lesson objectives for essay writing

Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers

P LANNING, PARAGRAPHING AND POLISHING: FINE-TUNING THE PERFECT ESSAY

Essay writing is an essential skill for every student. Whether writing a particular academic essay (such as persuasive, narrative, descriptive, or expository) or a timed exam essay, the key to getting good at writing is to write. Creating opportunities for our students to engage in extended writing activities will go a long way to helping them improve their skills as scribes.

But, putting the hours in alone will not be enough to attain the highest levels in essay writing. Practice must be meaningful. Once students have a broad overview of how to structure the various types of essays, they are ready to narrow in on the minor details that will enable them to fine-tune their work as a lean vehicle of their thoughts and ideas.

In this article, we will drill down to some aspects that will assist students in taking their essay writing skills up a notch. Many ideas and activities can be integrated into broader lesson plans based on essay writing. Often, though, they will work effectively in isolation – just as athletes isolate physical movements to drill that are relevant to their sport. When these movements become second nature, they can be repeated naturally in the context of the game or in our case, the writing of the essay.

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Planning an essay

The Boys Scouts’ motto is famously ‘Be Prepared’. It’s a solid motto that can be applied to most aspects of life; essay writing is no different. Given the purpose of an essay is generally to present a logical and reasoned argument, investing time in organising arguments, ideas, and structure would seem to be time well spent.

Given that essays can take a wide range of forms and that we all have our own individual approaches to writing, it stands to reason that there will be no single best approach to the planning stage of essay writing. That said, there are several helpful hints and techniques we can share with our students to help them wrestle their ideas into a writable form. Let’s take a look at a few of the best of these:

BREAK THE QUESTION DOWN: UNDERSTAND YOUR ESSAY TOPIC.

Whether students are tackling an assignment that you have set for them in class or responding to an essay prompt in an exam situation, they should get into the habit of analyzing the nature of the task. To do this, they should unravel the question’s meaning or prompt. Students can practice this in class by responding to various essay titles, questions, and prompts, thereby gaining valuable experience breaking these down.

Have students work in groups to underline and dissect the keywords and phrases and discuss what exactly is being asked of them in the task. Are they being asked to discuss, describe, persuade, or explain? Understanding the exact nature of the task is crucial before going any further in the planning process, never mind the writing process .

BRAINSTORM AND MIND MAP WHAT YOU KNOW:

Once students have understood what the essay task asks them, they should consider what they know about the topic and, often, how they feel about it. When teaching essay writing, we so often emphasize that it is about expressing our opinions on things, but for our younger students what they think about something isn’t always obvious, even to themselves.

Brainstorming and mind-mapping what they know about a topic offers them an opportunity to uncover not just what they already know about a topic, but also gives them a chance to reveal to themselves what they think about the topic. This will help guide them in structuring their research and, later, the essay they will write . When writing an essay in an exam context, this may be the only ‘research’ the student can undertake before the writing, so practicing this will be even more important.

RESEARCH YOUR ESSAY

The previous step above should reveal to students the general direction their research will take. With the ubiquitousness of the internet, gone are the days of students relying on a single well-thumbed encyclopaedia from the school library as their sole authoritative source in their essay. If anything, the real problem for our students today is narrowing down their sources to a manageable number. Students should use the information from the previous step to help here. At this stage, it is important that they:

●      Ensure the research material is directly relevant to the essay task

●      Record in detail the sources of the information that they will use in their essay

●      Engage with the material personally by asking questions and challenging their own biases

●      Identify the key points that will be made in their essay

●      Group ideas, counterarguments, and opinions together

●      Identify the overarching argument they will make in their own essay.

Once these stages have been completed the student is ready to organise their points into a logical order.

WRITING YOUR ESSAY

There are a number of ways for students to organize their points in preparation for writing. They can use graphic organizers , post-it notes, or any number of available writing apps. The important thing for them to consider here is that their points should follow a logical progression. This progression of their argument will be expressed in the form of body paragraphs that will inform the structure of their finished essay.

The number of paragraphs contained in an essay will depend on a number of factors such as word limits, time limits, the complexity of the question etc. Regardless of the essay’s length, students should ensure their essay follows the Rule of Three in that every essay they write contains an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Generally speaking, essay paragraphs will focus on one main idea that is usually expressed in a topic sentence that is followed by a series of supporting sentences that bolster that main idea. The first and final sentences are of the most significance here with the first sentence of a paragraph making the point to the reader and the final sentence of the paragraph making the overall relevance to the essay’s argument crystal clear. 

Though students will most likely be familiar with the broad generic structure of essays, it is worth investing time to ensure they have a clear conception of how each part of the essay works, that is, of the exact nature of the task it performs. Let’s review:

Common Essay Structure

Introduction: Provides the reader with context for the essay. It states the broad argument that the essay will make and informs the reader of the writer’s general perspective and approach to the question.

Body Paragraphs: These are the ‘meat’ of the essay and lay out the argument stated in the introduction point by point with supporting evidence.

Conclusion: Usually, the conclusion will restate the central argument while summarising the essay’s main supporting reasons before linking everything back to the original question.

ESSAY WRITING PARAGRAPH WRITING TIPS

●      Each paragraph should focus on a single main idea

●      Paragraphs should follow a logical sequence; students should group similar ideas together to avoid incoherence

●      Paragraphs should be denoted consistently; students should choose either to indent or skip a line

●      Transition words and phrases such as alternatively , consequently , in contrast should be used to give flow and provide a bridge between paragraphs.

HOW TO EDIT AN ESSAY

Students shouldn’t expect their essays to emerge from the writing process perfectly formed. Except in exam situations and the like, thorough editing is an essential aspect in the writing process. 

Often, students struggle with this aspect of the process the most. After spending hours of effort on planning, research, and writing the first draft, students can be reluctant to go back over the same terrain they have so recently travelled. It is important at this point to give them some helpful guidelines to help them to know what to look out for. The following tips will provide just such help: 

One Piece at a Time: There is a lot to look out for in the editing process and often students overlook aspects as they try to juggle too many balls during the process. One effective strategy to combat this is for students to perform a number of rounds of editing with each focusing on a different aspect. For example, the first round could focus on content, the second round on looking out for word repetition (use a thesaurus to help here), with the third attending to spelling and grammar.

