All Star Planning Podcast for Teachers

What you teach likely doesn't actually matter.  I mean, sure, some of what we teach matters, but most of it can be found within a few minutes and a Google search.  Our job isn't to teach content anymore.  It's to use our content to get the kids to build skills.  Skills like: analyzing data, reading subtext, literacy, problem solving, spatial thinking and so much more! There's really no point in lying to the kids, and you'll get a lot more respect if you're straight up and honest with them.  Check out my "Why Are We Learning This?" posters to download for yourself or use as inspiration to create your own. 

There are so many reasons you should be taking the notes that your students do.  It is 100% worth the amount of time it takes you, I pinky promise.  It will make your lesson plans easier, both this year and next year.  Listen to this episode and learn how! For more on saving time on your lesson plans, check out episode 49 or the All Star Planning Masterclass!

Parents are an asset! Make sure you are using them!  There are so many ways to stay in contact with parents, and a bunch of reasons to do so!  In this episode I will also share my tips for what to say and do while and after talking with parents and families.  Learn more about Parent Teacher Conferences in episode 38!  Grab the positive postcards! Check out the All Star Planning Masterclass!

Getting these few things in place has definitely helped me to get out the door each day right around the bell.  For years I've been getting out within 30 minutes of the bell, usually sooner.  And I don't work at all at home.   Everything that gets done needs to get done on the clock - and that's my goal for you too.   Implementing these few things really helped me to get ahead of my plans and STAY ahead of my plans each week.  And even though I've been at this for five years, each year I get something new added to my plate (and I'm sure it's the same for you!) Listen to episode 44 for more information on my favorite project management system, To Do Ist.  Check out the All Star Planning Masterclass. 

Getting to know your students makes all the difference in your classroom and in your planning.  Here's how I recommend you get to know your students.  Let the kids get to know you.  Get to know you questions. Grab your copy of my 180 questions of the day.  Take an interest in what the kids do.  Attend school events. Get to know the families and the community.  Reasons getting to know the students is beneficial to you:  It's not miserable.  Parent contact is easier.  Kids care about you and will let you be a human being.  Kids root for you.  Kids appreciate what you do for them because they know it comes from the heart.  Kids work hard (listen for more details - this is important) Your classroom is a happy & safe place.  You become a person that kids trust and can go to for help.  Listen to more on my unlimited test retake policy. 

Every year for my first five years of teaching have had some kind of a curveball that made me feel like a first year teacher all over again.  So to help you with that (very steep) learning curve, I've collected the things I wish I had known into a list of first year teacher tips for you! Get the Pinterest and Instagram classroom off to do list.  You need a solid syllabus. (Episode 57) You teach humans.  Be firm but fair.  You need a lesson planning method. (Episode 50)  Call parents before you need to.  Set boundaries, say no, leave on time.  Never ever yell at kids.  Delegate to the kids. (Episode 27) Take notes alongside kids. (Lesson Reflection Episode 16) Teaching should be fun. If it's not, there's something wrong.  Listen to the Classroom Set Up Episode!   Get my free syllabus template! Check out the All Star Planning Masterclass. 

There's no correct way to set up a classroom, but there are some things that simply aren't worth the time.  Whether you're setting up for the first time or the fifth, these tips will help you to set up a FUNCTIONAL classroom.  Grab the Printable Periodic Table.  Grab the shopping list of classroom materials I recommend! 

Updating your curriculum can feel like taming a beast, but it's not so bad. I promise! Check on these few things and I'm sure you'll quickly figure out what to adjust and how: I'm a big proponent of lesson reflection.  Listen to that episode to learn more about lesson reflection.  Don't forget to reflect on final exam data.  Check out the End of the Year Student Survey. Check on the unit order.  Check on the lesson order.  Check on your observations.    Get the unit order planning pages. 

Planning your curriculum from scratch is both a blessing and a curse.  You have a lot on your plate, because you have to plan it all, but, you also have the ability to make this course exactly what you feel is right.  But planning with no input from the students and how they're doing and the adjustments that need to be made makes it tough.  I have some places you can go to get at least a starting point for your new curriculum:  Other Teachers Textbooks: Table of Contents Free Resources from the Textbook Company Final Exam Cheap Workbook Teachers Pay Teachers Check out the All Star Planning Masterclass!

If you've ever had a student like me, then you know how brutal it is to have your syllabus picked apart for loopholes for grades and policies.  Now being on the other side of the syllabus situation, I know exactly how important it is to start off the year with everyone, teacher, students and parents, having a complete understanding of what to expect during the year.  Get the free syllabus template. 

