HLP #12 – Systematically Design Instruction Toward Learning Goals
Explanation of Special Education High Leverage Practice
A teacher exhibiting HLP #12 uses specific data to establish clear learning goals for students,
sequence lessons to connect to previous material, and relies upon scaffolding for thoughtful instruction.
Additionally, HLP #12 recommends teachers sequence instruction from less complex to more complex
skills; more frequently needed skills to less frequently needed; while always building upon skills that
increase student learning independence. Essentially, this practice cautions teachers from jumping to a
brand-new concept without first building necessary skills or preparing student mindsets. HLP #12
encourages teachers to plan, plan, plan; to think, think, think; to connect, connect, connect; and to
build, build, build – all for students to reach the learning goals successfully and confidently.
Discussion of the Relevance for PK-12 Teachers
HLP #12 is relevant for PK-12 teachers because it is at the root of effective teaching practices.
Few people are most effective when they “wing it.” HLP #12 outlines good teaching practices for
students with disabilities specifically, but it applies to all students. It is very unfair for an educator to
assume it is the student’s fault he or she cannot achieve a skill if the teacher has not helped the student
build necessary skills required. For instance, an effective educator would not tell a student to write and
submit tomorrow a polished essay for assessment if the educator has not taught the skills, steps, or
expectations for what a “polished essay” looks like. HLP # 12 ensures instruction is logical, fair, and wellplanned for all students to be successful.
Documentation of Proficiency
The video documentation included is part of a lesson for a Grade 10 unit designed around
narrative writing. The learning goal was for students to write a 2-3 page narrative essay that extended
the ending of a short story of their choosing (from the ones we have read this year). Students were to
analyze, then mimic, the original author’s tone and writing style in their narrative essays. The video
reveals the scaffolding that went in to ensuring every student felt prepared to begin writing the actual
essay. I decided to make a scaffolded outline chart for students to specifically analyze their chosen story.
This helped students make sense of their chosen story. This was an important step in the writing
process. Had I skipped this outline chart, I know that many students would have struggled with writer’s
block when they tried to write their rough drafts. Below is the sequence of scaffolded instruction for this
narrative unit:
1. Students had already written an explanatory essay this semester, so they were familiar with
the writing process of brainstorming, outlining, drafting, revising, and polishing.
2. Students also spent time earlier this semester studying plot structure and literary elements
within the different short stories we read and discussed.
3. Day 1: We spent time previewing the narrative writing assignment instructions and rubric.
4. Day 1: Students were given time to page through the different stories to review and select
the story they most wanted to use for their writing – the goal was for every student to have
a story chosen by the next day.
5. Day 2: I modeled and explained how to complete the “End-of-Story Narrative Outline
Template” (See video attachment – an excerpt from the longer lesson).
6. Days 2-3: Students studied the chosen short story and completed their own “End-of-Story
Narrative Outline”
7. Day 4: Students began writing a rough draft from their outline (I had already taught how to
draft from an outline with our previous essay)
8. Day 5: I gave direct instruction of how to write dialogue; students took guided notes.
9. Day 6: Students took an open note dialogue quiz to review; students added dialogue to their
working rough drafts after I modeled how to weave dialogue into narrative writing.
10. Day 7: We analyzed a narrative essay example as a group. I modeled MLA formatting and
how to write with imagery.
11. Day 8: Students printed and self-revised their essays: employing the RADAR strategy they
learned (which was also broken down and scaffolded) with the first essay.
12. Day 9: Students peer edited, collaborating on fixing grammar, punctation, dialogue, spelling,
and capitalization mistakes before submitting their final narrative essay draft.