| abstract
| - Training Room - - Antarctica Ice Shelf This stark, spacious chamber is well-reinforced and shielded to stand up to the strain of many practice bouts. A training drone stands in one corner of the room, ready for a workout. The walls are sheathed in protective alloys that house sensors and cameras to project to the shielded monitors, allowing the combatants to observe their fight and progress. Off to the side are a few seats for spectators to observe the combatants and let out a cheer or two. Trypticon's Training Facility has been taken over by the Great and Powerful Onslaught. The Combaticon Commander is standing in the middle of the training room, with an incredibly impatient look to his facial structure. Hands are held behind his back and he simply just stares at the entrance, awaiting the arrival of his lackey. There are many things to discuss. But there is also training to do. He keeps his optics level until he sees Blast Off. Whenever the hell sees Blast Off. HE BETTER SEE BLAST OFF. Blast Off walks in, pausing for a moment as he sees Onslaught standing there looking impatient. This does not bode well. But having little other choice, he enters to the training room and nods to his leader, trying to hide the slight nervousness that has just suddenly struck him with his usual aloof demeanor instead. "....You wanted to see me?" He refrains from complaining about how LONG a distance he had to fly to get here. The look on Onslaught's face suggests that's not a wise idea right now. "Obviously, I didn't. No one ever wants to /see/ you, Blast Off." Onslaught doesn't move from his position. He keeps his hands behind his back and even lifts his chin a bit more to look like an even more power hungry military commander that should be running the entire Decepticons instead of... whomever is actually doing it. He doesn't even dare to try and keep up any more. "Hit me." Blast Off suppresses a huff at the first comment, then blinks and looks up- way up, it seems like- towards the taller Combaticon leader's optics. "Hit you?" He then looks around- well, this IS the training room, and the perfect place for some military training. And they ARE COMBATicons, after all! He raises an optic ridge, then brings his ionic blaster out of subspace. "...Very well." Onslaught's first comments have him feeling a bit irritated, so there is little hesitation as he fires. He was told to, after all. Onslaught moves... too slow to actually be capable of dodging the blast and gets his hull charred a bit for his troubles. He spins though, drawing his own weapon with ease. "Pitiful. You can barely hit a still target, Blast Off. No wonder you haven't destroyed Blurr, yet." Onslaught's words are meant to throw Blast Off (off) his game as he feints a shot from his Sonic Gun and instead, goes for a shoulder rush of physical proportions. Ah, but Onslaught is targeting the wrong thing. If there's anything the already arrogant sniper feels confident about, it is his shooting skills. "Have you been paying attention, Onslaught? This is ME you're talking about. The sharpshooting sniper of YOUR own team? The one who just won a GOLD medal in sharpshooting, no less? The one-" Suddenly Onslaught makes a feint, appearing to shoot, but then rushing at the shuttleformer- and Blast Off, still too busy rattling off his own achievments, gets fooled. He doesn't realize the change in tactics until it's too late, and his Boss makes just the kind of up-close-and-personal attack he can't handle well. "GAH!" He's knocked back quite a distance as his already light torso armor is crumpled and cracks appear in several portions of his heat shields. He steps back, catching his balance and shaking his head. "Surprisingly quick of you. But let me alleviate your fears about my markmechship..." and he fires again, while trying to keep well away from the larger Combaticon. Wincing as the shot rings true, Onslaught actually skids to a halt in his movements. He doesn't take his optics off his opponent, though, as he feels there is much to teach this foolish and prideful Combaticon. "Your words are your biggest enemy. Which is saying something because your pride in those words is almost as bad." Onslaught pushes back up to a somewhat steady stance, moving with hopefully the same quickness as before, as he rushes towards Blast Off. "What will happen to your sharpshooting skills if you have nothing to shoot?" And here comes a massive fisted uppercut (with a splash of elbow) towards Blast Off's skull region. "Hmmmm?" Blast Off hits his target (of course) but looks to Onslaught with skepticism. "Why is pride a bad thing? Yes, yes, I know... "pride comes before a fall", and all that rot, but... sometimes someone simply just IS THAT GOOD. And if they