Preparation

In The Process of Success from  Cool Cat Teacher Blog by coolcatteacher@gmail.com, Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher, shares,

“Champions are made during the preparation process. The true work happens not at the state or national game – although that is very hard – most of the work happens before.”

It is all about the preparation.

We prepare for bad weather when we had the weather forecast. We keep a spare tire in the car and jumper cables in cease of an emergency. We have a savings account with money in it in case some emergency comes up.

The same thing applies in the classroom. Effective teachers are prepared.

Lesson plans are prepared in advance. Materials and supplies are gathered in advance. Contingencies are well thought out and prepared for in advance. Students are even told in advance what to expect and what is expected from them.

Sometimes things happen and I seem to fly by the seat of my pants but actually, many things I do are done from previous experiences. I have tried things that have worked in similar situations so I believe they will work in this situation.

My best lessons are the ones that I’m well prepared for. If I see that students are understanding the concepts faster and better than expected, I can move forward because I’ve prepared for the next step. This will keep students from being bored while I continue to teach something I already understand. If students are struggling with the concepts, I have an alternate activity that might help them understand things better along with extra practice activities for them. This keeps them from getting too frustrated.

I know that I get nervous if an administrator comes to observe me so I also plan ahead for that situation. I prepare my class for this possibility too by letting them know that I tend to get a little nervous and may change up the lesson a little bit. I have a script prepared so I can make sure I do all of the things I normally do but may forget due to my nervousness. I also have a regular routine posted in the front of the room to help my students and myself follow the procedures that I normally do in my classroom.

If I am unexpectedly called out of the classroom or if I’m absent due to an emergency, I have 3 days of emergency lesson plans ready for the substitute. I update these at least once a month to make sure no procedures, roster, or schedule changes have happened. I also update these immediately after I return back to school.

I don’t wait until something happens to wish I had prepared for in advance. I hope sometimes that I won’t need these advance preparations but at least I have them if I need them.

What do you do to prepare in advance? Please share!