More bits, bobs and bullet journals: lesson plan outlines
I’m on a journey. A journey through the most-used page layouts in my teaching bullet journal. A journey most-nerdy.
I already explored how I design and use meeting logs. They serve as reference lists. Pages I come back to time and again. Designed for quick and accurate searching.
This week involves a page layout designed for thinking through curriculum, and how best to help new minds connect with my curriculum. Process work where the page itself is rarely referenced afterwards. It’s the build that matters.
The anatomy of a lesson plan outline.
Lesson plan outlines. [This post. You found it.]
Task pages: brainstorms and weeklies.
Lesson plan outlines. Lesson plan outlines help me to condense my thoughts on how I plan to teach a lesson. Building the outline reminds me of important ideas I want to emphasize, resources I need to prepare before the lesson, and connections I want to draw to other lessons.
And often lead me to overhaul my pre-prepared lessons for activities which will resonated more with my current students.
An orderly, inky brainstorm
I adapt my lessons to the strengths, weaknesses and personalities of my students. So, my outlines are unique for each class day — and for each class. These outlines chart the activities and sequences I’m toying with leading my students through.
These aren’t my lesson plans — detailed descriptions of activities and links to all of the resources for every lesson. I keep those electronically.
These outlines are me thinking on paper about the kinds of experiences I think my students need to have to pick up on the day’s learning objectives.
Searchable headings. I make two headings on lesson plan outlines. One is a traditional horizontal title in a colorful ink. The name of the class and the lesson number (for easy searching in my electronic lesson plan database).
The second heading is written vertically along the edge of the page. Also in my chosen accent ink color. This includes the lesson number and the title of the lesson. I have a habit of viewing my book from the right. An angle that befits the vertical headings.
I record the the lesson titles and numbers in my index.
I also track when I taught each section of my classes and the learning objectives to each lesson in the header. Writing shorthand for my learning objectives remind me of the big picture — of what all of the day’s activities should steer my students toward being able to do.
The learning objectives are written in grey ink because EF nibs let me cram a lot of letter into just this right-half of the page
Major activities. The heart of my brainstorming. I keep a running list of what work is due at the beginning of the lesson and what work I plan to assign at the end of the lesson.
The kinds of activities are listed in the left column. I use grey ink so my eye is drawn to the activity list itself. This column reminds me to build pedagogically-sound lessons.
I then list out the activities I plan to take up that day in my accent color. No details here. Just a running list to ensure my activities flow organically from one to the next.
A healthy listicle
End-of-day reflections. I end each school day with a brief reflection on how each lesson went. Did similar questions arise in more than one section? We’re some activities skipped or omitted? Should I follow up with a student to confirm they learned what I intended for them to learn?
Reflections are short jottings, and often in sentence fragments. Quickly-scrawled notes to inform the next day’s teaching.
My lesson plan outlines began as messy, cross-out-laden brainstorms. After 15 years of teaching, the cross-outs are fewer. But the changes to my thinking remain just as messy.
Glorious, handwritten process thinking.
This week’s Inked Tines update includes last week’s currently inked writing tools.
Toolset
Pens. The KACO Retro is a clear standout this week. My partner picked this combo up on Friday to write a letter. After an audible gasp, they asked me, “Can I have one? This is what I’ve been wanting.” Enough said. A true European-EF line with smooth, consistent writing. Accent notes during meetings, reading notes, and some lesson planning. 2/5 left.
TWSBI 580-AL (M/EF Predator Hybrid) — Feed. Mr. Bacas’ predator grind gives me a wallop of a daily driver. Hairline EF lines write consistent, clear detailed tasks and pocket notes. M lines were dry and inconsistent with Fukagawa-nezu — so I reverse wrote but rarely. Task management, reading notes, meeting notes, lesson plans and D&D notes.
Narwhal Schuylkill (EF) — 1/2. Inconsistent pair. Olivine does not play well with this titanium nib and Narwhal feed. Hard starts. Runs dry after three-to-four A5 lines. Not everyone is destined to be best friends, I suppose.
