5 Ways a Shared Planbook Makes Co-Teaching and Co-Planning Easier

Most of us at Common Planner were former teachers, and we know co-teachers do not always have time to sit down and plan together. This post is for special education teachers and general education teachers who need a simple way to stay aligned, add supports, and share one plan they can both trust.

Quick answer: A shared digital planbook makes co-teaching easier by keeping the lesson plan, accommodations, small-group notes, files, links, and comments in one place—so both teachers can co-plan even when they do not have time for another meeting.

If you co-teach, you already know how easy it is to end up out of sync. The day gets filled with teaching, grading, meetings, copies, and everything else, and suddenly there was never actually time to sit down and plan together.

A shared planbook helps because it gives both teachers one place to work from, even when you are planning at different times. Here are five ways a shared planbook can make real co-planning possible and help co-teaching feel more like a partnership.

1) See the Lesson Plan Before Class Starts

When you can view the lesson before class, you are not guessing what comes next or trying to read the room for clues. You can see the flow of the lesson, the procedures, and the materials ahead of time.

That makes it much easier to walk in ready to co-teach instead of trying to catch up while students are already in the room.

2) Add Accommodations and Modifications Right Inside the Lesson

A lot of co-teaching frustration comes from the lesson being in one place and the supports being somewhere else. When accommodations, modifications, and differentiation notes live right inside the lesson, they are easier to use and much harder to lose.

You can add things like:

• IEP accommodations
• modified assessments
• differentiation notes
• small-group supports
• modified materials

That way, the support is connected to the lesson instead of buried in a separate doc, email thread, or hallway conversation.

3) Plan Small Groups in the Same Lesson

If you are pulling a small group or supporting specific students, it helps to keep that plan in the same place as the whole-class lesson. You can add small-group notes, support plans, reteaching ideas, or next steps right inside the lesson.

That keeps you from mentally juggling two separate plans during class.

4) Keep Files, Links, and Modified Materials Attached

This is one of the biggest ways to make co-teaching feel less messy. If everything you need to teach or support the lesson is attached to it, both teachers can find what they need without searching through folders or asking, “Where is that file?”

That can include:

• slides
• handouts
• graphic organizers
• modified tests or materials
• links you need during instruction

Pro tip: If there is a test or important file already attached to the lesson, you can open it, make your own copy, create a modified version, and add it back to the same lesson.

5) Reuse a Co-Taught Lesson Structure That Works

Once you have a setup that works, keep using it. A shared lesson structure can make co-taught classes feel much more consistent from week to week.

That structure might include:

• the main lesson
• small-group plans
• accommodations and modifications
• support notes
• files and links

This saves time because you are not rebuilding the same co-teaching plan every time. The structure is already there.

What Should Go in a Co-Taught Lesson Plan?

A co-taught lesson plan does not have to be complicated, but it should make each teacher’s role clear. A helpful co-teaching plan usually includes:

• the lesson objective or goal
• the main activity or instructional flow
• materials, links, and handouts
• accommodations and modifications
• small-group or individual support plans
• teacher roles during the lesson
• notes for what to reteach, adjust, or follow up on

The goal is not to make a longer plan. The goal is to make the plan useful for both teachers.

What This Looks Like in Real Life

Let’s say your co-teacher has already planned 3rd period ELA. Later during your prep, you open that same lesson in Common Planner and add accommodations for your students, a small-group plan, and the files or links you will need.

Now when you walk into class, you are not starting from scratch. You are aligned, prepared, and ready to actually co-teach.

How to Set It Up in Common Planner

Getting into the same planbook is simple:

1. The general education teacher goes into their planbook settings.
2. They add the special education teacher as a collaborator.
3. They set the permission to Can edit.
4. The invited teacher accepts the email invite, sets up their account, and can start planning in the same planbook.

You Don’t Have to Meet. You Just Have to Share One Plan.

You can do your planning on your own time. You can also leave comments if you want to ask a quick question, flag something, or clarify support needs without turning it into a whole meeting.

The result is simple but important: both teachers know what is coming before class starts. No more emailing back and forth. No more phone tag. No more scrambling for five minutes in the hallway. Just one plan you both trust.

Start Here

If you co-teach, start by sharing one planbook and inviting your co-teacher as a collaborator with Can edit. That one change can make co-planning a whole lot easier.