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I look at the units from BCPS and derive major ideas, themes and text selections from those, and also think about the topics that are both engaging and challenging to emphasize for our students. I also think about activities that would bring arts into their experience and help them connect their own knowledge and world view to the material. I check that the objectives and activities I focus on will align with standards, and that students' IEP or PEP goals and objectives will be addressed in a measurable way. I usually use a paper teacher planner book; this year I am trying a digital planner but I'm not sure it's as helpful yet.

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First, I read through student files and IEP/PEP to get as much info. about student needs/strengths as possible.  As a RS provider I then use that information along with data from my own informal assessments, observations, teacher feedback, and IEP/PEP goals and objectives to create a scope and sequence of necessary skills the student needs explicit teaching in and practice with. I prefer a using a combo. of personal goal sheets for each student, a classic teacher planing book, and a data tracking sheet to make my planning visual. 

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First, I read through student files and IEP/PEP to get as much info. about student needs/strengths as possible.  As a RS provider I then use that information along with data from my own informal assessments, observations, teacher feedback, and IEP/PEP goals and objectives to create a scope and sequence of necessary skills the student needs explicit teaching in and practice with. I prefer a using a combo. of personal goal sheets for each student, a classic teacher planing book, and a data tracking sheet to make my planning visual. 

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I was taught in undergrad the method of backward design, creating the end product first and then i figure out the steps the students need to get to that final product, I love creating google slides for each unit and using a site called planboard to help me track the standards that i need to meet.

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First, I take a look at the BCPS curriculum & supplemental text lists in order to decide what materials will be used to drive each unit. Then, I review the present levels for my students in the upcoming year, and decide which books we will read based on their instructional levels. As I plan out how I am going to teach each unit, I look for resources and activities online that would be engaging for our population. A lot of novels taught in the HS curriculum are either too abstract or aren't very exciting, so I have to find ways to make the text come alive as best as I can. While I do plan out the whole unit, I am constantly adjusting and replanning week by week depending on how students are responding to the content. In order to teach writing, I usually break those into smaller units in between each unit OR I create a "fun" arts-based project that includes a required writing component. The essay questions provided on the BCPS curriculum are just too abstract for our kiddos.

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I start with topics that I am passionate about, would love to teach others, and could make engaging to the students. Then I look at the BCPS curriculum to find a unit which (as closely as possible) matches my idea. I plan my daily lessons based on the standards, students' IEP goals/objectives, and arts-integration activities. I added a "scope and sequence" section to my unit plans and keep track of daily lessons/activities there. And I also use an old school teacher plan book to write out each day's lesson. I use resources that I find on the interwebs or I make my own.

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Each unit follows an essential question and is further guided by topic/focus questions. Units provide “I Can” statements of outcomes of concepts, understandings, and information which students are expected to attain by the end of the unit. My planning begins with these outcome statements. Topic/focus questions are divided into several sections with outcome statements provided for each section. Vocabulary is also highlighted for each section. For every section, suggested materials and resources are listed inclusive of both secondary and primary sources. The unit overview includes assessed skills and themes, suggested activities, and body of evidence (formative and summative assessments), Review of this information is an on- going process throughout planning daily instructional activities for the unit.

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Prior Experience, Old School Measures, and New Realities

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Prior Experience, Old School Measures, and New Realities

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Usually I like to look at prior years and pull all of my presentations and resources together into a NEW folder so I can review them. I have a patch work of prior units and current units that mesh well and fit with the new standards in my Google Classrooms for various themes I cover yearly. I like this step, because I can look and review the prior year of all the things I taught. I then look at notes or emails I sent myself with lesson changes or ideas. The great thing about BLS is the flexibility to hit the standards and adapt new interests. Finally, I look at current events and other realities going on in our students lives and think about how I want to blend them in with my improvements.

For instance I am right now thinking about ways to add in talks about equity, talking about the upcoming election, the pandemic, and issues of race/prejudice in regard to inequities in our society as we look at our novels. Final step is I will mix in our school wide theme to current events into the lessons and I usually have a pretty good start for the year's concepts/direction. I usually try to only develop about two weeks worth of created lessons at a time.

Finally, I do a large overview of the quarter/semester at home that is always developing. As I pull all of my digital resources together and develop the new years themes/direction, I go old school and take out 3x5 cards and legal pad/Mead Planner and put a physical (not digital) board together mapping out ideas. It's what works for me. I can usually take the cards off (attached with clips or pins), add new cards, and rearrange ideas as the quarter goes on and move stuff to future units coming if it fits better - kind of like in a detective show haha. More often I thought I would teach one way and I rearrange it all in a surprising way that had worked better from the previous year and fits the art integration/project-based ideas that develop. I like and need to physically write/hold the ideas - I cannot only plan on a computer. That's what works for me!

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With a calendar and good ol' teacher plan book!

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With a calendar and good ol' teacher plan book!

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Prior to teaching at BLS, I used to teach in public school.  For many years I was used to being given teacher's editions that were scripted lessons and had answer keys and pacing calendars.  I would follow them, but make modifications in order to differentiate, but for the most part, I really liked that way of planning.  The only thing that was lacking was arts integration.   I wasn't confident that I knew how to integrate it and so I left art out of the equation for the art teacher at my school to do.

