I found this very interesting for a non-teacher. I had no idea how lesson planning worked. I realize every state is different, but It was interesting to hear about TEKS and your process. I am purely interested from just learning about how teaching works, appreciate your vulnerability and sharing. I hope everyone else feels the same.
It was fun to see your process. You are right that it is so different for each person and each circumstance. I really like the idea of using sticky notes in the monthly view to plan out the unit. It is such a great visual way to see it!
I started doing it last year and then took them off when the week was over. This year, I'm actually writing it down when I for sure that's what I'm doing. I think it's going to be helpful to look back on next year!
Thanks for sharing. I don’t even teach in the US, but I love getting to know how others go about the enormous work that lesson planning is!! I think I’ll apply some aspects of your system :-)
Hi! Just saw your video and it was awesome! Thank you for sharing your process. Most of the posts about lesson planning that I have found are for K-5 teachers. It was great to hear you talk from a high school perspective, and more helpful for me. So again, thank you! If this comment reaches you (1 year late), could you tell me more about “Actively Learn Lesson?” Thank you!
Hi! So we have a school subscription to Actively Learn, but you can do a lot with the free version. It has reading passages with imbedded questions (different types of questions too). You can add videos, more pictures, and more/different questions. My school’s kids tend to be behind in their reading levels so it’s good to use it every once in awhile. It has passages for ELA, Science, and Social Studies. There’s a pretty good assessment section that breaks each student’s results by standard so that’s helpful. I’ve been using it since 2020. It’s great!
@@tattooedteacherplans Thank you for the quick response! I will look into it. I am trying to include a lot of hands-on, active learning sessions instead of just lecture, slides, guided notes, etc. Also, you said you did not give a lot of tests. How do you record level of mastery after your assessment? Is there any end-of-unit assessment?
@@marcyskillin7961 sometimes I do them, like I’m doing one for the current unit I’m in but most of the time, I take their writing as their assessments. We write almost every day as a closing and we cover a lot of standards so I like to mix it up each unit. Sometimes I just let them look at all their previous writing, improve them, and resubmit them. I had a student observer last year (she was also a previous student) and picked her brain about college now. I also keep track of how our dual credit classes are run because my class feeds into them and they’re exactly what our local community college offers. They get to use their notes on everything in pretty much every class now so I let my kids use their resources. It’s worked well the past two years.
They’re symbols (for the words) and emojis! I just copied the text for the symbols and pasted them in there. Then, I just right clicked in the title to add the emojis. (There are RU-vid videos that explain this better than I am. 😂)
Hi! The section about GC was particularly helpful! I’ve been wanting to organize by date, but haven’t been able to figure it out. Can you point me in the direction of learning how?
I have switched from units to weeks for my topics this year. I put in the topics at the beginning of our grading period. I started using a random emoji at the beginning of the week so I can tell the kids, “find the cactus week” or “find the cupcake week”. I go backwards with my weeks so that the newest week is at the top for them. When you create assignments, put them in the topics as you go and add a date to the title too. I’ve found that it helps the kids find assignments to redo or make-up easier. Hope that helps!
Oh and a question, how do you do with different groups? Or you teach a single class??? I mean I love your system but in my case I get 5 different groups per school year, and they belong to different grades… so planning gets ever more complicated!
It’s doing well! I’ve gotten almost all my flexibly back. It still gets tired if I write for a long period of time and my pinky needs scar massage sometimes. But overall, it’s much better!