Sum It Up: When reviewing the paragraphs they have written, a good starting point is for students to read each paragraph and attempt to sum up its main point in a single line. If this is not possible, their readers will most likely have difficulty following their train of thought too and the paragraph needs to be overhauled.

Let It Breathe: When possible, encourage students to allow some time for their essay to ‘breathe’ before returning to it for editing purposes. This may require some skilful time management on the part of the student, for example, a student rush-writing the night before the deadline does not lend itself to effective editing. Fresh eyes are one of the sharpest tools in the writer’s toolbox.

Read It Aloud: This time-tested editing method is a great way for students to identify mistakes and typos in their work. We tend to read things more slowly when reading aloud giving us the time to spot errors. Also, when we read silently our minds can often fill in the gaps or gloss over the mistakes that will become apparent when we read out loud.

Phone a Friend: Peer editing is another great way to identify errors that our brains may miss when reading our own work. Encourage students to partner up for a little ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours’.

Use Tech Tools: We need to ensure our students have the mental tools to edit their own work and for this they will need a good grasp of English grammar and punctuation. However, there are also a wealth of tech tools such as spellcheck and grammar checks that can offer a great once-over option to catch anything students may have missed in earlier editing rounds.

Putting the Jewels on Display: While some struggle to edit, others struggle to let go. There comes a point when it is time for students to release their work to the reader. They must learn to relinquish control after the creation is complete. This will be much easier to achieve if the student feels that they have done everything in their control to ensure their essay is representative of the best of their abilities and if they have followed the advice here, they should be confident they have done so.

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Home » Lesson Plans » Set The Right Goals—Writing A High-Quality Lesson Plan’s Objective

Set The Right Goals—Writing A High-Quality Lesson Plan’s Objective

We’ve all heard students say, “ I’ll never need this in my life .” 

Teacher, forgive them, for they do not know what they are saying. They don’t know how hard you’ve worked on your lesson plan and how much thought you need to put into each lesson plan’s objective.

It’s you who knoweth the true value of preparation. You get that entering the classroom without a clear understanding of what you need to accomplish before the bell rings may cause things to go south—fast. 

But how can you be sure that the goal of your lesson is indeed well-written and precise enough? We’ll show you how to do this and give you both good and bad examples to ensure your lesson objectives never miss the mark.

Source: @musiena via Twenty20

What Should Your Lesson Plan Objectives Look Like?

A lesson plan objective should give you a clear and concise idea of what you want to achieve with a lesson. You’ll write the rest of the lesson plan to help you accomplish your objective.

Think of it as a lighthouse that helps you stay on course while navigating the treacherous waters of keeping the students’ attention alive and kicking. 

In practice, an objective is a sentence that needs to be S.M.A.R.T.:

• Specific 

The difference between a well-written and poorly defined objective is whether or not it hits all these boxes. If you can’t measure an objective, how can you know if you’ve achieved it?

An objective must provide answers to why, how, and when .

How To Write an Objective for a Lesson Plan—Bloom’s Taxonomy

The first step in writing an objective is choosing a measurable and specific verb. Depending on what you’re teaching and the age group you’re working with, you’ll need to choose an active verb that’s adjusted to your students’ abilities. You need to have lower expectations when writing a lesson plan for first and second graders than you would with high school students .

According to Bloom’s taxonomy , there are six levels of learning:

• Remembering
• Understanding

These levels are arranged in a specific hierarchy, meaning that you need to start from the first one and go forward. You can’t use a kindergarten lesson plan and expect the students to provide a critical evaluation of the provided information.

Source: @olgakhorkova via Twenty20

Verbs To Use in a Lesson Plan Objective

Every level of learning has an appropriate set of active verbs that you can use to write a measurable objective. You need to avoid verbs such as know, understand, appreciate, learn, be familiar, analyze , and others that don’t express a result you can quantify and assess.

Check out the table below to see some examples of verbs that you can use for each level of learning:

Note that some verbs can appear in different stages of learning. For instance, you can ask students to compare information in comprehension, analysis, and evaluation stages, but the level of comparison needs to be more advanced as your students progress through Bloom’s pyramid of learning.

The ABCDs of Writing Objectives for Lesson Plans

Apart from choosing an appropriate verb, the rest of your lesson plan objective also needs to be written in line with the S.M.A.R.T. acronym. A well-thought-out objective covers every aspect of the lesson and answers every question regarding your lesson plan .

You can refer to the ABCD checklist to ensure you hit all the necessary points within your objective. The ABCDs of writing a lesson plan objective are as follows:

• Audience —Who is the objective for? You should aim your objective at students and not yourself
• Behavior —What will students achieve? Use a measurable and specific verb to show what students will gain after completing a lesson
• Condition —How will students show their improvement? You should define the exact conditions under which they will need to demonstrate their knowledge, skill, or attitude
• Degree —How well should students be able to perform? This element of the objective defines the minimum criteria that students need to fulfill to reach the goal

For more context, here’s an example of a well-written objective split into its ABCDs:

Source: @cloudyew via Twenty20

Lesson Plan Objective Examples

A lesson plan objective depends on a variety of factors, including grade, subject, and students’ learning abilities. Another important factor is the lesson plan’s scope, i.e., whether you’re using a weekly lesson plan template or you want to plan an individual lesson instead.

If you’re struggling to come up with a specific, measurable, and time-bound objective, go through these examples to see what a well-written objective should look like:

• After reading From Caterpillar to butterfly students can draw a diagram of a butterfly life cycle in a graphic organizer
• Students can name all parts of a compass rose accurately after learning the song about cardinal directions
• After the lesson about the Pythagorean theorem, students are able to solve eight out of ten geometry problems using the theorem
• Students can contrast Poe’s tone with that of another Romantic author in a short essay after reading The Tell-Tale Heart

Bad Examples of Objectives in a Lesson Plan

Great objectives use active verbs that you can quantify easily and say with certainty whether the wanted action has been completed or not. Bad objectives are too vague and don’t tell what students need to do, when they should do it, and how. They usually don’t focus on a single behavior but list out several at the same time.

