So today I am going on a Teachers Pay Teachers "Best Lesson Plan Template" hunt. I might include Pinterest too!
What did I just get myself into?
Excel or Word? Weekly, daily or by subject? Standards based?
Do I need EVERYTHING in them besides standards, objectives materials and the actual lesson plus an assessment piece if needed?
So far I have found some that are so comprehensive:
They come with things like, Objectives and Goals, Materials and Equipment, Anticipatory Set, Direct Instruction, Guided Practice, Independent Practice, Closure,Assessment and Follow-up, Homework and just when I was feeling overwhelmed with the "basics" these lesson plan templates even include... Learning Modality Tracking ,Multiple Intelligences Tracking, Class Room Activities and Reflection Section . I am not saying these things are bad or not useful, I'm just saying how many pieces of paper will I have to print to get it all in?
Kudos to Teacher Snacks for such hard diligent work!
...and then I found the rather less involved plans with just objectives, "I can" statements, warm-ups, pre-asses, essential questions, activity and then on the bottom of the template the exit. There was a simple box for CCSS, DOK and resources. Simple- yes, concise- yes, easy to print-yes...but do I like it? Hmmmmm I think I need something in the middle.
Did I mention all the "Drop-Down"menus...those are great, but alas I still have not found exactly what will work for me.
I know that I don't like Excel,Word is easier for me to navigate. I like expandable boxes, and I like the freedom to color code my subjects and change up the schedule when I need to. I want to be able to look at my plans and see what I am teaching in whole group and what each small group is up to. I want to be able to keep track of all the FSS (CCSS) that I am teaching and that I need to revisit. Do they make that? I might also like to have a place to check off each activity that I did really did teach.
I found a great write up on one lesson plan template and it was FREE...read this and tell me what you think....
"After using several different lesson plan templates over the years and not being totally happy with any of them, I decided to create one that would work perfect for me this upcoming year. This is a weekly lesson plan template is color coded and easy to use. It is an editable template so you can arrange it in a way that will work for you. You can type then print your lesson plans weekly or print the template and write in your plans by hand. Best of all, it's free! Happy planning!"~Sandy Price
I think I used Sandy's lesson plan template two years ago? It looks so familiar...it's on my list to revisit.
I found some editable lesson plans that looked promising, but they are on PowerPoint...not so sure how I feel about that? I opened one and got very confused because I couldn't edit it..back to the scrolling....
I wish I had an ipad!!! The amount of lesson plans that I found that can be kept on your ipad, plus if your ipad was hooked to your classroom's doc cam or smartboard you could open your plans onto that and show videos PowerPoints and other techie devices that could really make your lesson plans interactive...but alas I am in low tech world and do not own an ipad at home or at school...bummer!
Back to the search
This sounds promising "Have you tried 50 different lesson plan templates and still aren't extremely happy with what you have?? Well, that's how I've been this year! haha :) However, I came up with this one that has actually made me feel so much better!!! It gives me a week view for each subject so I can easily file each subject's lesson plan for the week into specific binders for easy use next time. "~Nicole Swisher
It looks good, but it is in PowerPoint, still not sure how that will work out for me, but I like the subject by the week, instead of the whole week full of small print with all subjects on it...I might have to invest the $1 on Nicole....
Here is another PowerPoint one, but this one sounds like I could do it, because it is a visual thing...I wonder if I could just add the "visual" stuff to the Nicole plans, either way check this out.. here is Brianna Newell's write up about her visual plans:
"I don't know about you, but plans are a whole lot easier for me when I can type them up, print them out (or send to administration), and visually see exactly what I am going to be doing next or what materials I might need. There are so many days when I know what I am going to be teaching, but can't remember exactly what it looks like. I have everything neatly sorted in drawers, but there's always that time I have forgotten to put something in there.
These have been my lifesaver in my classroom! What's best of all...they can be edited to your favorite color scheme and also to fit your daily schedule. Whether you have the typical elementary setup or the middle/high subject area classes, this can work for you! "~Brianna Newell
I might have to use some TPT credits and check this out???
I have been at it now for over two hours, I just didn't talk about ALL of them. The more I look, the more I either really hate this task, or feel like I should just make my own. I would love for you to share with me some of your favorite lesson plan templates that I should really take a look at!
H E L P!
