Everything I Need, All in One Place — Year After Year

Lesson Planning Before Common Planner

I was using the old-fashioned bound teacher planners — the ones with tiny little 2x2 inch boxes for each class.

The problem? I teach four preps. Four completely different classes every single day.

Those little boxes couldn't hold what I actually needed. Maybe I'd jot down a chapter number or the title of an activity. If I was lucky, I'd write down the homework. But that was it.

As schools started demanding more — content objectives, language objectives, differentiation notes, standards tracking — it became impossible to keep up. I'd either leave half the planner empty because filling it out was too time-consuming, or I'd be crossing things out and sticking Post-its everywhere trying to adjust when the schedule changed.

Which it always did.

Picture day. Snow day. Assembly. Something was always shifting, and my little planner couldn't keep up.

Lesson Planning with Common Planner

Common Planner changed everything.

There are two big game changers. The first, I can copy last year's planbook.

I'm teaching the same novels in 7th grade. Same short stories in 8th. Same core units in social studies. So in September, I just copy everything over. All my standards are already tagged. The video links I found that worked are embedded right there. The notes I left myself about what went well and what didn't? Still there.

That alone saves me at least two hours a week.

Common Planner also makes the tedious stuff easier. The standards lookup tool is a lifesaver — tagging lessons with standards used to take forever, and now it takes seconds. I can customize my lesson template to include all the things admins want to see (objectives, differentiation, standards) without drowning in paperwork.

The second big game changer, and something that really matters, I can actually collaborate with my special ed support teacher.

We're both juggling four preps, so our planning time is incredibly limited. Sometimes it's Saturday morning or Tuesday night before we can connect. But with Common Planner, we don't have to be in the same room at the same time.

She can pop into Common Planner whenever she has a moment, add her differentiation notes, and I can see them instantly. I drop in video links or attach documents, and everything we both need is right there. No emails. No chasing down shared folders. No asking for edit access.

It's not just easier — it makes collaboration actually possible. This is the only way our co-planning works.

Why I Love Common Planner

I've been using Common Planner for 11 years. It's just part of my life now.

Here's the thing — out of all the ed tech I've ever used, this is the most teacher-friendly product out there. It's intuitive. It's reliable. And it actually saves me time instead of adding more work to my plate.

So many ed tech companies lure you in, then add paywalls or limit what you can access. Teachers are fed up with that.

Common Planner is different. You're not out to take advantage of teachers, and that gets loyalty and word of mouth.

When I recommend Common Planner to colleagues, I tell them: once you build your plans, you can reuse them. You can embed all the things admin wants to see. You can stay organized across multiple preps. And if you're co-planning with anyone — a special ed teacher, a co-teacher, your whole team — it makes that collaboration seamless in ways that just aren't possible with paper planners or scattered Google Docs.

That matters so much when you're worn down by everything being added to your plate while nothing gets taken off.

I don't dread planning anymore. I have a system that works. And I have my time back.