Lesson Plan Management

Overview

Lesson Plans allow teachers to prepare for class meetings on a day-to-day basis. In addition to writing the day’s lesson, teachers can attach file resources to assist in the lesson and assign themselves tasks to manage lesson To Do items.

The teacher may write public and/or private versions of the Lesson Plan. Private versions will only appear on the teacher’s planner and lesson calendar unless specified to display to parents and students. Public versions will display on the parents’ and students’ “Calendar” tab on the class website and in their Assignment Planner. Teachers may use the “Preview” tab to view exactly what will be displayed to parents and students before they decide to publish the Lesson Plan in their portals.

Adding Lesson Plans

New Lesson Plans can be added to a specific day and class from two areas in the Teacher Portal.

From the Lesson Calendar

1. Open the Lesson Calendar by either clicking on the ‘Calendar & Lessons’ tab on the class page or the ‘Class Calendar’ link in the Planner.
2. Select the ‘Write Lesson Plan’ button in the upper left corner of the page. This will open the Lesson Plan detail screen.
3. Enter a title for the Lesson Plan and use the text box to write the content for the lesson. Add attachments and tasks, if needed.
4. Select which class and date this lesson is for in the Class & Date column.
5. Save the Lesson Plan when done.
6. Refresh the page to view the recently added Lesson Plan on the Lesson Calendar.

From the Planner

1. Open the Planner.
2. Depending on which view the planner is on (see link above), Lesson Plans can either be edited or added.
   • Timeline View: can only edit existing Lesson Plans. Select the blue Lesson Plan button to edit.
   • Week View: select the ‘Write Lesson Plan’ or ‘Edit Lesson Plan’ button in the upper right corner of the day. This will open the Lesson Plan detail screen.
   • Day View: select the ‘Write Lesson Plan’ or ‘Edit Lesson Plan’ button in the upper right corner of the class block. This will open the Lesson Plan detail screen.
3. Enter a title for the Lesson Plan and use the text box to write the content for the lesson. Add attachments and tasks, if needed.
4. Save the Lesson Plan when done.

Components of a Lesson Plan

Main Content

• Title
  Enter the title of the Lesson Plan. The title appears as the description of the Lesson Plan on the class/lesson calendar.
• Lesson Plan
  Use the text box to write the Lesson Plan.
• Attachments
  Attach files to the Lesson Plan by selecting the ‘Select from Library’ button.
• Tasks
  Add a task by clicking on the gray “Add a task” text and entering the task in the box that appears. Hit the “Enter” key on the keyboard when finished to add the task. Tasks are specific to each Lesson Plan and only visible to the teacher. They can be used to remind teachers of things they need or would like to complete for their lesson. As each task is checked off, they will be crossed out on the task list.

Display Settings

• Portal Display Status
  Select whether to display the Lesson Plan to parents and students in their portals.
• Classes & Dates
  Displays the date on which this Lesson Plan will be used for each section of the class. The date can be changed by selecting the blue date box and picking the new date from the calendar that appears.

Versions

• Main Lesson Plan
  The Lesson Plan tab is the default tab when writing a Lesson Plan. Content on this tab is teacher focused and is considered the main plan for the day.
• Parent & Student Override
  The Parent & Student Override tab is parent- and student-focused. Teachers can choose whether they would like to write an alternate version of their main Lesson Plan to make visible to parents and students in their portals. If content is written on this tab and the “Portal Display Status” is set to Display, then the Parent & Student Override Lesson Plan will display in the portals.
• Preview Tab
  The Preview tab displays a preview of what parents and students will see if the Lesson Plan is displayed in their portals. The current Portal Display Status is also visible on this tab so teacher’s know when they have displayed the content or not. This status is edited from the General tab.

Displaying Lesson Plans

Teacher Portal

When a teacher adds a Lesson Plan it is immediately visible in the following areas in their portal:

The Planner

The Planner View may be added to the portal via the portal shortcut link {system:faculty_planner_timeline}. Schools may add this as a component or as part of the navigation bar. Read more about the Planner here.

Lesson plans display in a teacher’s Planner. In the timeline view, each Lesson Plan is accessible through a blue box at the top of the class block for each day. Clicking on this box will open the Lesson Plan detail screen. In the week and day view of the planner, Lesson Plans can be optionally displayed by selecting the ‘Show’ button.

Calendar and Lessons

Each teacher’s class has its own class-specific calendar. The lesson calendar summarizes information for the class including class block schedule and rotation day, Lesson Plans, assignments, and student birthdays. When a Lesson Plan is written, it will automatically display on the teacher’s lesson calendar in a maroon box.

Parent and Student Portals

Teachers may choose whether or not they would like to share their Lesson Plans with parents and students. They can also decide which version of the plan they would like to share (i.e. main version or Parent & Student Override). To display a Lesson Plan to parents and students, the “Portal Display Status” must be set to “Display.” If there is content written on the “Parent & Student Override” tab, then that content will override the main Lesson Plan text and display the parent and student version in their portals. If no content is written on the “Parent & Student Override” tab, then the main Lesson Plan text written on the “Lesson Plan” tab will display to parents and students.

When a Lesson Plan is displayed to parents and students it is visible in the following areas in their portals:

Class Website

Lesson Plans are displayed on the class website. The Lesson Plan will display on the class calendar and, if the plan is for today, it will appear in the “Today’s Class” section at the top of the page.

Assignment Planner

Lesson Plans are also available in the Assignment Planner (Assignments Tab). Parents and students can click on each blue Lesson Plan button to view a summary of the plan for that day.