are, why shouldn't they be proud? Sometimes pride is all that keeps me going!" Then Blast Off blinks, because that might have been just a bit too honest, but he doesn't have much time to consider as Onslaught rushes him. How is this guy so fast, anyway? Of course, Blast Off's own preoccupiedness with his amazing, awesome shooting skills couldn't possibly be a distraction, no.... When the uppercut hits, it sends the shuttleformer flying across the room. He doesn't have the time or ability to even say "gah" this time. He lands with a thud across the training room, optics swimming with static for a moment or two. Wiping some energon now leaking from his faceplate, he gets back up and faces his leader, answering the last question as he fires back- from a great distance this time. "What do you mean? A lack of targets? I will find new targets, then... We were mercenaries once, after all. There's always someone willing to target someone else. Or do you mean distance- or lack thereof? Well, I will simply work harder to keep my distance. It's what I do best, after all!" He means, of course, his attacks... but inadvertently, that description fits his personality as well. That blaster is what is starting to get on Onslaught's nerves. Here he is attempting to show Blast Off that shooting things is not always going to be a possibility. Which is why he has kept things in a fairly melee fashion on his end, for the record. Sadly, though, Blast Off is pushing Onslaught's hand and this is just not going to be left to stand. "Very well. Learn the hard way." Onslaught says, still trying to keep himself standing up straight and steady from the blasts that he's taken the full brunt of. He is doing well at not showing how much pain he's in, but he's certainly in it. Which is why his aggressive nature has pinned itself down to something a bit more tolerable. "Let's see how badly you fare at a distance!" It is then that his Sonic Stun Gun is held at an actual height for firing. Blast Off hits again, then watches and waits for what Onslaught will do. "Badly? At THIS distance, dodging you should not be a prob.. GAH!" Again, he's caught in the crossfire as he tries to justify his battle tactics to Onslaught. "Slag it..." He mutters to himself, staggering back again as circuits smoke and energon leaks. The shuttleformer is looking very much the worse for wear now, and in a true battle situation this is where he'd consider a retreat. When did Onslaught get to be such a good shot, anyway? Violet-gray optics narrow. "And what would you have me do, then? Punch you?" He makes a fist. "And that would do WHAT exactly, to your heavy armor?" He falls short of admitting he has little girly arms, but that's sadly not far from the truth. "I'm not built for up close combat, that's why you have Brawl. I am built for distance and speed and effeciency- and firepower! But you want something different? You want up close and personal? Fine, how about this?" With that, he transforms into his space shuttle alt mode. Now bigger than his Boss, the shuttle flies right at him, trying to ram him! With a disdainful shrug, Blast Off transforms into a space shuttle. Onslaught doesn't move. On purpose. He puffs his chest out and plants his feet, arms open to try and catch the shuttle that's storming towards him with so much velocity. He grunts as he takes it right in the chest and slides backwards on those planted feet... sparks flying and metal denting as he attempts to hold Blast Off in place for just a moment. A moment to gloat? A moment to speak? A moment just, well, tell Blast Off how it is. "You do realize, you have yet to do what I said, correct?" Onslaught lets those words hang in the air as he immediately falls into a transformation mode, releasing his grip on Blast Off and falling down into the solid foundation of epic proportions that no one is really ready to deal with: and it's no moon. It's a Battlestation. 3... 2... 1... FIRE! Cybertronian Reformatting Sequence Initiatied Variable Guise Access Code: 1090 Combaticon Command Center, Brutal Battlestation! Space Shuttle 's massive engines roar as he meets resistance, but the powerful Combaticon leader doesn't budge easily, and the shuttle is once again caught in the direct line of Onslaught's ...well, onslaught. Photon Missiles rip through what little is left of Blast Off's armor, and the shuttle is struggling to function now. Static interferes with his scanners and online cameras as smoke billows from his fuselage. WHAT THE SLAG? How does he keep connecting? Does Onslaught have some secret button he's pushing somewhere to make sure his shots connect? Knowing Onslaught... Blast Off has no idea. But the shuttle topples aside from the impact, landing on the ground with a metal KLANG that