To make sure you don’t make the same mistakes, check out the examples of what your lesson plan objectives shouldn’t look like:

• Enjoy speaking Chinese
• After the lesson, students will be familiar with the American law
• Students will learn about lakes
• Students will understand the process of photosynthesis
• By the end of the lesson, students should write a summary , recall parts of the story orally, and predict what will happen next in the story
• By the end of the course, students will have a deeper appreciation of literature in the 20th century

Struggling With Your Lesson Plans? Use a Ready-Made One

Nobody becomes a teacher to get bogged down in filling out administrative forms and lesson plan templates . If you write your own lesson plans, you might spend hours staring at an empty sheet of paper, trying to think of every single detail you need for your lesson. 

The good news is that you can find ready-made lesson plans online. The not-so-good news is that there are plenty of poorly written resources out there (especially free ones). So, how do you find a good one?

You can find thousands of lesson plans online for every grade, from preschool to high school, covering various subjects, such as math , physics , and life studies . The catch is that the majority of these websites charge per download and offer a preview that doesn’t give enough information about a lesson plan.

You need to spend hundreds of dollars each year to go through lesson plans that are ultimately unusable. A large portion of these plans don’t meet curriculum standards, don’t have clear, well-defined objectives, and don’t take into account various learning styles.

The only way to avoid spending money on useless lesson plans is to avoid being charged per download. You don’t walk into a classroom with a collection basket and go from one student to another before you start teaching, either.

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55 Learning Objectives Examples

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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Learning objectives are explicit statements that clearly express what learners should be able to comprehend, perform or experience by the end of a course or instructional period (Adams, 2015).

They are fundamental to the process of educational planning and instructional design, acting as vehicles that drive both teaching and learning strategies.

Importantly, they ensure coherence and a clear focus, differentiating themselves from vague educational goals by generating precise, measurable outcomes of academic progress (Sewagegn, 2020).

I have front-loaded the examples in this article for your convenience, but do scroll past all the examples for some useful frameworks for learning how to write effective learning objectives.

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Taxonomies to Assist in Creating Objectives

Various taxonomies are available to educators as guides in formulating potent learning objectives, with three prominent ones provided below.

1. The SMART Framework for Learning Objectives

The SMART framework helps you to construct clear and well-defined learning objectives. It stands for: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (Doran, 1981).

• Specific objectives are ones that are straightforward, detailing the what, why, and how of the learning process. For example, an objective that states “Improve mental multiplication skills” is less specific than “Multiply two-digit numbers mentally within two minutes with 90% accuracy.” When I was learning to write learning objectives at university, I was taught to always explicitly describe the measurable outcome .
• Measurable objectives facilitate tracking progress and evaluating learning outcomes. An objective such as “Write a 500-word essay on the causes of World War II, substantiated with at least three academic sources” is measurable, as both word count and the number of sources can be quantified.
• Achievable objectives reflect realistic expectations based on the learner’s potential and learning environment, fostering motivation and commitment.
• Relevant objectives correspond with overarching educational goals and learner’s needs, such as an objective to “identify and manage common software vulnerabilities” in a cybersecurity course.
• Time-bound objectives specify the duration within which the learning should take place, enhancing management of time and resources in the learning process.

2. Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom’s taxonomy outlines six cognitive levels of understanding – knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation (Adams, 2015). Each are presented below:

Each level is demonstrated below:

Here, we can reflect upon the level of learning and cognition expected of the learner, and utilize the Bloom’s taxonomy verbs to cater the learning objectives to that level.

3. Fink’s Taxonomy

Another helpful resource for creating objectives is Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning , which emphasizes different dimensions of learning, including foundational knowledge, application, integration, human dimension, caring, and learning how to learn (Marzano, 2010):

• Foundational knowledge refers to the basic information learners must understand to progress with the topic at hand—for instance, understanding color theory before painting a canvas.
• Application gives learners real-world instances for applying the knowledge and skills they’ve cultivated, such as using Adobe Photoshop in a design project after a graphic design lecture.
• Integration enables learners to make interdisciplinary connections between the new knowledge and various fields of study or areas of life—for example, a business student applying economic theory to understand market dynamics in biotechnology.
• Human dimension involves personal and social implications of learning, i.e., how the learners see themselves and interact with others in light of the new knowledge.
• Caring challenges learners to develop new feelings, interests, or values aligned with the course outcomes, like fostering a conservation mindset in an environmental science course.
• Learning how to learn encourages learners to become self-directed and resourceful, enabling them to cultivate learning strategies, skills, and habits that make them lifelong learners, such as using reflective journals or peer reviews (Marzano, 2010).

An example of an objective that uses Fink’s framework could be:

“Learners will conduct a small research project about a famous physicist (foundational knowledge), incorporating class teachings (application) and their own interpretations (integration), then present to the class (human dimension), reflecting on how the physicist’s work affects them personally (caring) and how the project grew their understanding of research methods (learning how to learn).”

Why are Learning Objectives Important?

Effective learning objectives serve to streamline the learning process, creating a clear path for both teachers and learners.

The role of objectives in education mirrors the use of a roadmap on a journey; just as marking out stops and landmarks can facilitate navigation, learning objectives can clarify the trajectory of a course or lesson (Hall, Quinn, & Gollnick, 2018).

On a practical level, imagine teaching a course about climate change. Without explicit learning objectives (like understanding how carbon footprints contribute to global warming), learners could easily veer off track, misinterpreting the main focus.

Learning objectives also act as an anchor during assessments, providing a yardstick against which progress and performance can be gauged (Orr et al., 2022). When students are graduating high school, for example, it’s likely they’ll be assessed on some form of standardized testing to measure if the objectives have been met.

By serving as a guide for content selection and instructional design, learning objectives allow teachers to ensure coursework is suitably designed to meet learners’ needs and the broader course’s objectives (Li et al., 2022). In situations where time is crucial, such as military training or emergency medicine, keeping the focus narrow and relevant is crucial.

Tips and Tricks

1. tips on integrating learning objectives into course design.

Learning objectives serve as a foundation in the designing of a course.

They provide a structured framework that guides the incorporation of different course components, including instructional materials, activities, and assessments (Li et al., 2022).

When designing a photography course, for example, learning objectives guide the selection of appropriate theoretical content (like understanding aperture and shutter speed), practical activities (like a field trip for landscape photography), and the assessment methods (like a portfolio submission).

Just like how research objectives shape the methodology a research study will take, so too will learning objectives shape the teaching methods and assessment methods that will flow-on from the path set out in the overarching learning objectives.

2. Tips on Assessing and Revising your Learning Objectives Regularly

Learning objectives are not set in stone; they demand constant review and refinement.

