It’s Monday morning again.

You’ve been through your coffee (or two, or three, and it’s early).

You’re ready for the week.

Except that first, you have to do your lesson planning.

But you don’t feel empowered. Instead, you’re staring down a pile of to-do lists and a clock.

Sound a little familiar? Yep, we’ve all been there. But it’s not as monstrous to plan as it might seem; have a few strategies and you’ll look forward to lesson planning.

Step 1: Start with the Big Picture

For starters, handle the big picture. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel every week.

Think about your learning objectives and how they fit into your broader curriculum.

According to Carol Ann Tomlinson, a pioneer in the tailored instruction – who believes there’s a core of learning goals we all need to learn, and from there, we should differentiate based on each learner’s abilities (Tomlinson, 2014).

Start by jotting down your key objectives.

What do you want your students to learn?

Then, think about a few engaging ways to deliver that content.

It could be through a game, a project, or a hands-on activity.

The aim is to link your lesson to your objectives and to be original and stimulating.

Step 2: Get Creative with Resources

Let’s tap into some creativity, then.

Feel free to reach into your cupboards.

Some of the best resources are the simplest.

Use what you have! If you’re teaching a science concept, stage a cookery lesson.

Transform your kitchen into an experiment room using ingredients from the fridge or pantry. The Curious Kid’s Science Book by Asia Citro is bursting with imaginative activities to do using things you have lying around (2013, Citro).

(And one last pro tip: tech really can be your friend.

There are many more interesting ways for students to learn, and to learn well, from educational apps and websites — Khan Academy Kids is great for younger students, and Scratch (scratch.mit.edu) is one of my favourite play/learning spaces for children.

You can sit back with your coffee and enjoy the show while you monitor!

Step 3: Plan for Flexibility

Another is that flexibility is critical.

Unless you’re teaching in a classroom of robots, you can’t always predict if a lesson is going to go as you’d planned, nor precisely when.

Be prepared to make changes instantly as needed – after all, that’s what formative assessment is supposed to help you do, says James Popham, an assessment expert: to monitor children’s progress in learning to continuously inform your instructional strategy, so that you’re teaching at the right level, in the right way, at the right time ( Popham E, 2008)

Whether this is through allowing for flexibility in your lesson plans (planning some contingency activities, so that you’re not left mid-lesson with nothing if something doesn’t go to plan) or being prepared to change direction and modify activities if they’re not working, expecting that things might change during the lesson will help you remain calm and in control.

Step 4: Keep It Fun

Last, have fun!

Your children can be motivated to learn from you by an upbeat demeanour.

Plan activities that you enjoy and that you think your children will enjoy as well.

You’d be surprised at how much more attentive your class can be when they sense they’re doing something that you like.

‘And that is what children want,’ as Dr. Seuss advises us.

‘They want the same things, you know, that you want. Oh, you want to laugh, don’t you?

And you want to play, too.

You want to be challenged and you want to be delighted.’

Bring that energy into your lessons, and your children will do the same.

References and Further Reading

References

Popham, J. W. (2008). Transformative Assessment. ASCD.

Seuss, Dr. (1990). Oh, the Places You’ll Go!. Random House.

Tomlinson, C. A. (2014). Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners. ASCD.

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