Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Inspire Me!

 I'm a person who enjoys words and inspirational quotes.  Perhaps that makes me a nerd, but really...I don't care.  It's sometimes what helps me get through a day or gets my thoughts down the right path as I'm getting ready for the day.  I wish I was better with creating all of these thought provoking sayings, so I resort to using other people's inspirational thoughts.

Now, how do I get these little words of wisdom.  Pinterest is a great place to find these quotes, but I wanted to use them in an effective way.  I also wanted this to be a way to add a little more personality to my classroom.  I made a frame for myself and my student teacher to write inspirational quotes on that would sit at our desks.  I bought cheapo 4x6 frames from Wal-Mart and found some scrapbook paper for the backgrounds.  I use a dry-erase marker to write on the glass.  And VOILA!  Instant inspiration on a budget!

Monday, October 14, 2013

Lesson Plan Form

Hey all!

I'm attempting to get started on TeachersPayTeachers.  First of all, what a GENIUS idea for a website!  I know I've benefited greatly from it, as I'm sure many of you have!  I'm working towards getting some of my stuff up there so y'all can enjoy some of the things I've created.  Plus, I will attempt to give you editable forms so that you can make it your own.

What I would first like to share is my lesson planner form.  I made it in Excel (which is how I've posted it on TpT).  The pictures below gives you a good idea of how I use it.  I'm a person that if I do not have things written down, I tend to be forgetful.  I know my weakness and try to compensate for it.

So, the "Daily Teacher Tasks" is a section that I designated my daily things I need to get done during any prep time that I have so that I can stay on top of things.  (SOW=Song of the Week, WOW=Word of the Week)  I even put down write something for this here blog.  Ha!  Perhaps I will stay more on top of it!

Below are some snapshots of how I write my plans down.  I have it organized by grade level across the top (enough for 5 grade levels.)  If you know how to work Excel, you can adjust the cells where you can fit in extra grade levels if needed.  I then have the days of the week listed vertically.  The "Day" part is for writing down what day of our specialist cycle we are on.  I actually have two different cycles (a 4-day rotation and a 5-day rotation)!  UGH!  So, I highlight GREEN for one cycle, and BLUE for the other.  It works...it would be nicer to have everyone on the same cycle, but due to numbers and how many teachers of each section we have, and specialists...this is what works for our building.  I also write the date in red along the side as well.

I also have sections along the right hand side of the form for planning choir rehearsals, any building events or concerts coming up, and then a section for notes to help me remember anything coming up such as field trips, meetings, observations, or anything else that I would need to be aware of.


Please let me know if you have any questions!

Click here to get the blank template!


 *Disclaimer:  the font I used is "Huxtable", so if you have issues with the font or size of the font, it may be due to not having that particular font.  Just make the needed adjustments.