Daily Lesson Plan Guide #
Introduction #
Block lesson planning and daily lesson planning are two widely recognized tools used by education professionals that HAA has adopted for our Aquatic Safety Education programs. Daily lesson plans are prepared for each instructor before each lesson day and follow the block lesson plan for the corresponding curriculum level. Each lesson plan provides details that are essential to the instructional process and are intended to be used as a during-lesson reference. This guide assumes the reader has prior knowledge of the program curriculum and class structure.
Format #
Template sample #
Included below is a sample from the daily lesson plan template for Lesson 3. The definitions for the acronyms are: B1 - beginner level 1, B2 - beginner level 2, DI - deck instructor, F - fundamental level, I - intermediate level, LG - lifeguard, L# - lesson/day number.
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INSTRUCTOR - L3: Class 1 - LG: Class 2 - Group A (B1): comments
Class 3 - Group C (B2): comments
Class 4 - Attendance/DI: Observe co-instructor’s class Class 5 - Group C (F): comments
Class 6 - Attendance/Group E (I): comments
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Previous lesson comments #
On the first line for each group, after the class/group label, is typically one or two brief sentences commenting on the progress of the previous lesson. Specific notes that pertain to a particular student or the group as a whole are included as needed.
Instructional activities #
Immediately following the previous lesson comment is a bullet list outlining the instructional activities for the lesson. The order of the list provides the recommended instructional sequence for the lesson.
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Note: Safety skills include both physical skill and knowledge objective components that should be taught and assessed together — either sequentially or interleaved. For brevity, only one list item, or instructional activity, is provided for each safety skill even though separate assessments are to be performed and recorded for both of the components. |
Each list item, or instructional activity, contains an italicized word or phrase as an identifier of the type of instructional activity to be performed. The following is a summary of the activity identifiers:
Assess: Perform the assessment for the skill and record the appropriate rubric score or time/distance measurement (e.g., sample Class 2). Typically, this activity is included for an assessment that was planned for a previous lesson. The instructor may demonstrate or briefly review the skill, however, since this assessment is likely an extra activity for the lesson, it should be performed relatively quickly.
Begin teaching: Start teaching the skill (e.g., sample Class 3) during the current lesson day. This phrase is used to indicate, per the block plan, that the skill will continue to be taught during the next lesson. Instructors should plan on teaching some aspects of the skill during the current lesson with the intent of reviewing and teaching more of the skill during the next lesson. Unless an optional "if ready" phrase is present (e.g., sample Class 2), the skill should not be assessed during the current lesson.
Begin/continue teaching: The “begin teaching” and “continue teaching” identifiers are combined (e.g., sample Class 6) into a single phrase when the previous lesson day had an optional “time permitting” phrase (e.g., sample Class 2) for the skill. If it is known whether or not the teaching of the skill began during the prior lesson, the applicable “begin teaching” or “continue teaching” identifiers may be used instead.
Continue teaching: Continue teaching the skill (e.g., sample Class 5) during the current lesson day. This phrase is used when, per the block plan, the skill was intended to be taught in a previous lesson and will continue to be taught during the current lesson and next lesson. Unless an optional "if ready" phrase is present, the skill should not be assessed during the current lesson.
Observe: When designated as the deck instructor for a class, and after attendance and other logistic items are completed, the deck instructor is assigned to observe one or more instructors for cross-training purposes (e.g., sample Class 4).
Review and assess: Review and/or finish teaching the skill, then perform the assessment (e.g., sample Class 3). This phrase is used when the skill should have already been taught in the previous lesson or lessons.
Re-assess: Repeat the assessment for the student or students listed (e.g., sample Class 6). Depending on the circumstances and time available, either a brief review or additional teaching of the skill may be performed prior to the assessment.
Teach and assess: Teach and then assess the skill during the current lesson day (e.g., sample Class 5).