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Lesson Plans

The Lesson Plan Binder: Why you’ll love it and how to create it.

It is never too late to start fresh.

It’s so tempting in any role, but especially as a teacher, to have all of your systems, procedures, and processes set up prior to the start of the year. It is so much easier to put things into place ahead of time so that you can hit the ground running once students begin in your classroom. Let’s face it, it’s hard to uproot a system in your classroom once the school year is underway. It can be difficult to execute but also tiring to brainstorm. You’ve got a million other things on your mind, no?

But I am here to tell you that taking the time to reevaluate your system and start fresh can pay huge dividends, whether you make a change 1 month, 3 months, or 6 months into the school year. It’s simply never too late if you’re seeking to find a more efficient, more enjoyable way of doing things.

Scroll to the end to find a list of resources and supplies to start creating your own lesson plan binder.

The Lesson Plan Binder – what is it?

Let me start off by saying this: there is no 1 way to lesson plan. The systems you use in your classroom should work for you, including how you lesson plan. Now, depending on your school or school district, you may be required to create, display, and/or submit a specific kind of lesson format. If that’s the case, I still believe that the lesson plan binder could prove beneficial. Here’s why: The lesson plan binder is not for your principal or your superintendent. The lesson plan binder is for YOU. It’s a practical way to jot down and keep track of the daily activities you will do throughout your day and week. It’s an overview that you can have on your desk to easily go through subject by subject, day by day. Because this is a binder, it is designed to contain whatever you need it to contain (i.e. calendar, weekly plans, small group reading plans, curriculum standards, etc.) to make lesson planning (and execution!) easy and effective.

The Lesson Plan Binder – why you’ll love it.

  1. It’s cheap. All you really need is a binder and some dividers.
  2. It’s customizable. Not only can you include anything you want in your actual binder, but you can also adjust the lesson planning template to perfectly fit your needs.
  3. It’s neat and tidy. Removing old lesson pages as you go helps keep your binder looking and working neat, clean, and fresh.
  4. It’s a one-stop shop. Need to lesson plan over the weekend? Just grab your binder and go! Want to map out your next lessons during your faculty meeting? Easy, peasy!
  5. It sets your future self up for success. Upon removing previous lesson plans from your binder, don’t discard them. Keep them. You will thank yourself next year!

The Lesson Plan Binder – how to create it.

As I mentioned earlier, there is no one way to set up a lesson plan binder, which is again, one of the things I love most about it. In fact, I encourage you to try formats for a few weeks at a time to find what works best for you. If something is just not working, change it up until it does. The goal is to find something that’s efficient, enjoyable, and that ultimately works.

That said, here’s a guide for what to include to create your own lesson plan binder.

  • Year at a glance. This is super helpful to have as you think through content for the year. This can sit at the front of your binder so that it’s easily accessible if you need to look at dates you’ll be covering content.
  • Monthly pages. This is where you can map out exactly what you’ll be covering and when. It is helpful to see how many days you’ll be on a topic for each subject area, when your assessments will be, whether or not you have a field trip or special day planned during your unit, etc.
  • Weekly lesson plan pages. This is where you jot down what you’ll be doing every day for each subject area. This is what sits on your desk and outlines your entire week. It is the snapshot of your week that guides you from one thing to the next.
  • Small group reading plans. Since the binder is already open on your desk, it’s easy to plop down and flip to the section that has your small group reading plans for the entire week. (Unfamiliar with small group reading instruction? I’ll be doing a blog post on this in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!)
  • A copy of all of the resources for that week. This is something to do for your future self. When that week is over, simply pull all materials out of the binder along with your weekly lesson plan pages, place them inside a file folder, and file them away for next year.
  • Your curriculum standards. This makes lesson planning on the go super easy and is great to reference as you map out your lessons for the month.

I was first introduced to the lesson plan binder by a fellow teacher friend of mine. I saw what she created and thought it was brilliant, and I still think it is. It helped me tremendously, and I hope it can help you if you’re looking for a new way to plan.

xo,

Sara

Resources & Supplies