The first few years in the classroom, I spent way too much time lesson planning each week. I genuinely thought more planning time meant I was becoming a better teacher. (Spoiler: I was wrong.)
Over time, I discovered three strategies that helped me save time lesson planning every single week. I was no longer the last car in the parking lot or spending my entire Sunday in front of my plan book. Here’s what finally worked.
Save Time Lesson Planning with a Curriculum Map
Having a pacing guide for your year is one of the most powerful time-savers you can create. And here’s the relief: a curriculum map is not a set-in-stone plan. Things will change because life happens in the classroom.
The goal of a curriculum map is to help you see when you’ll teach each topic, where you can integrate across subjects, and how long you’ll need to spend on each unit so you can fit everything in before end-of-year testing.
Curriculum maps are planned out by months, not days. You don’t need to spend hours getting into the nitty-gritty details of every lesson. You want to loosely plan the what (topic of study) and when (month or week). When necessary, you can include the how (like when you’re wrapping up a unit with a multi-day project).
Want help creating your own curriculum map? Download my free Curriculum Mapping Guide for step-by-step instructions and templates that will walk you through the entire process.
FREE Curriculum Mapping Guide
Create a flexible, organized curriculum map that fits your standards, schedule, and teaching style. This free guide includes planning templates, examples, and simple steps to help you map out your school year with ease.
Know Your Resources to Save Time Lesson Planning
How many times have you finished teaching a unit only to realize you forgot about that perfect video or resource sitting in your files? It’s frustrating – and it wastes precious time re-searching for materials you already own.
The solution? Create a simple catalog of your resources organized by curriculum topic. I now use Airtable for this (check out my post on How to Save Time Planning with Airtable to see exactly how), but even a simple spreadsheet or Google Doc works perfectly.
Yes, it takes time upfront to build this catalog, but it will save you hours and money throughout the year. Instead of browsing through folders or repurchasing resources you already have, you’ll know exactly what you own and when to use it.
Batch Repetitive Tasks and Save Time Lesson Planning
Think about the repetitive tasks you do each day, week, month, and quarter. Your list probably includes planning, making copies, writing parent emails, scheduling assignments in Google Classroom, grading, and prepping materials.
When you identify these patterns and batch similar tasks together, you become so much more productive during your planning time. Teachers have an overwhelming amount on their plates, which makes it easy to forget things. Then you end up staying late or taking work home. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Start by writing out your repetitive tasks, then add them to your calendar or plan book. When you know what needs to be done and when, it becomes easier to prioritize each day.
Examples of Repetitive Tasks to Batch
Here are some tasks I batched when I was in the classroom:
- Typing out learning objectives to post
- Making all copies for the week
- Writing the weekly agenda
- Selecting vocabulary words for units and creating a vocab wall
- Planning and setting up bulletin boards
- Prepping math centers
- Creating anchor charts
- Scheduling online assignments
- Writing weekly parent communication
- Checking curriculum map pacing
- Weekly lesson planning
Your list might look different depending on your grade level and school requirements, but the principle stays the same: group similar tasks together and tackle them in focused time blocks rather than scattered throughout your week.
Start Small
Pick just one repetitive task this week—like making copies or writing your weekly agenda—and schedule a specific time block for it. Once that becomes routine, add another task to your batching system. Small changes add up to major time savings.
You Can Save Time Lesson Planning
These three strategies – curriculum mapping, resource organization, and task batching – helped me reclaim my evenings and weekends. You don’t have to implement all three at once. Start with the one that feels most manageable, and watch how much time you get back.
The goal isn’t perfection. The goal is finding systems that work for you so you can spend less time planning and more time doing what you love – both inside and outside the classroom.
