A good lesson is like a cup of tea.

Part 1: Purpose

I have always been a tea drinker. I enjoy savoring a warm cup of tea in the morning as I begin my day. I often reminisce of drinking my grandmother’s sweet tea at what she always called supper time. I can often be caught running out during my planning period to get an iced tea as my afternoon pick me up. So, it shouldn’t surprise you that I use a cup of tea as an analogy for a good lesson.

Let’s begin this analogy with a few pictures in our minds. Imagine a cold winter’s day, snow falling outside, and you are sitting at the window wrapped in a blanket, reading your favorite book with a warm cup of English breakfast tea in your hand. You sip that cup of tea for the warmth and the comfort of the moment. Now, imagine sitting on your porch gossiping with old friends on a hot afternoon in mid-July. Your tea of choice at that moment is a refreshing iced tea. That’s the tea for cooling off and socializing with your friends. Next, picture a restless evening where your mind is racing from the stress of the day. You reach for a cup of soothing chamomile tea to help you relax and drift off to a peaceful slumber. Each variety of tea has a unique purpose.

It is the idea of purpose that is at the heart of every good lesson. Yes, your overall purpose is to deliver content, but what is the underlying purpose of the lesson? Is the lesson an engaging introduction to a unit, practice of a previously learned skill, or maybe an application of a new concept? Is the purpose of the lesson to develop conceptual understanding or hone in on a procedural skill that will later be applied to solve real world problems? Maybe the purpose of the lesson is to get students to think critically to evaluate information and formulate an opinion or to scaffold a difficult concept to make it approachable and achievable for struggling students. So, once you have determined the standards and objectives that you need to teach, you then need to consider what is the underlying purpose of what you want to accomplish in the lesson. A good lesson is never just about disseminating information. It is about what students know, understand, and are able to do when they walk out of the classroom each day. It is also about building confidence and helping students to see that learning is worthwhile and enjoyable.

The combination of content and the purpose of a lesson drives our decision-making and sets the stage for creating a good lesson. In part 2 of this blog, I will talk about adding a little honey to our tea and how that relates to creating an engaging lesson.