In the light of feedback from learners, instructors or external bodies (like accreditation agencies), learning outcomes, and advancements in pedagogy, learning objectives may need to be revised (Orr et al., 2022).

Think about a programming course where new frameworks or libraries are regularly introduced; in such cases, the learning objectives would need to be updated to reflect these emerging trends. This provides opportunities for continual enhancement of the course design, thus fostering an environment of progressive learning and teaching (Sewagegn, 2020).

Teachers should revise their learning objectives every time they re-introduce the unit of work to a new cohort of students, taking into account the learnings and feedback you acquired last time you taught the unit.

Learning objectives, when effectively formulated and implemented, serve as key drivers of successful instruction.

They underscore the importance of clarity, directness, and depth in the learning process, fostering a learning environment designed for optimal learner engagement, progress tracking, and educational outcome (Hall, Quinn, & Gollnick, 2018).

With their expansive role in the educational journey, educators are encouraged to invest time and resourceful thought in crafting and continually refining their classroom objectives (Doran, 1981). Moreover, the use of established taxonomies and attention to characteristics like SMARTness in this process can greatly facilitate this endeavor.

As the backbone of well-structured courses, learning objectives deserve the thoughtful consideration and continuous improvement efforts of every dedicated educator. It is our hope that this article has provided insights that will help you bring more clarity, coherence, and effectiveness to your educational planning.

Adams, N. E. (2015). Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive learning objectives.  Journal of the Medical Library Association: JMLA ,  103 (3), 152. doi: https://doi.org/10.3163%2F1536-5050.103.3.010

Doran, G. T. (1981). There’sa SMART way to write management’s goals and objectives.  Management review ,  70 (11), 35-36.

Hall, G. E., Quinn, L. F., & Gollnick, D. M. (2018).  Introduction to teaching: Making a difference in student learning . Sage Publications.

Li, Y., Rakovic, M., Poh, B. X., Gaševic, D., & Chen, G. (2022). Automatic Classification of Learning Objectives Based on Bloom’s Taxonomy.  International Educational Data Mining Society .

Marzano, R. J. (2010).  Designing & teaching learning goals & objectives . Solution Tree Press.

Orr, R. B., Csikari, M. M., Freeman, S., & Rodriguez, M. C. (2022). Writing and using learning objectives.  CBE—Life Sciences Education ,  21 (3). Doi: https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.22-04-0073

Sewagegn, A. A. (2020). Learning objective and assessment linkage: its contribution to meaningful student learning.  Universal Journal of Educational Research ,  8 (11), 5044-5052.

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Descriptive writing lesson plan for differentiated learning

by Divya Pandanda | 11 Jan 2016

This detailed lesson plan provides teachers with an introductory lesson to the unit on developing descriptive writing skills. it takes into account the fact that different learners learn differently, thus incorporating Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences. It also includes the resources that one could use the classroom, at the same time allowing teachers the flexibility to tweak it to cater to the needs of their students.

Resource Type: Lesson Plan

Audience: Secondary

Audience Language Proficiency: Intermediate

Duration: 2 x 40 mins

• iTunes audio of sea waves
• Extract from Roald Dahl's, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"
• Pictures of a haunted house, market scene, garden, zoo.
• Projector, A4 sheets and coloured pens
• Descriptive writing toolkit

By the end of the lesson/s the students will be able to:

• Identify 2-3 types of imagery as used to describe some scene/person/object
• Comment on the imagery/word choice in terms of the effect created
• Focus on and analyze the effect of the word choice made by an author in a given passage
• Use language acquired or by referring to the toolkit to create a short piece.

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to realize the importance of appropriate word choice to create a certain effect- one of the key tenets to creating effective descriptive pieces. They will recognize how a simple word change can create a different effect. Through discussions with one another, they will also see that a certain word or image may have different connotations for different people depending on their experience and learning style. The idea is to make them feel empowered about the word choices they make individually.

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/descriptive-writing-experience

http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/directions-writing-descriptive-essay-middle-school-9294.html

http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/922   30 ideas to teach writing

http://www.ehow.com/how_2197270_descriptive-writing-middle-school-students.html

https://prezi.com/a-akkjpgnn9p/descriptive-writing-for-middle-school-students/

Supporting Files: Descriptive Writing Lesson Plan For Differentiated Learning 01.pdf Descriptive Writing Lesson Plan For Differentiated Learning 02.pdf Descriptive Writing Lesson Plan For Differentiated Learning 03.pdf Descriptive Writing Lesson Plan For Differentiated Learning 04.pdf Descriptive Writing Lesson Plan For Differentiated Learning 05.pdf

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Teaching Essay Writing - Where do I start?

The Write Foundation is a tried and proven homeschool writing curriculum that lays a solid writing foundation and develops competent, confident writers, even with students who were clueless on how to write. Students learn organizational groundwork for writing simple paragraphs and then advance to college level essays. With a variety of topics and types of paragraphs this curriculum guides you as you teach how to logically and easily write formal papers that “Wow!” professors.

Every lesson in TWF is arranged with detailed, specific guidelines, and gives you the necessary tools to teach the lessons and assist students while they complete their independent work. The Write Foundation provides detailed lesson plans for you to easily follow.

• Daily Schedules : every lesson divided into instruction groups.
• Teacher Presentation : pages for you to use when presenting the lesson (included in the instruction manual and separately in digital format to be used to fit your situation)
• Student Worksheets : 1 set is provided with each level of instruction.Pages which guide students both during the lesson and their independent work. Student Assignments: extra instruction and reminders to guide students as they complete their independent work. Checklists for students to use to edit their work.

The instruction manuals provide:

• Step-by-step teaching instruction for you to follow.
• Examples of possible correct answers.
• Example brainstorms, outlines and paragraphs.

Additional Resources are also sent to you with the following and more:

• Games: instructions for 1 or more students
• Grading Checklists: to help you grade their work.
• Grading System: if you need help with record keeping.

When a student is working on the correct level, intensive teacher instruction drops significantly as the year progresses.

• Students understand and retain more when they work at a level where learning comes easily for them.
• Some students need more teacher help for a while, but many others become more independent quickly.
• Students gain independence as good writing habits are solidified and they are on their way to becoming independent proficient writers.

Mom’s work load is determined by placing students on the right level. Try the free sample lessons before you purchase the curriculum to help determine which level is right for your students.

