Welcome to the All Star Planning Podcast. My name is Kelsey, and this is the place where I talk all things teacher lesson plans. Today I am talking about your lesson plan template. I personally have been through a few different lesson plan templates. And honestly, uh, finding one that you like, that you enjoy, that’s easy to read is game changing. It’s that simple.
Lesson Plans in a Paragraph
Um, I originally was writing lesson plans in a paragraph format. And primarily the reason for that is because when I was in college, I was learning how to write lesson plans. Um, from just general teachers, elementary teachers, not necessarily science teachers. Um, I think that like science and math teachers are more into, uh, bullet points and graphs and tables. As opposed to outlines and paragraphs the same way English and history teachers are. I may be completely wrong on that, but that’s my assumption. So I was actually learning how to teach from lots of different people. Um, a lot of them actually had a history background. One of them specifically had a language background. Like a communications language, speech type background. I don’t know exactly.
It wasn’t until the very end that my professors and the people teaching me were math and science people. So my templates kind of fit more of an outline place. And I started off my teaching experience, teaching career absolutely hating lesson plans and thinking that they were worthless because I would sit and I would write them all up just like you’re supposed to.
I Hate Writing Lesson Plans
So I would teach these lessons to my peers in college or to my students while student teaching. And I would have the lesson plan in front of me. Like everyone says you’re supposed to. And I would just see this big paragraph and I’d have to sit there and kind of like skim the paragraph and figure out where I was. And it just didn’t work for me. So I had this very negative attitude towards lesson plans and planning and just even the value of a lesson plan. Because if you can’t read the plan, then it’s not really a good plan. It kind of sucks. So. That was a big learning curve for me, because nobody had presented me with a solution to my problem. I kind of just said like, “I hate lesson plans” and they were like, “yeah, everyone does.”
Probably because I didn’t articulate it well, that the reason I hated them is because I didn’t know how to read them while I was using them. If that makes sense? I could write them very well. Like the format and the flow of standards and connecting those to objectives and then the process of everything.
It made sense in my head, but once I got to actually teaching it. You know, a lot of information on these plans. It was kind of hard to fish out what you’re doing, what needs to be done next, when it’s in a block of a paragraph. And, you know, I tried to communicate that. It didn’t land. So I was just stuck in this hatred of lesson plans. Which makes sense, right? So, I finally found a lesson plan template that works for me.
Finding a Lesson Plan that Works
It’s so easy. It is a bunch of tables. They’re numbered. There’s 10 sections of the lesson plan. And they’re very nicely labeled in bold of what happens when. And the like clerical part of the lesson plan, that’s what I call it anyway. With your learning target, your standards and skills, the vocabulary that the kids are learning, um, the misconceptions that they may have. I spoke about that in a podcast episode 15 to talk about misconceptions. Um, you have all of those on the top of the lesson plan, basically. And then the bottom of the plan, which for me is actually a section nine is the stuff that happens. And I found that for me, as a science teacher, I’m not sure how well this would work for other subjects, but for me it works for science.
Using the 5 Es Template
I have used the five E’s template, which I cannot take credit for it. Put their stuff in a pretty templates. And it outlines everything. So in my classroom, every lesson has five parts. The engaging part, where I get them interested. That’s their do now. Then we have explore where we talk about their do now. Sometimes it’s a demo and then we talk about the demo. It kind of depends. It changes from day to day. And then we have explain, which is my explicit teaching. Usually with, uh, my interactive notebook guided notes and some type of presentation. Although that’s not always the same, but. That’s kind of the gist of it. And then they have elaborate where the kids are practicing, whatever work we had just learned. And then last is evaluate and that’s kind of the exit ticket. So essentially all of my lessons have the same five parts.
Your Lesson Plan Template Must be Useful
But the important part about your lesson plan template, aside from the part that you can actually read it and use it. Is the part where your plan sets you up for success. So I really like the quote “plan to succeed.” Because you can look at it. One of two ways, the first plan to succeed. Is “plan on your success.” Don’t plan on failing. Plan that you are going to be successful in whatever you do. I believe that in order to be successful, you have to plan for it. So it’s kind of like that two sided thing, right? If you plan on succeeding, your plans will help you succeed. Does that make sense? Anyways, I’m not an English teacher, so I don’t know the adjectives to describe all of this. All I know is that it makes sense in two formats.
Lesson Plans and Your Teacher Observations
When you have a good plan in my opinion, this plan is going to plan for your success. And in terms of teaching and your evaluations, you want to plan in a way that’s going to serve you for your evaluations. So for me, what I did very early on knowing what the rubric was.
I altered my lesson plan template to adjust for the rubric that I am graded on for my teacher evaluations. I think that’s the right way to do it, I don’t think that that’s cheating. That’s kind of silly to think that that’s cheating.
Your Students Use a Rubric – You Should Too!
I do very few projects in chemistry, but when I do the kids get a rubric. So one of the projects is “How big is a mole?” So for those of you who don’t know, a mole is just a name for a number the same way “dozen” is a name for 12. And I have them do this project. “If I had them all of basketballs, it would be as big as blank moons.” “If I had a mole of lipsticks and I could use one lipstick a month, how long would it take to use up all the lipsticks?” Right? The kids get to pick whatever they want. But when I give them this project they have a rubric. They have to demonstrate their understanding of how big a mole is by meeting criteria X, Y, and Z.
