Lesson Planning When You Have Too Many Resources
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Season 1 | Episode 40
Show Notes
One thing that I struggle with is the availability of too many resources! Any tips? I wind up feeling so guilty when I don’t get to a particular song or activity, but I can’t do it all…
1. There are a lot of opinions out there.
The internet is open to anyone - there are lots of opinions out there
How you should parent, what types of foods you should eat for a healthy diet, what style of clothes you should wear, how you should spend your money….
You wouldn’t accept anyone’s suggestion on the internet just because it’s on the internet. You have a set of criteria that you run those options by.
2. When you have too many ideas:
I have several documents floating around as I lesson plan. Too many ideas is the same problem as not enough, so I want to gather my favorite processes.
I have several documents floating around:
Someday Songs - Songs I’ve found and I love and I have a broad idea of how they might live, but I haven’t plugged them in yet. I just don’t want to forget about them.
“When You’re Out of Ideas” - processes I can use when I feel bored or burnt out in my work
3. Lesson ideas have to live up to you.
Lesson ideas need to earn a spot in your curriculum.
We don’t all think of ourselves as curriculum designers, but we are all curriculum curators. So we go through the curriculum process.
4. Pinteresting like a curriculum curator
Curriculum design process
Values first - what are we here to do? Who are we serving? We need a clear idea of our why foundation and a clear idea of who our student community is.
Where would we go from here? What does this activity lead toward?
What is the prerequisite knowledge students need to have before they can do this activity successfully?
Where are the opportunities for student choice and student ownership?
Questions: Alignment and structure
Is this in alignment with my values and my student’s values?
Where does this activity fit in the overall structure, or sequence, of the year.
Am I drawn to the activity or the process?
5. Moving forward:
Clarifying values
Get clear on your personal curriculum structure
Have a landing page for ideas.
Some ideas are beautiful for someone else’s classroom, and not the right fit for you. Some ideas are beautiful, and not the right fit for your situation right now. Some ideas are beautiful and you can use them as a one-off lesson that goes under a “just for fun” category. Some ideas are beautiful and you’ll use them in a way that is aligned with your values and the structure of your curricular sequence.
We need a filter. In the same way we want to spend our money in a way that aligns with our values, we want to shop for lesson ideas that align with our values.
Create your criteria. Filter lesson ideas through the criteria. Lesson ideas need to earn a place in your curriculum.
