Teachers, an important question

[flamingeaux]

If and when, will lesson plans cease to be the bane of my existence? I can feel the life being sucked out of me every time I do them.  Does that ever go away?

[redheadk]

How long have you been teaching? Once I had several years under my belt, I could get them done without much stress. I was never one to just copy my previous year's plans but I did reuse what worked well, tweaked what worked but could be improved, and found/wrote new lessons as needed. When you aren't doing it all from scratch and you have your style down, it's easier.

[mcmel]

I've started doing really simple ones and it's making my life so much easier. I've been checked 3 times now and haven't heard any complaints yet. It has all the requirements, but I just put things like "microscope lab" and "evolution discussion" instead of being so detailed.

I was doing super complex lesson plans and I always got overwhelmed. When I student taught we had to use a specific model and it was the dumbest thing/biggest waste of paper.

I teach 3 subjects! Ain't nobody got time for that!

[Deleted]

Several years in you just start tweaking what worked vs. what didn't and then throwing in new stuff in addition. I'd say by year 3 it got a lot better. I also learned quick who I could collaborate with and who I couldn't which made life easier (although now I'm a "team" by myself so no dice).

You also get good at finding what's great and not so great on the internet so you're not constantly inventing the wheel.

I now work a job that's more on the paperwork side of education and doing what other teachers tell me...but in my past job I also fell into my own routine and style (I taught HS so easy enough to do). I always knew Monday was a lecture day and give out homework for the week. Tuesday was a group activity day. Wednesday was another lecture. Thursday I'd change it up (usually a computer lab assignment or a more "fun" on your own learning activity). Friday was always a Current Events/watch news videos/debate/discuss day with a quiz. Every other Thursday was always test day. Even though I still had to write lessons I had a great starting point of where to start/what to do kwim?

I do a lot of elem. now and I write down the basic idea, then wing and prayer if from there...lol. My lesson plans are more set for the week/general idea so I know what to prep/run off. I don't have time to write down exactly how I'm going to explain the "ch" sound to my independent learning 1st grader. It's either in the book or I make it up when I get there. 

[flamingeaux]

Nov 30, 2015 0:32:28 GMT -5 redheadk said:

How long have you been teaching? Once I had several years under my belt, I could get them done without much stress. I was never one to just copy my previous year's plans but I did reuse what worked well, tweaked what worked but could be improved, and found/wrote new lessons as needed. When you aren't doing it all from scratch and you have your style down, it's easier.

This is my first year.  I also haven't gone through my alt cert program yet.  Honestly, I'm struggling in a major way.  I hate feeling like I have no idea what I'm doing, I want to cry like 70% of the time. I love it immensely, on the occasion that everything comes together, and the students are cooperative, and not fighting me at every turn, but that feels so rare.

[mcmel]

Nov 30, 2015 0:37:42 GMT -5 loonylunalovegood said:

Nov 30, 2015 0:35:06 GMT -5 mcmel said:

I've started doing really simple ones and it's making my life so much easier. I've been checked 3 times now and haven't heard any complaints yet. It has all the requirements, but I just put things like "microscope lab" and "evolution discussion" instead of being so detailed.

I was doing super complex lesson plans and I always got overwhelmed. When I student taught we had to use a specific model and it was the dumbest thing/biggest waste of paper.

I teach 3 subjects! Ain't nobody got time for that!

The model we used when I student taught was a form and it was 10 pages long!!! Ugh, I wanted to rip my hair out every time. I had to record myself on my phone and write down exactly what I said. It was horrible.

AND THEN THEY LIMIT YOUR PAPER. RAGEEEE

[mcmel]

Nov 30, 2015 0:40:44 GMT -5 flamingeaux said:

Nov 30, 2015 0:32:28 GMT -5 redheadk said:

How long have you been teaching? Once I had several years under my belt, I could get them done without much stress. I was never one to just copy my previous year's plans but I did reuse what worked well, tweaked what worked but could be improved, and found/wrote new lessons as needed. When you aren't doing it all from scratch and you have your style down, it's easier.

This is my first year.  I also haven't gone through my alt cert program yet.  Honestly, I'm struggling in a major way.  I hate feeling like I have no idea what I'm doing, I want to cry like 70% of the time. I love it immensely, on the occasion that everything comes together, and the students are cooperative, and not fighting me at every turn, but that feels so rare.