echoes through the chamber. Slowly, painfully, he transforms, then staggers over to set a reset button. "What? You want me to hit you? I thought I just did?!" He pauses for a moment, recharging himself and his weapons. Blast Off shifts into his battle-ready robot mode. The OnStation doesn't move. It doesn't need to. In fact, the only thing it does is sit there like a big huge target. "You're not listening, Blast Off." Those missile launchers drop down and swerve around to point in the direction of Blast Off, as if maybe they are going to assist with the making sure that Blast Off pays closer attention to the words coming from the station's audio system. Volume must be up way past ten. "/Hit/ me." During all of this, Onslaught goes into a bit of a reset and recharge mission of his own, fortifying the walls of the station shape that he's in and preparing for attack. Whenever it may come. Blast Off is trying to listen (as he winces from the way too loud for his tastes audio signal), but finds himself still somewhat confused. "Hit you, like with a punch? But that won't..." He stops with a sigh. Never mind. Does Onslaught want a punch? Then Onslaught will get a punch! Even though it won't do any bloody good, he thinks gloomily. Feeling refreshed and fully recharged, the shuttleformer springs to action, darting rapidly towards his leader. He's light on his feet and the quick Combaticon is soon leaping in the air, trying to avoid the launchers as he delivers a (hopeful) blow to the most vulnerable looking part of the station- well, if there is such a thing. Whatever looks like it might take out the ability of the missile launchers to rotate and follow him. "YOU FOOL!" Onslaught's voice rings out as that punch does... minimal damage to the hull of this Battlestation. In fact, the only thing that might actually make it obvious that the station has even been defiled is the small scratch that's on the outside paint job. "You've done exactly what I asked you too. If I were an Autobot, you'd have fallen right into my hands." While those missile launchers can't turn to lock onto Blast Off, the station roars to life and the hull starts to open up small turrets folding out and spinning towards Blast Off: PEW PEW PEW PEW! Blast Off gets hit by something he wasn't looking out for, and cannot believe he's been hit- again. Truly, what the slag? He can't even remember the last time someone managed to hit him over and over and over.... and over again. This is really getting old. He jumps back as lasers strike, tearing off more heat shields. His usual aloofness fades a bit as he snarks back, "BUT I WAS DOING WHAT MY LEADER WANTED! That is DIFFERENT!" Though as he says that, he suddenly recalls getting taunted into a similar compromised situation recently while fighting Bonecrusher during the Olympics. He hates to admit that, though. "Very well. Then I shall return to my strengths, as I wanted to do in the first place!" Feeling somewhat frustrated now, he transforms into shuttle mode again. "But in the spirit of shaking things up, let me not forget THIS little attack!" The shuttle sweeps up into the air, then arcs down with a medium power orbital bombardment. But he's playing it safer now, or so he hopes, and keeps a wary optic on the command center below. With a disdainful shrug, Blast Off transforms into a space shuttle. The Onslaught Battlestation is no longer in the mood to be dealing with these things. These attacks that continue to barely puncture the structure that has been erected in this space. "Clearly, you lack the knowledge needed to defeat me when I am doing everything in my power to make it easy for your so-called marksmanship." The station unfolds and is soon enough rolling around on wheels in yet another form. "For that, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ground you." And another shot from that turret hurls the energy bolts right at Blast Off's wings. This should knock him off course. Cybertronian Reformatting Sequence Initiated Variable Guise Access Code: 86035 MRBM Missile Trailer, Moving Mayhem! Space Shuttle gets hit AGAIN? How is this even possi- OH SLAG IT ALL. The shuttle is really, really, really tired of this. He does indeed get knocked off course... but not grounded. Going from annoyed into angry now, energon drips from rips and seams in his thin walls of armor. He flies ever higher. "Not good enough, I'm afraid. But you want defeat? Then you shall have to pardon my rudeness, Commander, but I will not go easy on you this time. I know one thing very well- a direct hit from my full orbital attack is going to HURT. Even YOU." A blue light emits from the underside of the shuttle, any small, unnattached objects in the training room may begin to float up, and Blast Off unleashes