What are the advantages and disadvantages of an annual plan? Why start with resources in designing units?

To be successful in any endeavor, first and foremost, there must be a plan in place. An annual plan provides structure for instructional goals that are aligned to content areas an effective teacher aims to accomplish during the school year. An annual plan, in essence, is the framework that will guide instruction through out the school year. Through a broad but comprehensive plan for the year, the teacher establishes a basic blue print for subject contents that are to be covered in all disciplines for the entire school year. In addition to being a guideline for content, it also serves as a timeline for teaching different subject matters. Without an annual plan, teacher would be operating in the dark and in constant chaos. It is hard enough to provide engaging and meaningful lessons for students, without a well thought through plan to follow, effective teaching will be severely compromised.

The greatest drawback to an annual plan is the time it will take to put together a well organized and comprehensive plan that will encompass a full and broad curriculum. Even though the time necessary to develop an annual plan may be considerable, in the long run, it will be time well spent.

How can any one start a task or project without knowing what resources are needed or available? It would be akin to start baking a cake without first checking if all the necessary ingredients are available and on hand. When planning a unit, unless resources are readily available and accessible, the efforts that go into the planning process would be wasted. Resources are key components to any lesson. They are the means to provide interest, meaning, and backup for appealing lessons that students will want to be engaged in.

In all six areas of social studies, the attributes of meaningful, well-planned lessons consist of thematic focus that are interdisciplinary, engaging and interesting, have relevance for the students, allow students the opportunities to apply their knowledge, and can be extended beyond the classroom.
Lessons that are interdisciplinary connect social studies with other subjects. They are thematic based and are organized around the whole curriculum which can include components from science, mathematics, language arts, music and art. Boredom does not exist when students engage in lessons that can peak their interest and curiosity. Students are more likely to remember hands-on-learning activities when they are actively and personally involved. Making musical instruments out of straws is much more interesting than listening to teacher lecture about the mechanics of sound and vibration.
A history lesson about World War II becomes more real when they hear actual experiences from veterans. Students may even have relatives who lived during that time period and can share experiences and stories about victory gardens, war bonds, gasoline scarcity, and food rationing. After lessons in economics, students can apply what they learn to the relationship between earnings, spending, and the value of a sound workable budget to take care of necessities such as housing, food, clothing, and transportation. Lessons should provide knowledge that students can apply and extend beyond the classroom and connect them to the global world in which they live. Having understanding of diverse cultures that are representative of the world fosters better understanding and brings the world closer to home.

first blog

This is my first blog ever. I am not sure how I feel about this, but willing to try anything new, so here we go...