How to Map Out Your E-Learning Lesson Plans
How to create a curriculum map.
How to Map Out Your E-Learning Lesson Plans
Uncertain Times
I think we can all agree that our current situation is unconventional and if I am being honest, it makes me sad. I will be the first one to admit that throughout the school year I have thought to myself, “Gosh, if I could just have a break…” but now that I have had “a break” all I want to do is be in my classroom with my students, seeing their smiles and hearing their stories, yes even the ones that seem like they might possibly never end..
So now what?
It’s okay if you took time off to process, that’s what I did. It’s also okay if you dove right in and started planning immediately, way to go! If you’re anything like me though, before I just start doing things, I need a plan. I need an outline that is going to help me map out the unforeseeable future so that I know what my end goal is. There is nothing worse than diving into something, only to realize you skipped a step and need to go back and redo. So instead of just jumping in head first, let’s take a step back and think through what our big picture is for this new thing we like to call, e-learning.
* To watch a YouTube video that goes over this blog post, click here!
Questions to ask yourself:
What is my end goal?
What standards do I need to cover?
How long do I need to plan for?
How am I going to record my planning?
Supplies needed to map out your e-learning lesson plans
Curriculum
Curriculum Map
Standards
Calendar
Writing tools
Lined Paper
Laptop - to type final product - optional
If you don’t have a curriculum map, check out this blog post to help you create one for next year! For now, don’t worry about it! You have enough to worry about it! I attached some info from the curriculum map blog post I wrote, just to give you an idea!
What is a Curriculum Map
A curriculum map is a visual breakdown of all of the lessons and standards that will be covered over a period of time. This period could be over an entire school year, a semester, or even over the quarter or trimester, depending on how long your classes last. In this case, it might be one or two or even three months.
What is a Scope and Sequence?
A scope and sequence and a curriculum map are nearly interchangeable. However, a curriculum map is a little more broad, whereas a scope and sequence is a lot more detailed and includes lesson plans and activities.
What is curriculum mapping?
Curriculum mapping has the sole purpose of filling the gaps and helping to align standards and topics. Curriculum mapping requires breaking down all of the standards and topics and putting them in a sequential order (scope and sequence) that will guide how you teach, what you teach, and when you teach it.
Why is it important to have a scope and sequence?
After five years of teaching, this guide has become my lifeline. When I first started teaching, I was definitely “winging” it. I barely knew what I was teaching the day of, so there was no way I would have been able to tell you what I was teaching next week. Let alone, plan my lessons around school-wide events, professional development that caused me to be gone, or even help students if they needed their materials before going on a family vacation.
Now that I live by this guideline, I feel prepared for lost days of instruction. I am no longer worried about getting all of the standards squeezed in or planning for a substitute. If you asked me what I was teaching on any given day of the year, say April 8th or any other day, I would be able to tell you.
Now don’t get me wrong. There are still surprises. Lessons that don’t go as well as we thought, days for catch up and reteaching, along with being a day behind due to being sick or even a surprise fire drill. However, with this plan, I don’t worry about that whatsoever, because I already have days like this built into my schedule.
If you’re anything like me, you’re probably still a bit skeptical about this whole curriculum planning ordeal. You’re probably thinking, “I don’t know what I am having for lunch tomorrow, how am I supposed to plan out an entire year of curriculum?” That’s ok! We are in this together and I am here to help you however you need! If you have any questions throughout this process, please send me an email or reach out to me on Instagram. I am here to help however I can!
Whether you’re just starting a new school year or already halfway through your school year, this guide is for you! It is never too late to sit down and plan out the remainder of your school year.
Maybe you’re worried about fitting everything in before the end of the year, wondering what content you will cover before state testing, or trying to plan around important events throughout this year. This guide will help you create your own curriculum map and help you feel confident in your lessons, help you plan for those surprise events that pop up and even be able to plan more in-depth lessons because you will already have the next topic on your radar.
Here is to feeling more confident and prepared. A less stressed teacher is a better teacher. If you’re ready to dive in, download your guide now and start creating your own curriculum map! I am so excited for you to start this journey!
- Kayla
How to Create a Curriculum Map Guide!
If you have already created your curriculum map, you’re ahead of the game and this is going to be much easier, however, if you haven’t, no worries! You got this!
Step 1: Define your timeline
Every school is different, so I can’t assume we are all planning for the same amount of time. Some schools are only planning for two weeks, where others might be making plans for the next few months. Whatever your school has decided, let’s just go with it for now. If you need to add on or modify later, you totally can!
Look at your school calendar, how many actual teaching days are you planning for? Write this number down.
Step 2: Subject/Content
Some teachers are blessed to only have to prepare for one subject or content area, where others might be an elementary teacher teaching all the things or a content teacher that teaches all of the science or math classes for the school. Regardless, for now, just pick one subject or one class, you can always go back and repeat for your other subjects or classes. As I continue through this, I am going to assume you only teach one subject or class and I am going to write as if you do, however, I understand that isn’t the reality for most. I mean, I teach three subjects myself.
Grab out your curriculum or pacing guide for one subject or class.