Learn about the multiple lesson plan templates I have and how I use them in this episode.  The templates are really how this all works.  Make a specific template for each activity you use in your classroom and see how fast your lesson plans are finished.  I can get mine done in around five minutes.  Get the list of templates I recommend.  Check out the All Star Planning Masterclass. 

What about those standards that need to be taught again, and again, and again.  How do you deal with those? In this episode I tell you about the two types of recurring standards and how to teach them in your school year.  Get the standards sorting pages.  Check out the All Star Planning Masterclass. 

When I rearranged my units, I found that my course was actually being taught thematically.  And when I really leaned into that idea, I realized that my students were learning things more easily.  It was much easier for them to see the connections between each of my lessons and units.  The course had a type of flow that made it predictable and easy to learn.  Grab the free thematic sorting pages.  Check out the All Star Planning Masterclass. 

Uhhh, in short, no. The standards are made for teachers. This episode is my hot take on whether or not kids need to know the standards.  Check out the All Star Planning Masterclass. 

Does your unit order actually serve you and your students? When I rearranged my units, I went from having 5 days of final exam review, to 5 WEEKS of final exam review.  The sequence of my course units gave my course so much flow that my students were able to learn more efficiently. Check out episode 6 on lesson sequencing.  Check out episode 48 on evaluating final exam data. Get the question list and tips for unit sequencing. 

Live and learn, right?  These are the mistakes that I made in my early years as a teacher.  I still have plenty of things I could work on, but these things were mostly ironed out when I fixed just one thing.  See the full show notes.   Check out the All Star Planning Masterclass!

Learn the true breeze over of the All Star Planning Method in this episode.  Learn it in a bit more detail in the All Star Planning Masterclass.  Get the show notes here.  Learn more about how I code my lessons here.  Learn more about how I sequence my lessons here.   

Teachers deserve a life.  You deserve a life.  You should not be working and working for hours on end.  You should not be staying up all night working until the sun comes up.  You deserve more.  Learn more about the All Star Planning Method in the masterclass. 

One of the most important part of being a teacher is being a model for learning and growth.  One of the primary ways I do that, is by using the hard data that I get back from my students.  What are they learning?  Where are they struggling?  I can do a little of this each day and throughout the school year, but the final exam data is really like a teacher report card? How did the kids do, and what can be done better next year? Learn my test reflection tips here, and feel free to get a test reflection checklist here!  https://plan.kelseyreavy.com/testreflection

Getting the opinions of your students does a few things.  First, it lets your students have their voice heard and second it gives you the exact information you need to grow as a teacher.  Plus it's a lot of fun.  Learn how I implement my end of the year student surveys in this episode.  Grab your free copy of my student survey here!

Every single school year I've had to move out of my classroom.  It's a huge pain, but over the years I've gotten better at moving out.  These are my tips for getting your classroom packed up so that you aren't pulling your hair out at back to school time.  Get a copy of the moving label for your boxes here! 

Uh, yes, you should be thinking about back to school right now. Reason? If you do it now and get it over with, you can truly relax over the summer and know that your first week or so back won't be so crazy (It'll always be crazy - the goal is reduction, not elimination).  So get that BTS prep going now with the tips outlined in this episode.  Want to grab the end of the year BTS prep checklist? Get it here! Unpopular Opinions on Interactive Notebooks Blog Post My fave wireless handheld vacuum

I've been a paper and pencil planner for all of my life, and I still use it for most things.  I have found that between all of my preps, teacher responsibilities and being an adult human with responsibilities, I sometimes drop the ball and totally forget stuff.  By using the app ToDoIst, I find myself much more put together, less frazzled, and feeling good about what needs to get done.  Having ToDoIst help me to prioritize my tasks, when I finally have the time to sit and get things done, I don't have to think, I get to just DO.  And that's what the All Star Planning Method is really all about!  Get your list of common teacher To Dos here! Don't leave anything off your to do list!

Spiral review can be as easy or as difficult as you want it to be.  In this episode I outline some of my super easy and slightly less easy ways to implement spiral review in your classroom.  I like to do a little every day, but you decide what you and your students need.  Get your list of spiral review techniques here!

Sometimes the kids don't get it the first time around and you need to spend time literally reteaching.  Well there's usually not enough time to dedicate a whole lesson to this topic again.  In this episode, I have some strategies for you to quickly reteach, and get to the specifics of what ACTUALLY needs to be retaught.  Get your list of reteaching strategies here!

