lesson delivery. Use
the lesson template, criteria list, and lesson types to guide the construction of your lessons - whether using
only one of the formats above or a combination of several.

Lesson Planning Criteria 

❏ The core of the lesson is built around activating background knowledge, connecting that
knowledge to the content/language objectives, and evaluating student understanding.
❏ Each lesson has a content and language objective that is specific, measurable, and rigorous.
❏ Each lesson has an opening and closing related to the content objective.
❏ All activities and strategies in the lesson are directly tied to the content and language objectives;
moreover, they lead to success on unit assessments or content EOCs.
❏ Potential misconceptions of the content objective are planned for and addressed in the lesson
through modeling and checks for understanding.
❏ There are clear descriptions of teacher and student actions throughout the lesson plan.

Lesson Purpose Workshop - Guided Practice - 5 E’s - Seminar - Close Reading - Writing Workshop
(Choose One)

Content Objective: (STANDARD CODE)​ ​I can…

Language Objective: I can….

(​See SIOP Model​)

Resources/Texts:

Key Vocabulary Tier 2 -

TIer 3 -

Do Now: ​(TIME) Teacher Will… (​describe how Students Will… ​(describe expected student
Students activate teacher will collect/emphasize behaviors and understandings)
background knowledge background knowledge) S-
and/or generate key T-
vocabulary

COMPONENT 1 ​(TIME) Teacher Will… ​(describe how Students Will… ​(describe expected student
See components of lesson teacher will monitor and address behaviors and understandings)
formats above and replace misconceptions) S-
label. T-

COMPONENT n ​(TIME) Teacher Will… ​(describe how Students Will… ​(describe expected student
See components of lesson teacher will monitor and address behaviors and understandings)
formats above and replace misconceptions) S-
label. T-

Exit Ticket ​(TIME) Teacher Will… ​(describe how Students Will… ​(describe expected student
Students synthesize teacher will evaluate student behaviors and understandings)
learning understandings) S-
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Guadalupe Centers High School 

How We Plan - Workshop 
 
Lesson Type Description 
Teachers develop workshops to explicitly introduce and practice key concepts, skills, and strategies.
The workshop lesson type provides an opportunity for teachers to demonstrate models of student
work, and for students to refine and build on their product. One of the key components of the
workshop is extended work time for students to accomplish the learning objective and the activity at
hand; moreover, this extended work time allows teacher to individually meet and conference with
students about the objective. Through these conferences teachers are able to gather important
information about gaps in students learning, and then catch students whole group to address these
misconceptions.
 
Lesson Type Details 
Lesson  Lesson 
Components: Teacher and Student Actions 
Type  Purpose 

Workshop -Introduce and Do Now: ​Students engage in ​activating background knowledge​ around key
Explicitly Teach vocabulary related to the objective.
-Practice and Direct Instruction: ​Teacher ​connects student background knowledge​ to the
Review learning object and provides an explicit model.
Work Time: ​Students walk through the problem solving process through
reading, writing, conferring with peers, and referring to models. Teachers
conduct timely conferences with students providing feedback with a
pre-established scale or criteria list.
Catch: ​Every 10 minutes teacher “catches” students to address
misconceptions or briefly examine student work with the class. Teacher
catches grow fewer as students demonstrate independence.
Exit Ticket: ​Students synthesize what they have accomplished or learned,
and what their future learning needs are in a 2-5 minute exit slip.

 
 
   
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Guadalupe Centers High School 

How We Plan - Guided Practice 
 
Lesson Type Description 
The purpose of a guided practice lesson it to introduce a new skill or practice an old one. Guided
practice lesson are often referred to as “I Do, We Do, You Do” lesson. Though this is the most basic
form of this lesson type, guided practice should be thought of as an opportunity provide a short direct
model of the learning objective and aggressively monitor for student success on this objective.
Through the core components of guided practice described below, teachers first provide students an
opportunity to independently practice, then through a brief catch address misconceptions and allow
students to work together to continue practice. Finally, the lesson ends with assessment of the final
independent practice.

