Thursday, August 26, 2010

Lesson Plans

Last year, I wrote all my lesson plans on my laptop. I've decided to do the same again because there are so many benefits!

The first advantage is the reason I started - sharing my plans with the ELL and Spec. Ed. teachers who support students in my classroom was very easy. I send my plans to them as an email attachment. Other teachers write their plans in a traditional lesson plan book, but then have to rewrite them in an email or make hard copies.

To make it easy for others to find what they needed to read, I color-code each subject and use a different font for each.








I usually have my laptop with me, so it is easy to quickly write a segment of my plans or make a quick change or addition as I think of something. My district provides unit guides that contain many sample lessons. These are available online, so I am able to download them, then cut, paste, and modify parts that I am going to use. It's also easy to refer to online resources and activities; I can copy and paste any URL or online text or image.




I can share charts, lists, or anything else I have included in my lesson plans with my students by connecting my laptop to a projector.








I also use my laptop in small group instruction to share vocabulary lists enlarged to a huge font. When I am done, I shrink the text again to save it in a smaller format.

I can write "to do" lists (in RED!) where I won't misplace them.
When planning for a guest teacher, I can email my plans to them or print a copy.

I really appreciate how easy it is to modify my plans without crossing things out or erasing. If my students don't complete an activity, or a lesson needs to get moved to another day, all I have to do is copy and paste!

tags: lesson plans

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