Lesson Plans Options

[Violinia]

Who uses them? We were taught the importance of them (with flexibility) on the CTABRSM course but I find it so hard to keep making them and sticking to them! I even make them and then don't consult them in the lesson............aargh.

What I have noticed, though, is how much the students appreciate it when you mention tiny details from the last lesson - it does make them feel very cared for, and I hate myself when I have to consult their notebook to remind myself of exactly what we covered last time - I'm sure it makes them feel your approach to their lesson is a bit slapdash/makes the teacher (me) look unprofessional.

WHY don't I keep their lesson plan open in front of me and teach from that at every single lesson? I'm driving myself mad with this at the moment. MUST DO IT, MUST DO IT, MUST DO IT!!!!

Does anybody else here wrestle with this?

[chocolatedog]

I write lesson plans, and then a quick lesson record after each lesson, when I also write the next plan while the lesson is still fresh in my mind......and sometimes I stick to the plan, and sometimes I don't - I don't beat myself up about not sticking to it - the lesson may go off at a completely different tangent, and it would be silly to stick rigidly to my plan if something else important crops up which I hadn't anticipated......I don't use their notebooks as they're quite often forgotten or lost..... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif) so I rely on my notes..... even if I consult my notes to remind me what we did in the previous lesson, I still think it's preferable to "What did we do in last week's lesson then?" and wait for the pupil to fill in the blanks....... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

[maggiemay]

I write lesson plans, and then a quick lesson record after each lesson, when I also write the next plan while the lesson is still fresh in my mind......and sometimes I stick to the plan, and sometimes I don't - I don't beat myself up about not sticking to it - the lesson may go off at a completely different tangent, and it would be silly to stick rigidly to my plan if something else important crops up which I hadn't anticipated......I don't use their notebooks as they're quite often forgotten or lost..... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif) so I rely on my notes..... even if I consult my notes to remind me what we did in the previous lesson, I still think it's preferable to "What did we do in last week's lesson then?" and wait for the pupil to fill in the blanks....... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

I find this chimes in most closely with what I do in most cases.

I don't use the notebooks much, as I look ahead before the lesson starts usually and have an idea of what I'd like to cover. The time I do consult the notebook is when there seems to be some discrepancy between what I've got noted and what pupil A has done / thinks should have been done. This sometimes (no, actually quite often ) highlights that notebook has not been properly read, or sometimes that my instructions could be clearer, in which case I'd rather know.