Lesson Plans

The Reasons for Lesson Plans

1. To keep you and your student on track

2. To provide a written record of work completed

3. To meet legal requirements

4. To Compile grades which will be used to create report cards and transcripts

What Means Do I Use to Create My Lesson Plans?

If you are a member of PIE, you may decide to take full advantage of the Web Based Documentation that has been provided through the Member Center and use this record keeping solution to maintain educational records. Lesson Planners are available through the Member Center, or administrative tools are available in the printable section of the Home School Hand Book.

Members that are using Microsoft Office Tools will also find various tutorials explaining different techniques for maintaining educational records and creating printables. These tutorials will require using Microsoft Office Students and Teachers Edition 2002, or later.

The following is a list of some additional resources and recommendations:

1. Building Blocks, or printables, are tools that are helpful for encouraging families to work together as a unit, observe performance, develop communications, manage and organize records, and much more. Various printables have been provided in the printable section at the back of the Home School Hand Book.

2. You may purchase a computer program that has forms set up for you to use. For example; with Home School Easy Records, you simply open the program and enter your data on the correct form. The program places your entries onto other important forms for you. A computer database can save you time, even after you consider the time you will spend learning the program.
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3. You may purchase a book that contains various forms to copy and fill out.

4. You may purchase a teacher's planner from a teacher's supply store, such as Creative Program Planners of Aiken (641-1177), or a home school journal from a curriculum dealer, such as Bob Jones University Press.

5. You may wish to use a simple notebook for basic student planner.

What Should Be Included In My Lesson Plans?

1. Date

2. Subject

3. Assignments (Include, if applies, title and chapter numbers, pages to read or be worked on in a particular subject. If unit study, what is to be accomplished on that day.)

4. Grades (Given for assignments, tests, or projects.)

5. Any field trips or extracurricular activities the student engaged in on that day.

6. You may also make note of time allotted for that subject. Example: 45 minutes.

Lesson plans should be worked out before the day of the actual lesson. You may be one who will plan a year at a time. Don't be discouraged if you have to change your plans. You may plan a month, or week ahead, whichever way works best for your family's lifestyle. Please remember to use a pencil when writing out your lesson plans. This way if you need to move a day or more ahead, you will not have a mess to difficult to clean up.

Whether you use textbooks, unit studies, or life packs you will need to know how much to cover in order to complete the required amount of work. It is helpful to know your school schedule ahead of time as to be able to plan your lessons around breaks and holidays.

Once you have established your school schedule, add the number of days you will actually be involved in schooling. (This should be no less than 180 days as per law) Begin with one subject at a time. Some textbooks have a schedule in the front of the teacher's guide. This tells you how much to cover in a set day. If not, you will need to determine this yourself.

We use a science textbook. We simply take the number of chapters or modules, which is 16 and divide it by 4 quarters. This means we will need to accomplish 4 modules a quarter. There are 9 weeks in our quarter. We divide the number of modules (4) per quarter by the number of weeks (9) in our quarter. This means that we need to finish 1 module every two weeks or so. This formula has worked for us in every instance. We use a similar formula for the reading of a classic as well. Take the amount of time assigned for the reading of the classic. Example: 1 quarter = 9 weeks. Divide the number of pages in the book (260) by the number of weeks in the quarter (9). They will need to read 29 pages a week to finish the book on time. You may divide this even further if you wish. Divide the number of pages per week (29) by the number of days in your school week (5). They will need to read approximately 6 pages per day.

If you use unit studies your schedule might be more flexible. You may decide to cover two or more topics a quarter. Take the number of weeks in your quarter and divide it by the number of topics you will study. Plan accordingly.

If you use life packs, such as Alpha Omega, they have printed in the front of the teacher’s companion the amount of time each booklet should take to complete. If not, take the number of booklets and use the same formula from above.

Remember to leave time for field trips and what we call lazy days when planning your school schedule and lesson plans. It is important to remember, especially in the younger years, we want to create a love for learning in our children. In order to do this we must not become so stringent that we allow no time to "smell the roses".

Visit the following related links:

• Educational Records

• Record Keeping Solutions

• Maintaining Records

• Lesson Plans

• Journal (Daily Logs)

• Resource Tracking List

• Course Description

• Student Portfolio

• Semi-Annual Progress Report

• Report Card

• High School Transcript

• Credit, Credits, and more Credits

• Diploma

• Testing Information

• Testing With PIE

• Drivers Education

• Frequently Asked Questions