The 3 Questions at the Heart of Any Lesson

Lessons are presented linearly, but they shouldn’t be planned linearly. As an experienced educational consultant, I frequently tell teachers that when they create a lesson—either from scratch or by pulling from a curriculum resource—they should begin with three questions to ensure that students will be active and engaged in their learning. The questions are as follows:

1. What will the students do?
2. Why will they do it?
3. What evidence will there be of student learning?

Here’s more information on each of the three questions, as well as how to “code” a lesson—and plan out a teacher’s role during the presentation of a lesson—with the three questions in mind.

A Breakdown of the 3 Lesson-Planning Questions

What will the students do? This initial question focuses on students’ actions during a lesson. Teachers should consider how students might physically, cognitively, or emotionally engage with a lesson.

Why will they do it? Determining what students will do only works if you have a firm grasp of why they’ll do it. Teachers need to ensure that there’s alignment with the content, skills, and dispositions of a learning goal.

What evidence will there be of student learning? This final question identifies an embedded formative assessment moment, the observable or tangible evidence, that teachers and students use to monitor learning.

Applying the 3 Lesson-Planning Questions

A quick way to ensure that each question exists within a lesson is through a coding system. The bold portion lays out exactly what a student will do; the italicized portion demonstrates why the student will complete the task; the [bracketed] portion reflects evidence of student learning. This coding system formulates what I refer to as a learning activity.

Example 1

Consider this science learning activity: Students [construct a diagram] to illustrate cellular respiration. Students use the model to [write] an explanation of how matter and energy are transformed during the process.

Developing and using models is an NGSS Science and Engineering Practice. Students use a discipline-specific skill to work with the content. This is particularly important at the middle and high school levels, where skills should be repeatedly applied as the content changes. The resulting learning activity physically and cognitively engages students, just as scientists are authentically engaged in the field.

Example 2

In the following example, the goal (“use evidence to support a claim”) is part of a transdisciplinary practice between math and social studies courses.

Math learning activity: Students use the claim-evidence-reasoning (CER) framework in different contexts. They identify and research a real-world example that demonstrates linear versus exponential growth. Students [complete a CER chart] to make a claim and justify it using mathematical evidence and reasoning.

Social studies learning activity: Students read and annotate research reports and recent voter turnout data using the CER framework. They [complete a CER chart] to make a claim about factors influencing civic participation and support it with evidence from their sources.

The CER framework promotes student independence and prepares them to cognitively engage in tasks with similar thinking demands across all disciplines.

Example 3

Consider the learning goal of becoming an effective communicator, as defined by New York State’s Portrait of a Graduate. When collecting evidence of an attribute, trait, or disposition, students must communicate understanding of the attribute, trait, or disposition. A student’s reflection serves as direct evidence that they can effectively communicate.

English language arts learning activity: Students will read and analyze Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. They will use evidence from this text to discuss how technology controls the physical and psychological aspects of humanity in a [Socratic seminar]. Students will then [write a reflection] evaluating their ability to use evidence, articulate their ideas clearly and confidently, and communicate what they learned about themselves and others as a result. Students will use their evaluation to set a goal for the next time they participate in a Socratic seminar.

Students are physically and cognitively engaged in their learning through the Socratic seminar. And it helps that they’re also emotionally invested in the topic of technology’s far-reaching impact on their lives.

Determining a Teacher’s Role in Lesson Planning

A lesson plan can be built once the above three questions are answerable. The same three questions can also be used by the teacher to decide on their role for a lesson, as well as the structure of the lesson and its appropriate pedagogical approach.

What will the students do? Physical engagement strategies like using vertical learning surfaces, gallery walks, and U-shaped debates determine how students are grouped, the arrangement of the classroom, and whether teachers should serve as facilitators. Thinking routines initially require explicit instruction from the teacher but are easily integrated into future lessons. Providing students with choices and opportunities to set goals means cocreating classroom norms. These strategies often take more than one class period for setup, participation, and reflection; they require lots of foresight and planning about what constitutes a lesson.

Why will they do it? The teacher considers where the current learning goal sits in the progression of learning. A unit launch activity can be used to activate prior knowledge, and to generate excitement and interest. A structured mini-lesson might be best for new content, skills, and dispositions that require greater input, explanation, and modeling from the teacher. If the lesson falls further into the learning cycle, a teacher might begin with a brief overview and quickly proceed to a work session, providing feedback to students as needed.

What evidence will there be of student learning? The formative assessment provides evidence of learning. Varied learning configurations and tasks—whole group, small group, stations, conferencing, and independent practice—provide different structures for teachers to work with students.