Carolina Charlotte (B) — 1/2. It’s fun to see Aonibi’s uniform dark side. The wet B nib ensures healthy haloing and consistent writing. Wide dark blue lines are suitable for longform reflections, lesson plan outlines, and D&D notes. The heart of things. No accents here.
Franklin-Christoph 03 (M SIG) — 1/2. The pair grew darker and produces more infrequent shading as the week drew on. The M SIG is an excellent line-width for both detailed accent notes and medium-length writing sessions. Yama-budo’s gold sheen also kept lecture notes viewable at odd angles.
Lamy Safari (B) — 4/5. My intended pocket carry. However, I found myself quarantined at home starting Tuesday. And without student papers to mark. This pair writes consistently, and provides plenty of easy-to-skim B lines. But didn’t see use last week.
Notebooks. Work bujo. Odyssey Neptune 400 (A5). A light week at five new pages in my work bullet journal. A two-page weekly spread, two pages of lesson plan outlines and one page of meeting notes. The week’s scribbling ends on page 53.
I sketched out my favorite weekly task management spread exclusively with the TWSBI 580-AL. With both sides of the pen’s nib grind. Two pens in one.
Reverse writing headings and straight lines provided M-width lines and a dark-silver grey color. EF lines on the regular nib side offered hairline silver lines that contrasted enough to render hairline letters easily found on the page. Two inks in one.
We affirm and accept all line widths in this home
Journal. LIFE x Kleid Noble Note (B6). A week of short-form journaling. Four entries add up to seven B6-sized pages. Some weeks I journal when I can. No apologies needed.
The first entry is a written reflection on how my body felt following my most recent round of vaccinations. I tapped the generous B nib in my Carolina Charlotte for the task. Aonibi shades across the back third of letters in this wide nib.
Playing it cool … shading like it’s no big thing
The remainder of my journaling manifested as lists, the stub of a new poem, and a brainstorm. Journaling, like water, takes the shape of whatever time I use to contain it.
Written dry. The TWSBI ended my week with only ink remaining in the pen’s feed. It still writes. But will certainly run dry before next week is behind me.
I came to enjoy Fukagawa-nezu the more the ink darkened up. And Nezu grew moodier the longer it was left in my pen. Lesson learned.
Newly inked. I found myself without the energy to ink a new pen last week. The result is that I got the chance to sit with my original six.
I enjoyed the time as two inks changed personalities mid-week. Fukagawa-nezu smoldered to a mid-toned silver grey. And Yama-budo grew more saturated, throwing off more and more gold sheen as the week wore on.
Positives to be found.
The collection
Incoming / new orders. No new order this week. In truth, I’m saving up for a possible birthday pilgrimage to Yoseka next month. Fingers and pens crossed.
Outgoing / trades or sales. I have pens set aside from my first two pen tray reflections. Packing them into their boxes, pricing them, and then taking pictures are next. After a short “saying goodbye” period.
Currently reading and listening
Fiction. This week provided transitional. A perk of quarantining at home is that I had lovely chunks of time to read and drink honey-laced tea.
I wrapped up Jacques’ Salamandastron early on Sunday. 298 iphone-sized pages.
Mara found her place in the world. A place that values her strengths. And a place with friends who help her feel grounded. We could all be so lucky.
Then I dug into the first chapter of Liu’s — far more serious — The Dark Forest. 29 pages in.
It begins with a conversation about the distinction between thinking and saying. Philosophical, epistemological and touching. I’m already hooked.
Nonfiction. Nonfiction did not live on my lap or on my desk this week. Feeling unwell drove me towards fictional fare.
Music. Fall is officially upon us. I know this because Chillhop records has released their seasonal essentials playlist. A compilation of their newest lo-fi music. And it releases with a new animated video.
The raccoon is a great DJ for my lesson prep sessions and teaching background music. Jazzy, laid back lo-fi. Wonderful tea and journaling music, too.
