The Art and Science of Lesson Design: Practical Approaches to Boosting Cognitive Rigor in the Classroom

The Cognitive Rigor Matrix superposes two of the most common tools used in K-12 education: Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy and Depth of Knowledge. This matrix has been adopted by numerous state departments of education and national organizations to evaluate the rigor of educational materials. The matrix also offers a powerful ability to help teachers plan and carry out standards-based lessons that best support student learning. This book provides a systematic means of leveraging the Rigor Cube to develop rigorous, standards-based lesson plans. The approach employed in this book includes the development of culminating activities for students to demonstrate their learning, identification of standards-based lesson content, selection of potentially effective instructional methods, and student questioning strategies. Special methods for supporting students who are deficient in their background knowledge without undermining the rigor of lessons are also included. Sample lessons are included that illustrate every step of the lesson planning process from start to finish. These sample lesson plans address state content standards related to the Common Core State Standards (both math and English language arts), Next Generation Science Standards, career-technical education standards, and art.