alicekeeler.com/5es
A core value of Teacher Tech is student centered classrooms. One of the ways I design for student centered lessons is to not say “Teacher is” in my lesson plans but rather always write the lesson plan from the perspective of the student. Not to say the teacher isn’t doing something, they certainly are doing a lot, but you want STUDENTS actively engaged and ask, “what is the student DOING”?
The 5 E's Lesson Plan Model: A Model for Student-Centered Learning
At Teacher Tech, we believe in putting students at the heart of the learning process. The 5 E’s lesson plan model is a powerful tool to help you do just that. It’s more than a structure; it’s a philosophy that encourages active engagement,
- Engage
- Explore
- Explain
- Extend
- Evaluate
Consider how you start your lessons. Does it start with you talking? Going over homework? In a student centered classroom we would want to consider how to immediately engage students and have them do the thinking and talking before us.
“If you were to post your lesson plans outside your door and sell tickets, would you be teaching to an empty room?” Dave Burgess from the book “Teach Like a Pirate“
If students were not FORCED to be in class… how would that change how we deliver a lesson?
Engage
The first step in the 5 E’s lesson plan model is ENGAGE. How will you engage students right at the beginning. This might simply be a short 30 second video clip. We want students to run to class to not miss the very start of the lesson.
Spark curiosity! Begin with a hook that grabs students’ attention and makes them wonder. This could be a puzzling question, an intriguing image, a short video, or a real-world problem.
Explore
Let students get hands-on! Design activities where they can investigate the topic themselves, through experiments, simulations, research, or creative projects. Encourage collaboration and discussion.
Critical thinking is about pattern finding! Before we do the thinking for them, what can they explore?
Explain
EXPLAIN COMES THIRD! At Teacher Tech we start out lessons with students. This may result in a 100% direct instruction lesson but students are more likely to see why they need your expertise. The holy grail is the students do the explaining, but obviously that is not always feasible.
Facilitate the learning. Guide students to share their discoveries and observations. Help them connect the dots and construct their own understanding of the key concepts.
Extend
You might think of the Extend portion of the 5 E’s lesson plan as the independent practice. However, through the practice you want to try to go deeper! Mimiking examples of what was explained is lower critical thinking. To help students to truly internalize and understand the material, aim for opportunities to apply what they were taught.
Extend the learning by providing opportunities for students to apply their new knowledge in different contexts. This could be through problem-solving challenges, debates, or even creating their own lessons to teach others.
Evaluate
At Teacher Tech we know there are many ways to assess if a student has learned something. Assessment does not have to be synonomous with an exam. How do you know they learned the material?
Assess understanding in meaningful ways. Go beyond multiple-choice tests. Use projects, presentations, portfolios, or self-reflection to gauge what students have learned and how they have grown.
Why the 5 E’s Work
- Student Ownership: Students aren’t passive recipients of information; they actively construct their knowledge.
- Critical Thinking: The model emphasizes inquiry, problem-solving, and analysis.
- Collaboration: Students learn from and with each other, developing important communication skills.
- Creativity: The open-ended nature of the 5 E’s allows for diverse expressions and solutions.
- Differentiation: You can easily tailor the explore and elaborate phases to meet individual needs.
Technology’s Role in the 5 E’s
Technology can enhance the 5 E’s, but it shouldn’t drive them. Think about how digital tools can empower students to:
- Engage: Access rich multimedia content, collaborate online, or participate in virtual field trips.
- Explore: Analyze data, design models, or create simulations.
- Explain: Publish their findings, create videos, or build interactive presentations.
- Elaborate: Connect with experts, collaborate globally, or publish their work online.
- Evaluate: Use digital portfolios, create self-assessments, or receive feedback from peers.
An Example
A friend of mine was teaching latin roots the day she was to be observed. She was lamenting how boring roots are and her observation was going to be a disaster.
The Lesson Plan
Have Students Look for Patterns
Notice in the lesson plan before giving students the definition, they are given the opportunity to explore the root SECT. Based on these examples… what do you think it means?
Engage
Engaging students is HARD! Nothing works for 100% of the students and can we be honest… we are just not that cool 😂. Try to take what the students are interested in and turn it into an activity.
Simply asking students to identify patterns in root words is not particularly engaging, although moreso than simply note taking. Instead, I grabbed examples from Instagram for them to find the context clues!
Another Example of the 5 E's in Math
I am a believer in the 8 mathematical practices, although I wish they were not called that. They are good for ANY SUBJECT! They are an outline for critical thinking and the students being the focus of the lesson. Be it math or any subject, how will the students make sense and find patterns? You will notice in my 5 E’s lesson plan template it includes the 8 mathematical practices. “Critique the reasoning of others” is an easy one to implement no matter the lesson.
This activity is the first in the unit intended to engage students with adapting a baby shower game of identifying melted candy bars in a diaper.
This is an adapted version of the activity I did with students that removes the actual Google Forms I used.