Recently I developed a lesson plan using the 5 E's strategy. I found it really helps to create a complete plan. The 5 E's include: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate (enhancinged.wgbh.org). When teaching science, I have found that using inquiry is something that does work and it has the students discover a lot of the concepts on their own. I never used the 5 E's strategy per say, but I feel like I have done my lessons in the same sort of way. When taking the time to use the 5 E's strategy to create your plan it helps you direct the lesson in a certain direction. It almost reminds me of the scientific method. Using this strategy has you engage the students, then they are able to explore further into the lesson. Then to explain and elaborate in the lesson enables the students to really further understand the concept they are learning. In the end, evaluating the students is critical because it is a way to be sure the students understood what you were teaching them. It also can show you if you have to review something further.
References:
http://enhancinged.wgbh.org/research/eeeee.html
