From time to time, students at Westbridge Academy may miss school for an extended period of time. We know that learning cannot take time off, so we are ready with comprehensive lesson plans to support students during absences. These lesson plans address not only core academic areas – math, reading, social studies, and science – they also are designed to address social and emotional learning.
“We provide our lesson plans and classwork to students during absences so that they remain connected and have a sense of belonging to our school.”
– Sofia Ortiz-Almeida, Westbridge Academy teacher, mentor, and staff trainer
We use “Understanding By Design” or UbD lesson plans. This backward design approach helps ensure that curriculum, content, and assessments are aligned with the specific outcomes and transferable skills we seek to impart to our students. There are three important steps to backward design: identifying the desired outcome, determining assessment evidence, and planning learning experiences and instruction. Each lesson plan is highly individualized and tailored to meet the needs of the student. Teachers embed the Social and Emotional Learning goals from the student’s IEP in their lesson plans.
Students start their day with journal writing intended to give them time to reflect their thoughts, emotions, and feelings.
“We provide our lesson plans and classwork to students during absences so that they remain connected and have a sense of belonging to our school,” said Sofia Ortiz-Almeida, a teacher, mentor, and staff trainer who has been with Westbridge for the last 21 years. “The student will continue to have academic growth and feel stimulated by their success. When they return to class, they will be up-to-date with their assignments and not feel overwhelmed when transitioning back to school.”
