Planning on the Go: A Day in the Life of Ms. Griffey

14 January 2016

Thinking About My Students as I Prepare

6:30 am: Wake Up Call
I begin to think about my students the second I wake up in the morning. I get stressed if I don’t instantly reflect on my lessons and today’s schedule. So, as soon as I can, I get on my cell phone, pull up Common Curriculum in my browser and review today’s lesson plans. It helps me feel planned and prepared for the day ahead.

6:30–7:30 am: Edits on the Go
I planned out today’s lesson last Sunday, but with 100 different minds to teach, plans inevitably change. Things didn’t go exactly as planned yesterday (in a middle school nothing goes exactly as planned) and I need to change my lesson plans.I make those changes on my cell phone as I get ready for school. As soon as my plans are ready, I breathe a sigh of relief before printing them off and running to school.

8:00–8:45am: A Race to Begin the Day
The second I walk into school, I scramble to set up my classroom. I turn on the lights. I take down the chairs. I set up centers and supplies. I run down the hallway to make copies. And, as the bell rings for me to meet my students, I pull up my Common Curriculum class website. It already has the standards, objectives and page numbers that my students will need for the day. I would never be ready on time if I needed to write all this information on the whiteboard.

My Lesson Plans Are By My Side All Day Long

8:55–9:45am: Time to Welcome Students
I welcome my 5th graders. I can use this time to really talk to my students because I know I am planned and prepared for the day. I cherish these few precious minutes before leading a self-paced online Response to Intervention Program.

9:50–10:50am: No More Hard Copies of Lesson Plans
I use my phone all the time in class; I use different apps for different parts of my lesson. Instead of teaching from a hard copy of my lesson plan, I use my cell phone to refer to my plans online. I am a “walk and drop” kind of teacher. No matter what is in my hand, I will walk around the classroom and put whatever it is down. Luckily, this habit doesn’t extend to my phone, so no more having to ask students if I left my lesson plans on their desk!

10:50–11:40 pm: Lesson Planning on my Smart Board
Next, I have a few minutes to eat my lunch before pulling out my laptop. The Math Coach for my school visits me to review lessons and give advice. I would waste large chunks of this precious time in the past — it would take many minutes to arrange my planning materials. Now, I just open the website, and all my lessons, materials, and links are in my online lesson planner. It is easy (and even fun) to project my plan book onto a smart board so that we can work together to change or move around sections of my lesson plans.

Using Every Minute to Plan, Differentiate, and Reflect

11:40–1:45: Different Plans for Different Students
I have my highest class and my lowest class back to back, which can sometimes be a hassle. Fortunately, individualized templates in Cc make it easier to create a separate plan for the two classes; this makes things run much more smoothly. And, having my plans up on my phone allows me to make changes on the fly.

1:50–2:55pm: Using Every Extra Minute to Plan
While my students are in related arts, I meet with other teachers to talk and discuss plans for the next week. I just bring my cell phone to these meetings and can take notes and work on lesson planning while we meet! Then, all I have to do later is go back to my laptop and fill in the gaps to complete my plans.

I bring my cell phone to these meetings and can take notes and work on lesson planning while we meet!

2:55–3:55pm: Final Class of the Day
My final class of the day. At this point in the day, I have taught my lesson four times, often making modifications on my phone throughout the day, so my lesson hopefully runs smoothly.

3:55 pm: Reflecting on my Day
The school day is over but my work as a teacher is not. I always take the time to look back on the day and make changes for the next time I teach that lesson. When my day goes well, I have a sense of satisfaction and happiness. Planning is a must, and when planning goes well, and the lessons go well, I am happy.

As you can see, I never get to sit down or stay in one place for too long, so that fact that Cc saves automatically and I can log in from any device has been a lifesaver. I can plan on the go!

Ms. Griffey is just one of the many creative Cc teachers we will recognize on this blog. Reach out to us at support@commoncurriculum.com if you have a lesson planning story you would love to share!

Do you use Common Curriculum to plan on the go? Share how you use Cc throughout the day on Facebook or Twitter.

Originally published at blog.commoncurriculum.com on January 14, 2016.