Lesson+Planning+Document

Special educators were initially prepared to approach lesson planning as a means to teach discrete skills/tasks. We know that there has since been a shift to developing lessons for and teaching skills that build to an understanding of "concepts."

**Stepwise Process to Accessing Grade Level Content,** **Standards and Curriculum**

1. Identify or link to the appropriate standard(s). Grade level content standards are the starting point for teachers as tey begin to plan instruction with student achievement in mind.

2. Define the outcome(s) of instruction. It is important to articulate what is that all students are expected to know and be able to do at the end of instruction which will move the student towards the stated grade level standard. In that way, students with significant cognitive disabilities are not automaticall excluded due to low expectations of their achievement.

3. Identify the instructional activities. This is how and where teachers make the direct connections to grade level standards for all students. The Instructional activities are the conduits of achievement of the grade level standards; therefore, it is important to actively involve the studetns with significant cognitive disabilities in such a way that facilitates learning of the standard. Identify barriers for access to the materials, interactions, participation and learning with content connected activities.

4. Target specific objectives from the IEP. The focus of learning for all students within any instructional activity should first be content. It is important to maintain this focus for students with significant cognitive disabilities, as well. All students shoudl be instructed toward and expected to learn content to the highest level possible. As IEP teams continue to transition to more and more standards aligned IEPs (i.e. beginning with the standard in mind, then developing goals and objectives to facilitate individual students in achieving whose standards), this step may begin to look differently. For students with significant cognitive disabilities, ther may be opportunities during content area, instructional activities to work on other IEP goals/objectives identified for them individually (e.g. self determination, communication, motor, social/behavioral, etc.) or to work on standards aligned IEP goals/objectives in cross curricular activites (i.e. reading insocial studies, math in science, etc.)

//Inclusive Large Scale Standards and Assessment, IDHI-University of Kentucky 2007//

Try this planning sheet before using the 4 step process document

Stepwise process to Assessing Grade Level Content Standards and Curriculum (University of Kentucky ILLSA)

Depth of Knowledge

Webb's Depth of Knowledge levels: Recall and Reproduction: Level 1 Skills and Concepts: Level 2 Strategic Thinking: Level 3 Extended Thinking: Level 4

Some questions to ask when looking at student performance

* Does the expected level of student performance maintain fidelity with the Depth of Knowledge of the original grade level standard? * Is the student expected to show learning of grade-referenced academic content? * Is it meaningful?

Adapted from: Flowers,C. Wakeman, S. Browder, D., & Karvonen, M. (2007) //Links for Academic Learning: An Alignment protocol for alternate assessments based on// //alternate achievment standards.// Charlotte, NC: National Alternate Assessment Center at University of North Carolina at Charlotte.