his greatest attack! As that powerful attack comes hailing down from above, there's a reason that Onslaught starts transforming as he takes the hit. He's not about to get knocked around on wheels. He ends up transformed and rolling head over heels and again before he comes to a halt against the wall. Needing a bit of time to recover, Onslaught draws that Sonic Stun Gun once again, taking careful aim from this seated position to fire off a few more shots at the shuttle. "You're getting worse. How is that even possible?" Onslaught sounds genuinely interested in this fact. Cybertronian Reformatting Sequence Initiated Variable Guise Access Code: 74460 Onslaught, Combaticon Commander! Space Shuttle has to admit to some satisfaction as he can tell that Onslaught did, indeed, at least feel that attack, even through his thick armor. "How am I getting worse? I saw that cut through even YOUR thick hide..." This time, finally, the now slightly more wary shuttle spots the quick attack from the other Combaticon as it comes- and he swings out of the way! THIS is more like it! "Ha! Speaking of worse.... that attack affected you more than you want to admit, didn't it? How about giving your soldier credit where credit is due?" The shuttle circles around, recharging weapons. "Credit is earned, not demanded, Blast Off." the Combaticon Commander makes sure these words are said with the utmost of importance as he strafes to the right. His Sonic Stun Gun is tucked away, in favor of lifting up his other hand and coming up with the smaller but hopefully effective Hold Out Pistol. He doesn't aim too well, clearly more worried about throwing Blast Off for a confused loop and keeping him from sharpshooting too much. Blam! Blam blam! A quick hail of bullets should do the trick. "But you never do things the simple way, do you?" With a disdainful shrug, Blast Off transforms into a space shuttle. Space Shuttle circles around and spots the more haphazard attack as it comes, banking to the right with a hard rev of his engines to avoid the pistol fire. "Why should I do things the simple way? I have a multitude of talents, and I enjoy a challenge. Surely you would approve of constantly testing oneself and seeing just how far one can go?" He then dives down and transforms back to root mode, aiming his blaster at Onslaught while hovering in the air. "Hmmm- missed again? Yes, I'd say I might be wearing you down just a bit. My speed can wear down a much heavier, slower opponent- as you of all mechs should know! Nevertheless, I can continue to show you my skills- let me know when I've earned that credit!", he says confidently and he fires! Blast Off shifts into his battle-ready robot mode. Onslaught almost grins. He really does. In the middle of getting blasted with that Ionic Blaster that's more like an Idiotic Blaster to him, but whatever. Onslaught spins from the blast and actually hits the far wall. "That almost made me think you'd gotten better." Onslaught continues to backhand compliment his Shuttle Combaticon, before turning back around and standing up to his full height as if he's not even worried about getting hit any more and the hold out pistol gets hurled off to the side as Onslaught takes off in a quick run towards the Hovering Blast Off and leaps up, spinning in mid-air and aiming to catch him under the chin with a powerful thrusting uppercut! "You lack couth, fool. Pay attention." Blast Off 's ego starts to inflate again, and not surprisingly, trouble soon follows. There is suddenly a surprisingly fast rush of greens, blues and grays as the Combaticon leader lands a mean uppercut on Blast Off's chin, knocking the shuttle further up in the air, spinning as he goes. He nearly impacts a wall before his rocket feet engage again and he is able to blast away from the wall just in time. Vents huff and he rubs the cracked faceplate with a brown arm as he flies to the left. That hurt- in more ways than one. "*I* lack couth? What are you talking about? I am the most civilized Combaticon in our team- possibly in the entire Decepticon army. I keep my head and retain a sense of self long after most other Decepticons have been reduced to yelling in monosyllables and smashing things to rubble just to watch it crumble." Blast Off stops and hovers. "When you've got the incredibly sophisticated weaponry, intelligence and technology that we do, obsessing on something so simple and crude is a waste! And I know that better than most- as I believe you do. So, again... you call ME uncouth? Then tell me, then- pay attention to what?!" He fires again. There's that blaster again. And it hits Onslaught again. And Onslaught immediately folds himself back down into his truck and trailer mode. He doesn't really need to say anything at this