Oh hai! Welcome to my life.

I'm sorry you're struggling. I am too. It's my first year and I was so lenient my first few days. It's bitten me in the ass in every possible way.

Do you teach high school? (Sorry if I missed that)

[Deleted]

Nov 30, 2015 0:40:44 GMT -5 flamingeaux said:

Nov 30, 2015 0:32:28 GMT -5 redheadk said:

How long have you been teaching? Once I had several years under my belt, I could get them done without much stress. I was never one to just copy my previous year's plans but I did reuse what worked well, tweaked what worked but could be improved, and found/wrote new lessons as needed. When you aren't doing it all from scratch and you have your style down, it's easier.

This is my first year.  I also haven't gone through my alt cert program yet.  Honestly, I'm struggling in a major way.  I hate feeling like I have no idea what I'm doing, I want to cry like 70% of the time. I love it immensely, on the occasion that everything comes together, and the students are cooperative, and not fighting me at every turn, but that feels so rare.

Hugs. The first year is rough all around. I was also in a pretty sh*tty school my first year (so bad, it's now closed...lol). Don't let your first year be an indicator of the rest of your career. 

One thing that helped me was to start making lesson plans in a style that suited my brain. I used to have a 3 ring binder divided by each class I taught filled with looseleaf paper. I'd take one sheet, write the days of the week and just start filling in list style my lesson plans (Ch. 1. Sec. 2 notes. Discuss XYZ current event. explain test date to kids). Then behind that page I'd throw in WS copies etc. It was all in once place and easy to find. 

Now my job is sort of weird so I just grabbed a lesson plan off the internet (It's just basically a block of squares) and I have one block for each kid I see. I do one sheet per day. 

[flamingeaux]

Nov 30, 2015 0:44:52 GMT -5 mcmel said:

Nov 30, 2015 0:40:44 GMT -5 flamingeaux said:

This is my first year.  I also haven't gone through my alt cert program yet.  Honestly, I'm struggling in a major way.  I hate feeling like I have no idea what I'm doing, I want to cry like 70% of the time. I love it immensely, on the occasion that everything comes together, and the students are cooperative, and not fighting me at every turn, but that feels so rare.

Oh hai! Welcome to my life.

I'm sorry you're struggling. I am too. It's my first year and I was so lenient my first few days. It's bitten me in the ass in every possible way.

Do you teach high school? (Sorry if I missed that)

5th and 6th Grade SPED

[redheadk]

Nov 30, 2015 0:40:44 GMT -5 flamingeaux said:

Nov 30, 2015 0:32:28 GMT -5 redheadk said:

How long have you been teaching? Once I had several years under my belt, I could get them done without much stress. I was never one to just copy my previous year's plans but I did reuse what worked well, tweaked what worked but could be improved, and found/wrote new lessons as needed. When you aren't doing it all from scratch and you have your style down, it's easier.

This is my first year.  I also haven't gone through my alt cert program yet.  Honestly, I'm struggling in a major way.  I hate feeling like I have no idea what I'm doing, I want to cry like 70% of the time. I love it immensely, on the occasion that everything comes together, and the students are cooperative, and not fighting me at every turn, but that feels so rare.

If it makes you feel better, I felt like that the entire year I self-contained, 5 years into my career. "My" subject (science) was easy, I could handle RELA/SS, but I had no background in math education and planning it was so time consuming. The school was short on materials so all I had was the TE but none of the supplementary materials. I had the TE, that was it. UGH. 

Hang in there. I think most people feel lost their first year. 

[mcmel]

Nov 30, 2015 0:46:01 GMT -5 flamingeaux said:

Nov 30, 2015 0:44:52 GMT -5 mcmel said:

Oh hai! Welcome to my life.

I'm sorry you're struggling. I am too. It's my first year and I was so lenient my first few days. It's bitten me in the ass in every possible way.

Do you teach high school? (Sorry if I missed that)

5th and 6th Grade SPED

I've got nothing

I'm so sorry.

Do you use stickers as a reward? Someone recommended it to me and it's helped a little.

