lesson planning

Tips for Saving Time When Lesson Planning

So, you’re about to start your brand-new temporary teaching position in London, found by our teaching recruitment experts here at Red Box.

You may have already started planning your lessons and are perhaps finding it slightly more time consuming than you’d like. We all need a bit of downtime, and with many teachers spending around 10.6 hours of their free time on lesson planning during the week, you may be looking for a way to save yourself time.

As a reputable London teaching recruitment agency, we understand that what makes a good teaching candidate is how well you deliver your lessons, not the amount of time you spend on it! We have compiled a list of a few tips and tricks to help you save precious time during the lesson planning process.

Make A Weekly Schedule

Some people tend to avoid setting time aside to create a schedule, thinking that it is a waste of time that could be spent being productive in other ways.

However, we believe that taking time once a week to sit and plan out your week, you’ll end up saving time in the long run. Organising your tasks across the week will highlight any time gaps, making it easier to visualise when your free time will be.

This method of planning will also allow you to reschedule certain tasks as you require, making it easier to make social plans that don’t compromise your workload.

Work Backwards

Once you’ve made your weekly schedule, the lesson planning can begin. Having worked with many successful candidates over the years, our teaching agency has found that working backwards when lesson planning is an effective and efficient method.

You won’t waste time working out what the purpose of your lesson is – you’ll start at the finish line, and design your lesson plan based on reaching that destination.

Repurpose Old Lesson Plans

You have most likely taught a plethora of lessons in your previous primary teaching positions, so instead of spending time completely recreating lessons from scratch, there is absolutely no harm in repurposing lesson plans you have used before.

Giving your PowerPoints a spring clean will not only ensure they are up-to-date and personalised to your new class, but it will save you so much time!

Make Use of Interactive Elements

It goes without saying that making use of interactive elements in your lesson such as games, videos and quizzes are a great way for engaging your classroom.

It can be tempting to create these elements from scratch, which is great if you have the time to. But if you are looking for a way to save yourself some time, our London teaching agency can offer guidance on exactly where to look for access to a variety of materials that can be used when lesson planning.

Get Some Class Feedback

Find out what your students are responding best to. During your primary teaching placement, why not conduct a poll to see which activities the kids are enjoying most, and keep those results in mind when planning future lessons.

You’ll save a lot of time by not having to plan lessons that aren’t engaging the children, allowing you to focus your time on the lesson plans that you know they’ll learn from and enjoy the most.

Find Your Next Temporary Teaching Position Today

If you’re on the hunt for your next temporary primary teaching role in London, allow the attentive team at Red Box help you find the teaching assignment you are looking for.

To find out more about our teaching agency, or to start browsing roles today, please call 01932 247000, or use our online contact form to leave your message. 

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