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Lesson Plan Preparation

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Alex Storts Alex Storts 468 Points

How long in advance do you prepare lesson plans? I am going to start student teaching in new year, and this is the first year my cooperating teacher has taught this class. Any advice for efficiently making lesson plans is appreciated! 

Pamela Dupre Pamela Dupre 92369 Points

Alex, this is a really complex question because no teacher ever feels 100% satisfied with their lesson plans. I use a 9 week calendar so that I can see where the reporting periods are/when grades will be sent home. I am required to have at least 9 grades in each 9 weeks. I do a general overview of how long I have to cover each section on content, when I need to have a certain amount of grades entered and then I do a skeleton of how I think each week will look. Make sure to include any holidays or inservice days on that calendar. I then write the first week of science plans. The biggest mistake I made when I first began teaching was trying to accomplish too many objectives in one week. (As you progress through your week, annotate what went well and what students may have struggled with so you can look back and recall the details of that week so you can make adjustments in the future.) As you gain confidence in content knowledge you will be more fluent in anticipating where misconceptions may occur and be proactive by addressing that up front in your lessons. 

My best advice is to look at your lessons as a road map and a living document. You wrote them so you can tailor them to fit your students' needs. You can also use the notes you wrote to get advice from a mentor teacher. If you do this, you can ask for specific guidance that will help you to improve your teaching style. 

Student teaching is scary and exciting at the same time. Use this opportunity to take risks and to push yourself because you have the support of an experienced teacher. Do not be afraid to admit when you don't know something! Good luck, congratulations, and thank you for joining this profession. 

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