7 Lesson-Planning Tips for K–12 Classes
Summer is a great time to sketch out big ideas for the upcoming school year with unit plans, themes, and cross-curricular projects.
I taught full-time at a middle school in San Francisco for six years, and before that, spent seven years as a specialist at numerous Bay Area K–12 schools. I poured hours and hours into lesson planning, envisioning specific spaces and students, and became curious about what was working, what fell flat, and how to incorporate as many ideas as possible that came directly from the students.
I recently connected with four colleagues to discuss lesson planning: Michaela Minock Finnegan, who teaches preK–5 students at Hmong International Academy in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Tajh Malik of Saint Mary’s College High School in Albany, California; Skyler Rodgers of Verrado High School in Buckeye, Arizona; and Valerie Gutwirth, who taught for 23 years in Berkeley Unified School District and currently is a professor in the California State University, East Bay, credential program.
Here are seven takeaways from our conversations that might help you in the new school year.
1. Planning for the moment
When lesson planning, it’s important to ask yourself some key questions: What do your students need right now? What do you see emerging thematically? And how do you collect your students’ ideas and music suggestions?
“I poll the current students [and ask] what songs are they into? What have they been exposed to in terms of styles, and what do they want to try?” Rodgers explains.
Malik also shares a helpful contextual tool. Every Sunday night, the high school where they work sends out the week’s schedule to the entire staff. Malik uses this information to gain a broader picture of the students and what they are doing outside of the dance classes to plan their lessons.
2. Prep-time realities
How effective is it to plan lessons when you have a few prep periods during the school day?
Finnegan has a 30-minute prep period at the start of the day, and then a little more time in the middle of the day, adjacent to her lunch break. She expressed that this time is used for prep work, not usually planning work. Prep might include printing something out, writing ideas out on the board, or figuring out the combination. “I have usually made the plan, just not [what’s needed] to implement the plan,” she says.
Rodgers is frequently asked to cover for other people during his prep periods. As a result, he has spent many weekends prepping outside of school hours and is trying to hold on to his prep time within the school day. He suggests drawing healthy boundaries at your school so that your prep time remains intact.
3. Balancing new material with prior lessons
When it comes to creating lesson plans, you could consider balancing new lessons along with tried-and-tested material from past years, including a warm-up or a prior combination.
“It’s okay to do some things, again,” Finnegan says. “If you have an activity that works really well, [think of ways to] creatively incorporate it into different activities and different units.”
“The more flexible I can be, the better,” Rodgers adds. For example, after identifying the rigor and stress the teens were encountering at school, he started making time for stretching and meditation within his dance classes.
4. Revisiting your state’s arts standards
Because standards can serve multiple purposes as personal reflection on your teaching practice, curriculum assessment, and lesson planning, it’s important to revisit them at different points during the school year.
Gutwirth expresses that, for some, standards can be a point of inspiration—teachers can choose one or two, and design a lesson or unit around them. “It can be great to design lessons around standards and watch your students build those skills,” she says. “For others (myself included), they can feel like more of a trap—the thing you HAVE to do, rather than what you are inspired by or want to explore. For these [individuals], standards can serve as a self-assessment: Did I incorporate all four of the strands? And when and how, over the course of this unit, semester, or year?”
“There is also an equity factor to consider about the way the standards are built: They really prioritize creative work over any kind of traditional form, genre, or technique,” Gutwirth adds. “So, if you need to reference the standards and you teach something like folklórico, you have to look at the creating standards with that overlay.”
5. Inviting guest artists
Whether it’s for a single special class or several weeks in a row, guest artists bring in fresh ideas, teach new dance forms, and enhance the learning experience for both students and teachers. “I definitely recommend seeking out guest artists and choreographers,” Rodgers says.
Gutwirth adds: “Having community members and local dance organizations come in to teach is culturally responsive, expands the scope of your program, and gives your students a lens into dance as a profession and a connection to the wider community. Every year [teaching K–5], I sent out an introductory letter to families, explaining the dance program. That turned into an every-semester thing. On every communication, I would say: ‘If you study or teach a dance style, or have a dance to share, let me know.’ ”
Even during the summer, reaching out to your students’ families is still possible, especially if you are planning for next year and want to set up early visits. One or two classroom visits can be a very meaningful connection between school and families.
6. A new book resource
As part of your summer reading, check out the book Choreographing the Curriculum: Design a Dance Program with the Creative Process at Its Core by Wendy Jones, a longtime teacher at Lowell High School in San Francisco. She talks about embracing the reality of short class periods and how to make the most of the time with your students. She also shares her experience crafting warm-ups and projects that seamlessly lead to the culminating performances.
7. Inspiration and self-care
“If [you find yourself] stuck in lesson planning, you might need to move your body,” suggests Malik, who believes it’s equally important for dance educators to look and feel their best when challenging themselves.
“When I was first starting out and working so hard on my lesson plans, sometimes I would sacrifice something for the lesson plans (staying up late, not taking the dance classes for myself, or spending enough time with my friends),” Finnegan explains. “Now, it’s more important for me to do those things, especially the sleep part! I would rather be well-rested and make it up than have a lesson plan from midnight and be sleep deprived. Even though lesson planning is important, I realized that feeling at my best is more important than [creating] the perfect lesson plan.”
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