Have an idea for a lesson? Make a pitch for it!

What's a pitch? A pitch is a lesson concept ready to expanded upon. It's the responsibility of the pitcher to think of the logistics: where does this lesson fit into the curriculum, what materials does it need, what should the result be, and so on. A complete pitch is all one needs to start writing the teacher's guide.

So if there's a lesson you'd like to see in the curriculum, why not describe it?

<form> action template :lessons:template: :lessons: :

textbox “Lesson label (one word, no symbols)” @ ”=e.g., anemometer, battery”

textbox “Lesson title”

static “The next question is very important: it's your chance to intrigue the reader and give them the summary view of the lesson so necessary to understanding the individual parts. See the CCB pitch for a good example.”

textarea “First, tell us about your lesson. What is it? Why is it important? Describe briefly how you see it being taught.”

fieldset “What does your lesson intend to teach?” static “Now for some more precise questions. If a question doesn’t make sense for your lesson, put “Not applicable.””

textarea “Science/Engineering principles” ”=e.g. basic circuits, how a solar panel works”

textarea “Technical skills” ”=e.g. soldering, CAD design”

textarea “Design skills” ”=e.g. brainstorming, prototyping, “have students design a device to solve a given problem””

textarea “Other skills” ”=e.g. writing skills, teamwork, presentation”

textarea “Describe any concrete deliverables at the end of the lesson:” ”=e.g. students build their own solar cookers, students decide what energy device is best to build in their area”

fieldset “How does the lesson fits into the curriculum?”

textarea “Describe the knowledge and skills you expect students to have coming into the lesson. (If there's already a lesson that covers that ground, note it in brackets.)” ”=e.g. basic circuits (dynamo lesson)”

textarea “Describe any practical skills (not necessarily taught elsewhere in the curriculum) students would need to have:” ”=e.g. “can use power tools”, “can read technical English””

textbox “List any suggested follow-up lessons (if any):” ”=None”

fieldset “Practical Work”

textarea “If there are any front-of-class practical demonstrations done by you or a teaching assistant, describe how they might work and what would be needed for them:” ”=e.g. Teacher has a small DC motor, with a handle attached to the axle that can be turned by hand. The motor can be connected with crocodile clips to both an LED and a battery. Teacher turns the handle to light up the LED, then connects to the battery to show the handle turning.”

textarea “If there are any experiments or demos (not designing or building) the students do themselves or in groups, describe how these might work and what would be needed for them:” ”=e.g. Groups will place drops of vinegar in the indicator, and write down the changes in color.”

textarea “Same goes for student design/building work:” ”=e.g. Students will make their own dynamos out of wire, magnets, and some non-magnetic material, for example by rolling paper into a stiff cylinder slightly larger than the magnets and coiling wire around it.”

fieldset “Logistics/Resources”

textarea “List of required building materials:” ”=Doesn’t have to be too precise: e.g. “a sheet of some stiff substance to build windmill blades””

textarea “List of required demonstration materials:” ”=e.g. small DC motor for dynamo experiment”

textarea “List any other required materials/equipment:” ”=e.g. whiteboards/large bits of paper for group design work”

textarea “Estimate the size of class you would want to teach the lesson to, and roughly how many teachers/teaching assistants would be required per student. Explain your choices:” ”=e.g. Ideal class size 20-30 students. For building work, students split off into teams of 8-10, with one teacher/teaching assistant helping with each team.”

fieldset “Optional questions” static “These are a chance for us (and you!) to think a bit more about why and where the lesson should go in the curriculum - as well as a further opportunity to “sell” your lesson.”

textarea “Why should students want to participate in this lesson?” !

textarea “Why should teachers want to teach it?” !

textarea “If this lesson (and its prerequisites) were the only PEN lessons someone took, what should they be able to do?” !

textarea “If you had to teach this lesson tomorrow morning, what would you spend tonight working on? (assuming that materials were not an issue)” !

textarea “If you hadn’t taught this lesson before, what questions would you have for someone who had taught a very similar lesson?” !

textarea “If the only materials available were broken radios, TVs, and computers, could you do all the electronics in this lesson? (assuming you had solder, soldering irons, etc.) If not, what would be missing?” !

textarea “If the only structural materials available were dish-cloths, cardboard, and plastic bags, could you make the mechanical bits of this lesson? (assume equipment as above) If not, what would be missing?” !

submit “Pitch your lesson”

thanks “Nice pitch! Now click on the 'pitch' page below and follow the steps to add it to the lesson index.” </form>