Entry Level Creating Sentences: Students use fun educational games and activities, while learning to compose and develop sentences by putting words and phrases together like pieces in a puzzle. Students will not be asking, “But what do I write about?”

Sentence to Paragraph Level 1 : Students learn to write better sentences, which describe and inform, while they learn the core basics of writing simple paragraphs using the writing process.

Paragraph Writing Level 2 : Students continue to develop their sentence and paragraph writing skills using the writing process, while advancing to multi-paragraph formal writing.

Essay Writing Level 3 : Students fine tune and develop mature writing skills, so they can easily write a well organized multi-paragraph college level essay that “Wows!” everyone.

See Suggested Age Levels for Homeschool Writing for more specific guidelines for each level.

Questions or Comments?

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• College Preparation for Homeschooled Students

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Lesson Plan

Opinion essay essentials, view aligned standards, learning objectives.

Students will be able to identify the parts of an essay and generate ideas in their own graphic organizer.

Introduction

• Ask students to work with a partner or with a table group and consider how they would respond if the principal said they were going to take recess away. Change this issue out with a different one if it doesn’t apply.
• They will have strong feelings, but direct them to generate a list of reasons for their position.
• Share responses and decide on three main reasons as a class. Write them on the board.
• Tell students that they just created an outline for an opinion/persuasive essay.
• Discuss possible titles for the essay. Examples might include: "Recess: A Key to Learning," "Recess is Good for Kids," and "Why Recess Shouldn’t Be Disposable."

2 Overall Learning Objectives

By reading and completing activities in this resource you will be able to:.

• Identify and use different language basics – parts of speech, grammatical and sentence structures
• Demonstrate note-taking skills
• Apply paraphrasing, quoting, summarising, and referencing techniques
• Understand the importance of academic integrity
• Understand and apply annotated reading techniques
• Synthesize and integrate source material
• Write and complete an oral presentation
• Understand the process of academic writing for more than one purpose
• Determine the type of academic writing you might be asked to complete
• Review approaches to developing and structuring ideas
• Develop a thesis statement with a single assertion or dual perspectives
• Concept Mapping
• Drafting paragraphs
• Searching for academic sources for quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing
• Integrating sources / evidence, and applying the evidence using reasoning
• Overcoming obstacles to academic writing
• Challenging your preconceived assumptions and biases to write objectively
• Apply strategies for writing cohesive academic essays – including the introduction, body paragraph structure, and a conclusion
• Use key questions for revising and editing

There are activities for you to do throughout this resource. Each activity will have this banner above it:

Academic Writing Skills Copyright © 2021 by Patricia Williamson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How-To Writing: Motivating Students to Write for a Real Purpose

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What do students need to know to succeed in fourth grade (or third or fifth)? What supplies are needed? What rules and steps should be followed? These and many other questions provide the framework for students to write how-to essays for a specific audience—future fourth graders. Although this lesson focuses specifically on fourth grade, it can be easily adapted for third or fifth graders. Students first learn about the how-to writing genre by reading an assortment of instruction manuals. This also demonstrates how how-to writing relates to their everyday lives. The teacher then models each step of the writing process as the students write about how to be successful fourth graders. After students publish their writing, the final drafts are saved for the following year's fourth graders to read at the beginning of the next school year.

Featured Resources

• Power Proofreading : Students can use this interactive site to complete activities to build their proofreading skills.  
• Essay Map : Using this interactive site, students can organize the information they will include in their essay.

From Theory to Practice

• Students need to understand that there are purposes for writing other than for the teacher to read and grade it. Writing how-to essays has been found to be a successful alternative to the traditional research paper or teacher-based essay.  
• How-to writing is a genre that appeals to most students because it is applicable in the world. This genre involves exploring interests and needs to identify a topic, conducting several research methods, and working through the writing process.  
• When students' writing has an authentic audience beyond the classroom teacher, they can see a direct connection between their lives and their literacy development.

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

• Computer with Internet access and LCD projector  
• Assortment of instruction manuals as examples of how-to writing  
• Chart paper  
• Overhead projector and transparencies
• How to Succeed in the Fourth Grade: Graphic Organizer  
• How to Succeed in the Fourth Grade: Writing Rubric  
• Correcting and Proofreading Checklist

Preparation

Student Objectives

Students will

• Recognize that how-to writing is a genre they encounter in their everyday lives  
• Identify the characteristics of the how-to writing genre and incorporate them into a how-to essay about succeeding in the fourth grade  
• Identify the audience for their how-to essay (i.e., future fourth graders) and shape the essay to appeal to this audience  
• Apply the steps of the writing process to complete the how-to essay

Note: This prewriting activity allows students to work together to brainstorm ideas for their writing, but it also allows for each essay to be different, as students may choose different materials, rules, or steps for success in the fourth grade.

Students may choose a topic of interest to write another how-to essay. For example, students may choose to write instructions for how to play a board game or a sport that they enjoy.

Student Assessment / Reflections

Use the How-To Succeed in the Fourth Grade: Writing Rubric to assess students' writing.

• Strategy Guides
• Student Interactives
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This strategy guide explains the writing process and offers practical methods for applying it in your classroom to help students become proficient writers.

The Essay Map is an interactive graphic organizer that enables students to organize and outline their ideas for an informational, definitional, or descriptive essay.

Students examine the different ways that they write and think about the role writing plays in life.

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Writing Effective Learning Objectives

Developing learning objectives is part of the instructional design framework known as Backward Design, a student-centric approach that aligns learning objectives with assessment and instruction.

Clearly defined objectives form the foundation for selecting appropriate content, learning activities and assessment plans. Learning objectives help you to:

• plan the sequence for instruction, allocate time to topics, assemble materials and plan class outlines.
• develop a guide to teaching allowing you to plan different instructional methods for presenting different parts of the content. (e.g. small group discussions of a common misconception).
• facilitate various assessment activities including assessing students, your instruction, and the curriculum.

Think about what a successful student in your course should be able to do on completion. Questions to ask are: What concepts should they be able to apply? What kinds of analysis should they be able to perform? What kind of writing should they be able to do? What types of problems should they be solving? Learning objectives provide a means for clearly describing these things to learners, thus creating an educational experience that will be meaningful.

Following are strategies for creating learning objectives.