There's no luxury of time when it comes to the end of the school year and finally reviewing for your final exam or end of year test.  You want to make sure your students are completely prepared, and use your time as effectively as possible.  In this episode I give my tips for figuring out EXACTLY what you need to review.  Grab the test score tracker here! You'll want it for next school year. 

In this episode I detail how to answer some of the most common interview questions and how I would attempt to answer them.  I also drop a lot of tips for what to do BEFORE your interview.  You can get a copy of the questions YOU should ask at the interview. 

Looking for a job is stressful, no matter who you are.  When teachers look for a new teaching position, it often includes multiple interview with people at various levels within a school district.  Showcasing who you are is very important, but the question remains "What exactly should I include?"  I have an awesome template for your portfolio that you can snag! 

PTCs or parent teacher conferences were super intimidating when I first started teaching.  Now that I feel pretty good about them, I wanted to share my parent teacher conference strategies for helping them to run smoothly.  Get your copy of the PTC survey for parents. 

Teachers are always told to do more than worksheets, but how exactly are we supposed to do that? Especially when many of us learned on worksheets!  In this episode I outline 10 games that my students and I play in class in order to practice the things we learn.  Some of these are more complex than others, but many are COMPLETELY doable.   Grab the printable game board!  Full Show Notes

I'm a messy person by nature, so trying to keep my classroom tidy has always been a struggle for me.  In the early years, my prep periods including tidying up, which used up so much of my valuable time.  In this episode I outline some tips I think you could use in your classroom to help keep in tidy by doing something with all that clutter in your classroom! Related Episodes: Easy Peasy Sub Plans Don't Grade Everything Your Students Do Resources: Post It Pile (PIP) Template

Asking questions in your classroom is an art. I believe that the more questions you ask, the better your students are learning. In this episode I break down my questioning strategy for you to steal. In my lesson planning, I start with HOT questions (Higher Order Thinking Questions) and get my students there by asking (what feels like a million) probing questions. Episodes Mentioned: Writing Less on Your Lesson Plans: https://youtu.be/uifeJ2RsMvk Masterclass: https://plan.kelseyreavy.com

Teacher energy is super tough to maintain, especially these days! Teacher tired, amirite?! The space between Christmas break and Spring Break can be draining. I find myself a victim to the fewer hours of daylight more than anything else. I have a few strategies for getting your energy back as a teacher, and getting excited about work again. Things Mentioned (affiliate links): Exercise Bike: https://amzn.to/36tvp6V Back Massager: https://amzn.to/2MbVxfZ The One Thing book: https://amzn.to/36vooCF Other Epsiodes Mentioned: Unlimited Test Retakes: https://youtu.be/BnPCZXPSn6o Interested in the masterclass? https://plan.kelseyreavy.com   Full Show Notes:  https://kelseyreavy.com/teacher-tired/

Whether it's a field trip or a band rehearsal, sometimes we find ourselves with only a few kids sitting in our classroom.  This has happened to me quite a bit, back when I taught in a school where the kids went on field trips ALL THE TIME.  Now that I have quite a bit of expertise in this area, I have some tips on what to do when most of your class is absent.  Interested in the All Star Planning Introductory Masterclass? Click here. 

There is no such thing as bad kids, just kids trying to figure it all out. Bad behavior in the classroom can be dealt with in a variety of ways, but I find the best way is to let my students know that I love them. This is on the whole, how I deal with classroom management in my high school classroom. Interested in the masterclass? https://plan.kelseyreavy.com Science Valentine's Blog Post https://kelseyreavy.com/science-valentines/  

If 2020 taught us anything, I'm sure it was digital technologies and teaching, but second to that I believe is flexibility. In my early years I was so rigid and inflexible in my teaching methods and how my classroom ran.  If I had a time machine, I wouldn't think that me then and me now were even the same person. I've learned to be a more flexible teacher and be more relaxed.  And all I can say is that it has brought me so much happiness and calmness in the difficulty that is teaching.  In this episode I outline some of the things that I have learned to be far more flexible and relaxed with and give some tips I think could help you to also be a bit more flexible.  Find the All Star Planning Masterclass here!

Writing fair tests is so hard, in fact, I think that writing a fair test is an art. There is a lot of stress in writing a test, especially as your students are preparing for high stakes testing. I have compiled 7 tips that have helped me to make sure the tests I give my students are fair:  No surprises! Too many easy or challenging questions Too many or too few questions Having multiple correct ansers Indirect questions that are too open-ended double jeopardy Worth too many or too few points Check out the episode on test retakes! Check out the free masterclass!

