Lesson planning

[Pos1]

I'm interested in how long it takes you to plan one lesson for key stage 2 including plan, flip chart and resources. It's taking me ages at the moment and I'm not sure whether it's just because I am still quite new to teaching......

[Cynderella]

I'm sure it is. I teach Y9 - 13 and a lesson can take a few minutes to plan if I've taught it before.

However, if i'm teaching a new text or question, I will plan very carefully. It could take a weekend to plan a few lessons. Once it's done though, I'll adapt for different groups and texts, and then it'll be much easier.

Lots of people download powerpoints and so on, and I do too, but I find it quicker to start from scratch and make what I need.

When we have a new GCSE or A' Level specification, I plan the first weeks in great detail over the summer. Then, every year, I get a bit further on. By the time I've planned a whole course, there's a new spec!

[Lowdoorinthewal1]

10- 15 mins if I make a new notebook for it. 5 mins if I just use something pre-prepared. Try to only make new resources for one lesson a day tops, so a day's worth of planning is maybe 30-40 mins.

I plan day to day so just consider those 40 mins per day part of my working life.

[TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince]

I’ve been teaching 20 years and can always find something from the past to use.

If it, ld say it takes about 10 minutes to plan, but 3 hours to do the resources.

[twolittleboysonetiredmum]

I’m an experienced teacher but new to my year group so takes more time than if I’d done it before. Takes an hour per week for maths and same for English (excluding reading). I never make my own resources. There is no need with what’s out there so I’d knock that part out straight away :)

[Stripybeachbag]

I am a secondary teacher in science. It can take ages at the beginning. It is worth it though. When I started I had big behaviour problems that I can now see was due to poor planning. I plan everything on Google docs using their version of PowerPoint for instructions and content. It makes everything so easy to save and access. To give you an idea: an hour lesson from scratch can take me between 1/2 to 3 hours depending on the age group. That is after 7 years (and constantly changing syllabus).

Once you get a system that works for you, the planning becomes much quicker and more consistent for the kids. It may seem like a killer but if you put in a lot of effort now you will really reap the rewards next year or in future terms.