Do you guys do yours on computer templates or use plan books? I am having a hard time finding a plan book I like. The one I have now have bigger squares but not enough on the page for the whole week. I really want everything for the week to be open and laying on my desk so it is easier to follow. The set I have last year had more squares, but smaller and not enough room to fit all I need. If anyone has a template they use that they found online please let me know.
I used to make one in word, so that each square was big enough to have a small post-it note on it - so easy to plan on sticky notes and then be able to move them around. Now I use planbook - on my computer. It took a bit to get used to, but it's pretty good. you can get a free trial.
I just made a template using a table from Word. I save every lesson plan in a folder and a flash drive because I can open last year's and see about where I was in comparison to what I'm doing this year. Lots of things, like English and spelling, are the same as far as when I teach what, so I usually just have to change my reading plan. Beth
After 8 years of buying plan books then drawing lines to make it fit my day and color coding them, and writing the same thing in them day after day (in regards to adding recess, lunch, specialist times etc) I finally created a word doc with spaces big enough for what I need and small enough to fit the whole day on an 8.5x11 page. I need to do that for this year, but I was just told that our master schedule needs to be altered....again.
I always make my own using a table in Word. I like mine very customized (smaller boxes for many of my Special Ed periods, large ones for my plans for my English class) and I can format my template so that I don't need to do as much writing.
I always thought I was weird making my own! At my new school this year, everyone just uses a Lakeshore one. It made me think maybe I was just being OCD about wanting my planner to be customized for my schedule/needs!
I used to write them ( I had found a book that I LOVED!) Then I relized that I was writing alot of the same stuff over and over and since they needed to be turned in, I did not have them to reference the following year. So I started typing them. Like you, I wanted it all on one page,but I could not do it. Now, I have each subject on one page for the week. All of my plans for the week are on a clip board and at the end of the week I place in a binder so the ycan be handed in in June. I'll be honest, sometimes the lessons pile up and I file a months worth at once into the binder....but hey, I have good intentions!
Oddly, considering what a computer geek I am, I prefer a notebook for planning. I can carry it around, make notes, etc at will. I use one of these: http://www.dickblick.com/products/bienfang-notesketch/ I use 1 page per day, so usually go through 2 in a year. I like the open space on the left side for drawing/sketching/writing out what I need to do on my whiteboard. I can also use that space for notes about students etc. I keep my current class roster stapled to the inside front cover, and any other papers that I need stapled to the back front cover.
I like that, mollydoll! I carry a similar notebook with me always. It contains meeting notes, To Do lists, phone numbers, things to remember, notes about students, etc. If it ever went missing, things would be very, very bad.
My cooperating teacher had a Word template that she gave me a copy of. It is two pages but that is for a full week. The boxes are big enough to write a bulleted list of activities that you are doing. I really like it a lot and have shared it with a few teachers at my school. I could email it to you if it was something you wanted
MrsLilHen - I really like the idea of leaving a small place for a post it note. Its a simple, yet highly efficient trick. Thanks for sharing. I use excel for all my lesson plans. I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to excel, I use it for just about everything. I like it because I can have a book for each month, and then individual sheets for each week.
My school gives us each one, but doesn't require us to use it. I have a Word template. Since we're supposed to put in the standards we're addressing for each item, I like that I can copy-paste things like circle time that pretty much always cover the same points. Our books are set up to do a week per 2-page spread, so I have an AM template and a PM template since I have AM and PM classes. Sometimes things are the same, and I can copy-paste between the two documents. Sometimes they're different, so I adjust accordingly. It makes it easier that I don't have to write the basic thins out every time. Usually I print it out and tape it in my plan book (I still like seeing them in front of me when I'm prepping the room for the next day). I just print an extra copy of them the weeks we need to turn them in... or my P said we can email them this year, so I might do that instead.
I love using planbook.com. This is the first year I have used, and I really like it a lot. I can easily add standards, notes, and events. It is well worth $10 for the year. You also get one month free.
My school is really big on lessons plans. We have to have a lesson plan typed out for each lesson (each period) that ends up being about a page long for each. So I use a binder. I have a binder with 1-31 tabs for the months and then a bigger binder for old plans. Admin can come in at any time and ask to see it. I use the boxes in a regular plan book just to plan our what I'm doing when and see a visual off upcoming lessons.
