Got a solid video essay lesson plan but not sure it’s Common Core State Standards (CCSS) approved? Need a CCSS lesson plan that you don’t have to second guess? (Or simply need one less thing on your plate?)
Creating CCSS lesson plans can be time consuming for educators with time-limited workflows. That’s where we come in! Let’s explore CCSS lesson plans and a video essay format designed to save you time and give you ideas while maintaining the highest quality content.
What is a CCSS lesson plan?
A Common Core State Standards lesson plan is an assignment or activity that honors learning objectives for mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) in K-12 education. Curriculum should be taught with CCSS in mind in order to achieve particular learning objectives.
CCSS lesson plans emphasize instructional content that fuels skill development like critical thinking, communication, creativity, and collaboration. Not meeting CCSS standards can have several impacts for teachers and students, including:
- Decreased standardized test scores
- Poor evaluations
- Possible non-renewals
- Lower performance outcomes
- Learning gaps
- Decreased learner engagement
- Poor knowledge retention
- Passive learning outcomes
The good news? Teaching with standards-aligned assignments is intuitive, as they’re rooted in helping students succeed by creating future-ready and career-ready curricula. Creating CCSS lesson plans comes down to three main stages:
- Identifying objectives
- Planning engaging activities to target objectives
- Measuring and assessing objectives
Of course, there are countless ways to plan CCSS lesson plans according to this structure. Here’s a complete video essay CCSS lesson plan format to inspire active participation in any classroom.
Create CCSS-aligned content with interactive video
Video essay CCSS lesson plan format
Like written essays, video essays hold a similar structure:
- Introduction
- Thesis statement
- Supporting arguments
- Conclusion
Using video as the medium helps learners develop digital storytelling skills by incorporating:
- Background music
- Green screen effects
- Motion titles
- Voiceover
- Screen and webcam recording
- Dynamic transitions
- Stock media footage
Here’s a strong example of a self-introductory video essay, created by Catherine Heath as a submission to Chapman University Dodge College of Film.
Source: YouTube
Make your own CCSS-aligned video essay assignment with WeVideo
Using WeVideo as your video learning platform, educators can find peace in knowing our assignments are standards-aligned. Educators can tailor assignments to match learner preferences or make their own lesson plans using interactive video tools designed to deepen learning.
To begin a video essay project, have learners:
- Select a topic
- Gather media footage (their own, some of ours, or a combination of both)
- Draft a script to record for a voiceover
- Use WeVideo’s Storyboard mode to brainstorm or draft the video essay
- Jump into WeVideo to bring the video essay to life
In WeVideo, learners can upload their footage, screen record, record voiceover, combine clips, add overlays, and edit their video essay as they see fit.
Use standards-aligned video essay assignments
Educators can customize and assign ready-made video essay assignments in clicks based on the targeted learning objectives. Here are a few CCSS-aligned video essay ideas from WeVideo’s Assignment Ideas Library:
- Make an impact: Have students select a cause they care about and raise awareness through research, analysis, and a video essay to present.
- Collaborative research: Turn video essays into group projects where learners transform what they’ve learned into a captivating report.
- Bring your book to life: Zhuzh up the conventional book report with a video essay. Have students create solo or group submissions to report on book themes, plots, findings, and takeaways.
Whether creating your own CCSS lesson plans or tag-teaming with WeVideo, there are countless ways to apply Common Core standards with interactive video learning.
Creating video-based CCSS lesson plans with WeVideo
It’s easy to say that CCSS lesson plans should always be top of mind, but it’s harder to implement without the right learning tools. The good news? Video essays are versatile and can be applied to any subject, grade, or learning style — especially with WeVideo’s video learning platform.
Refer to this structure to build your own standards-aligned video lessons or snag from any of ours to streamline educator workflows with ease. See for yourself!