I. Use S.M.A.R.T. Attributes

Learning objectives should have the following S.M.A.R.T. attributes.

S pecific – Concise, well-defined statements of what students will be able to do. M easurable – The goals suggest how students will be assessed. Start with action verbs that can be observed through a test, homework, or project (e.g., define, apply, propose). A ttainable – Students have the pre-requisite knowledge and skills and the course is long enough that students can achieve the objectives. R elevant – The skills or knowledge described are appropriate for the course or the program in which the course is embedded. T ime-bound – State when students should be able to demonstrate the skill (end of the course, end of semester, etc.).

II. Use Behavioral Verbs

Another useful tip for learning objectives is to use behavioral verbs that are observable and measurable. Fortunately, Bloom’s taxonomy provides a list of such verbs and these are categorized according to the level of achievement at which students should be performing. (See The Innovative Instructor post: A Guide to Bloom’s Taxonomy ) Using concrete verbs will help keep your objectives clear and concise.

Here is a selected, but not definitive, list of verbs to consider using when constructing learning objectives:

assemble, construct, create, develop, compare, contrast, appraise, defend, judge, support, distinguish, examine, demonstrate, illustrate, interpret, solve, describe, explain, identify, summarize, cite, define, list, name, recall, state, order, perform, measure, verify, relate

While the verbs above clearly distinguish the action that should be performed, there are verbs to avoid when writing a learning objective. The following verbs are too vague or difficult to measure:

appreciate, cover, realize, be aware of, familiarize, study, become acquainted with, gain knowledge of, comprehend, know, learn, understand, learn

III. Leverage Bloom’s Taxonomy

Since Blooms taxonomy establishes a framework for categorizing educational goals, having an understanding of these categories is useful for planning learning activities and writing learning objectives.

Examples of Learning Objectives

At end of the [module, unit, course] students will be able to…

… identify and explain major events from the Civil War. (American History)

… effectively communicate information, ideas and proposals in visual, written, and oral forms. (Marketing Communications)

… analyze kinetic data and obtain rate laws. (Chemical Engineering)

…interpret DNA sequencing data. (Biology)

…discuss and form persuasive arguments about a variety of literary texts produced by Roman authors of the Republican period. (Classics)

…evaluate the appropriateness of the conclusions reached in a research study based on the data presented. (Sociology)

…design their own fiscal and monetary policies. (Economics)

Additional Resources

• Bloom, B., Englehart, M. Furst, E., Hill, W., & Krathwohl, D. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive domain . New York, Toronto: Longmans, Green.
• Writing learning objectives. http://sites.uci.edu/medsim/files/2015/03/Writing-learning-objectives.pdf

*****************************************************************************************

Richard Shingles, Lecturer, Biology Department

Richard Shingles is a faculty member in the Biology department and also works with the Center for Educational Resources at Johns Hopkins University. He is the Director of the TA Training Institute and The Summer Teaching Institute on the Homewood campus of JHU. Dr. Shingles also provides pedagogical and technological support to instructional faculty, post-docs and graduate students.

Images source: © Reid Sczerba, Center for Educational Resources, 2016

19 thoughts on “ Writing Effective Learning Objectives ”

The post is interesting. Can I share it?

Yes you may, just please link back.

I agree! Perfect to help my pre-service teachers! Thank you.

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From the viewpoint of SPECIFIC , isn’t it that singularity of behavior that can be measured rather than two behaviors at the same time as noted in your example “Identify and explain” is more preferable. I think combining two behaviors at the same time defeats the purpose of concise

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I agree with separating the two behaviors into two learning objective statements.

Thanks for the concrete suggestions for writing course objectives.

Quite helpful due to such clear explanations. Thanks.

I am especially drawn by the list of verbs and verbal expressions not to use in preparing learning objectives, some of which I had not considered but these expressions do express a level of noncommittal and ambiguity. This is useful information

I really appreciate this article, it has really helped me a lot. I will take what I learned from this article and apply the knowledge for when I create the online classes for the fall 202 semester and further into the future.

This was an excellent article. I appreciated both lists of verbs. The lists will help me in the future, and they’re a great resource to continually use.

Thank You for the clear and concise information.

Very good article on specific terms that identify what is required from the students.

I first learned of Bloom’s taxonomy when I took Applying the QM Rubric. This is a great guide to help me with articulating learning objectives and creative module and course level objectives.

Helpful to have specific examples in different content areas, thanks!

I appreciated the differences between concrete verbs and vague verbs.

Excellent description of what we should be listing for the students. In the pass, our objectives were vague and not always measurable other than quizzes, tests, written assignments, and exams. This proposal assures that each objective can be measured and provides the students how to determine their understanding and grasp of the materials and requirements.

Thank You: I enjoyed reading this, it was very helpful, I do plan to utilize it. Also, the GoEd, Article, How to successfully learn from Online courses, is broken, it returns as an error

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Learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

understand what writing an assignment involves

identify strengths and weaknesses

understand the functions of essays and reports

demonstrate writing skills.

• Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning
• Instructional Guide

Writing Goals and Objectives

“If you’re not sure where you are going, you’re liable to end up some place else.” ~ Robert Mager, 1997

Instructional goals and objectives are the heart of instruction. When well- written, goals and objectives will help identify course content, structure the lecture, and guide the selection of meaningful and relevant activities and assessments. In addition, by stating clear instructional goals and objectives, you help students understand what they should learn and exactly what they need to do.

Course Goals

A course goal may be defined as a broad statement of intent or desired accomplishment. Goals do not specify exactly each step, component, or method to accomplish the task, but they help pave the way to writing effective learning objectives. Typical course goals include a number of subordinate skills, which are further identified and clarified as learning objectives.

A course goal may be defined as a broad statement of intent or desired accomplishment.

For example, an English 102 goal might be to prepare students for English 103. The goal “prepare students” specifies the big picture or general direction or purpose of the course. Course goals often do not specify student outcomes or how outcomes will be assessed. If you have difficulty defining a course goal, brainstorm reasons your course exists and why students should enroll in it. Your ideas can then generate course-related goals. Course goals often originate in the course description and should be written before developing learning objectives. You should also discuss course goals with your colleagues who teach the same class so that you can align your goals to provide students with a somewhat consistent experience of the course.

Course Goal Examples

Marketing course .

