Those of us who have been in education for more than five years can shout together, "Wow! Look how the classroom has changed!" The blackboards, or perhaps white boards, are still here along with the desks, and the rooms are about the same size but we have additional new tools. More and more, computers are standard equipment in our classrooms. In some schools, the computers seem to be multiplying along with printers, scanners, digital cameras, projectors — all begging for integral incorporation into classroom learning.

While teaching high school English, I discovered that if my lesson plans included the use of computers, students' interest was piqued immediately. They knew they would be discovering, analyzing, and communicating the information in their own fashion via email, word-processed documents, graphs from data entered into a spreadsheet, or some other unique electronic presentation. At least for that lesson or unit, they would not have to listen to my boring lectures. And, most important, they performed well on their end-of-year criterion-referenced tests, primarily because they had become engaged in their learning.

These successes led me to adopt a lesson plan format that we adhere to at Teacher Universe. The format is relatively simple, but it is composed of elements that address three very important criteria: standards-based learning, technology-rich lessons, and student-centered activities. By addressing these criteria, we can build lessons based on the academic standards adopted by states or school districts (not just following the textbook). We use technology as a tool for learning, rather than as an end in itself because a learning tool is much more meaningful and exciting to students than is an isolated set of computer skills. And we focus on students' engagement in learning activities, rather than on teachers' lecturing or presentation activities.

To meet these criteria, each Teacher Universe lesson plan incorporates the following elements:

• Identification Information — This includes not only name, school, date, and so forth, but also the subject areas addressed. Teacher Universe promotes the integration of material across disciplines, not just isolated lessons in one subject. As a high school English teacher, I often integrated relevant ideas and concepts from social studies, math, and science into my lesson plans.
• Lesson/Unit Title — Give the lesson or unit a name. A catchy title is helpful and inviting to students.
• Outcome — Determine the outcome by asking the following questions: What new learning or understandings will students acquire? What will they accomplish? What broad questions will be answered? This statement should be written in simple terms, avoiding abstract behavioral language.
• Lesson/Unit Duration — Estimate how much time is required to allow for successful completion of the lesson/unit? Consider time constraints and be realistic.
• Academic Standards — Locate your state curriculum (Standard Course of Study) and list specific goals and objectives as they relate to your subject area(s). Include at least one standard. Identify the sources of the standards and list them, along with the corresponding standard numbers for the goals and objectives. Are they aligned with your outcome statement? The academic standards are the foundation of the lesson plan. In this age of accountability and testing, we must be sure that what we teach addresses standards. An engaging, entertaining lesson, however fun, must address the learning that the school or school district mandates or the time devoted to it will not be productive. Reviewing the test data from last year may help you determine specific standards to address.

• Technology Standards — Locate your state curriculum (Standard Course of Study) and list specific goals and objectives as they relate to the technology standards or computer competencies that your state expects students to meet. Include at least one standard. Identify the sources of the standards and list them, along with the corresponding standard numbers for the goals and objectives. Are they aligned with your outcome statement? It is important to include both technology standards and academic standards. To prepare our students for success in these times of rapid, technology-driven change, we must address the very powerful tools of technology. Remember that students are motivated when using computers in their learning activities.
• Teacher-Led Activity (Introductory Lesson) — Ask yourself how you will introduce the lesson/unit and set the stage to engage your students. What immersion activities have you planned for the lesson? Is the relationship between your unit standards and the desired outcomes clear? (In the past, this aspect of the lesson plan was often referred to as the anticipatory set.) The focus here is on what you, the teacher, will do to get your students primed to learn and, specifically, how you will invoke students' prior knowledge so they can see a connection between what they already know and what they are going to learn or do.
• Student-Centered Activities — Consider what learning activities your students will do during this lesson/unit. (TU advises including at least three technology-related activities.) Have you listed the specific computer application skills that your students will practice in the activities? Do the student activities support the unit outcomes and standards? Do the activities allow opportunities for critical thinking, inquiry, and collaboration? Have you considered the various learning styles of your students? The goal here is to create activities for your students to do so they can be active rather than passive learners. If a real-life problem can be incorporated in these activities, students will see and appreciate the relevance. Also, project-based learning is key to retaining knowledge because there is a context for the new learning.
• Needed Resources — List needed resources. Does your list include more than one type of resource? In selecting them, have you considered the various learning styles of your students? The resources and materials you choose may be content resources, such as books, articles, or speakers; they may include software and Web sources, as well as the hardware needed for using or accessing these resources; and they may include other media, such as videos, satellite broadcasts, and movie clips. You need to identify these materials, not only so that other teachers will be able to use the lesson plan, but also to assist your media specialist to obtain the equipment beforehand.
• Student Assessment Strategy — How will you evaluate students' mastery of the lesson or unit objectives? Which items will you assess? What methods of assessment will you use? Will you also assess process goals? To be fair to students, the students need to know from the outset how they will be graded (how their work will be assessed). Particularly for project-based learning, I have found that students like to be involved in designing a rubric that assesses each component of the project. Of course, there are numerous ways to assess students' mastery; it's important to identify the intended assessment specifically, thereby making your expectations clear to your students.

A well-designed lesson plan is key to standards-based, technology-rich, student-centered learning. Orchestrating lesson plans that address these three important aspects requires an understanding of learning and a creative approach to fine-tuning content, resources, and activities. A rich symphony of learning, grounded in students' performance, is more likely to result from a well-written lesson plan than from an unfocused, fragmented approach. Admittedly, the preparation is arduous and sometimes tedious, but, as teachers, we see the rewards when we witness engaged learners completing meaningful, relevant work that leads them to higher academic achievement.

Lloyd Spruill's career includes 21 years of high school English teaching with emphasis on improving student writing and literary analysis skills. She also spent four years as a district-level Director of Testing and Technology, Title I Evaluator. Working with teachers in K-12 across the district to learn how to use application software to enhance classroom teaching and learning activities, she taught teachers to analyze test data to determine students' academic weaknesses and to build lesson plans that address those weaknesses, thereby improving test scores.

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