Batch planning

 I've heard a lot about batch planning the last few weeks. Isn't that the way it always happens? You hear something that is somewhat new to you and then suddenly it is everywhere and people have been doing it for years. 

While I don't actually know exactly what batch planning is, I have developed my own take on it. 

I was trying to plan an entire unit all at once. When doing that, I would get sidetracked by the details and that would derail me from the big picture. So I sat the other day and broke things down into steps and have been working on that for each unit. So rather than working on one unit at a time, I'm working on one task at a time. Here's what it looks like: 

1. Create a 'roadmap' of the unit with each activity listed. 
2. Develop the Big Ideas from the roadmap and the learning objectives for each unit
3. From the Big Ideas, develop a driving question for the whole unit
4. Confirm the anchor phenomenon
5. Create a summative task
6. Then go back to the roadmap and insert the Big Ideas
7. Determine the assessments for each unit
8. Create any resources needed; powerpoints, assessments, etc. 

I am currently working on number 1 for each unit. I've got through Unit 4 and have 5 more units to do. Once I get that done, I will cycle back and develop the Big Ideas for all the units. Then the driving question for all the units. Etc. 

This way I'm in the roadmap mode and doing the same thing for all the units. Then I'm in the Big Idea mode and doing that for all units. And so on. I get into the mode and then become good at it. Once I leave that activity and move to something else, I kind of lose the thinking. 

So I think I'm on to something here. My goal is to get this all done before July 25th when we return to work. If I can get this all done before then, I can spend that week getting things all set up. 

I'm feeling pretty good about this. Today I get to set up my teacher planner. Woo hoo!!!!