Lesson Type Details 

Lesson  Lesson 
Core Components 
Type  Purpose 

Guided -Introduce and Do Now:​ Student engage in ​activating background knowledge​ or key
Practice Explicitly Teach vocabulary related to the objective.
Direct Instruction:​ Teacher ​connects student background knowledge​ to the
content objective and provides an explicit model.
Independent Practice:​ Teacher aggressively monitors students first
independent attempt.
Guided Practice​: Teacher responds to data and call students to evaluate
each other’s work.
Independent Practice:​ Teacher assigns independent task and provides
quick feedback to all students through coding and aggressive monitoring.
Exit Ticket: ​Students turn in independent work for teacher to assess or
complete a 2-5 minute exit slip.

 
 
   
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Guadalupe Centers High School 

How We Plan - Explore (5E’s) 
 
Lesson Type Description 
The purpose of a 5E’s lesson is to provide students with an opportunity to explore a new concept. An
exploratory lesson is based around a background knowledge building experience or problem.
Students use the experience to build skills, collect vocabulary, and build models of conceptual
understanding. During the bulk of the lesson, teachers are only asking probing question and listening
as students make meaning. Only in the explain portion of the lesson do teachers address
misconceptions and gaps in knowledge through direct instruction.
 
Lesson Type Details 
Lesson  Lesson 
Core Components 
Type  Purpose 

Explore -Investigate and Do Now (Engage) - ​Teachers engage students (e.g., with a demonstration,
(5Es) Build Curiosity brainstorm, problem) to raise questions and elicit key academic vocabulary
-Opening units that ​activate​ what students know or think about the topic.
exploring new Explore - ​ Students then explore the topic together, without direct
concepts instruction from the teacher. The teacher asks probing questions of
students and listens as they make meaning. Students continue to track key
academic vocabulary that they discover.
Explain - ​Teachers ask students to explain their thinking based on their
explorations and ​connects student background knowledge​ to the learning
objective. Teacher provides an explicit model of the concept or topic being
addressed to clarify and address gaps in student knowledge through direct
instruction.
Extend- ​Students extend their knowledge of the topic by applying concepts
and skills to new problems and tasks.
Evaluate - ​The teacher assesses students’ knowledge or skills and asks them
to assess their own learning in a 2-5 minute exit slip.

 
 
   
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Guadalupe Centers High School 

How We Plan - Seminar 
 
Lesson Type Description 
The purpose of a seminar is to build habits of discussion while discussing a complex text of problem.
Moreover, through effective discussion students are deepening understanding of a key learning
objective or concept being taught. There are many different protocols (e.g. socratic dialogue,
whiteboarding, etc) that can fit the core components of a seminar lesson; however, in this lesson type
it is essential that students are setup to review key understanding for their discussion in their ‘Do
Now,’ that students track their learning, and finally that students demonstrate their learning during the
discussion through an assessable exit ticket.
 
Lesson Type Details 
Lesson  Lesson 
Core Components 
Type  Purpose 

Seminar Building habits Do Now - ​Students complete pre-work or review related to the text,
of discussion problem set, essential question, or experiment to be discussed. Students
may also generate questions for the seminar themselves or review key
Deepen vocabulary.
Understanding Direct Instruction ​- Teacher reviews students pre-work and prepares them
for the discussion. Teacher sets language objective for the discussion skill
being worked on (e.g. responding to peers) and a content objective related
to desired student understanding.
Discussion - ​Teacher or student poses initial question to be discussed.
Student participate in the discussion and track key understanding and
details in a designated note-catcher. Teacher prompts students for deeper
understanding with follow up questions and coaching around the desired
conversation skill (e.g “project”, “support that”, etc.)
Recitation: ​Students summarize any key understanding from the discussion
in writing. Students share-out understandings. Teacher monitors student
understandings and either pushes forward to another round of discussion
(optional) or repairs any student misconceptions.
Exit Ticket: ​Teacher may collect and assess seminar notes, or students may
complete a 2-5 minute written exit slip about a question related to the key
understanding for the lesson.