What about those red, yellow, green light behavior things so they see that they're on thin ice? Record their lights each day and at the end of the week send it home to be signed? I don't know

[irishbride2]

Nov 30, 2015 0:40:44 GMT -5 flamingeaux said:

Nov 30, 2015 0:32:28 GMT -5 redheadk said:

How long have you been teaching? Once I had several years under my belt, I could get them done without much stress. I was never one to just copy my previous year's plans but I did reuse what worked well, tweaked what worked but could be improved, and found/wrote new lessons as needed. When you aren't doing it all from scratch and you have your style down, it's easier.

This is my first year.  I also haven't gone through my alt cert program yet.  Honestly, I'm struggling in a major way.  I hate feeling like I have no idea what I'm doing, I want to cry like 70% of the time. I love it immensely, on the occasion that everything comes together, and the students are cooperative, and not fighting me at every turn, but that feels so rare.

I almost didn't go back after Christmas break my first year. I remember crying hysterically to now H that I just couldn't do it.

It's now year ten and I'm having my best year ever

The first year is hard. 

[RoxMonster]

I don't have any recommendations for your specific subject matter, but for me, it DID get better. I'm now on year eight. I feel like my life is not consumed by lesson planning anymore. Honestly, the first year (or two) is all about survival. Just get through any way you can. My first year was fucking miserable.

Simplify your plans as much as you can. Beg, borrow, steal lesson ideas from other teachers, the Internet, etc. Don't feel bad if a lesson doesn't work or doesn't go the way as planned. I usually make any tweaks I want to my lessons right after they happen, because by that time next year, if I want to reuse it or re-work it, I won't remember what the problems were from the year before.

[Jalapeñomel]

Start stealing lesson plans from the web!

Also, the stats say that teachers who make it past the Christmas break in high needs schools have already beat the odds. You can do it!

[joenali]

If I write an entire lesson down, which isn't often I use this format:

Connection:

Teaching point:

Teach:

Active engagement:

Link:


That's it. I still
Don't understand why teaching programs have candidates write ten page plans. It's not even close to realistic.

[closertofine]

My plans now have to be much more extensive than when I started teaching 17 years ago. Standards, eligible content, formative assessment, homework and rationale. Two preps this year, but I've had three in the past. At this point, I have things fine tuned enough that they aren't as daunting. But when I incorporate something new, it is definitely a consideration how much time I'm going to have to spend on my formal plans that are due.

[joenali]

Nov 30, 2015 8:49:26 GMT -5 closertofine said:

My plans now have to be much more extensive than when I started teaching 17 years ago. Standards, eligible content, formative assessment, homework and rationale. Two preps this year, but I've had three in the past. At this point, I have things fine tuned enough that they aren't as daunting. But when I incorporate something new, it is definitely a consideration how much time I'm going to have to spend on my formal plans that are due.

I also don't understand principals who ask to see lesson plans. What principal has time for this? It's also like saying they don't trust people to be good at what they do. It couldn't be good for morale.

Of course I take standards and assessment into consideration when I prep and plan, but who has time to write them all out every week, turn them in and then the principal reads them? Makes no sense.

[darthnbjenni]

We don't have to lesson plan for admins anymore, but are required to post our weekly planner on our websites for parents & students. They need to have the standard, essential question, bullet points of the lesson, assessment, and homework. I save mine and basically change the dates year after year (I'm on #12).

[closertofine]

Nov 30, 2015 8:56:07 GMT -5 joenali said:

Nov 30, 2015 8:49:26 GMT -5 closertofine said:

My plans now have to be much more extensive than when I started teaching 17 years ago. Standards, eligible content, formative assessment, homework and rationale. Two preps this year, but I've had three in the past. At this point, I have things fine tuned enough that they aren't as daunting. But when I incorporate something new, it is definitely a consideration how much time I'm going to have to spend on my formal plans that are due.

I also don't understand principals who ask to see lesson plans. What principal has time for this? It's also like saying they don't trust people to be good at what they do. It couldn't be good for morale.

Of course I take standards and assessment into consideration when I prep and plan, but who has time to write them all out every week, turn them in and then the principal reads them? Makes no sense.

The latest edict, that thankfully doesn't affect me, is that the 9th and 10th grade English teachers must align and turn in the standard and eligible content for EVERY SINGLE TEST AND QUIZ question they use all year. All year. Thousands. Yeah.

[lo]

I'm here with you guys! In one of the poorest and lowest performing urban schools in all of NY. I'm literally taking things day by day. It has not gotten any easier yet.