As a secondary teacher, one of the perks is being able to teach the same lesson repeatedly. Many teachers really luck out, and only have one course where they can plan one lesson for each day. Unless of course, you happen to teach at a smaller school where you’re required to teach multiple courses. This puts some extra pressure on teachers when it comes to lesson planning. Luckily, there are several tips for how to make lesson planning easier, not matter how many preps you have.
How to Start Lesson Planning
When it comes to any overwhelming task, isn’t the hardest part just getting started? Luckily, getting started is really easy when you are working with a scope and sequence.
Think of a scope and sequence as a pre-lesson plan. Ideally, a scope and sequence maps out your entire curriculum for the year. It should detail the topics you teach and the order in which you teach them. A scope and sequence should also include the relevant standards for each topic, and the objectives you want your students to meet.
Some school districts will provide a scope and sequence for you. But, feel free to adapt what you’re given to make it work for you. The same is true if you work with a team of teachers. You may have a scope and sequence handed to you, but you can always adapt it to meet your personal needs as a teacher.
Adapting a Scope and Sequence
For example, I was given a bare bones scope and sequence. It really just listed out the units and essential questions. The summer after my first year of teaching, I expanded on my scope and sequence to include the standards, objectives, and resources I used.
The original scope and sequence wasn’t very useful for me. (Aside from the essential questions. I hate writing essential questions.)
Now, when I go to lesson plan, I pull up my scope and sequence first. It tells me what to teach next, and I’m able to copy and paste the standards and objectives into my lesson plans. Thus, saving myself loads of time.
Having a scope and sequence set up first forces you to do most of the decision making up front. You don’t waste time deciding what’s next, which standards, etc. All of that is already mapped out, laying the groundwork for your lesson plans.
How to Speed Up Lesson Planning: Use a Template
Templates are always one of my go-to time management tips, and it’s applicable to lesson planning too!
Having a template for lesson planning speeds up the whole process. It gives you a consistent framework. You can simply open a fresh copy of your template, and plug in the information for your lessons.
An effective template needs to include all of the components of a lesson plan that you use. (And that your district requires.) Some broad examples are: lesson topic, standards, objectives, activities, and materials/resources. My district also likes for us to outline the differentiation we are planning to provide.
Templates ensure that we don’t forget any of the important components of a lesson. They also help to streamline the process. Since we are using the same template each time, we know exactly where to place all of the necessary information.
Tips for Effective Lesson Planning: Collaborate!
Two heads are better than one, and you don’t have to do this alone.
Are there other teachers in your building that teach the same course as you? Try teaming up! Not only can you bounce ideas off of each other, but you can also share lesson planning responsibilities. You can trade off who plans which lessons and cut your workload down significantly.
Are you the only one teaching your course? Me too! However, I find that when I have time to chat with the other members in my department, I get so many great ideas for lessons. It’s not as ideal as working with another teacher in the same course, but it does help.
No One to Collaborate With?
Think again! The Internet has made our small world even smaller over the years. Now there are so many ways you can easily connect with other teachers from outside your building/district/county/state/country! You can create your own team of teachers to share ideas with.
Here are a few places where you can look:
- Facebook – search for groups related to your subject area and grade level
- Instagram – find accounts that teach your subject area and grade level
- Twitter – look for hashtags related to your subject area and grade level
There are so many great ideas that teachers are sharing online for free! And, it’s so much fun to be a part of it.
One More Tip Semi-Aligned to Collaboration
Search on Teachers Pay Teachers. So many teachers are sharing great ideas there too! Plus, sometimes if I can’t find what I’m looking for, I can at least get a little inspiration to try something new. Many resources are free, but buying resources that save me time and sanity has been well worth the investment.
Tips on Lesson Planning: Routines are Your Best Friend
When we are looking for how to make lesson planning easier, there are a few routines we need to look at.
First, what is your instruction routine? In math, we often follow a pattern of having a quick warm up, direct instruction, and then independent practice. (I am not saying that this is the best or only way, but that this is a common routine.)
Having a simple instructional routine in place makes lesson planning so much easier. Now, you do not have to teach all of your classes following this routine. But if you have a fairly regular routine you use, it can help you streamline your lesson planning.
Bonus: Having predictable routines for your instruction helps with classroom management. Students do well when they know what to expect from you and what is expected of them.
Note:
There is tremendous value in trying new things and changing up the routine. You’ll know when the time is right to incorporate something different.
Make Your Own Lesson Planning Routine
Additionally, it is beneficial to create a routine around how you plan lessons.
When I first started teaching, I was all over the place. From making activities to notes to copies, I never did anything in the same order. There were a few disastrous times that I finished my notes, copies and slideshow, just to find a mistake when I made the answer key. Isn’t experience the best teacher?
To rectify this issue, I came up with a sequence of tasks for lesson planning. One that put creating answer keys before making copies. This sequence became a routine.
Now, I don’t stop and wonder what to work on when I sit down to lesson plan. Instead, I know exactly what needs to be done next, and where I left off. (Yes, even while teaching multiple preps!)
How to Make Lesson Planning Easier: Batching
Quit multitasking! Lesson planning requires focus. Multitasking actually means task switching, which means unfocused work.
My top answer anytime someone wants to make something faster and easier to accomplish is always batching.
Out of everything that you can batch, and believe me, the possibilities are endless, lesson planning is my favorite. In fact, I have a whole separate blog post dedicated to just batch lesson planning. You can read all about it here.
Also, batching is a game-changer when teaching multiple preps. Batching helps me stay one full week ahead in my lesson plans. And, it keeps me from scrambling to complete my lesson plans on time.
If you are looking for a how-to batch lesson plan, I offer a Batch Lesson Planning Workshop. You can learn more about the workshop by clicking here.
How to Do Lesson Planning
When you’re ready to make lesson planning easier for yourself, give some of these tips a try. Lesson planning is one of those teacher tasks that is an absolute constant. While we can’t just make it go away, there are lots of things we can do to make it easier on ourselves. And if you’re a secondary teacher with multiple preps, finding ways to make lesson planning easier is essential.
Want more information? Check out my YouTube video on how to save time lesson planning.
