Lessons Plans.....The love/hate relationship!

I couldn't have said it better than Rick Riordan! Even though we are not in a "classroom" setting (although my libraries - all 4 of them - have had a classroom setting within them), librarians should plan their time wisely. Especially in this day of schedules on the :03's and sometimes over 9 classes per day, we need a plan!!

Where to begin.....

Having a GREAT lesson plan template is where I found my "happy place" when it came to creating lesson plans. There may be others out there, but https://www.commoncurriculum.com  has been my "go-to" lesson plan template and lesson plan book for years now. What sold me on this website was the drop down standards menus for each state, content area and grade level! It made lesson planning SO MUCH EASIER!! Plus, you could share templates and lessons with others and you can go back and look at past lessons without having to keep dusty three-ring binders lying around and taking up precious space! This site is also FREE, which makes it all the sweeter to use! 

Once you have your account set up, then you will want to set up your template how you want your classes to work.                           I color coded my grade levels and set it up with what the district/school required me to have in the template. (left)         To me, "Learning Goal" and "I CAN" statements are very similar, however, my district required them both.                              The magnifier under standards is where you can find the drop down menu for the standards list. 😊

 Most of the time, your administration will tell you when you have to begin seeing students. I did not do my "Rules" lesson until I knew I would see all the students in a week. This way I knew all the classes had been through the introduction. Take into account how long your classes are before creating your plans. You ALWAYS want to have time to read aloud! It is a good idea to hold off on checking out books until the second week of classes. This way it gives a chance for the classes to be more settled. Plus it gives you time to get your materials ready for checkout. 

                                                                                                   If we started on a Thursday or Friday, I would have the kids create a word wall about the library. With Kindergartners and first graders (sometimes Pre-K) I would write the words the students gave me, but second graders would work together in pairs to come up with words. One year, I took the words they gave me and made a word cloud bulletin board and another year I had t-shirts made for my clerk and me. Then I would read a story about the library (of course). Here are a few samples of short stories for the first few days. You can also let them draw pictures of what they think of when they hear the word library.

Hopefully, your start to the year goes as planned. Being organized and having a plan is the way to go. The next post will be ideas about how to work your check in and checkout procedures and the materials you may want to use to help it flow smoothly. WELCOME BACK!!📖