One of my biggest pet peeves in teaching is how long everything takes to get accomplished. I constantly have a massive to-do list (surely I’m not alone in this teacher friend!) and I just do not have the hours in the day to make it all happen. Some things should be quick and snappy, yet they end up taking 50 million years to finish (I’m looking at you, piles of grading!). One thing I have learned to do quickly is how to prepare lesson plans! Since lesson planning is a daily occurrence, this is one area where I’ve created systems to create faster. Read on to find out all the time-saving goodness!
How to Prepare a Unit Plan
Before diving into the lesson plans themselves, you have to have a firm foundation to fall back on. For me, this is my Unit Plan. I dive more into how to prepare a unit plan in this post but if you want a brief overview, I’ve got you! Simply put, a unit plan is an outline of what you want students to learn, in the order you want them to learn it. Some subjects have a logical outline to them (like math and science) while others have a choose-your-own-adventure outline like language arts. However, all subjects have standards to follow. You might even set curriculums you are required to use. This becomes a basis for a unit plan.
Teaching the Standards
In my current school, we have a lot of flexibility in teaching the standards so we first start with what we want students to know. We write these as I Can statements so they are easy to follow and are clearly laid out for us and of course our students.
Plotting Lesson Plans
Once we have our I Can statements figured out, we move onto what I call plotting. This is where we look at a calendar and start to plot topics and lessons into days. This is very flexible and usually gets changed. Setting out the I Can statements by week can help break down the unit into smaller pieces to plan for. When I taught science, we liked the routine of notes on Monday and a quiz each Friday. This left space for labs and activities Tuesday-Thursday. Of course not every week followed that routine but it was nice to plan for it that way.
Knowing when days off from school were and what date would be good for the unit test were also helpful for this plotting stage. I usually leave a day or 2 during the unit in case things need to shift around for some reason. Life happens, ya know? This is also nice to have some wiggle room for things like snow days, or space to spend an additional day on a topic if students need it.
It’s important to note that while nearly everything is scheduled and planned for, there will come a lesson or two that doesn’t get planned and prepared so far ahead. I will usually have a list of activities to choose from for those days, like an extension idea or a worksheet. I like that flexibility occasionally. However, I also like having most of the unit planned ahead of time. If I’m pre-planned, then I can prepare without stress!
How To Prepare Lesson Plans
Once we have the general unit plan created and topics plopped onto the calendar, it’s time to focus on the lesson plans themselves. Lesson plans aren’t required for me. With that said my version of this step in the process might look different than yours. I reccomend keeping lesson plans short and sweet. When I was required to turn in lesson plans, I kept them short and sweet, I used a lesson planning template to fill in with the basics and left it at that.
After plotting the topics and lessons into the calendar, I start getting more detailed on a weekly basis. I will list out everything needed for each day. For example, Monday is video notes so I need the link to the video and copies of the notes sheet. I can hyperlink the video to the weekly lesson plan and then print off a master copy of the notes sheet. All that’s left for that day’s lesson is to make the copies. On Tuesday I need to create the graphing practice and assign the article for students to read. This process keeps going for the rest of the week.
How to Get Teaching Units
A trick to making this all work is by thinking ahead. The unit plan is such a big piece of helping me to think ahead. It’s also helpful to have a curriculum to pull resources from, even if it is free downloads from Teachers Pay Teachers. Also having an organized Google Drive makes this process even faster.
In addition to thinking ahead at the beginning of the unit, try to keep up that thinking. Planning ahead is a great habit to get into. If you can stay 1 week ahead all quarter, you aren’t rushing around trying to figure out what to do tomorrow. Thinking ahead is a mindset change, but one that is totally worth it. Some days, you won’t feel like planning. Plan time will be taken away by meetings at some point. It’s nice to stay ahead of the planning game.
Typically I will get a couple of weeks ahead of planning at the end of the quarter. For example, at the end of quarter 2, I was 4 weeks ahead of planning for quarter 3. Because I was so far ahead, I could use the 1st week back to attend meetings and cover classes for other teachers. I started to plan out week 5 during weeks 2-3 so that I could stay 2 weeks ahead. That’s always the goal, but sometimes it doesn’t work out. At the very least, I stay 1 week ahead.
Routines that help prepare lesson plans
Having a schedule for each day of the week is really helpful. For example, math learning centers on Fridays, a mini quiz each Friday, or notes on Monday. These routines make it helpful for planning so that you know math stations happen each week. This routine also helps students stay on track so it’s a win-win.
Other routines for unit planning include quiz day scattered throughout, a study guide-review game-unit test sequence, and a day that would make for a good sub lesson. I like including these routines in a unit so that it breaks the unit up into smaller pieces to plan for. This is also helpful when trying to plot topics onto the calendar during the unit planning phase.
Prepping Ahead of Time
I am probably the queen of to-do lists on my team. I love writing out what needs to be done. Whether it’s creating a resource, making copies, or filming a video, I need to know what to do in order to be prepared ahead of time. This is also a helpful step if you are on a team and can delegate the work to different teachers. I’m the copier and slideshow maker so I know that I’m in charge of that for my team. If you have a PLC partner or grade level teammate, try to share the work. Work smarter not harder!
By having my to-do list created ahead of time, I’m rarely sitting in front of a blank screen, waiting to prepare lesson plans. I have a starting point of my to-do list to help me. This is also nice because I can work with my moods. For example, I know that Friday afternoon is the best time for making copies. I like to get my grades entered by Monday afternoon so I use my plan time to grade. Because I have my to-do list, I can work on something when the inspiration strikes, without feeling like I’m rushing. Getting in the habit of preparing ahead means less scrambling and more teacher bliss (or at least catching my breath!).
Other Resources on How to Prepare Lesson Plans
Looking for other resources to help you prepare lesson plans with ease? These blog posts are helpful, whether you are just starting out or working from an existing unit plan.
The New Teacher’s Guide to Creating Lesson Plans (perfect for teachers who are just starting out)
How to Create a Great Lesson Plan (awesome tips for engagement within a lesson plan)
Planning the Best Curriculum Unit Ever (I love the questions to ask if you are working from an existing unit plan)
Unit Planning in 5 Easy Steps (a step by step guide for creating that all-important unit plan)
The What When & Why of Long Range Planning (creating a scope and sequence for the year with this freebie)
What’s your secret? I want to know your take on how to prepare lesson plans easily and quickly! Share in the comments your tips or which tip of mine you’re ready to try for yourself!
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