Botched Lesson Plan

[gurugod1]

I'm a first year teacher and today was the first time that I felt I really screwed up a lesson. The kids were not comprehending the material and I was making failed attempts at explaining the material correctly.

I found another lesson on which to fall back, thankfully, and the students did not become resentful or completely disinterested - i could've been eaten alive if it was really bad - but I know that the intended lesson didn't hit the target.

How do you react to your first experience with a failed lesson? This is a new side of teaching that you never really plan for, at least I didn't. I knew that I would teach lessons that would fall short of the intended goals, but it's tough to know how to react until it happens.

Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated....

[Chef Dave]

How do you react to your first experience with a failed lesson? This is a new side of teaching that you never really plan for, at least I didn't. I knew that I would teach lessons that would fall short of the intended goals, but it's tough to know how to react until it happens.



Everyone makes mistakes. Good teachers learn from their mistakes and go on. In time, they evolve into better teachers. Your attitude regarding this lesson appears to be very healthy.

Think about the lesson in question. What went wrong? Why? Identify areas to elaborate or clarify.

The first time I had a lesson that flopped, I told my students that I had been "testing" them to see how they reacted.

"Were not," said one of my fifth graders.

"Was too," I insisted. "After all, I'm almost like Mary Poppins ... practically perfect in everyway."

The fifth graders subsequently amused themselves by pointing out every little "mistake" I made throughout the rest of the year.

I would always smile and say,"I'm glad you spotted that because I was testing you."

"Was not," they would say.

"Was too," I'd insist with a wink ...

:)

[busbus]

I'm a first year teacher and today was the first time that I felt I really screwed up a lesson. The kids were not comprehending the material and I was making failed attempts at explaining the material correctly.

I found another lesson on which to fall back, thankfully, and the students did not become resentful or completely disinterested - i could've been eaten alive if it was really bad - but I know that the intended lesson didn't hit the target.

How do you react to your first experience with a failed lesson? This is a new side of teaching that you never really plan for, at least I didn't. I knew that I would teach lessons that would fall short of the intended goals, but it's tough to know how to react until it happens.

Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated....
There are many teachers with much more experience than you who would have continued the lesson whether the students were comprehending or not. I commend you for recognizing the fact that your students were at a loss and that your attempts were lackluster. You did what you were supposed to do - got out a back-up lesson. ;) That was great thinking on your feet.

I've been teaching much longer than you and I have had many boo-boos. My first year as a teacher, I taught Grade One. I was not trained or skilled for this level. My degree was in secondary education. I went in with many assumptions. My lesson plans went far beyond my students' readiness level. It took a whole team of primary teachers to pull me though that first year.

I've made plenty of mistakes during my career. However, I learned from each and every one. Because of these mistakes, I think, I became a better teacher.

[kingrichie]

I'm always ready for it. It's a continuous process of refining your lessons and delivery that makes you better over time.

[MsCoffeeLover]

Since I became a teacher, two words always stick out in my mind: "Modify and Adjust" It seems to be what teachers do every single day. Something is always thrown at them.

If it makes you feel any better, one year I taught math, science, and social studies. When you teach multiple preps, you may even see the same kids more than once. In one of my classes, I totally taught the wrong content area. I literally taught Science when I should have been teaching social studies or vice versa.

Talk about staring into an audience of confused faces. I realized what was up, laughed about it, and started over. That was one less assignment they had to do, and that was also all I could really do.

The fact that you had a back up plan is perfect as many people don't even have that. At least you were able to figure out the situation and do something about it. Some teachers really do continue on with the lesson, and some students don't ask questions where the teacher thinks everyone understands and he or she continues with the lesson.

Even with all the best laid out plans, things can always come up. This won't be the last time where things didn't go as planned, but you can do one of two things: stress about it or laugh about it. The latter option helps keep your blood pressure down.

Then your put that lesson in your "valuable lessons learned" data bank and carry on as usual.

[Ms.Champion]

It is my first year teaching as well and I have had many botched lesson plans so far. I teach 6th grade, but the kids are really on a 3rd or 4th grade level. Half of them were not even supposed to be in the 6th grade b/c they didn't pass the standardized testing in 5th grade, but were promoted anyway. I don't understand how I am supposed to teach 6th grade, to students who haven't even mastered 5th grade material. Anyway--I just do my best to adjust and try to get them to understand something from the lesson. Your not the only one who has done this and you most certainly won't be the last! :-D

[gurugod1]

All have been very helpful...thank you.

[wig]

Please know that this happens to ALL teachers and sometimes it has absolutely nothing to do with you - other times it has everything to do with you. It is no big deal. You reteach the next day. Next year you could teach the exact same lesson exactly the same way and the class will understand everything. It sounds like you recovered very nicely.

[upnorthteacher]

Yes, I have had the flop lessons. The best thing to do is to change gears, like you did. It is important to realize when things aren't going as planned, and be willing to drop what you're doing if it just isn't working. I have definitely learned to "shoot from the hip" when those days happen. It helps the students see that things don't always work out the way we plan, so they are more willing to take risks. And it definitely is good to be able to laugh about it! (It took me a few years to get to that point.)

[Miss T]

I've had lessons that I thought were great...until I realized they included things that the students had NO clue about. I'm a Spanish teacher, and when I was student teaching, my advisor had to monitor 4 of my lessons. One of them was talking about how long you've been doing something (speaking Spanish). I couldn't for the life of me figure out why the students were having such a problem with the simple plug-in formula. I then realized that they were never really taught how to conjugate verbs, which is crucial to the whole concept. I ended up changing my whole lesson on a whim, and we did verb review instead. So, go with your gut, and it's likely the kids will hold it against you. Just keep your cool, don't get frustrated, and have confidence in yourself. I know this is going to happen to me even more now that I'm an actual teacher :-).

Good luck.