Wednesday, July 18, 2012

21st Century Approach

This is an example of what my handwritten lesson plans have looked like for 18 years.  Of course the content has changed, but the neatness has never wavered.  When people look at my writing, I fess up that I'm a freak of nature.  My world is naturally symmetrical and just so.  When it comes to writing lesson plans, this is a time consuming way to be, so this summer I've had a goal to do away with the lesson plan book and try a more 21st century approach.  I'm going with the lesson plan binder, and I'm typing my plans.  My little fingers on the keyboard are sure to save me some time.  

This is my binder cover.  (My pastor's been saying that we're highly favored, greatly blessed, and deeply loved.  There will be days when I'll need this little reminder.)

This is page one of my lesson plan template.  I've got a Mac, and I found out after much trial and error and some wise advice that Pages was the best program to use for this project.
This would be page two.  A lot of information is missing.  I'll have to wait until August to know more specifics of my schedule. 
One thing I like about a lesson plan book is the ability to look ahead and schedule things for future months.  I decided I'd have to include monthly calendars for this purpose.  Fun for First inspired me to include a note section with each month, although check out theirs.  They're so much prettier than mine.

I created some first grade at-a-glance common core documents that are perfect for my binder.  It's nice to have all the standards on one or two pages.  This is the math one, which is all yours in one click.  (Click here and here to get copies of the first grade ELA common core in the same format.)

Brian Cambourne is going to hang out in my binder as well.  These are his conditions for learning.  It might be nice to keep handy.  (Click on the picture for your own copy.)
Have you heard of Brain Rules by John Medina?  It's a great book.  Anyway, I want a reminder of what brains need in my binder too.  (Click on the picture to get yours.)

I'm guessing this binder of mine will collect more as time goes on.  Hopefully it will help me to be a more efficient and better teacher.

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14 comments:

  1. Wow! You have made some major changes in your format! Love that quote on your front page! :) I have tried different ways too, but somehow I still have to actually WRITE the lesson plans! lol!
    Lori
    Conversations in Literacy

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    1. Lori, we'll see how this works. Maybe I'll be back to handwriting them by the end of the year.

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  2. Brain rules is my FaVoRiTe book! Your plan book is going to be amazing! Such great fun to get to start over every August, isn't it?

    Barbara
    The Corner On Character

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    1. Barbara, starting over every August is a sweet gift for sure. I love that you're a fan of Brain Rules too.

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  3. I love your cover for your new lesson plan book. I've been making my own for years. I can't wait to hear how you like it. Thanks for the freebies. I downloaded a couple of things.
    Connie:)
    www.welcometofirstgraderoom5.blogspot.com

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    1. Connie, I'm glad you found something useful here. I'll be interested to see how I like this new set up.

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  4. This looks great!! Thanks for sharing. I need to update my lesson plan format too & this is perfect!
    Lisa
    Learning Is Something to Treasure

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    1. Thanks Lisa. Your comments are always appreciated around here!

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  5. Your cover is beautiful! I bet you will love your binder. :) You should go for total 21st century and create a font with your handwriting! Then you could still "write".

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    1. Angi, I've actually thought of making my own font several times but have never followed through. How weird would it be to see my own writing on the computer screen? :)

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    1. Thanks Barbara. We'll see if I still enjoy it by the end of the year.

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  7. Love this post :) I keep a lot of these "reminder" pages on my wall by my desk and I've just printed these off, so thank you! You're wonderful!!

    Amanda

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    1. Amanda, I enjoy keeping reminder pages like this handy as well. I'm happy to know they'll be helpful to you too.

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