Backwards Plan with Us: Empowering Your Calendar [S5 E133]

Listen to the full episode below:

We’ve officially entered into 2023, and you’re probably either feeling like you are ready to take on the world or feeling like you need [at least] another two weeks of winter break.

Today’s episode is going to walk you through an exercise that will help you to feel prepared to take on the second half of the school year. We’re going to talk about how you can get things on your calendar now, and plan your future units accordingly, so that ‘future you’ will be way less stressed.

So, grab your planner, school calendar, and a fresh set of pens, because we’re doing some backwards planning!

Inside of this episode, you’ll hear the three main steps to take in order to implement this type of planning. This will be a way to warm up your brain to be ready to actually do the work, but after listening, you’ll need to go and put these steps into motion!

Take some time to follow these steps, and you’ll finally feel more in control of what you can get done over the next several months. Better yet, this planning will translate to a sense of calm for you and your classroom community. 

One more thing! Take it from us, you don’t want to put this off. January is the absolute best time to do this planning before you’re back in the thick of it and get lost in the day to day hustle. Happy planning, friends!

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

  • A step-by-step exercise to help you backwards plan the remainder of your year

  • How feeling planned and calmed is very psychological 

  • A helpful tip for what you should and shouldn’t put in your planner

  • Two things to take into consideration when scheduling assessment days

  • Making unit decisions based on the time of year

More about Brave New Teaching:

Join hosts Amanda Cardenas (Mud & Ink Teaching) and Marie Morris (The Caffeinated Classroom) in discussions about being brave, trying new things, and all things teaching! As seasoned classroom teachers, Amanda and Marie bring their experience, insight, energy, and oh, so many opinions and ideas... It's time for all teachers to take their classroom and teaching practice into their own hands!

Tune in on your favorite podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.

Amanda Cardenasplanning, unit, inspiration, strategies, inquiry, assessment