point, though, as he's probably grinning from within the deepness of that truck. He pulls himself into a position that just seems to be perfect for what he's planning. All of Blast Off's words and posturing as given him the chance to get positioned. And finally his answer comes with a simple, "Missiles." And then here they come. Cybertronian Reformatting Sequence Initiated Variable Guise Access Code: 86035 MRBM Missile Trailer, Moving Mayhem! Blast Off continues to hover, and even leans in, waiting for an answer ...when he receives it. The shuttleformer flinches and tries to dart out of the way but too late. The photon missiles tear through his armor, spinning him to the side temporarily until he can stop himself and return to hovering. There's another huff through his ventilation systems. "Well... I guess you aren't as worn out as I'd hoped...." He transforms and begins a sharp arc that send the shuttle hurtling towards the missile trailer. "Let's see if this will wear you out a bit more, then..." With a disdainful shrug, Blast Off transforms into a space shuttle. "You overestimate your abilities, Blast Off." Onslaught's voice rings out from the truck as he's taken backwards by the ramming of the shuttle. In fact, there's hardly anything he can do but put on his brakes to try and attempt to stop it. There's screeching beyond belief and the length of the trailer is what keeps him from getting knocked all the way over. The back of it smacks into the firm wall and the gears inside shift. Tires spin while Onslaught's voice rings out once again, "And underestimate my superior mind. /Fool/." The gears shift once again and the tires squeal as it moves forward, aiming to push right into the shuttle with such speed that it can maybe take it for a spin towards the opposite wall! Space Shuttle manages to evade that attack as well, pushing against the trailer and breaking free to circle up again. He smirks inwardly, and comments, "What was that about overestimating myself, Onslaught?" However, the shuttle is smart enough to leave Onslaught's second comment mostly untouched. This IS his Boss, after all. But, it does lead him to say, "You are a brilliant tactician... I do not doubt that. I never have. But surely you can admit that it was a brilliant move to make ME your sniper? That is all I ask... a little credit." He circles up higher. "I can keep showing you exactly WHY I am your sniper, if you like..." and with that he lets loose a short bombardment. Onslaught knows that the moment he gives Blast Off any amount of credit that Blast Off's head will become too big for his shuttle body and that just won't do for the Combaticons. Which is why he doesn't say anything to the effect of even giving credit. He really won't. Not to mention saying something nice about his Combaticons would be like admitting that he cares about them. Which he cannot do either. "I grow tired of this." Onslaught remarks to hide the fact that there's some grimacing within the bowels of the truck as the laser strikes him full on. "It is time to show you just how brilliant my tactical abilities are, Blast Off. And, by extension, show you just how much you still have to learn. A sniper is only as good as his position." The wheels of the truck spin to a bit of a halt. "Like the position I have just forced you into." Yes, Onslaught dares to claim this entire series of actions was part of his plan. Annnnd... FIRE! Space Shuttle is pulling up from his attack when Onslaught launches his own- but the shuttle's sheer blazing fast velocity pulls him through- though he can feel the heat of the missives zinging near his surface. "Good, yes... but you seem to forget just how FAST I am...." The zippy Combaticon hurtles back around for another go. Onslaught may not want to ever give him credit... but he's feeling increasingly frustrated that despite his accomplishments, his Gold medals, and the sheer determination he's shown against some rather heavy blows he's suffered lately.... his Leader seems entirely dismissive to all the effort he's been putting in. And Blast Off, despite the aloof and superior act he puts on, does care what others think of him... his fellow Combaticons most of all. If his own teammates don't even notice or care... then he really IS alone. And that bothers the shuttle far more than he ever wants anyone to know. He drops in for another go. "So what exactly does it take to get a little ackowledgement, then? You're my leader... then tell me! What do you want me to DO?" There is just a hint of frustration in his voice as he drops another, slightly higher-powered bombardment. Getting blasted with that laser is enough to have Onslaught removing himself from the truck mode and falling into something of a seated position that has