Spice up your lesson plans with Google Docs.

Next time you open a Google doc go straight to templates- a whole exciting range

of professional looking templates is available for  use. Lesson plans offer three
templates which can be edited to suit .From these templates you can construct
a personalized lesson plan for each individual student in a few short steps. 

• Step 1- Have a great image .

One way to engage students is to offer them a highly engaging visual at the top of the plan.

Really excite students about participating in the lesson by grabbing their attention right at the start.

In this lesson plan the topic is computing and the students are coding aspects of a journey to Saturn

[modelled on the Cassini mission]. My starter image was a graphic from the Cassini mission.

• Step 2 - Make the objectives clear.

I like to offer three different levels of challenge in the objectives(color coded) -that way, every

student feels that they can achieve.

• Step 3- Include an easy starter.

Students enjoy completing something quickly and easily- it builds their confidence to tackle more

challenging aspects of a lesson. In my starter I am getting students thinking immediately about

possible equipment they would have on a probe.

I have also built in a literacy objective.

• Step 4- Embed links

Bring your lesson plan alive by embedding links: video links, image links, info-graphics; audio ,

maps or web links. Harnessing these tools will help your students learn and consolidate understanding.

In my lesson plan I have included a link to a website which explains arrays and to some example code

in Trinket  I have written in an array. I also have an info graphic link to NASA which explores the

Huygens probe and the equipment that was on it. In Google docs you can search the web straight from

the document itself,using the explore button. You can also use Google citations for references >

go to tools >research.

Here are two of my lessons in links :   lesson 1        lesson 2

• Step 5- Use colour imaginatively

Free your creativity and colour code your lesson plans. In my lessons I use traffic light colours to

show levels of challenge, but I also love using colour throughout the plan in titles , subheadings

and to highlight keywords. Looking at white pages is boring go to file>page setup and alter the

background colour- great for students who require colour overlays.

Bring out your inner geek go to tools> script editor - add a wider rangeof hexadecimal colours in code.

• Step 6- collaborate in real time

Collaborate in Google Docs with your students and other teachers by using the share button.

I make a copy for each student in Google classroom, an additional way to personalize learning,

students can annotate their own lesson plans with notes and share with others or me using the

comments tool. It is also possible to publish your doc to the web go to > file>publish to web.

‘So just imagine what technological and humanitarian advances today’s youth
can deliver a generation from now if they’re trained not only to be
consumers of technology, but also the creators, improvers, and extenders of it.’

World Economic Forum

  

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