Students will learn about personal and professional development, interpersonal skills, verbal and written presentation skills, sales and buying processes, and customer satisfaction development and maintenance.

Physical Geography course

Students will understand the processes involved in the interactions between, spatial variations of, and interrelationships between hydrology, vegetation, landforms, and soils and humankind.

Theatre/Dance course

Students will investigate period style from pre-Egyptian through the Renaissance as it relates to theatrical production. Exploration of period clothing, manners, décor, and architecture with projects from dramatic literature.

General Goal Examples

• Students will know how to communicate in oral and written formats.
• Students will understand the effect of global warming.
• Students’ perspective on civil rights will improve .
• Students will learn key elements and models used in education.
• Students will grasp basic math skills.
• Students will understand the laws of gravity.

Learning Objectives

We cannot stop at course goals; we need to develop measurable objectives. Once you have written your course goals, you should develop learning objectives. Learning Objectives are different from goals in that objectives are narrow, discrete intentions of student performance, whereas goals articulate a global statement of intent. Objectives are measurable and observable, while goals are not.

Comparison of Goals and Objectives

• Broad, generalized statements about what is to be learned
• General intentions
• Cannot be validated
• Defined before analysis
• Written before objectives

Objectives are

• Narrow, specific statements about what is to be learned and performed
• Precise intentions
• Can be validated or measured
• Written after analysis
• Prepared before instruction is designed

Objectives should be written from the student’s point of view

Well-stated objectives clearly tell the student what they must do by following a specified degree or standard of acceptable performance and under what conditions the performance will take place. In other words, when properly written, objectives will tell your learners exactly what you expect them to do and how you will be able to recognize when they have accomplished the task.  Generally, each section/week/unit will have several objectives (Penn State University, n.p.). Section/week/unit objectives must also align with overall course objectives.

Well-stated objectives clearly tell the student what they must do ... and under what conditions the performance will take place.

Educators from a wide range of disciplines follow a common learning objective model developed by Heinich (as cited by Smaldino, Mims, Lowther, & Russell, 2019). This guide will follow the ABCD model as a starting point when learning how to craft effective learning objectives.

ABCD Model of Learning Objectives

• A udience: Who will be doing the behavior?
• B ehavior: What should the learner be able to do? What is the performance?
• C ondition: Under what conditions do you want the learner to be able to do it?
• D egree: How well must the behavior be done? What is the degree of mastery?

Writing a learning objective for each behavior you wish to measure is good instructional practice. By using the model as illustrated in Table 2, you will be able to fill in the characteristics to the right of each letter. This practice will allow you to break down more complex objectives (ones with more than one behavior) into smaller, more discrete objectives.

Writing a learning objective for each behavior you wish to measure is good instructional practice.

Behavioral Verbs

The key to writing learning objectives is using an action verb to describe the behavior you intend for students to perform. You can use action verbs such as calculate, read, identify, match, explain, translate, and prepare to describe the behavior further. On the other hand, words such as understand, appreciate, internalize, and value are not appropriate when writing learning objectives because they are not measurable or observable. Use these words in your course goals but not when writing learning objectives. See Verbs to Use in Creating Educational Objectives (based on Bloom’s Taxonomy) at the end of this guide.

Overt behavior: If the behavior is covert or not typically visible when observed, such as the word discriminate, include an indicator behavior to clarify to the student what she or he must be able to do to meet your expectations. For example, if you want your learners to be able to discriminate between good and bad apples, add the indicator behavior “sort” to the objective: Be able to discriminate (sort) the good apples from the bad apples.

Some instructors tend to forget to write learning objectives from the students’ perspective. Mager (1997) contends that when you write objectives, you should indicate what the learner is supposed to be able to do and not what you, the instructor, want to accomplish. Also, avoid using fuzzy phrases such as “to understand,” “to appreciate,” “to internalize,” and “to know,” which are not measurable or observable. These types of words can lead to student misinterpretation and misunderstanding of what you want them to do.

…avoid using fuzzy phrases such as “to understand,” “to appreciate,” “to internalize,” and “to know,” which are not measurable or observable.

The Link Between Learning Objectives and Course Activities and Assessment

After you have crafted your course goals and learning objectives, it is time to design course activities and assessments that will tell you if learning has occurred. Matching objectives with activities and assessments will also demonstrate whether you are teaching what you intended. These strategies and activities should motivate students to gain knowledge and skills useful for success in your course, future courses, and real-world applications. The table below illustrates objective behaviors with related student activities and assessments.

Examples of Linked Instructional Goals, Objectives, and Assessments

Instructional goal .

Students will know the conditions of free Blacks during antebellum south.

Learning Objective

In at least 2 paragraphs, students will describe the conditions of free Blacks in pre-Civil War America, including 3 of 5 major points that were discussed in class.

A traditional essay or essay exam.

Instructional Goal

Students will know how to analyze blood counts.

Given a sample of blood and two glass slides, students will demonstrate the prescribed method of obtaining a blood smear for microscopic analysis.

Instructor observation of student demonstration in a lab using a criterion checklist of critical steps for objective scoring.

Students will understand how to interpret classic literature.

Learning Objective 

Students will compare/contrast Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice and Marlowe’s Jaw of Malta in terms of plot, character, and social-political themes.

Assessment 

Instructional goals and learning objectives are the heart of your role as a learning facilitator. When written well, goals and objectives will assist you in identifying course content, help you structure your lecture, and allow you to select activities and assessments that are relevant and meaningful for learning. Make sure that you check with your department to determine whether they require certain learning objectives for a course, for example to align courses with Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) requirements for transferrable general education courses (see the current NIU Undergraduate Catalog section on “Illinois Articulation Initiative Core Curriculum).

Several sources are available that you can use to check the accuracy and efficacy of your learning objectives. The sources below provide checklists and other instruments to help you design effective and meaningful objectives.

Mager, R. F. (1997). Measuring instructional results: How to find out if your learning objectives have been achieved. (3 rd ed.). Atlanta, GA: CEP Press.

Mager, R. F. (1997). Preparing learning objectives: A critical tool in the development of effective instruction. (3 rd ed.). Atlanta, GA: CEP Press.

