Planning Lessons - Objectives and Goals

The first thing to do when planning a lesson is to think about the goal and objective of the work that the students are going to engage in. Your goal is directly related to the curriculum expectations.

The draft document (2008) grade 7 Life Strand (Ecosystems unit) states:

"Humans have an impact on the environment. Students will analyse these impacts and their consequences while reflecting upon their personal responsibility."

"Fundamental Concepts
- Systems and Interactions
- Sustainability and Stewardship"

The project we looked at in class was called "The Impact of Human Activities on Natural Systems" the GOAL was to help students understand 'interrelationship' in the context of 'natural systems', the impact of 'human systems' upon natural systems, and the importance of 'sustainability and stewardship'.

The objective is a statement of what a student will know or understand after the work is complete.

The objective for the "The Impact of Human Activities on Natural Systems" project would be:

"At the end of this project the student will describe the interrelationships involved in a natural system (e.g. living and non-living components of an ocean ecosystem) and a human system (e.g. whalers, research scientists, ecotourism operators), and the potential impact that human systems can have upon natural systems (e.g. dessimation of whale populations). They will problem solve to come up with solutions that demonstrate sustainability and stewardship."

Once the goal and objective of the work is clear to you the next step is to think about what you are going to look at to assess the learning that has been achieved.
If you go through the link in the next post you can access an example and a rubric chart for assessment of part of this project.