If you’re starting to worry that planning and reports will render your social life non-existent (especially during the school holidays) we’ve got good news for you! Save time and energy with these three handy websites that will make lesson planning a breeze!
Flip (grid)
Finding ways to keep students onboard in Term 4 can be hard! Using Flip will not only help you with your planning workload but will also help your students stay focused on their learning.
Flip is an interactive tool that helps create discussion in the classroom. This tool can be used in a hybrid environment or within any in-class lesson. What about home learning opportunities or small group sessions, you ask? Flip has you covered! Students can record their screen or themselves and share their own personal learning in a creative way. They can also view other students’ work and leave comments on them too!
Flip has a great resource bank with many pre-made lessons that you can add to your planning with just the click of a button! How does this make it easier? Simple! Once you have created your account you can use the Discovery tab to search for topics that relate to what you are teaching. Drop-down boxes allow you to choose the age group of your class and what subjects you would like to plan for. Each topic comes with tips and some even come with pre-made lesson plans.
My personal favourite lessons are the Minecraft Education Edition topics, which come with instructions and helpful tips that will save you time and make learning more fun for your students.
Another favourite is Let’s Talk Science which has over 116 topics; with some even including lesson plans.
Tinkercad
A free online programme used for 3D design, coding and electronics, Tinkercad has a wealth of resources and is the perfect tool to integrate a STEAM focus into your planning.
Tinkercad’s wide range of lesson plans are geared towards integrating two or more subjects together. When searching for a lesson you will find the lesson duration (quite possibly saving you a few days worth of planning!), subjects covered, and the skills being taught.
Within the lesson plan, the overview will outline learning objectives, how to set up your class, and then from there, subjects within the lesson such as the process, planning, designing within Tinkercad and sharing the design or expanding on the ideas.
Each section has the Teacher Instructions highlighted at the bottom of the page and every lesson plan has a printable plan and evaluation rubric.
All you have to do is set up your account, set up a classroom within your account and browse the resource hub for suitable lessons. It really can’t get much easier than that!
My personal favourites are Reinventing the Shopping Cart and Designing an Inclusive Play Space.
Nearpod
If you’ve stayed up so late writing reports that you’ve forgotten to plan for tomorrow’s lesson, then Nearpod has you covered.
With a range of interactive lessons that you can grab and teach on the go, you are bound to find a lesson that will save you stress and planning time.
Once you have created an account, you can access the Nearpod Library where you will find pre-made lessons which you can easily preview and add to your library that you can use in the classroom.
Choose whether you do the lesson together in a whole class session or send the students the link and allow them to do it at their own pace. The best part of these lessons is that the Nearpod Team has put teacher notes at the beginning of every lesson to help guide you!
Every lesson is interactive and includes some of the following experiences: Draw it, Polls, Drag and Drop, Open-Ended Questions, VR Field Trips, Phet Simulations or even a Quiz in the form of a game. And you can easily customise any lesson to suit your students’ needs; saving you oodles of time and energy.
My personal favourites are the Nearpod VR Ignite and Field Trips. VR Ignite lessons have a range of interactive VR experiences integrated within maths, social studies, literacy and more! VR Field Trips explore historical events or foreign locations which most students have never had the opportunity to visit before.
Save planning time by quickly previewing a lesson and seeing if it’s right for you. Check out the teacher notes and enjoy teaching a fun interactive session!
These websites are bound to save you precious time and energy during the term. Not only will they help you cut down on planning, but give you back your social life!
Discover popular topics and lessons for the following websites here >