There is so much buzz around growth mindset in the classroom, and it can get to be really overwhelming.  I love the idea of growth mindset, but I'm not down with the sometimes cheesy way that it comes off. I have 10 strategies for promoting a growth mindset culture without actually having to explicitly say so:  Test Retakes Assignment Redos Optional Homework Extra Credit Opportunities Variety of Activity Types Affirmations Picture Books (blog post here) Teacher Language Connecting Content to Real Life Students Tracking Data Check out the free masterclass here!

When I was a new teacher I was under the impression that whatever you put in place in September is what needed to happen for the rest of the school year: the planning method, behavior management, paper flow and so much more.  In this episode I outline some of the things that I have successfully changed in the middle of the school year that made me and my classroom much happier.  All Star Planning Masterclass can be found here!

Stop doing everything! Your students can help you save time as a teacher.  In this episode of the podcast, I talk about some of the things that I delegate to my students.  My students are SO willing to help me, because they're totally awesome, but because this school belongs to them just as much as it does me. They want to make it a happy place too!  Interested in the free All Star Planning Introductory Masterclass? Click here!

Managing due dates is literally my least favorite thing about being a teacher! For years I struggled to keep them straight and then hold my students accountable for late work. It always felt like I wasn't doing it well.  I feel like I FINALLY have due dates under wraps and I have a few tips for you!  Interested in the free All Star Planning Introductory Masterclass? Click here!

When I started giving my students my curriculum calendar my teacher world flipped on it's head.  In the BEST way possible!  You will not believe how doing just the smallest, tiniest amount of extra work made my life as a teacher much easier and lowered my stress significantly.  Interested in the free All Star Planning masterclass? Sign up here.  Related episodes:  1) Curriculum Calendar 2) Vocabulary  3) Learning Targets

When it comes to teaching vocabulary, I feel like I've tried it all. From lists of words and definitions to defining in their own words, I've put my students through nearly every vocabulary strategy that I've been able to brainstorm. This episode of the All Star Planning Podcast for Teachers includes what I've been using these days to help my students with vocabulary terms. Because let's face it, if students don't understand the vocabulary used in a course, they simply won't be able to fully understand the content. Want to learn more about the All Star Planning method? Check out the free masterclass here.  Related episodes:  What is the value of homework? My Unlimited Test Retake Policy   Vocabulary Dominoes Freebie

Observations can be stressful, and even scary! I have a few tips that I have used to get way more comfortable with my teacher observations and how I make sure that my observation scores are always high and something that I can be proud of.  Want to learn more about the All Star Planning method? Sign up for the free masterclass here!

The value of homework may be the most controversial topic in education.  I'm not even sure how I feel about it, if I'm being perfectly honest.   You can hear me bounce back and forth on the value of education during this episode.  If you're interested in hearing more about the All Star Planning method, you can sign up for the free masterclass here. 

Taking off from work as a teacher always seems to be a real pain.  But not anymore! In this episode I share all of my quick, easy sub plan hacks that make taking off from work a breeze!  Want to learn more about the All Star Planning method?  Sign up for the free masterclass here!

I'm just a girl, crossing her fingers and hoping this is all over soon! There is only one thing that I know for sure: distance learning stinks, and I'm not going to pretend to be an expert at it.  Want to learn more about the All Star Planning Method? Sign up for the free masterclass!

Once I hacked my lesson plan template things became a lot easier and I gained a lot of confidence, specifically in my observations.  In this episode I talk about some of the specifics of my lesson plan template and how I used it to make me better at teaching.   Want to learn more about the All Star Planning Method? Check out the free masterclass! https://plan.kelseyreavy.com/

It' every teacher's dream to get ahead of their lesson plans! It took me some time to figure out the correct method to get me ahead of my plans.  I share my tips about using unit plans to get ahead as well as my actual set up for writing lesson plans.  Want to learn more about the All Star Planning Method? Check out the free masterclass! https://plan.kelseyreavy.com/

Lesson reflection will save you so much time when it comes to writing and editing your lesson plans.  It's like giving yourself a head start!  You'll evaluate what you're good at and do more of that.  You'll evaluate what needs work, and you'll work on those things.  I talk about the many ways I reflect on my lessons in this episode! Want to learn more about the All Star Planning Method?  Check out the free masterclass!