The holy grail of lesson planning tools-how to make lesson planning easier

Did you just search “how to make lesson planning easier” into the search bar? Does the thought of lesson planning send an uneasy feeling through your body? You know, the kind of feeling you only get when you have to transfer someone money, but avoid it because you don’t want to see your balance? 

I am here to help you!

In my last blog post, “ 5 Systems to Boost Your Time Management in the Classroom”, I wrote about systems as a way to make tasks like lesson planning easier. 

Before we can start making systems, we need to have the right tools. 

Keep reading for the 5 tools you need before we can learn how to make lesson planning easier for us all!

Also, be sure to download my free workbook “The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Teaching Tasks” by clicking here!

Let’s check out the 5 tools we need to make effective lesson planning systems…

1. How to Make Lesson Planning Easier… Tool #1: Curriculum/ Progression Guide

You must have a copy of your curriculum, whether that is the Common Core or your own state/province’s curriculum. The curriculum includes a clear guide of the standards that you are required to teach. 

Also, I recommend having a progression guide. A progression guide is a tool that tells you the standards/skills that need to be taught throughout the grades, not just the grade you are teaching. This will help make differentiating for students easier when creating your lesson planning system. 

You can check out an example of a progression guide, which I created, by clicking here. 

2. Curriculum map

Do not get a curriculum map confused with your curriculum. The curriculum is what is mandated by the government.

A curriculum map, however, is something you, or possibly your school has created which maps out what you are going to teach, when you are going to teach it and how you are going to teach it. 

For example:

I know in September, I am teaching my students a unit on understanding what it means to have a disability. For reading, students will be participating in literature circles to discuss the novel ‘Out of My Mind’ by Sharon M Draper, as well as completing reading comprehensions that show characters with a disability.   For Speaking and listening, We will be watching episodes of the show “The Healing Powers of Dude”, wherein students will film audio clips responding to the show. Etc….

Part of being able to plan is knowing your students, their interests, etc… Check out my free workbook, where I share strategies on how to get to know your students better. You can find it here.

3. Detailed List of routines 

What do you do each day? What routines are part of your classroom culture? 

This could include:

-Morning calendar

-Book talk 

-Morning check-in

-exit tickets

-DEAR time (drop everything and read)

-Daily-wrap ups

Make a list of all of these daily/weekly habits, including information such as what days of the week they happen, and at what time of day. 

Managing these daily tasks is important for managing yourself as a teacher. Be sure to download my free workbook “The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Teaching Tasks”, which you can get by clicking here.

4. Calendar

This one seems obvious. But teachers often forget to check for important days when planning. 

Now I don’t mean a blank calendar here. I am talking about a detailed school calendar.

I can’t tell you how many times it happened that I planned for my students to present their oral presentations on days where there were assemblies, guest speakers, or even the day after Halloween (not a good idea!).

Make sure to make yourself aware of important dates for your school. Presentations, carnival weeks, assemblies, and parent-run events are important to know before you start creating a planning system. 

It’s best to prepare for these events beforehand. For example, I would not schedule a test on the last day before a holiday break. On days where there are special events planned, I like to plan for more fun, easy-going activities such as a writing activity that fits in with the theme of the event. 

5. How to Make Lesson Planning Easier….A Project Management Tool (possibly the most important)

Finally, you need to have a project management tool. I believe that lesson planning templates are out, and project management systems to help you plan are in.

My favorite project management tool for teachers is Trello. Trello is a free website/app that helps you manage tasks. Trello even has features that help you automate many of your tasks. 

Check out my recent blog post, where I go into detail about what Trello is, by clicking here.

I also wrote a blog post that teaches you how to use Trello to manage student projects. You can find it here. 

By choosing to use a tool like Trello, you are setting yourself for creating effective, long-lasting lesson planning systems. 

A final word…

These 5 tools will ensure that you are prepared to create a system to create, manage and follow your lesson plans throughout the school year. Some of these tools that I have listed may take some time to gather. That’s ok! You are moving in the right direction.

Were you surprised to see any of these items on the list? Do you have others that should have made the list? Let me know! Comment at the bottom of this post! I will be sure to check and comment back!

PS. Don’t forget to download your free workbook! You can get it here.