Erin Condren Teacher Planner-Lesson Plan Format

 Writing lesson plans have been something that, as a new teacher, I struggled with. I have found that typing my plans makes my plan books look that much nicer. I am able to put all the information needed, without running out of room. Once I got my Erin Condren Teacher Planner, I realized I would need a new template for typing my plans. I tweaked one that I found on Pinterest. It works well for me. I am excited to see how it plays out for the rest of the year. 

Erin Condren Teacher Planner Review Part 2: Setting Up the Planner

**I am in no way officiated with Erin Condren, and am not endorsed for promoting products.**

Setting up a planner for the beginning of the year, both educational and personal, is always fun for me. I thoroughly enjoy using stickers and markers to keep myself organized. The Erin Condren Teacher Lesson Planner is one that makes my life as a teacher, so much easier.

When you open the planner, you see a page to write your name and school. The color of these pages just brings a smile to my face. If they can't decipher who's planner it is from the outside cover, they can definitely tell from the inside. The tabs (seen to the right) are laminated and colorful. They are lasting the year, so far.

The next page is an "All About Me" page. This page gives you a spot to put in contact information for you and your school, as well as a space to place your usernames and passwords for important school websites. This is a great idea and spot, but if you are nervous about security, then I wouldn't put them there. 

Next comes a two page spread to list important dates to remember. It comes with a lot of holidays and other interesting dates, but it gives you a chance to put in report card due dates, birthdays, meetings and more.

A set of birthday pages comes next. I have not used these yet, but I'm sure you could use them for something else if you needed to.

There are several pages for an "Absentee Log". I've started to use it, and really enjoy it. It gives me a chance to keep a list of kids who might be out. However, when I teach 80 kids every day, I don't always get a chance to log who is out from each period.

Erin Condren also gives you some graphing note pages. This would be awesome to use to create a floor plan of your room or a seating chart, but I also have not used these pages yet.

The year at a glance section is AWESOME!! I have not sat down and really wrote my ideas down, only because I am waiting until they are all kind of finalized so I don't make any mistakes. I have my own year-at-a-glance document on the computer that I created over the summer.

I absolutely love the month, 2 page spreads. The date dots are awesome. They just add a little bit to the month. I, like the picture below, use a mixture of pens and stickers to decorate my planner. Keep an eye out for how I organize my monthly views, in another post. They even have calendars for the summer months, in case your school starts earlier than others.

I also LOVE the weekly plan pages. I lay my week out differently than they show here, but I still LOVE the format. The days are horizontal and the subjects/times are vertical. I can easily see what I'm doing every day of the week at 8:15-9:00 am if I wanted to. Keep an eye out for my post on the lesson plan format. 

I also have learned to love the Checklist pages. I use them to both note who has handed in assignments and who is missing, as well as the grades for the assignments. It is a wonderful system, once you make it your own.

I love the stickers that Erin Condren gives you. There are several pages with printed stickers and several one that are blank. This is especially helpful since I work at a Catholic School. There are added events that are not the same as those in a public school.

There is also a folder which can hold extra stickers, papers, or items for the planner. It has come in handy.

The last pages are clear sheet protectors and a zipper pouch for miscellaneous things. I have not used the clear protector sheets, but it would be a great spot to hold a schedule and other important papers for any teacher or substitute.

I absolutely love the planner, and will definitely purchase another one next year.

**Note: All images are taken from the virtual tour on the Erin Condren site.**

Erin Condren Teacher Planner Review Part 1: Ordering

**I am in no way officiated with Erin Condren, and am not endorsed for promoting products.**

When I became a teacher, the one thing I got super excited about was organizing my room in such an adorable way. Baskets, binders, and more...it all made me so excited. When I finally got my own room last year, I didn't focus on making it super cute. I focused more on making sure that I understood the curriculum assigned to me. This year, I redesigned the layout of my classroom, and am focusing on being a more organized and prepared teacher. To top that off, my classroom can be cute as well.

One of the key things that I kept seeing on Pinterest over the past few years was the Erin Condren Teacher Lesson Planner.I kept seeing what an awesome planner it was, and all the reviews of it, so I finally broke down and bought one. It is such an awesome planner! I LOVE IT!!!!



When you go to purchase the planner you have the option to "Personalize a Lesson Planner" or order one "Ready to Ship". I choose to personalize the planner. Choosing a cover took a long time, but I finally choose one that went along with my classroom theme....black with multicolored, bright dots. It really makes me smile when I use it during the day. I added my name and my school's name to the planner as well. It is easily known that this is my lesson planner.



There are several other options to personalize your planner further. I added 3 sheet protectors to my planner, rather than just the 1 that is included. I also added 14 checklist pages, rather than the 7 that are included. Once you have added the planner to your cart, you can add various accessories as well. One thing I added was the "Designer Date Dots" for the monthly calendar pages. I also added the customized event stickers, but the planner comes with so many already, that the customized ones were not worth it, to me. The other important thing that I got personalized was a Carry All Clutch, in the large size. It is a life saver!!!

In the next few blog posts, I'll review the parts of the planner, and how I've started to use them this year.

40 Book Challenge

Yes, I know my blog title is "Stepping into Science", but I also happen to teach English Language Arts and Reading to my group of fifth grad homeroom students. I also am a firm believer that good reading instruction should happen across the curriculum, not just within a specific discipline.

During my sophomore practicum in college, I observed my own 4th grade teacher. During that time, I noticed that she challenged her students to read 40 books during the school year. Last year, during my first year of teaching, I contacted my teacher, Ms. B, and asked her if she could send me her resources for it. She directed me to Donna Miller, the creator of this wonderful idea. Miller's idea is to challenge students to read outside their comfort zone and experience new books.

My students really took the challenge to a whole new level last year. One student alone read 160 books in the school year. This year, my students are also getting excited about this challenge. I changed my genres from last year, and really tried to include a little bit of everything. I have already heard wonderful things from my students' parents about the challenge. I hope this year will be as successful as last year.

Here are the requirements for the 2015-2016 Challenge:

40 Book Challenge Genre Breakdown

·         Mythology- 2

·         Poetry- 2

·         Biography or Autobiography-2

·         Historical Fiction-2

·         Realistic Fiction-2

·         Informational Text-4

·         Mystery-2

·         Graphic Novel-6

·         Science Fiction-2

·         Newberry Honor or Newberry Winner-2

·         Free Choice Chapter Book-12

·         Traditional Literature/Classic-2

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