When it comes to year long classroom planning, each publisher thinks their curriculum should be front and center in our classrooms. They provide us with lengthy pacing guides and scopes & sequences. In the real world, we have to squeeze all of these subjects into the standard school day. I hate feeling lost in a sea of teaching manuals. To keep myself on track, I color code and condense my year long plan. I also staple a copy in the back of my plan book.
When I created a year long plan for my fifth grade class, I based it on the major units found in our textbooks. It could be organized it by standards, report card categories, or thematically. However, the best way to organize your yearlong plan is in a way that makes the most sense to you. It’s your road map after all. I know that I have to feel good about it. If I don’t, it will be turned in to administration, filed away, and mostly forgotten about as I forge ahead through the never ending to do list.
What works best for me is this condensed, color coded plan. I created the following for our curriculum, and you can grab your editable copy HERE for just $1!
Social Studies text Harcourt: Reflections, and State Reports
Science: Macmillian / McGraw Hill
Language: Open Court
Math: Scott Foresman
Although this plan uses a specific curriculum, this template can be used when organizing by standards or replaced with your curriculum. Just remember to trust your common sense. If you know you’re overloading yourself to begin with, you’ll set yourself up for failure. The number one rule is that it has to make sense to you and not just look good for administrators. I hope this pep talk and template helps make your year more manageable! 😉
**Don’t forget to grab the “All About Me ~ Alphabox” from my last post!
