Table of contents for Explicit Direct Instruction - EDI
Series on EDI intro: Explicit Direct Instruction, or EDI, is a set of teaching strategies assembled by Data Works, a research company in California. I have been trained and certified as a trainer and have found it a great way to deliver effective lesson plans. It consists of steps which you will find in each post in the series here. I hope you benefit by the series. Please leave a comment, let’s have a dialog.
In the teaching method EDI, “Learning Objective” is the beginning of the lesson. It should be stated clearly and the kids should show evidence of understanding by repeating it back and then answering as random non-volunteers. I usually write this on the board and explain any new or difficult words. Then I say it and have the class repeat it. You are establishing the goal of the lesson. This helps the students mentally prepare for the lesson. Many times teachers do “forward questioning,” or, questioning without teaching. Forward questioning is a big no no. A clearly taught learning objective is the best weapon against it. Here are some teaching methods.
Even though EDI is the focus here, a learning objective is an excellent part of any lesson plan. You state what we will be doing and stay faithful to it through all stages of the lesson. It’s like a target guiding what you do and what you assess in the end. Now, onto the second step of my favorite method of teaching.
I am just trying to write plans that represent explicit instruction. I am confounded on how to actually write these plans. I understand how to write plans for 1 lesson (1 day). My question is, “How do I write lesson plans for say a Reading story that would last 1 week> I want to work smarter, not necessarily harder. Explicit plans for 1 day is not too hard explicit plans over a weeks time is more difficult for me. HeLp!
EDI lessons have specific parts: Learning objective, Activate prior knowledge, Importance … and so on. You can look at the table of contents on this post to read in more detail. What you need to do is write lessons that are focused on 1 standard each. It will be very powerful if you can use the same story throughout the week to draw in varied lessons covering an array of standards. It might help to articulate your end goal as well. I hope that helps.
I understand the components. I guess what I am asking specifically is do I need to do that for every day of the week for 1 story? Realistically, each day builds on the previous day’s lesson from Intro, through practice, to some level of ability. For example, st. being able to identify the components of realistic fiction. So, my question is… Do I need to write a daily plan for each of the 5 days that a story entails? Or, will one lesson plan written for a series of days (5) be ok? (Perhaps this plan would even have specific knowledge activation, etc. listed for each day, within this one plan).
I understand your question. I would say yes, every day a new plan. Every lesson would ideally be moving toward a global goal. I use a state standard to drive each EDI lesson I give. Your plan sounds exciting. i hope that helps.