My school reviews lesson plans in conjunction with the school district mandated curriculum and pacing
guides. The school district provides all departments, and subjects in those departments, with agreed
upon curriculum pacing maps that lay out specifically what standards should be taught in what order,
and on a specific pace. Understandably, there are windows built into these pacing guides where teachers
can implement differentiation or remediation into their schedule, but the pacing guide is expected to be
followed within a reasonable time. The lesson plans that teachers have are based mostly in these pacing
guides and build from the standards, lessons, and resources in the guides.
As stated in the videos this week, reviewing the lesson plans allows administration to “ensure the
curriculum, instruction, and assessment are aligned and appropriate to the students being served”
(American College of Education, 2023). By using the pacing guides provided by the district, the teachers
are ensuring the planning, lessons, formative, and summative assignments are aligned with the
standards and objectives. Although my school does not currently use a lesson plan review template, I do
believe that type of tool would be beneficial to use when reviewing teacher lesson plans. While the
pacing guide and district mandated curriculum are beneficial and important, teachers should be using
aligned materials for differentiation, remediation, and enrichment also. Using a lesson plan review
template would provide administration clear and consistent evaluation of lesson plans for all teachers
and subject areas (American College of Education, 2023).
American College of Education. (2023).
EL5023 Instructional Leadership: Module
2
[Part 4 presentation]. Canvas.
https://ace.instructure.com/courses/1919260/external_tools/118428
