Having a weekly lesson planning routine is essential to eliminating stress as a teacher. Did you know that teachers make more minute-by-minute decisions than brain surgeons? Creating routines and having your materials ready to go for the week will help with decision fatigue. I recently shared my routine on Instagram, let’s dive into the details of my process!
My Weekly Lesson Planning Routine
I have created a binder system that helps me organize all of the materials I need to teach my third graders. I like to collect the binders on Friday and find the activities I need to teach the following week. I write the days of the week on sticky notes and mark the pages I need to print off. When they’ve been printed, I take paper clips out of my teacher toolbox* and group them together. Once everything is in a group, I put the papers in my 10-tier rolling cart.* I love that my cart is labeled with the days of the week! That’s it! It doesn’t take very long and it sets me up for success.
What is My Average Lesson Plan Length?
My lessons are typically an hour and a half to forty-five minutes. I love using the I do, we do, you do method when introducing a topic. I spend about 10 minutes explaining and modeling, 10 minutes allowing my students to help me answer higher-order thinking questions, and 10 minutes of independent work time. If students finish early, they use my ketchup mustard pickle fast finisher system.
The Best Resources for Lesson Planning
At my school, we use the Wonders Curriculum. I wasn’t given any resources to teach it, so I found a bundle on Teachers Pay Teachers. I create most of my own third-grade lesson plans that you can find on TPT or Esty. When I have gift cards, I use them on TPT to find monthly lesson plan bundles for third grade. There are lots of options so you can find the one that works best for you! You can also find editable binder covers in my store to create a beautiful look for your organization system!
Having a Weekly Lesson Planning Routine is the Key to Success for Teachers!
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