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The teacher organizes and plans systematic instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, pupils, the community, and curriculum goals.
 * __Standard 7__: Teachers are able to plan different kinds of lessons. **

 ** __Rationale 7__: ** This lesson plan was developed to be used with students who are in Grade 12 and working on transitional goals for their IEP. Students will build a personal learning network, collaborate with a professional from their chosen field, and gather information regarding workplace accommodations for the visually impaired within that field. In the past, I would help my students sign up for American Foundation for the Blind’s CareerConnect, discuss it with them, help them search for a possible mentor, and then the expectation was that the students would utilize this resource independently as they found it to be most helpful. Learning about Skype helped me to develop a lesson in which I am more involved and play more of a guiding role in helping my students to pave their futures. In this manner, I am not simply leaving the students to complete such an activity on their own, but am providing them with a detailed framework of how to best utilize CareerConnect, giving them a safe and supportive environment in which to contact a mentor, and helping the students to build their self-confidence, self-awareness, and build a community of resources to add to their expanding network of transition information.
 * __Evidence 7 __: Skype – “AFB CareerConnect Lesson Plan” **

After completing skill and interest inventories, understanding his/her IEP goals, and increasing awareness of his/her own visual impairment, accommodations, and modifications, the Skype lesson expands this learning by expanding the students’ support network outside the walls of the school district to include a mentor with a visual impairment who is active in the post-secondary environment and can provide valuable insight to the student as he/she plans for life after high school graduation.
 * __Knowledge__: **
 * 7.K.2 The teacher knows how to take contextual considerations (instructional materials; individual student interests, needs, and aptitudes; and community resources) into account when planning instruction that creates an effective bridge between curriculum goals and students’ experiences. **

As a member of an IEP team, it is my job to make sure that my instruction is supporting the goals written in the IEP. Prior to participating in this Skype lesson plan, my students will have completed several other components of transition, including skill and interest inventories, exploration of their particular eye conditions, knowledge of their accommodations, modifications, and the IEP process, location and utilization of products and technology, and self-reflection and awareness. Once a student has an idea of what path he/she will take after high school, any barriers should be identified and questions posed. The Skype lesson puts the students in direct contact with community resources such as a professional with a visual impairment who is already out in the community and experiencing the path the students wish to take.
 * __ Skills or Performance __**** : **
 * 7.S.1 As an individual and a member of a team, the teacher selects and creates learning experiences that are appropriate for curriculum goals, relevant to learners, and based upon principles of effective instruction (e.g. that activate students’ prior knowledge, anticipate preconceptions, encourage exploration and problem-solving, and build new skills on those previously acquired). **

Although the Skype lesson is a short-term lesson plan, it facilitates long-term goals because it helps to establish a connection between a student and a mentor that can continue to evolve long after the Skype connection is over. Once the student has made the plan of what he or she would like to do after high school, it is important that the student have a realistic expectation of what he/she will face in the next environment and be able to plan accommodations, modifications, technology, and support networks to help him/her succeed.
 * __Dispositions__: **
 * 7.D.1 The teacher values both long-term and short-term planning. **