Penn State University, Schreyer Institute (n.p.). Learning outcomes assessment tutorial. https://sites.psu.edu/loatutorial/

Smaldino, S. E., Lowther, D. L., Mims, C., & Russell, J. D. (2019). Instructional technology and media for learning (12 th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Selected Resources

Gronlund, N. E., & Brookhart, S. M. (2009). Gronlund’s writing instructional objectives (8 th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Suggested citation

Northern Illinois University Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. (2020). Writing goals and objectives. In Instructional guide for university faculty and teaching assistants. Retrieved from https://www.niu.edu/citl/resources/guides/instructional-guide

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Learning Objectives: What Are They and How Do I Write Them?

by Model Teaching | August 29, 2018.

Do you sometimes find yourself using the state standard as your learning objective because you are unsure of how to write one yourself? Or maybe you are just leaving them out all together? Find out what information you should be including in your student learning objectives, as well as how you should be using them in your classroom with this article.

Learning Objectives: What Are They & How Do I Write Them?

Have you ever heard the Lewis Carroll quote, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there”? Have you ever thought about its meaning? Without a direction or knowledge of where you are going, you will always end up in the exact same place – nowhere. This line speaks such truth in education. You can’t know what roads to take, or even know if you have arrived until first you know where you are headed!

Learning objectives are the key component to knowing where you are going. A learning objective is a statement, in specific and measurable terms that describes what the learner will know and be able to do after completing a lesson. When it comes to designing a great unit, or planning out your week of instruction, objective writing should be your first step. Only when you have clear learning objectives can you design activities that make learning engaging and interesting. Without having a solid grasp on what you want your students to know and be able to do, you are left to blindly pick and choose and hope the lesson is successful.

The Three-Part Learning Objective

Every effective learning objective has three main parts: the behavior, the condition, and the criterion. The behavior describes what the learner will be doing. It can be something as simple as matching a word with its definition, or it may be something more challenging such as creating a model. But it must be some form of an observable action verb. You want to avoid words such as “know”, “understand”, or “comprehend”. These actions are unobservable and therefore more difficult to measure mastery. You will also want to have only one verb when writing the behavior portion of your learning objective. Having multiple verbs in an objective can cause confusion when it comes to student mastery. Instead, either write them as two separate objectives, or choose the verb that is at the learning level of your students.

The second component an effective learning objective must contain is the condition. The condition gives specific and clear guidance to the student as to what they can expect when completing the behavior that is stated. For example, it may include specific information the learner will use, such as a specific formula, or it may list the tools or references the student will need in order to complete the behavior such as a dictionary, diagram, or T-chart. Don’t confuse this with the instructional activity or event that is occurring before the learning behavior. For example, “after finishing the book” or “after reading the chapter” is not considered a condition. These phrases do not list the tools or references that will be provided for the actual behavior. Instead they describe what is leading up to the behavior.

The final part of an effective learning objective is the criterion. This is the part of the learning objective that specifically tells the learner what they must do to show mastery of the objective. This can be done in one of three ways: by telling the degree of accuracy the behavior must be performed, by giving a quantity of correct responses that must be given, or by giving a time limit in which the behavior must be completed. Notice the list did not include a grade specific criterion. Grades are not the most effective way to give a student feedback; therefore they should not be used in a learning objective. There may be times when you feel a learning objective needs more than one criterion and that is perfectly acceptable. You may add as many as needed to clarify for students what is expected of them to show mastery.

Tips For Writing Effective Learning Objectives

• Learning objectives should be student-centered.  When writing learning objectives, make sure the focus is always on the student. They should always describe what the student will be doing, not what you will be teaching or what your instruction will look like. A learning objective should never be confused with a learning activity.
• Make sure to use simple language all learners can understand.  Learning objectives should be shared with students prior to the learning. This gives the learner a sense of purpose. Therefore, it is important that they are able to read and understand each word we use.
• Keep the learning objective statement brief.  Limiting your objectives to one sentence will help your learners focus better on what is expected of them, instead of becoming discouraged and overwhelmed by the wordiness.
• Match the learning objective to the level of your students.  When choosing an action verb for your objective, make sure it is at the same learning level as your students. For example, if you were introducing a new topic to your class, you would want to start them at a lower level and choose a verb such as “describe” or “list”. Using a Bloom’s Taxonomy verb chart can help with this.
• Write objectives with outcomes in mind – not content.  Your focus should be entirely on what a student should be able to do, not on the lesson itself. The lesson will develop out of the outcome, not the other way around. Remember, you need to know where you are going before you can choose your path to get there.

After writing your learning objectives, use a  checklist like the one included  to carefully examine each one. In order for an objective to be the most effective, it must meet each and every criteria.

Sharing Learning Objectives With Students

How many of us have written a learning objective on the board only because we are required to do so, and never do anything with it? I bet there are quite a few of us. We are missing out on a huge opportunity to improve student learning in the classroom when we do this. Learning objectives shape what students learn. When a student knows before hand what they are expected to learn, they are able to direct their attention towards those particular areas. There is a sense of purpose for their learning.

The most important step of sharing learning objectives is to ensure students actually understand the objective. One way we can do this is by engaging students in a discussion about the learning objective prior to the lesson. Ask questions such as:

• What are we going to be learning today?
• How does this relate to something we have already learned?
• Why do you think it is important that we learn this?
• When do you think we would use this in the real world?
• How will you know if you have got it?

This gives students the opportunity to stop and process the information found in the objective. Classrooms where students understand the learning objective for the daily lesson see performance rates that are 20% higher than those where the learning objective is either unknown or unclear. (Marzano, 2003)

Now that you know what goes in to writing an effective learning objective and how to share it with your students, I challenge you to start each planning session with writing learning objectives. Let this guide the planning of your lessons. Then consistently start each lesson discussing the objective with your class. You will begin to see a change in student learning in your classroom.

Related Professional Development Courses:

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(8 PD Hours) Learn what typical writing looks like for kindergarten through third-grade students, as well as some common writing tasks they can be expected to accomplish and learn the purpose of both holistic and analytic rubrics for writing assessment.

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Learning Objective Checklist

Use this checklist to help you write your learning objective.

IMPLEMENTATION GOAL

Choose one subject area that you teach and start your next planning session by writing your learning objectives before deciding what lessons or activity you will be using. Use the downloadable checklist to check your objectives for effectiveness. Use these objectives to build your lessons off of for the week. Then each day start your lesson by discussing the objective with your class. Use the questions found in this article to lead the discussion. Do it for two weeks before adding in another subject area.

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