Lesson Planning 101 - Tips for a New Teacher

Hey y'all!  It's been a while since I posted my weekly lesson plans - but as I sit down on this snowy day to prepare for and map out the upcoming months, I feel like this could be a way to be a more reflective and purposeful educator.  This semester I will be hosting a student teacher in my classroom and one of the ideals that I want to instill in her is purposeful lesson planning.  By sharing my lesson plans with you all and my reasoning for what I am doing with my students in my classroom, I can be sure that the experiences I am creating for my students are the most effective.   Before I just 'hop in' and share my plans, however, it's important to talk about the STEPS in lesson planning.  When I sit down to lesson plan, what is the process I go through?  We've all seen the funny memes regarding lesson planning....

And if we're being honest with ourselves, there are days, or even weeks, that our plans are less than our best (let's be honest, some weeks are survival mode i.e. the week before Christmas!).  But to be the most effective teacher, our lesson plans have to be well planned, thought out and purposeful.  When I sit down to lesson plan, there are several resources I have with me to ensure my lesson plans are the best they can be.  

State Standards: While many heated debates have happened over Common Core vs. NO Common Core - the state standards guide teachers in knowing and understanding WHAT they should be teaching their students.  Whether you agree or disagree with the required standards, you should make yourself knowledgeable about what is required of your teaching and what your students are expected to know at the end of the school year. 

District Pacing Calendar: If you are fortunate to work in a district that provides you with a pacing calendar - consider yourself BLESSED!  In my district, we have a curriculum team that tirelessly pours over state standards and works to put those standards in a progression for our district's teachers.  Every year, we receive our district's pacing calendar which has broken down our grade level's state standards into what we should be teaching each quarter - the WHEN.  This helps fluidity of teaching across our district - ensuring that all teachers in the same grade level are roughly teaching the same standards during the same time.  This allows teachers to share resources easier, plan collaborative units with other teachers in their grade level, and allows consistency for students who move frequently from building to building - ensuring they are receiving instruction on the same standard regardless of the building they are in.  In my district, several grade levels have gotten together as grade level district teams and have broken that down even further into weekly learning goals.  This helps guides my teaching and plan collaboratively with others in my grade level.

Student Data and Assessment: Alright.  Let's hear it.  The collective GROAN that comes from discussion about assessing our students.  I've been guilty of complaining and grumbling when it comes to assessing my own students as well - ESPECIALLY when it comes to pre-assessments on subjects my students haven't had exposure to yet.  HOWEVER, the fact is, without collecting data on our students we don't know what our students already know, how they are progressing during a unit of study, and what they have learned after the conclusion of a unit.  This is WHERE your students are and WHERE they are going.  

Now, let me say, THIS IS NOT ALWAYS A PAPER AND PENCIL ASSESSMENT.  Teachers are able to know how their students are learning while doing informative assessments on skills quite often - observations in the classroom, interactions with students one on one or in small groups, white board games, etc.  There are times, however, when formative assessments are needed to gather specific information on student knowledge.  When you give a pre-assessment before a unit of study and learn that half of your students already know place value concepts, this changes your instruction drastically doesn't it?  Similarly, any post-assessments should be looked at as well.  At the end of this unit, how are your students expected to show their mastery of the skill?  What skills should I be sure my students have practice and experience with?

Curriculum Resources: What resources do I have to teach my students?  Whether it is a math or science curriculum, resources from TPT or specific guidelines from your district on ways in which the state standards need to be met - this is the HOW you are going to help your students learn.  This is where working collaboratively with our other educators can be HUGELY beneficial.  Ideas can flow and grow while working in a team.

Now that you have everything you need to create your lesson plans, lesson planning should be easy right?  Not exactly....the final piece of information you need to lesson plan is knowledge of your students.  Each year is not the same, so to copy the lesson plans you have from year to year is NOT always the answer.  Each student, each class is different and require different instruction.  

My group this year is ACTIVE.  Very.  They require more movement and opportunities for active learning than groups in previous years.  I include a lot of brain breaks, games, and opportunities for hands on learning.  This class also has access to more technology than groups in previous years and it's my job as their teacher to use technology as a tool in their learning - not just a toy.

Next week I'll be sharing my lesson plans for the end of January and my thoughts as I work through ideas, resources and standards!  Come back Sunday!  :)