Blog Post 3 - Unit of Instruction

A Unit of Instruction consists of several lesson plans that revolve around particular standards and skills that we want our students to learn. Each lesson plan within the unit includes goals, objectives and teaching strategies to help our students understand and learn the material.


I pride myself on my organizational skills, so I think I will do well with the overall planning of the lesson and gathering of materials. I've been fortunate enough to have been in a position in which I have had to put together lesson plans. However, these were not done the traditional way as I did not receive the proper training. But I did have a basic template to follow and this was very helpful in gathering the proper information needed to complete my lesson plans.


The most challenging part for me will be finding elements to include that will actually make the lesson fun and engaging for all. I feel that this will vary depending on the overall dynamic of the students in the classroom. Sometimes, what may be fun and engaging to one group of students, may not work for another group. Finding that happy medium that will work for most would be my ultimate goal. I don't want my students to memorize the material, I want them to learn it and be able to apply it to real world situations.

Blog 2 - The ABCD's of Writing Objectives

When writing learning objectives for our lessons, a great guide for writing a thorough objective is the ABCD method of writing objectives. This method allows us to remember the key elements to keep in mind for our lessons by focusing on our audience, the behavior we want them to perform, the condition that will be provided, and of course the degree in which we want the objective to be performed. 

For instance. let's say I want my daughter to start setting the table, I have shown her how to do it several times and expect her to be able to set it properly. My objective would read as follows: Given previous examples, Celeste will be able to set the table for dinner with 100% accuracy. 

Audience = Celeste 

Behavior = Set the table for dinner

Condition = Previous examples

Degree = 100% 

Blog Post 1 - Introduction

Hello! My name is Lisset Holt. I live in Camdenton, MO with my husband and two daughters (11 and 4). My husband and I, both work full time and go to school online full time, so our days can become a little hectic. We try to make as much time to spend with our girls; even if it is just sitting at the dinner table to enjoy a good meal and conversation or cuddling on the couch to watch a movie together. They understand we have a lot going on at the moment but it is important to pause, even for just a short while to enjoy them. 

I currently work as a Paraprofessional at Oak Ridge Intermediate. I started last school year as a Title I Para, working with students who needed help with reading comprehension. This year, I was moved into the Computer Lab, although I am still considered a Para, I am basically the computer lab teacher for the entire school. This has been quite an experience and extremely helpful in allowing me to build my classroom management skills (though much still needs to be improved) and learning all about implementing technology in the classroom. I will admit, not having any prior training in a large classroom, was quite intimidating at first; but once I found what worked for me, it has become a bit easier. I am, however, thrilled to be taking this class as I know it will help me develop the skills I am lacking. Unfortunately, I am not going to be in the classroom very much longer as I will be transitioning into another position within the district. I will be working as an Interpreter for families of students who do not speak English. 

I started my journey back in school with the intentions of becoming an English teacher. Once I started working for the school district, I saw the need for more EL teachers, as the non-English speaking population continues to grow. This made me reevaluate my goals and at this time I would love to pursue teaching English as a second language. It still falls under the realm of my original plan, just in a different form. I was really excited to be presented with the opportunity to serve as the Interpreter for our school district as I believe this will help me in transitioning into an EL teacher later down the line.