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Formula for Classroom Success Series Post #5: Planning

I’ve mentioned several times before here on the blog that planning is one of my favorite parts of teaching. I truly do believe, though, that without a plan – good or great – you just aren’t going to have the same success as you would without one at all.  Yogi Berra said, “If you don’t know where you are going, you might end up some place else.”  That kind of lack of direction creates confusion and frustration for teachers and students.  Here a couple of things I keep in mind when I plan.
1) Backward Planning.
Start with the end in mind.  In my opinion, that doesn’t just mean start thinking about the fun project that you’ll have your students complete at the end of the unit. The end can be a fun project, but the backwards planning model means putting the skills, knowledge, and concepts students will learn first, then the product second. Backward planning allows you to see what you really need to accomplish with a task, unit, or assignment.  And mostly importantly – for me, anyway – it helps me know where I’m going in the grand scheme of the year so I know I cover everything and do everything with a purpose. So, how do it do it? I basically start with my standards, and since I teach high school English, I look specifically at the writing standards first. Organizing my units by a specific writing mode – rather than chronologically like the textbook – allows me to choose model texts and/or texts that lend themselves to writing for that mode.  Along the way, I teach the texts as a vehicle for that end product rather than just teaching the texts in isolation.  I want the students to be able to transfer the skills we learn from each text and within each unit to other texts and tasks throughout the year.
2) Drill down to monthly, weekly, and daily planning.
Once I have my high level plan in place, I drill down to my monthly, weekly, and daily planning.  This is where my cute, little planner comes into play. I’ve tried just about every type of planner available but was just never satisfied. A couple years ago, I sat down and just decided to make my own – a planner for a secondary teacher with three preps. Just a planner for my planning with lots of space.  It worked out very well, and each year I’ve created a fun, new design. This year’s design is Nautical with beautiful watercolor and gold graphics! So, how do I use it? At the beginning of each semester, I pull out the monthly overview pages, and I sketch out what I hope to accomplish that month based off my high level map.  There are usually lots of changes, scribbles, and eraser dust all over the page before I get finished. It’s a fluid document throughout the entire month and year.  Also, I can fill in any holidays, scheduled special events, etc. in the month overview to eliminate as many surprises as possible.  For weekly planning, I use the weekly pages and jot out my main ideas and topics. That’s the sheet I turn into admin. Finally, for daily planning, well that’s very specific, and it’s what you get with every lesson in my TpT store – a formal teacher’s guide complete with essential questions, CCSS, suggestions for the “I do, we do, you do” model, differentiation ideas, extension, and more.  It’s a process, but having all this written down allows me to reflect and evaluate when the year is over in order to be more successful next
year.
Teacher Binder Planner Calendar, Secondary Teacher with Mu
 3) Logistically planning.
When thinking about the day-to-day lessons, there are many things to consider that could prevent or promote classroom success: number of students, capability of students, class time, time of year, class space, technology availability, and more.  You can’t think of everything, certainly, but having an awareness of these can help set you on the right track.
4) Options and Backup Plans.
I was teaching theme development (lesson here) one day and was ready to play the audio of the song that I use to model the strategy, when in walks the principal for a pop eval.  I looked
around for my iPod where I had the song stored, only to realize that I had left it in my car. Now, thankfully, we have access to the Internet and youtube.com in each classroom. But I still wasn’t ready for a seamless transition – there goes a few points.  I was panicking in my head, but I was able to stall a little by having the students pause and review/summarize what we’d already done in class while I pulled up the song – points recovered.  Thankfully, the song was available, and it played with no problems. The principal was even singing along! He never knew that wasn’t the plan; however, it doesn’t always go that way.  I’ve had bulbs go out in my projector and have to get a neighbor to watch my class while I rushed to the copy room, or forget to make the handout and students have to copy it all down, which slowed my lesson down.  There are numerous things that can wrong, and since don’t have a crystal ball, it’s hard to predict them all. However, a Plan B or C when possible is not a bad idea.
5) Brain-based Strategies for All learning Styles.
I am a huge fan of Marcia Tate, and I was fortunate enough to hear her speak several years ago when I was still young in my teaching career. She has tons of amazing ideas, advice, and resources, but the thing that has stuck with me the most over the years is her list of 20 brain-based strategies.  I keep this list in my planner, and try to include as many each week as I can.  It’s not feasible to do them all every single day or each week in some cases, but the goal of using as many as I can helps keep my class fresh and engaging for all learning styles as often as possible. I like her list because it’s simple and doable, and we all know busy teachers need simple and doable.
Here is a video where Marcia shares and explains some of her strategies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CedEizNg9mc
This is the end of my series on strategies for having your own classroom success story! I hope that I’ve been able to provide some insightful tips and practical ideas that you can use in your classroom, and if you have ideas to add, please share them in the comments below!
See MORE classroom decor and organizational pics at these posts, too!
Student-Centered Bulletin Boards 
Vintage Classroom Decor
Faulkner's Fast Five Blog

Love this content? Join a group!  There are already tons of ideas, freebies, and fabulous teachers in my new groups, and joining is simple.  Just click over to the following links, answer a few questions, and voila! Thanks again for following along my classroom stories and small-business journey. I really do hope you to see you over in my new “backyards” where we can chat and share all things English and Yearbook.

