In this article, veteran educator Otis Kriegel provides eight questions that teachers can ask themselves as they create or tweak lesson plans. With practical, straightforward advice, Kriegel suggests that teachers be mindful of who their audience is, how much students already know, and what materials they'll need. He also urges teachers to…

Pre-assessment has a bad reputation, write Hockett and Doubet--but that's largely because it's often misused solely to compare pre- and post-results. Used this way, pre-assessment serves as little more than a thief of instruction and a discouraging exercise for students. The authors describe how teachers can design thoughtful…