Step 3: Standards
Remember when I asked you what standards you needed to cover? (Remember this is for just one class, not all of your classes.) This is important now. Whether you’re expected to finish out all of your standards, or only plan for your power standards, take some time to write each of these standards for your one specific subject out on separate pieces of lined paper. When I say write the standard out, I don’t just mean 6.NS.1 or whatever, actually, write out the entire standard. Each standard should be on a separate piece of paper.
Write out each of the standards you need to teach during your e-learning time.
Step 4: Ideal timeline
Now I want you to grab each of your pieces of paper and write out what lessons and activities you would typically go through if you were teaching these standards in the classroom. —This is where your curriculum or pacing guide will be helpful if you follow a specific plan in your school.
For example, standard 6.NS.1 - Interpret and compute quotients of fractions, and solve word problems involving division of fractions by fractions.
With this standard, I am only being asked to teach about dividing fractions. However, knowing that fractions are typically a challenging area for students, I would like to review adding and subtracting fractions, along with multiplying fractions. In a perfect world my fraction unit would take me 20 days.
If you’re very limited on paper like me, use pencil first! Honestly, how do I not have a notebook at my house? PS - Since we are in quarantine I can’t just go out and get more paper, so hopefully you can look past my mistakes haha!
Go through each of your standards doing this so that you have an idea of how many days you would “typically” need to teach your standards.
Figure out how long it would take you to teach each standard in an ideal setting
Step 5: Prioritizing what you need to teach
Now that you know how many days of e-learning your planning for and how many days it would typically take to teach each of those standards, it is time to break it down into the timeline you’re working with.
If you’re crunched for time and feel like you won’t be able to fit it all in. Start condensing your lessons or seeing which ones might not be as important. I am not saying it is okay to just not teach something, but if you know you need to cut something out, try to choose something you feel like they might already have prior knowledge on or something that doesn’t align with your power standards. I know it isn’t ideal, but there is only so much we can control right now. It is better to get rid of something that isn’t as important, rather than try to send these assignments in the order we typically would and then run out of time for a topic or lesson that is critical for the next year. Who knows, maybe you’ll end up with extra time and be able to teach it!
Prioritize your standards
Step 6: Ordering your standards
If you had to cut anything out, don’t worry about it. Now that you know what you need to teach and how long it will take to teach it, you need to decide which order you’re going to teach it in.
For starters, simply take each of your papers with your standards and lessons and put it in the order that you believe it would be best to teach it in.
Once you have your order, grab your calendar and start mapping out your outline for what lessons you’re going to go through each day or each week. This is going to look so different for everyone since some teachers might be assigning new content every single day, whereas other teachers might just be providing a menu of what needs to get done for the full week. Regardless, it is important to decide what you’re hoping to teach and when.
I have heard that many schools are only assigning three lessons a week or are modifying the amount of content that they are giving. These are good options to consider. Many of our students are already overwhelmed with e-learning and with suddenly being responsible for all of their education, especially those who don’t have parental support. Has your school decided how you will deliver this content or how often you will be pushing these assignments out? Are you a school that is only sending these three times a week or are you expected to have 50 minutes of content for your students every single day? I am not saying any of these ways are right or wrong, right now it is just important to follow your school’s protocol or do whatever you feel is best for your students. You know your students better than anyone. What’s expected for a high school honors class is going to look very different from a remedial class.
If you don’t have a calendar, no worries, you can write right on top of the papers you just ordered. You can write the dates next to the lessons or be a bit broader and write, “Week 1” or “Weeks 1-3” etc. Whatever works best for you!
Order your standards onto your calendar
Repeat
If you have other classes or subjects, repeat as necessary.
Step 7: Plan & Roll out your content
Although it is hard to find the positive during this rough time, one positive is how blessed we are with endless options for technology and with so many different companies offering free trials for their products and subscriptions.
There will still be the work of planning how you’re going to teach each lesson. Will you be recording your own lessons or using YouTube or Khan academy. Does your curriculum provide any online activities? These are things you’re still going to have to figure out day by day. However, now you at least have a plan for what you will be teaching and when.
I know planning this out is a lot of work, but once you’re done, your stress level and anxiety will go way down knowing that you’re able to teach your students what they need to know and that you have a plan of when you’re going to teach it.
* To watch a YouTube video that goes over this blog post, click here!
Let’s stay in contact!
If you have any questions or need any help, please reach out to me! I would love to help you however I can.
Email: northdakotateaching@gmail.com
Instagram: northdakotateaching
CHECK-OUT MY Best Selling eLearning Math Resource!
Distance Learning Long Division Math Activity
CHECK-OUT MY OTHER MIDDLE SCHOOL BLOG POSTS:
MAP OUT YOUR ENTIRE CURRICULUM IN ONE SITTING
BONUS! If your school is distance learning right now, check these out for more resources and digital learning strategies:
How to Boost Classroom Community during Digital Learning
Get ideas for Social-Emotional Learning Activities for online teaching
An example of how Distance Learning is Happening
FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
@NORTHDAKOTATEACHING
