Check out this lesson-plan contest! (You can win a classroom party).

Hi, everyone:

I teach at Marygrove College and also write for their Master in the Art of Teaching program as well.

We're holding a contest and asking teachers to submit their favorite, most creative lesson plan for a chance to win a classroom party on our department.

You can read more about the details below, but really there's no catch.

It's our goal to provide teachers in our MAT program (and readers, too) with great free resources; we thought running a contest would be a new and creative way to expose teachers to new ideas they could use in their own classroom.

Feel free to pass this on!

Marygrove Lesson Plan Contest One of our favorite things about working in education is that we are always surrounded by teachers and students who continue to inspire us with their passion and creativity.

At Marygrove, we know that no teacher is an island. Educators thrive when they have the support of a like-minded community and when they have access to resources that enhance curriculum and engage students.

We started thinking about how we might better serve our community of teachers. We came up with an idea, but we’re going to need your help to pull it off!

Starting Dec. 6, 2012 we are asking you to submit the most creative, most successful lesson plan you’ve got!

Winners will receive a $100 gift card so they can throw a celebration party with their class! Not only that, they’ll also have their lesson plans showcased on our website—which receives over 13,000 views every month—and have an MAT goody bag sent to their school!

Lesson plans will be evaluated based upon their:

Overall creativity
Ability to effectively achieve learning goals
Assessment of student learning

How many winners? We’ll choose at least one winner from each category below for each grade level – elementary, middle and high school:

Reducing bullying
Math across the curriculum
Engaging students in deep thinking
English Language Learners
Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic-Tactile
Motivating the under motivated
Literacy outside of reading class
Science without explosions
Games – teacher-made, fun, and focused
Beyond the classroom or school walls

All lesson plans must:

Be original work, authored by only one teacher
Include teacher’s name, lesson title, grade/subject area, a brief lesson summary and learning objectives
Include list of the materials to be used, as well as copies of teacher-created handouts (if applicable)
Include an approximation of the time it takes to execute the lesson
Be submitted by Dec. 14, 2012

We’re looking forward to your submissions and the opportunity to share your ideas with our vibrant community of educators! It’s our hope that this contest will help us continue to nurture a safe, interactive space where you can showcase your strengths, widen your community and learn from teachers who share your passion and commitment.