How to Streamline Lesson Planning

Try these genius ideas to streamline lesson planning and make your teaching life easier! The systems and tools will save you time so you can focus more on creativity and less on updating spreadsheets.

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Lesson Planning Template

Planning lessons becomes infinitely easier when using (and reusing!) a lesson planning template. Whether you prefer a printable or digital version, make sure it’s simple and covers all the activities you need. It can take a bit of trial and error to create the perfect template but the benefits are huge!

Printable Template

When teaching individual lessons I loved using a printable template. Before each lesson I’d write down some activities and the current pieces we were working on, and after the lesson I’d tick off what we actually got through and make any additions.

I could see at a glance what we covered which made it easy to plan for the following lesson. And it was simple to look back over previous lessons when trying to remember if I’d already tried a particular game or activity with each student.

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Digital Template

Now that most of my lessons are Rotating Lessons, I’ve simplified my planning system even more. I use a template in Notion to keep track of the material my students are working on (and everything else in my studio too!) and can easily make a note of activities/pieces/exercises to try during the individual part of the lesson.

During Theory Labs students are working on individual projects. I created the Music Challenge Menu to organise and keep track of all the projects and it’s been working really well! And there are lots of different activities that students can try during the Practice Lab once they’ve finished their list of practice tasks.

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Resource Master List

One of the best ways to streamline lesson planning is to create a master list of all your teaching resources. It saves so much time each week, although it may take some effort to set up (here’s a template if you want a head start). Using a Resource Master List saves me from getting into a rut with the activities I’m using with students.

I have a database in Notion, with a variety of different views:

• A Master List of all resources
• A gallery of resources grouped by Topic
• A board of resources grouped by level
• A board of resources grouped by Status (which includes a wishlist too)

I love using Notion databases to include heaps of information about each resource (type, topic, learning style, level, images), but with a simple view using filters to easily find a resource to fit my students’ needs.

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Method Book Framework

Although this is still a work in progress, my aim is to have a printed copy of the main method books I use with a list of relevant theory topics, activities, games, and resources relevant to each piece. I’m also including supplementary pieces to cover important concepts and techniques that may be missing from the method books, or that I’d like to expand upon.

Having this framework in place provides some flexibility and options while making sure that all of the material I want to be covered is included.

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Student Folders

Individual Folders

When I had fewer individual students I used folders to stay organised. I set up one folder for each student (a coloured manilla folder with file fasteners and clear page protectors) and each folder included:

• Pocket on the inside cover to keep the weekly lesson plan
• Pocket for handouts/lesson resources to give to the student at their next lesson
• Student interview (I downloaded this free template)
• Pocket for holding previous lesson plans
• Pocket for keeping copies of theory tests or other relevant papers
• Page for writing general notes

I had the folders ordered by day and lesson order, and having all the information at my fingertips was definitely an easy way to streamline lesson planning.

Lesson Folders

Now that I have more students in Rotating Lessons I’ve upgrade to using a hanging file for each lesson. They’re still arranged by day and lesson order, but each file includes material for all three students attending each lesson.

I now prefer to store more information digitally, so the file only includes:

• Record sheets for current playing goals (from the Music Challenge Menu)
• Checklists and information for current student projects
• Copies of current and/or upcoming supplementary piece
• Copies of duets

I also use this system for keeping information at hand for group workshops and music clubs.

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Remember to check out the Music Teacher Resource Library for more organising and planning tools for your music studio.