him wondering if he should even be taking on his Combaticon like this. He grunts at the fact that he has been bested and just kind of sits there, as if he's trying to give his systems a moment to realign themselves. His armor is burning and smoke swirls off him moment after moment. One hand is behind his back, whilst the other one is reaching out to open up his palm. "Fine, Blast Off. Fine." Onslaught needs a moment, thus why his hand continues to be outstretched like that. "Perhaps you will indeed get everything that you deserve." Onslaught sighs and lowers his optics a moment, "I yield." What?! Onslaught is giving up?! Cybertronian Reformatting Sequence Initiated Variable Guise Access Code: 74460 Onslaught, Combaticon Commander! Space Shuttle was not exactly expecting this, and the shuttle arcs up, confused, before shifting elevons to slow his speed and transform. The propulsion systems on his feet allow him to slowly and gracefully come to landing just out of arm's reach of his Commander. He tilts his head, not quite sure what to think of this. Violet-gray optics study Onslaught's hands- looking at the outstretched palm and trying to see what his leader is doing behind his back, if anything. Then he looks up to Onslaught. "You do? Then... surely this is acknowledgement of my skills?" Blast Off shifts into his battle-ready robot mode. Onslaught keeps his hand outstretched as he gets back up to his feet. It takes him a moment, as he's leaning on the wall. "Aye." Onslaught never says that word, but whatever. Maybe he's been ORBITAL BOMBARDED so much that his vocal speech is coming off weirdly. He just kind of leans against the wall for a moment. "This is an admission that your skills and your talents are as well as I expected. You have truly shown me that you are as foolish as the day you came online!" Onslaught brings his other hand around, tossing something small and blinking at the feet of Blast Off, whilst pushing off the wall and leaping in a dive to get away from what is probably going to be something quite messy. Y'know, if his plan of deception has worked out as well as he plotted. "Check." Blast Off steps back about the moment Onslaught says the word "foolish", but his Commander leaps out of the way just as Blast Off looks down and spots...ohslagthatdoesn'tlookgoodKA-BOOOOOOM. The shuttleformer is thrown back in the explosion, landing in a near-scrapheap in the center of the training room. It's a good thing this training room isn't real combat, because Blast Off would be looking at some serious recovery time otherwise. Simulated or not, it hurts like slag, and he certainly LOOKS like slag. Energon drips from tears and cracks all over his battered form. His heat shields are mostly nonexistant and his optics have now joined his faceplate in appearing cracked. He lies there stunned for a moment, then slowly drags himself to a sitting position. Well- if that's what used to be in Swindle's head, no wonder the guy was nervous about it... He shakes his head, trying to clear the static, then just glares up at Onslaught. He's not even quite sure what to say. But he's in no shape to fight without resetting again. "In case you are wondering how I beat you, Blast Off, allow me to explain. I am simply smarter than you. For all your sharpshooting talent, which I admit /is/ talent, and your swiftness, which I also admit /is/ impressive, there are still things that you need to learn. You must remember that our enemies can and will often attempt to defeat you using their intelligence, their cunning, their... moral high ground. And if you are not prepared to deal with these things, you will, as you continue to against that insolent fool Blurr, fail." Onslaught takes his sweet time walking over to where Blast Off is, allowing him to get this entire speech out. He towers in his stance, almost like some sort of diabolical villain. Onslaught raises his huge foot and aims to bring it down to crush Blast Off's skull. "Fin." Blast Off watches as the huge form of his Commander looms, makes several pertinent points, then sends a massive heel to finish the job. And it almost does. The shuttleformer is barely capable of standing at this point... he's been shredded to within an inch of his "life" and the static is heavy in his optics. But was that a set of compliments he just heard (kind of)? Finally? It's a little hard to tell, what with the massive ringing in his nearly crushed audio receptors, but yes.... he thinks it was. Arm shaking with effort but still surprisingly fast, he lifts up his ionic blaster for one last shot. His aim might not be quite on par, but if Onslaught won't relent, neither will he. He is a COMBATicon, after all. He says, quietly and with effort, "Not ..quite... yet. You've trained me ...better than you think." and he fires point blank- but slightly unsteadily. Ionic Blaster. Again. This time right to the chest. Onslaught is nowhere near attempting to dodge. In fact, he tanks it on purpose. He's looking pretty bad also, armor cracked and smoldering in various spots from all the laser blasts. Not to mention the effective range of that Ionic Blaster. When all is said and done, it looks almost as though Onslaught has fought his way through various waves of Autobots or something. Which, honestly, is a testament to Blast Off's abilities. If Blast Off, alone, has made Onslaught look like this, there is hope for the Combaticon yet. Grunting through the hole that is now leaking Energon from his chest, Onslaught manages a dark smirk upon his faceplate. "That is exactly what I wanted you to think." Onslaught will not relent that this is exactly what he planned to happen. Also, his sidearm has been raised and aimed. Blast Off 's arm sinks down again as he gazes up at his Commander. He attempts to push himself out of the stun gun's firing range, but he just doesn't have the strength anymore. He falls to the ground, but it does not feel like defeat. He won a small victory- a compliment, and... Onslaught has proven an effective leader. Though Blast Off wouldn't like to admit it, Onslaught was heard, and was spot-on about several of the things he still needs to work on. His Commander gave him a direction, which if he follows, might lead to improvement. IF the otherwise agile shuttleformer can navigate through the challenging obstacles of his ego, that is....
- A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction for an individual lesson. While there are many formats for a lesson plan, most lesson plans contain some or all of these elements, typically in this order:
* the title of the lesson
* the amount of time required to complete the lesson
* a list of required materials
* a list of objectives. These may be stated as behavioral objectives (what the student is expected to be able to do upon completion of the lesson) or as knowledge objectives (what the student is expected to know upon completion of the lesson).
* the set or lead-in to the lesson. This is designed to focus students on the skill or concept about to be instructed. Common sets include showing pictures or models, asking leading questions, or reviewing previously taught lessons.
* the instructional component. This describes the sequence of events which will take place as the lesson is delivered. It includes the instructional input—what the teacher plans to do and say, and guided practice—an opportunity for students to try new skills or express new ideas with the modeling and guidance of the teacher.
* independent practice. This component allows students to practice the skill or extend the knowledge on their own.
* the summary. This is an opportunity for the teacher to wrap up the discussion and for the students to pose unanswered questions.
* evaluation. Some, but not all, lessons have an evaluative component where the teacher can check for mastery of the instructed skills or concepts. This may take the form of a set of questions to be answered or a set of instructions to be followed. The evaluation may be formative; that is to say, used to guide subsequent learning, or summative; that is to say, used to determine a grade or other achievement criterion.
* analysis. Often not part of a lesson plan, this component allows the teacher to reflect on the lesson and answer questions such as what went well, what needs improving, and how students reacted to the lesson.
* Continuity - the content/ideas/theme/rules etc. from previous day are reflected upon or reviewed The exact format chosen for a lesson plan will be driven by school requirements and personal tastes of the teacher, in that order. Unit plans follow much the same format, but are intended to cover an entire unit of work, which may be delivered over several days or weeks. In today's constructivist teaching style, the individual lesson plan is often inappropriate. Specific objectives and timelines may be included in the unit plan, but lesson plans are more fluid as they cater to student needs and learning styles. As students are asked to engage in problem or inquiry learning, rigid lesson planning with title, behavioral objectives, and specific outcomes within certain time constraints often no longer fit within modern effective pedagogy. Today, formal lesson plans are often required only of student teachers, who must be demonstrably familiar with the components of a lesson, or teachers new to the field, who have not yet internalized the flow of a lesson. Units of work are also known as Schemes of work in the UK.
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