Learning how to plan efficiently is a huge undertaking for teachers. My first year teaching I stayed late at school almost every night to get caught up. It’s common for a CTE teacher to have 4-7 preps so planning is no small task. Year 1 I had 8 preps – yes EIGHT – and was also a junior class sponsor & the FBLA advisor. It was a lot to keep up with, but I was at a very small school, so everyone had a lot on their plate. On top of that, while districts often purchase curriculum for core subject teachers to follow, that’s not the case for CTE teachers – we often have to create our own.
All this to say that one 40-minute plan period is not enough to create content for multiple preps. By the time you go to the bathroom, check your mailbox, and finally respond to emails, at least half of your prep is over and you haven’t started to make copies, create new lessons, or grade anything. So, what’s the secret to getting out of school on time & making the most of your planning period? Here are 8 planning techniques I use to plan that help me leave school on time:
1. Join social media groups that relate to your content area.
Year 1 I had no idea that there were Facebook groups, Pinterest boards, or Instagram accounts that teachers created to share ideas with each other. Find pages relating to your content area & join them! You can find these accounts by simply doing a search on each social media platform being as vague or specific as you can be. Example: search for your content area by trying something like #businessteacher or search for a class you teach by using terms like “photoshop teacher” and you’ll be surprised by the number of groups and resources that pop up! Teachers share ideas, tips & tricks, resources, and more on social media for you to use in your own classroom.
2. Don’t be afraid to use Teachers Pay Teachers.
I know, you’re like great, this is all a plug for your own store – I swear it’s not. I started using the site as a buyer. Now even as a seller, I purchase from other business teachers all the time. When I need a lesson over a topic that I’m not confident in or that I don’t enjoy teaching, why re-invent the wheel? To me, spending $2.00 on a lesson or $10.00 on a unit is SO worth me not having to do hours of research to develop a lesson that may or may not go over well. If I can go to TpT & make a purchase within 5 minutes that will take all the stress of me, I’m doing it. A bonus of doing this is that honestly, I think buying resources has helped make me a better teacher. It allows me to see the standards other teachers set & the types of activities they’re doing.
3. Plan in a way that gives you plan time.
Yup, you read that right. As you’re creating your plans if you know you’re behind or have grades due, give your students an independent activity. Personally, I think it’s good for them to have days where they are working alone. Though the internet may lead you to think otherwise, not everything has to be ground breaking and hands on. Anytime my students are doing independent work, I use that time to plan. My desk faces students so I can look up and see them easily while they work. I also take a lap around the room every so often so the class knows I’m paying attention and my shy students can grab me and ask questions if needed.
4. Pick your least favorite thing to plan for first.
No matter if it’s your least favorite class you teach or the least favorite lesson you have coming up, pick it to plan for first. If you leave this for the end, you’re going to dread it even more, be burnt out, and as a result probably have a lower quality lesson. Get that lesson out of the way first so you can stay excited about the more fun lessons you have left to plan.
5. Bookmark every good resource website you find.
I do lots of google searches to prepare a lesson and look for supplemental videos or activity ideas. Those searches lead me to some pretty cool websites. There are lots of sites out there that explain topics well and offer free lessons. When you find them, hit that star at the top of your browser to favorite it so you can easily access it again later. I put all of these websites I find into a folder on my browser called “resources” – when I’m looking for inspiration, I’ll go to this folder & see what website may have a good staring point or any inspiration that I can use.
6. Plan with the end in mind (backwards design).
Backwards design is a basic teaching principle that most educators are taught in college. However, it’s often something that can be forgotten or ignored when a teacher is faced with creating their own lessons and trying to make them engaging. When you think about what you want your students to KNOW about the topic you’re teaching & what essential questions you want them to be able to answer, you have a more direct vision for what you need to focus on in the lesson. It gives you a great starting point and helps you keep your lesson on topic without getting distracted with “fluff” or “busy work” just to pass time.
7. Grading can wait.
Plan time is valuable & grading can take up all that time plus more. Grades don’t have to be done immediately. The world will not end if it takes you a few days to get something back to students. Don’t get me wrong – they need timely feedback, but don’t stay at school an extra hour just to grade. Save it for the next day. If you have paperwork, take it to the hall on a clipboard during passing time or tell yourself to grade 1 thing before class starts each day to help stay caught up.
Another grading tip: you don’t have to grade everything. Some things are great just for practice as your students are learning a new concept. Other things may be just for fun or aren’t worth grading. I know some schools require a set number of grades per quarter or week, and if that’s your case make sure you’re meeting your school’s expectations. However, if you don’t have that requirement don’t feel like you have to grade everything.
If you are taking a grade on something, you can pick a few questions to grade closely then skim the rest or use a platform like Google Forms to do an assignment in. Google Forms will grade some questions for you (matching, multiple choice, etc.) & organizes short response questions for easy grading. You’re able to grade all the answers for a particular question at once, then move on to the next one – your brain will love this and grading will go a lot quicker.
8. Plan in your happy place & get ahead.
The truth is, teachers don’t get enough time at school. We have larger classes, IEP’s, meetings, grading, multiple preps, etc. You’re likely going to have to take work home at some point. This doesn’t have to be miserable, though. I enjoy sitting on the couch watching a good tv show with a diet soda getting to plan. It’s truly one of my happy places. When I get free time & feel inspired, it’s what I do! If you find joy in planning like this, don’t let yourself feel bad for planning at home. You’ll thank yourself later when you’ve had a long day and want to go home – you can because you already got ahead.
I like to get ahead to stay ahead. Before school starts, I always try to have my first 2 weeks of lessons done for each class. Those first weeks are always so busy and exhausting but by starting ahead, I’m able to help stay ahead. If you know you’re teaching a new class, start researching early. Make yourself a scope & sequence so you know what topics you need to cover each week for the duration of the class, then make a unit or two ahead of time. This will make any future planning much easier.
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Keep this in mind: It does get better. As you progress in your teaching career and get to teach a class more than once, you already have a great starting base with resources to pull from. Some of them will be perfect and you’ll have it ready to use again. Other items you’ll make changes to or scrap all together. Either way, you won’t be starting from square 1 again so you’ll be ahead already.
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