Written by: Julie Faulkner

Filed Under: backwards planning, marcia tate, planning, teacher calendar, teacher planner, Uncategorized 4 Comments

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  • In this easy-prep writing prompt pack, students will analyze texts that discuss a topic which is a major driving force in the world: the future of fuel in the vehicles we drive. They will then write an essay where they take a stand on the issue of "banning gas-powered vehicles" after reading those articles/texts. If your state requires students to synthesize from multiple sources for state testing, then this prompt meets that requirement.
  • My data program started with just a simple chart years ago where students would color in their scores each time we would write an essay. Now it has grown into a teaching strategy, a method, and a routine embedded into my class structure and student learning process that truly informs instruction. My process for collecting data in the classroom is meaningful for both me and my students.
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Julie's Classroom Stories

4 days ago

Julie's Classroom Stories
I am a huge proponent of students being aware of their own learning and taking ownership of that process. This article suggest some ways that we can help students evaluate their knowledge and learning processes by guiding them to assess their use of metacognitive skills www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-students-assess-their-learning?fbclid=IwAR2FRlaeVZDrg6VEowY0tZE... ... See MoreSee Less

Teaching Students to Assess Their Learning

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Teachers can help students evaluate their knowledge and learning processes by guiding them to assess their use of metacognitive skills.
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Julie's Classroom Stories

6 days ago

Julie's Classroom Stories
Make your classroom personal with pictures you've taken from your travels - near and far. Kids enjoy the view, and they are often great conversation starters. More on decorating your classroom at my blog. juliefaulknersblog.com/journey-classroom-theme-ideas/ ... See MoreSee Less

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Julie's Classroom Stories

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New Writing Prompt Pack! Added to my argument writing bundle and curriculum. If you have either of those, you can get this for free. If not, follow the link to grab it. Perfect current events topic for summer school! www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Prompt-Pack-Argumentative-Essay-on-Gas-Powered-Vehicl... ... See MoreSee Less

Writing Prompt Pack, Argumentative Essay on Gas-Powered Vehicle Ban

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In this easy-prep writing prompt pack, students will analyze texts that discuss a topic which is a major driving force in the world: the future of fuel in the vehicles we drive. They will then write a...
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Julie's Classroom Stories

2 weeks ago

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Have you ever heard of or used task cards with your classes? I use them for reading and writing. Check out this blog post where I explain all about task cards. juliefaulknersblog.com/using-task-cards-in-middle-and-high-school/ ... See MoreSee Less

Benefits of Using Task Cards in Middle and High School - Faulkner's Fast Five

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There are plenty of reasons and ways to use task cards in any middle or high school classroom. This post shares practical ways for using task cards.
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18 - the magic number today 🪄6/5/04 is our “marry day” anniversary- that’s what my niece called weddings before she knew that word. If you think about it, though, her way makes so much more sense. A wedding is special, but having a great life with someone is really about focusing on the marriage. I’m thankful God sent me this guy (🦄) and I know he feels the same way about me🤣🤣😜😜 Prayers for 18 x infinity more. ... See MoreSee Less

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A long, flowy cotton dress always feels like summe A long, flowy cotton dress always feels like summer to me! What things give you #thatsummerfeeling?☀️ Let me know in the comments below. ⁠
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Dress - #belkstyle⁠
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💡Pacing is on point, but I do think at times the content can be repetitive. ⁠
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Pinch and zoom... This dress has lemons on it 🍋 Pinch and zoom... This dress has lemons on it 🍋 - I immediately thought of the caption: "When life gives you lemons..." But, since I'm super interested in the psychology of the #enneagram, I thought it would be fun to explore how each person would respond to a potentially sour situation. So here goes!⁠
When life gives you lemons...⁠
🍋 Type 1 (The Perfectionist): you make the most perfect batch of lemonade #bethechange
🍋 Type 2 (The Helper): you make sure no one else has to taste the lemon #bigheart
🍋 Type 3 (The Achiever): you deny ownership and get rid of the lemon as fast as you can by finding someone else to whom you think it belongs #notmylemon #saveface
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🍋 Type 5 (The Investigator): you research the best way to use lemons and then experiment with a few of those options⁠ #knowledgeispower
🍋 Type 6 (The Loyalist): you wonder if there are more lemons and if this is the biggest lemon you will get. Then you make a plan to avoid the next lemon.  #expecttheunexpected
🍋 Type 7 (The Enthusiast): you plan a fun and adventurous trip and pack the lemons as a snack⁠ #letsgo
🍋 Type 8 (The Challenger): you squeeze the juice in the eyes of your enemies⁠ #nomercy
🍋 Type 9 (The Peacemaker): you keep calm and ignore the lemons⁠ #everythingisfine #lifegoeson
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On the blog: Everything you need to know about ess On the blog: Everything you need to know about essential questions in lesson planning. ⁠
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My teacher planners are designed exclusively for t My teacher planners are designed exclusively for teachers with multiple preps and are perfect for getting your lesson plans and goals organized! With the PDF and ready-made-for-Google formats, you'll have everything you need to plan successfully. There are options for A/B Block Schedule or up to 4 Preps. Link in bio. ⁠
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