V.+Sticky+Lesson+2

=STICKY LESSON=

Sticky Lesson Design Suggestion #2
[At the end of this mini-lesson you will know the terms "Finding the Core", "The Big Idea", and "Essential Questions" and have one more shorthand tool to use in designing lessons.}

The language of planning meaningful lessons is important. There is a reason it's called "design", or "plan" or "scheme". It is important to understand that lessons which are properly laid out will follow a pathway - formula - or whatever you may wish to call the order in which critical attributes are addressed, essential questions are raised, and core ideas are understood and assessed.

Regardless of how chaotic or loopy the actual inner processes of learning are - we do know that the efficiency of learning increases when the methods of delivery are systemized. While there are recogized systems and criteria and protocols within the research and literature, there are a very simple few that override all others and are consistent in all research. McNulty identifies six trends in education that are consistent throughout the research (see We Know What Works). For this lesson, we're focusing on point #1: **__Clarity and communication of learning outcomes__ - is the essential content and expectations of learning being clearly identified and communicated?

Essential Content...clearly IDENTIFIED and COMMUNICATED.**

There it is!

EVERY lesson should begin with the BIG IDEA clearly identified, but for a STICKY LESSON, the idea is to create a goal/objective so clearly idetified that nothing is allowed to divert focus away from it.



It's a beautiful night in the mountains. A cozy cabin sits back in the woods, light snow still lies where the sun didn't reach earlier. A string of smoke rises playfully from the stone chimney, eventually drifting up the valley on a light breeze. After the dinner dishes have been cleared from the table, someone suggests a game of dominoes. Specifically a version called "42". The only problem is, two of the four people in the cabin don't know how to play. But they want to learn. The dominoes are brought out and seats are taken around the table. As the Host begins to shake the dominoes, he announces above the ceramic clicking and clacking noise, "OK, let's learn how to play 42."

And in that simple statement an OBJECTIVE have been identified, the CORE of the lesson established, and an EXPECTATION has been established. Is there any question in anyone's mind what the four friends gathered around the table are going to do?

Are they going to talk about how dominoes are made? The history of dominoes? Other games played with dominoes? Nope. Why? Because their Host is a good teacher and has one simple goal: he's teaching the others how to play 42.

The game follows a specific sequence. This helps because the rules tend to follow the order of play. Thus, the ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS tend to follow the BIG IDEA of the night. If the BIG IDEA, or CORE PURPOSE is "TO LEARN 42", Are they going to talk about how many dominoes each player takes? Yes. Why? Because that is an ESSENTIAL QUESTION to the understanding of the game. As the lesson progresses, so does the level of questioning and knowledge. The lesson progresses from the WHAT and HOW level, into the higher realms of WHY. Like any game, the higher one can progess into the upper levels of STRATEGY, the better player they become. This makes a point to keep in mind: The stated BIG IDEA was to learn to play the game, not to master the game. By keeping the objective simple it STICKS. Ask the participants at ANY POINT in the process, "What's the purpose of this?" and they will answer, "Learn to play 42."

The moon plays hide and seek with the clouds as the cabin clock strikes 2am. The glasses and popcorn bowl are long empty. Sides and jaws are sore from the talking and laughing, as the final round has been played and scored. As they put the dominoes back in the box one of the guests says, "Wow, I can't believe you bid 2 marks on that nello hand."

To which another laughs and responds, "And you didn't even know what 42 was four hours ago!"

"Well I do now!"



Suppose you were going to write out a detailed strategy for the above example. Write it out as an outline first. Start with the Big Idea. For this execise, limit it to identifying 5 Essential Questions.

REFERENCE POINTS: **__Understanding by Design__** and **__Working on the Work__** (see The Bookshelf).