Hey y’all and welcome back to the blog! I need you to know something about me…I’m a planner. I mean a “what are we doing 3 weeks and 2 days from now, why haven’t you added that to the calendar” type planner.
Getting Started
Knowing what’s coming and how it affects my day is something that gives me real peace of mind. Having said that, I spent a LONG time not having a year-long plan for my concepts. I knew generally what I needed to teach and what activities I wanted to use, but I never put anything down on paper.
About two years ago, I decided to finally make that plan. Normally, I am a paper and pencil type girl. I have a paper planner for my personal stuff, but for my long range plans, I decided to use Google Sheets. It’s easily accessible from my computer, phone or iPad which is a MUST! I love being able to glance at what’s coming in the next week or quickly add a change to our schedule.
What to Include
Here is a quick overview of what is included in my long range plans for one school year. I’ll be going over these in more detail later in the post.
- School Weeks
- Grade Levels
- General Plans for each week
- Changes to the Schedule (Field Trips, Inservice, Parent/Teacher Conferences, etc.)
- Programs & Program Prep Time
- Breaks from School
Begin With The End In Mind
The first thing I do when creating my plans for the year is divide my Google Sheet up into grade levels. I teach PreK-5th grade music, so I have a column for each grade level. The next step is to add my dates.
To do this, I go to my district calendar and write down the month and date of each Monday of the school year in each row. An example for the 2020 school year would be:
- August 3
- August 10
- August 17
- August 24
This really just gives me a date to put with each week. I may be tweaking this slightly for the upcoming year, because Related Arts will be teaching on a 5 day rotation rather than M-F. I haven’t decided how I’ll change it in my Google Sheet yet, so for now I will stick with the dates.
District Calendar & Events
While I am still looking at my district calendar, I add in breaks from school (Fall/Spring/Winter Break, Parent/Teacher Conference Days, Inservice Days, etc.). All of these dates go into my “Changes in Schedule” column. I’ll be adding more to this column later. You’ll see that I also color code things. Breaks from school are always greyed out to help me see dates when I won’t be teaching.
After I have added all of the district mandated dates and events, it’s time to start planning!
I always start by adding my program dates in. At my school, I do anywhere from 3-5 major programs each year. We of course have smaller ones and performances in the community throughout the year as well.
In my “Changes to Schedule” column, I add in each program date. We schedule these in the springtime of the previous year, so they are already on the calendar. I usually plan 8-9 weeks of prep time for each program, so I block this off for that grade level. More color coding here! My programs are always coded with blue!
I also do a chorus program every year, but since that group meets after school, I don’t include it in this set of plans.
Grade Level Bands
Once I have planned out all the programs and prep time in the Google Sheet, I move on to content planning.
You’ll see in the images that I choose to plan content in grade level bands. This means PreK, K and 1st, 2nd-3rd, and 4th-5th. These grade level bands are always working on the same topic, but the individual activities usually vary.
For example, I do my 4th-5th grade recorder unit at the same time. 4th graders are doing beginning recorder and learning basics while the 5th graders are doing Recorder Karate.
Remember, when you make these plans you can customize it however you like!
When thinking about what content I need to teach throughout the year, I always work backwards.
I think about what each grade level needs to know before the end of the year. As an example, we know that in Kindergarten we focus on opposites (high/low, loud/soft, fast/slow, etc.), the 4 voices, steady beat, and other basics.
I think about how many classes I usually spend on one topic and what activities are associated with it, then block out that time in the Google Sheet. I normally only put main topics down for each week.
Since I’m going into my 7th year of teaching, for the most part, I know my specific plans for each topic. Occasionally I will put books or certain activities/games that I want to do.
I especially do this if there is something new I want to try.
As I fill in the content for each grade level, I also think about what order everything needs to go in. I know you’re thinking…ok, Rachel, do you really need to tell me that? Maybe I’m telling myself more than anything.
Multiple times in the last 6 years, I have started a unit and my students look at me like I’m crazy because I skipped teaching them something.
So, as you’re planning out topics, make sure to double check the order in which you teach them.
Freebie Weeks
Now that I have all my content laid out for the year, I want to build in some wiggle room if it doesn’t already exist.
I like to plan what I call “Freebie Weeks” a few times a year. These weeks help me to stay on track with my curriculum while also giving me some grace in my schedule.
Freebie weeks can be used for multiple reasons. A perfect example of this might be where there are multiple field trips throughout the school. In the fall, we have lots of grade levels that visit the pumpkin patch or our local history museum.
I always check my school calendar to see when these field trips occur. The first thing I do is add them all to the “Changes to Schedule” column, then I usually plan a freebie week. During this time, I’ll plan for things like stations, outside review games, or anything that doesn’t require teaching a brand new topic.
I can also use this time to catch up with some classes that may have missed music for some reason in previous weeks. Freebie Weeks have saved me a few times, so make sure to give yourself that cushion in your plans.
Aaand Done!
Just like that, DONE. All my content planned for the ENTIRE school year!
I can’t tell you how good it feels to have everything mapped out. Now, of course, things will change, topics will take longer than anticipated, and lessons will bomb.
Guess what? That’s okay. Make a note and change how you do it next time. I do this all the time. Make sure to let me know when you get your year long plan done!
I can’t wait to hear how it goes for you! You can always reach me on Instagram @musicfromb2z.