Match Your Lesson Plan Template to Your Rubric
My administration does my evaluations based on a rubric. And I know what that rubric is. So I make sure that the things that they are looking for get incorporated into my lesson plan. I want to make sure that I am showcasing my best self. So in order to plan to succeed, I make sure that whatever they’re looking for winds up on my lesson plan. So for instance, In my teacher evaluation rubric they are looking for an objective. They want the objective on the board, they want the objective on the kids notes, they want the objective read out loud. I do that. All the time. Because I know that that’s how I’m evaluated. I am evaluated on that criteria because there is data and research to show that that is best practices for teaching. So in my plan to succeed, like I want to do well on my observations. I am also am creating the best version of myself as a teacher. Does that kind of make sense?
I don’t know how it works across the country. I don’t know how everybody’s teacher evaluations go. Um, I feel like I get like four a year. I think I honestly can’t keep track. Some of them are surprise observations, some of them are like appointments, some of them are just a few minutes, some of them are a whole period.
I’m Not Afraid of My Teacher Evaluations
I honestly don’t really care that much. And I know this sounds super unprofessional, but hear me out. I know that every single lesson plan that I write would work for an observation because I use the rubric to make the lesson plan template. So my principal could just say, “Oh my goodness.” This has never happened but he could say this, if he wanted to. “Oh, my goodness. All of the observations are due on Friday. I have to come see your class on Thursday. There’s no, if ands or buts, it’s the only option. That’s it.” I would just say, “yeah, sure. Come on by.” Because I know that my lesson plan template has set me up for success in any situation.
I’m Not a Perfect Teacher
Of course, there are some lessons that I think are like more flashy than others. Or some that I, I know like, “Oh, I’m really good at this lesson. I want the principal to see this lesson”. And then there are some that I’m like,
“Well, I mean, I’m good at it, but it’s not my A-plus work. This is like my B minus work.” And I would prefer obviously for the principal to come see my A-plus work and the things that I have slowly perfected over the years. Sometimes, it just turns out that he sees my B-plus work. And I am okay with that because. A B-plus is still a great grade. And I know that my principal. I’m so lucky that my principla is one who is kind and understanding and is always looking for the best in people. And.
I Kind of Like Observations
So because my lesson plan template really is tailored for my success, both as a teacher and as a person being observed in an evaluation. I am super comfortable with teacher observations and evaluations. I really find that, um, I kind of even like enjoy them. As weird as that sounds. I like being able to, to show off my work to other people like other adults. Like, I teach kids all day long. I mean, so do you. But the kids don’t necessarily, um, understand or appreciate all of the work and all of the expertise that gets wrapped up into a lesson. And to be able to have an adult come and say “you did a great job with X, Y, and Z.” I, I really love that. The reason I’m able to sit back and appreciate an observation and the feedback that I get is because I’m super confident that 99% of my evaluations are going to go over well. Simply because my lesson plan template is geared towards setting me up for success.
Teacher Observation Tips
So to any teachers out there that are listening and are maybe not entirely, um, excited for an observation, which I don’t really think, honestly, any teacher is excited for an observation. But any teacher who gets super, super, super nervous: here’s number one.
Your principal does not want to be the employer of a big dummy. Your principal, if they are looking for only negatives, they’re not doing it right. They should be looking for both positives and things to improve. Not negatives. They are not negatives. They’re just areas that you can improve. So that’s the first thing.
Your Lesson Plan Template Should Help You
Um, second thing is that if you know your rubric, which you should, you are entitled to know the rubric that they are evaluating you on. You should take that rubric and adjust your lesson plan template so that you are set up for success. Because you want to be a good teacher. You want to hit, in my case, the level four on the rubric, right? You want to be the best teacher that you can be. And according to whoever wrote the rubric, the level four, or the A-plus level or the, uh, highly effective or whatever category, they name it. You want to be in that highest category.
It’s the same thing when you give kids a project. You tell them, “uh, this is two points. This is how you get a C. Three points is how you get a B and four points is how you get an A. So everybody aim for the categories where you get A’s or where you get four points or where you’re getting full credit. And you’re showing me what, you know.” You want to do the same thing for your teacher evaluations.
Take the Steps to Upgrade Your Lesson Plan Template
So take that lesson plan template. Give it a facelift. Upgrade it so that it matches the top tier category in your teacher evaluation rubric. Because when that happens, anybody could pop in at any time. And you know, “I got this: because you’re following the rubric.
And the rubric is your friend, Because your rubric is going to show you… I mean the rubric isn’t based on nothing. The rubric is based on a bunch of research. Apparently. I’ve never read it. I couldn’t tell you. But the rubrics are supposed to be based in research and they’re supposed to be best practices. So you want to be doing those things anyway. So here’s your reminder to use your rubric to your advantage Because when your lesson plan template sets you up for success, you will feel more comfortable. You will feel better, you will be a better teacher, a better version of yourself and everything else will fall into place.
All Star Planning
So that is what I have for you in terms of your lesson plan template. I talk a lot about this in the All Star Planning course, but you can get the breeze over introduction in my free masterclass. You can find it at plan.kelseyreavy.com. If you are listening to this, I have linked it in the show notes. If you are watching this on YouTube, you can find that link in the video description below this video.
I actually show you in the masterclass, a side by side of my old lesson plan template versus my new one. My new one is far better. I highly recommend you go take a look at it. Subscribe to the podcast and new episodes come out every Tuesday. Both audio on your podcast platforms and video on YouTube. And that is it. I will see you next week. Bye. For now.
