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Session 2. Writing Learning Objectives That Work
Objective. Write one sharp, observable objective for a lesson chunk, name its Bloom level, and rewrite a vague objective using the 'could I see it?' test.
Every lesson plan has a sentence that says what students will be able to do. If that sentence is vague, the rest of the plan drifts: you teach a topic, give an exercise and hope. A sharp objective works like a small map. It tells you what to show, what to ask and what to check in the last five minutes. This session gives you a quick way to test and repair objectives, so writing them takes two minutes, not twenty.
Key ideas
Observable verbs
- Choose a verb that shows what the child does: list, label, solve, explain, compare, write, sort.
- Avoid verbs that happen inside the head: know, understand, appreciate, be familiar with.
- Add what, how much, or with what help: 'three equations', 'using the table'.
Bloom's levels in plain words
- Revised taxonomy, from simple to complex: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyse, Evaluate, Create.
- Higher is not always better: a lesson on the alphabet needs Remember, and that is right.
- Match the level to the standard and to what your class can do today.
One objective per lesson chunk
- In 45 minutes you can usually teach one to three objectives well, each for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- If a sentence has 'and' joining two different skills, split it into two objectives.
- Write what students will do, not what you will do or which page you will cover.
The 'could I see it?' test
- Picture the last minute of the lesson. What exactly would a child be doing or showing?
- If you cannot picture it, the objective is vague. Change the verb or add the evidence.
- If you can picture it, you already know how to check it: that is your exit ticket or question.
Bloom's levels at a glance
| Level | Useful verbs | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Remember | list, name, label | List the four seasons |
| Understand | explain, sort, restate | Explain rain in one sentence |
| Apply | solve, use, change | Solve x + 7 = 15 |
| Analyse | compare, separate, find causes | Compare two climates in a table |
| Evaluate | judge, defend, choose with reasons | Choose the better title and say why |
| Create | write, design, compose | Write a paragraph about your mahalla |
Vague objective vs. sharp objective
Vague
Cannot be seen
- Students will understand fractions
- Students will know the water cycle
- Read page 45 and do exercise 3
Sharp
Can be seen and checked
- Shade 3/4 of a rectangle and write the fraction
- Label three stages on a diagram and explain each
- Find three facts and restate each in own words
Verb, evidence and amount: the three parts of a sharp objective
A good objective usually has three parts. The verb says what the child does. The evidence says what you will see or hear, such as a labelled drawing, a spoken sentence or a solved equation. The amount or help says how much and with what support: 'three equations', 'without the textbook', 'using the table'. Compare 'know the parts of a plant' with 'label four parts on a drawing without looking at the textbook'. The second can be marked in a minute.
You do not need all three every time, but if an objective feels fuzzy, one of them is usually missing. Adding the amount also protects you from setting a target that is too big for 15 minutes of class time.
Objective, topic and activity are three different things
Teachers often write a topic ('Water cycle') or an activity ('Read page 45') in the place of the objective. A topic tells you what the lesson is about. An activity tells you what students will do during the lesson. An objective tells you what they will be able to do afterwards. Only the third one tells you whether the lesson worked.
A quick test: can you finish the sentence 'By the end of the lesson, students will be able to ...' with it? 'Read page 45' fits only if reading is the skill itself. Otherwise ask what reading is for: finding three facts, restating a paragraph, answering a question. That is your objective.
Examples from the classroom
Grade 4 maths: from 'understand' to 'shade'
Scene. Dilnoza in Samarkand has 'Students will understand fractions' in her plan. She asks herself what she would see in the last minute. She decides: each child shades 3/4 of a rectangle on a mini-whiteboard and writes the fraction for a picture she draws. Now she knows her closing check, and she sees at once that two children shade 3 of 8 boxes.
Insight. Asking 'what would I see?' turns a hidden verb into evidence and gives you the check at the same time.
Grade 7 geography: one objective, not five
Scene. Aziz in Tashkent wrote one objective about the Aral Sea: understand, analyse, evaluate and create a plan. He had only 45 minutes. He splits it. Today: list two causes from the text and explain one in his own words. Next lesson: compare two ideas for helping the region. Students finish the first task, and he marks it in three minutes.
Insight. One objective per lesson chunk keeps the target small enough to teach and to check.
Grade 9 Russian-medium class: activity or objective?
Scene. Malika in Fergana writes 'Students will complete exercise 5 on the passive voice'. A colleague asks what students will be able to do afterwards. Malika rewrites: change five active sentences to passive and underline the verb. She now chooses sentences from exercise 5 that match, and skips two that test something else.
Insight. An activity says what students do; an objective says what they can do afterwards, and it helps you choose activities.
Common pitfalls
- Replacing 'understand' with another hidden verb such as 'learn' or 'be aware of'.
- Writing what the teacher will do, for example 'explain the rule', instead of what students will do.
- Packing three skills into one sentence joined by 'and', so none gets enough time.
- Always aiming for the highest Bloom level, even when the class first needs to remember key words.
Sharp or Vague? Sharpen the Objective
- In groups of four, take the 12 objective cards from the Activity Kit and two mats: SHARP and VAGUE.
- Apply the 'could I see it?' test to each card and place it on a mat. Write the reason on the back in one sentence.
- Choose two cards from the VAGUE mat. Rewrite each as a sharp objective and name its Bloom level.
- Write one objective from your own next lesson. Swap with a colleague, who asks: could I see it? Revise once.
Your facilitator will guide you through this activity in the session.
Questions to discuss
- Which verbs did you replace most often, and what did you replace them with?
- Was there a card that was sharp but at a level too low or too high for your class?
- How does a sharp objective change what you would put on an exit ticket?
Reflect
- Which objective in your last lesson would fail the 'could I see it?' test?
- Does your textbook state objectives, and are they sharp?
- Which Bloom level do your students rarely get to practise?
Try it tomorrow
- Take tomorrow's objective, apply the 'could I see it?' test and rewrite it with a verb, evidence and amount.
- Write the objective on the board in student words and read it aloud at the start of the lesson.
- At the end, ask three children to show the evidence from your objective and note how many could.
Further reading and links
An objective is sharp when you can picture a child doing it in the last minute of the lesson.