{"id":3393,"date":"2011-12-15T09:03:04","date_gmt":"2011-12-15T15:03:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/?p=3393"},"modified":"2011-12-15T09:03:04","modified_gmt":"2011-12-15T15:03:04","slug":"11-tips-on-successful-lesson-planning-and-preparation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/12\/15\/11-tips-on-successful-lesson-planning-and-preparation\/","title":{"rendered":"11 Tips on Successful Lesson Planning and Preparation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Guest post by Joe Paprocki<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

In my many years of catechetical ministry, I have learned that there are many factors that go into successful teaching, not the least of which is planning and preparation.<\/p>\n

Here are 11 tips I\u2019d like to offer to help you with your approach to lesson planning:
\n<\/p>\n

1. Long-Range Planning<\/strong>–The lesson you are planning is only part of a larger plan for the whole year. Make sure you get a picture of the whole calendar year and see how much time you have to carry out what you hope to accomplish. Get a good \u201cfeel\u201d for how this lesson can build off of the previous one and lay the foundation for the next.<\/p>\n

2. Get to Know Your Text and Your Participants<\/strong>–Get to know your textbook\u2019s philosophy, strategies, approaches, strengths, and weaknesses. Get a sense of the whole book and then zero in on a set of chapters or a unit to see how each lesson fits in with the whole. At the same time, get to know the participants in your group and how capable they are of handling the text as it is written. Make adjustments as needed.<\/p>\n

3. Examine the Teacher Notes in the Catechist Manual<\/strong>–A catechist manual is often a catechist\u2019s best friend. Most catechetical texts today have excellent catechist manuals that lay out the lesson much like a blueprint and offer step-by-step instructions. The more you familiarize yourself with the teacher notes, the better you will be able to implement your lesson and still leave room for spontaneity.<\/p>\n

4. Visually Imagine Yourself Teaching the Lesson<\/strong>–Use your imagination to visualize the lesson you are about to teach. Imagine every possible scenario and how you would react. Picture how much time each segment of your lesson is going to take. Keep a notepad nearby to jot down important thoughts or ideas that can now become part of your lesson. Write down a list of materials that you will need for certain situations. Imagine problems that might arise and visualize how you may best handle them. With this visualization complete, you will feel as though you\u2019ve already taught this lesson once and are now building upon it.<\/p>\n

5. Make Adjustments to Fit the Needs of Your Participants<\/strong>–No lesson plan is ironclad and unchangeable. Once you\u2019ve picked up the main focus of the lesson, think of your participants and their unique needs and make any necessary adjustments. You may have participants that are not very talkative, but the lesson calls for discussion. Perhaps you will need to make an adjustment and allow for some nonverbal form of expression. Whatever the case, the better you know your participants, the better you\u2019ll be able to make adjustments so that the lesson will be as effective as possible.<\/p>\n

6. Know Your Learning Outcomes (Objectives)<\/strong>–Know what your participants are supposed to be able to know and\/or do as a result of this lesson. Don\u2019t settle for the old \u201cmy objective is to cover chapter four\u201d routine. Learning outcomes (sometimes referred to as \u201cobjectives\u201d) are statements found in your lesson plan that state concretely and in measurable terms what it is that your participants should be able to know and do when the session is complete. Without these stated learning outcomes, you would never have any hope of knowing whether you\u2019ve accomplished what you had set out to do.<\/p>\n

7. Follow a Catechetical Process<\/strong>–Think of your lesson as a movement: you want to move your learners from where they are to where Jesus wants them to be. St. Ignatius of Loyola described this as entering through their door but leaving through your door. This movement, called the catechetical process, involves four steps:<\/p>\n