End of the Year Lesson Plan
Creative High School Planning Reduces Classroom Management Concerns
May 14, 2008
High school teachers deal with a myriad of challenges as the school year wanes. Not only are students excited about prom and graduation, but they are also applying for summer jobs, preparing for summer camp or travel, and diverting their attention from their studies. How can you help them stay on track?
Incorporate a Valuable Film Experience
Showing a video has long been the old stand-by lesson plan to occupy high school students at the end of the school year. Even if the movie has sound educational value, it may not successfully maintain student attention. This is especially true if you show a film straight through. So what can you do to ensure students are really learning at the end of the school year?
Select an Appropriate Film
First, you need to select a film that speaks to themes you have discussed in your classroom. The topic needs to be relevant, the message inspiring, and the film interesting and fast-paced. You may choose a documentary, biography, drama, play, or comedy. But whatever you select, the key is to plan a lesson that actively engages students while they watch the movie so that classroom management issues are minimized.
Design an Engaging Lesson Plan
When you choose to show a movie, build a detailed lesson plan around it that directs student attention and promotes a positive learning environment. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Individual Study Guide: Design a study guide that asks questions in chronological order following the movie. Try to go beyond the “who, what, where, and when” type questions by asking students to analyze key scenes, character motivation, or influence of setting. Pause the movie at significant moments, such as just before the climax, and have students write down a detailed prediction of what events will follow. You can facilitate a brief discussion to pique students’ attention before resuming the film.
- Small Group Assignment:Select an issue explored in the film and design several open-ended questions for which students must prepare written responses. Arrange students in cooperative learning groups to collaborate and discuss their answers. Then, instruct each group to share their opinions with the class.
- Class Debate:Inform your students that they will be conducting a debate on an issue introduced in the film. Instruct them to take notes and jot down their feelings while they watch the film in preparation for the class debate and allow them to decide which side they want to support. Consider providing them a graphic organizer to help them arrange their responses to the film.
Getting students to voice their opinions, link their thoughts and impressions back to lessons learned in your class, and listen to the ideas of others are valuable learning outcomes that satisfy educational objectives and promote classroom management. If you structure the lesson in such a way that promotes positive student interaction as well as movement, you are more likely to win students over.
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