Jumping forward to the present, I've been at BLS for several years now and it has been a learning curve for me when it comes to planning.  I was extremely stressed out about planning during my first year because we're not given scripted teacher's editions and textbooks or workbooks to use with our classes.  I wasn't sure how to approach this new way of planning so independently and autonomously.  Eventually, I figured out what worked for me, though I still know I could always find ways to improve and make it better for students. I tend to be so very routine...to the point that I feel my lessons might be boring. :-( I still find that even though I've been teaching for over a decade, I still spend SO MANY HOURS planning every week despite having taught the same subject to the same age group for several years at BLS because I'm always trying to find new engaging ways to execute them or finding more ways to integrate art or finding/making better resources. I love art, but I don't feel it comes naturally to me...I feel I'm very "left-brained" and concrete in my thinking.

First, I look at what the standards are and what the units are for the entire year.  Then, I zone in on what the targeted learning points are (the "I can" statements).  I also look at goals and objectives are of my students IEPs. Based on that, for each quarter I then try to break it down to the 10 most important topics/lessons within that unit that I want to focus on and divide them up over the 10-weeks of the quarter.  I try to set aside one week on a specific topic before moving onto the next topic.  Of course, I know that sometimes things may take more than a week or less than a week to cover.  As I get closer to the end of the quarter, if we are ahead of the game and I was able to teach all of the "top 10" for that unit, I will then supplement with other things related to the unit.  If however, we are at week 7 of 10 within a quarter and I still have 4 topics to cover in 3 weeks, I will try to merge things in order to cover as much as I can before the quarter wraps up.

I really live and breathe by calendars and planners. I still prefer to jot-down general plans on a paper planner, but I also keep a digital calendar that I've made on Google Docs to help me have an at-a-glance look for the purposes of pacing. I'm glad this post is anonymous, because I still am not always sure if my way of planning is the best.

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Different Strokes for Different.... Subjects

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Different Strokes for Different.... Subjects

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As I started to write this I realized that I plan differently for different content areas... So I apologize for the long response!
Math: Since I teach two grades in the same class I start by looking at the BCPS curriculum to see where the two grades differ. For example while both grades learn multiplication, only one multiplies numbers with decimals. I also look at earlier grade level skills, so when a student is missing a skill I can easily backmap and teach a mini lesson on a skill that should have been mastered in earlier years. From there I look into each skill and try and find ways to integrate arts and connect math to real concrete life.
ELA: Since I teach two grades in the same class I start by looking at the BCPS curriculum for both of those grade bands. I look for units that teach similar/the same skills and have themes/essential questions that can be integrated. Once I find the commonalities, I start to combine the units into a set of skills for both grade levels. From there I look at the end projects from BCPS and think of a similar project that covers the same skills while including the arts. Once I have a ending project I backmap the semester from there.
Science: This is the one subject where I am only teaching one grade level, so no need to compare :) I start with looking at the standards for the grade I am teaching. I space them out throughout the time I will have with the group, focusing first on standards that are not found in other grades. I then look at the vocabulary and plan ways to support our students through arts integration. Finally I plan hands on experiments to demonstrate concepts.

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I take a look at the "I Can" statements and then use paper calendars to map out what days I am covering which statement and morph them into student-friendly objectives. Then, based on the statement/objective, I create my lessons, warm ups, and assessments, and compile a list of vocabulary for the week. I will do this with all of the statements for the unit and work backwards. To plan lessons, I will use BCPS suggested resources if available or select my own. Once all of the planning is done,  create one slide show containing all of my slides for the unit.

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I start by looking at the standards so that I'm very confident I know what students must understand by the end of the year. Then, within that scope, I ask myself what I find the most interesting about those skills and subjects? What am I particularly excited about exploring? What ideas easily come to me for arts integration? What haven't I tried before that I would like to learn how to do? I make list of ideas and then, working backwards, I map out a few possible paths. But I'm still missing a key element - who my students are and what their needs are. So after I get to know them the first few weeks of school (their personal schemas, prior knowledge, goals, and interests) then I go back and add new ideas inspired by my students and then select that path that best suits this group of students this year. The path is constantly rerouted throughout the year based on student engagement and response.

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First I look to BCPS for suggested unit plan.  I make note of the standards, vocabulary, suggested resources, and student knowledge and product targets.  Next, I look at my students' IEP goals and objectives for that subject area.
Then, I try to find something premade that hits those standards and uses suggested BCPS texts (or similar) or knowledge and product targets.  I confirm that the BCPS vocabulary is covered, identify additional vocabulary that my students will need in order to access the unit, and create vocabulary cards or slides for pre-teaching.
Then, I pace the unit, eliminating elements that will make the unit too long for our students.
Last, I add the engagement activities and prepare slides and student materials.
Sorry this is wayyyyy long...

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I take the unit for the quarter and begin to break it up by typing out an outline for each week (vocabulary I need to teach, assignments I need to create, etc.). 

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Generally speaking I know what my concept/topic/book is going to be based on bcps.  Then I research if there is a premade curriculum  guide on the internet to use as a base. Then I try to find some premade activities I can modify.  Then I slot activities into each discrete lesson plan (a handwritten worksheet).  Then I create activities to fill in where I couldn’t find a premade one.  Then I write the unit plan.  Every lesson plan I teach I also record my observation and amendments.

Basically, I start with their recipe... I add ingredients some convenience/store bought and some homemade together then I write up my modified recipe.

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I start with one big idea/theme and then begin to break them down into categories (quarters > units > lessons).

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I draw out a concept map of the unit and full-year cross-cutting concepts. I start writing in activities I already know/use and mark concepts I don't have good activities for. I target those when looking through online sources.

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I plan on paper, making lots of lists and printing out all available materials from which I want to draw.  Lots of highlighting, sticky notes, and color coding.