Some ideas about "Objectives"
& how to use them effectively
So what's an objective anyway?
Ok to be controversial I reckon its just what the kids are learning about? Ideally 2 or 3 things that are linked so that there's logical progression through the lesson or series of lessons.
I favour small snippets or key words because the less detail there is in the objective the less chance there is of them creating a glass ceiling for the kids. If the objective is just one word there are any number of successful outcomes that the kids could achieve.
Task selection is then driven by the objective
I think there are only 3 "types" of activities. They can help the pupils learn something new, challenge their learning or check that they have got it.
With that in mind for each objective there should be a balance between styles / types of task. Lets face it the pupils wouldn't cope if al activities every lesson were challenges but equally they wouldn't learn anything or progress if we just checked their prior knowledge
Some final things to consider
Once you have decided what you want to do think ... (probably the most important) is it assessable? If the kids aren't going to produce work that differentiates them from each other then is there a point?
Finally as a general housekeeping point - also think about organisation - you don't want to throw yourself a hand grenade into a lesson because of things that could have been organised in advance