 
 
   
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Guadalupe Centers High School 

How We Plan - Close/Guided Reading 
 

Lesson Type Description 

The purpose of a close reading or guided reading lesson may vary based on the lesson objective. A
close reading lesson may focus on the minutiae of a text such as vocabulary, phrasing, textual
evidence, etc; or a guided reading lesson may focus on general understanding such as gist,
sequencing, or author point of view. Regardless, each lesson is built around several core
components: generating background knowledge related to the text; connecting background
knowledge to the text; setting up the structure and purpose for reading (pre-reading); reading
independently or in groups with a specific strategy tied to the lesson objective (during reading); and
summarizing key understanding as related to the lesson objective (after reading). These
components ensure that students learn specific reading strategies for all parts of the reading process
that will help them to succeed on the EOC and ACT.

Lesson Type Details 

Lesson  Lesson 
Core Components 
Type  Purpose 

Close Building Do Now: ​Student read a supplementary text, are exposed to an anchor
Read/ Metacognitive image, etc. in order to​ activate background knowledge​. Alternatively in
Guided Habits reading for analysis, student may review previous understanding of a text to
Reading be analyzed more in depth through a circle map or other recall based graphic
organizer.
Direct Instruction: ​Teacher​ connects students background knowledge​ or
understanding to the text and the specific standard being addressed
(summary, plot, theme, characterization, language, author choices, etc).
Teacher introduces a text dependent focus question(s) that will be answered
at the end of class, and sets a goal of line by line, paragraph by paragraph,
or page by page annotation. Teacher models appropriate annotation
strategy.
Guided Reading or Independent Reading: ​Students read and annotate the
text according to the teacher model. Teacher monitors room checking
student paraphrases for understanding. Teacher may practice Tier 3
intervention with one group.
Catch: ​Every 10-15 minutes the teacher ‘catches’ students to have them
analyze their annotation and track conclusion in a thinking map, graphic
organizer, or reading journal. Teacher and students compare and contrast
student understanding through brief group discussion and ‘stamp’ the best
understanding by tracking in their thinking map, graphic organizer or reading
journal. Students’ return to guided reading for 10 more minutes.
Exit Ticket:
Students may be assessed through either a writing performance assessment
in the metaframe of their thinking map, in a reading journal, or on google
classroom; alternatively, students may be assessed through a 4 question quiz
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on google classroom aligned to EOC/ACT reading standards.

 
Guadalupe Centers High School 
How We Plan - Process Based Writing Workshop 
 
Lesson Type Description 
The purpose of a process based writing workshop is to expose students to the writing process and
the metacognitive habits that good writers have. There are many different types of writing tasks, that
vary across content areas; however, good writers in all contents brainstorm, plan, draft, and revise.
The core components of process based writing workshop are designed to support students in any
part of the writing process by exposing them to models, identifying the gap between the models and
the exemplar, and giving student ample time to produce their own product that meets the exemplar.

Lesson Type Details 

Lesson  Lesson 
Core Components 
Type  Purpose 

Process Building Do Now: ​Students read and evaluate a model of the type of pre-writing,
Based Metacognitive drafting, feedback to be focused on. This can be a simple comparison of
Writing Habits two models, or evaluation of one model in the form of the question:
Workshop “Which is best?”; or, “Why is the is an excellent example of …?”
Direct Instruction: ​Teacher​ connects student background knowledg​e about
the quality of the models to the learning objective of the day. Teacher
shares specific rubric for evaluating a model of the type of pre-writing,
drafting, or feedback the students are to perform. Teacher then
emphasizes any parts the rubric that have not been uncovered in the
starter through students discussion of the model.
Work Time: ​Students are released to attempt creating their own version of
the model. Teacher monitors students’ work; looking at how many
students are far from, close to, and proficient at the desired writing skill.
Teacher annotates and assess student work in brief conferences as data is
being gathered.
Catch: ​Every 10-15 minutes the teacher ‘catches’ students to have them
analyze and compare the pre-writing, drafting, or feedback they are
working on. Catches should focus on specific misconceptions gathered in
feedback rounds. Students look at an example work and evaluate as a class
with the rubric, or students compare two examples from the class and
establish how each student can grow.
Exit Ticket:
Students assess their own writing using the criteria list or scale given by the
teacher, and name their areas of strength and the gaps they still have.
Teacher uses data to address misconception in the next writing workshops
direct instruction.
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