One Book Lesson plans are designed to do more. They are intended to address many core issues that CRTs face on a regular basis, not only on a classroom level but on a career level! I teach substitute teachers about this approach in my "Literacy Games" PD workshop.
Where do One Book Lessons come from?
When I was first taught the concepts of having a "bag of tricks" I was captivated. A group of utility exercises to pull out and fill in time when a lesson ran short and I needed something to continue to provide useful learning. I had a really fun and diverse range of educational activities to choose from.
In the beginning Teachers were leaving full lesson plans for me every time but then they started to notice the work being left behind and the student's enthusiasm for what we had done. The smart ones started to leave blank spots in their lessons for me to use my Bag of Tricks so it allowed me to engage and build relationships with the students for the future. Having that relationship made me a more effective teacher on a "day visit" basis. The great teachers out there still do this and I appreciate them no end.
As an experienced Casual teacher, I eventually got to the point where my "bag of tricks" was getting to the point where it was so... let's say "comprehensive"... That I was considering buying a wheelbarrow just to move it from place to place. I thought to myself "I'm carrying too much stuff around with me and there has to be an easier way!".
And there is!
Do One Book Lessons get you out of trouble?
Yes!!! They are designed to be anywhere from a couple hours to a full day of active, engaging learning for your class. They are hands-on and cover multiple curriculum areas all stemming from a single book to provide a connective theme to keep your students on-task and self motivated.
More than this, they aren't activities, they are lessons. They are designed to make sure you never end up in front of a class full of students, no lesson plan and no idea of where to go from there.
EVER!!!
They are also designed to take advantage of this situation to improve your professional identity. When you don't have a lesson plan left for you you're never flustered and your students always get a fun and enjoyable day of learning. Every time. This makes you a very capable, and therefore desirable, casual teacher.
Are One Book Lessons flexible?
Yes!!! I have plenty of experience in Mainstream classrooms (Prep to 6) and in Special Development classrooms from early years to VCAL (prep to 12). I have the experience to address differentiation and inclusion either within a class or between grade levels and pay particular attention to them! These are my resources that I use in a wide variety of classrooms and for a wide variety of students.
It is in my own interests to make sure they are as flexible as possible!
Are One Book Lessons resourceful?
Yes!!! One Book Lesson Plans are designed within a framework that makes it easy for me to deliver.
One book, 1 pro forma per lesson (each take about 4 hours as standard but are designed to be expanded upon). The other resources that are used are not only common in most classrooms, they are the resources that you won't get in trouble for using. Glue, plain white paper or the coloured paper that you always find in large amounts because students don't like it.
What teachers are they suitable for?
My One Book Lesson Plans are designed to be supremely useful to Casual teachers of classes up to grade 6. This doesn't mean that permanent teachers won't get some mileage out of them too! They are engaging and fun for those days when you are teaching a mixed class made up of the students that aren't going on excursions, as "Ice Breakers" to meet and greet a new class or even just to mix things up to keep your students enthusiastic about learning.
The only "special skill" they require is getting the hang of reading in a way that engages students instead of settling them.
This can take a time or two to get used to but it's hardly rocket science!
What experience do I need to deliver them?
I include too much information and I do this on purpose. Experienced teachers can skip over it, modify them for differentiation and inclusion on the fly without assistance, those are some of the skills that experience brings. What happens if you have just completed your teaching degree though? Well, I set out everything for you to be able to address differentiation and inclusion issues within mainstream, alternative education or special development classrooms!
How do they cater specifically to CRTS?
Each lesson is designed around a group of principles aimed squarely at:
- Student Engagement
- Student self motivation
- Leaving the school a lasting impression of your Professional Identity and skills to move you up the school's CRT preference list!
Am I trying to sell you an endless supply of lessons?
NO!
My ultimate goal is to only sell you as many as you need to understand the principles behind these lessons unless you really like the way I structure my lessons (and if you keep buying them my hip pocket will thank you too!!!). I am a provider of Professional Development for CRTs and as such my goal is the education of Casual Teachers, not to mine them for money. When I sell a One Book Lesson Plan, I am selling a learning opportunity as much as a lesson plan and as a result they contain a lot more information than is needed to actually teach the lesson.
Each lesson plan includes information on what each section of the plan addresses so you can see how I have slotted the lesson together to access multiple areas of the curriculum by using one book to set an engaging theme for the next few hours.
It is also designed in a way that plays to the strengths of working as a CRT and provides some basic principles that I have used to build my professional profile into one that keeps me on the top end of the preference list for schools when they call in CRTs. The principles that I have used to get teachers to place their faith in my ability to teach their students so they ask for me to replace them if they are going to be away from work.
I want you to learn to do the same thing with your favourite books in the unique way that plays to your strengths as a teacher. Your engagement with the book will transfer to the students and that's what you want! So rather than have to run out and track down a new book every time you want to add to your collection of "one book lessons", I think it's a whole lot better if you can just thumb your way through books in a bookshop until you say "there's one I want to use!"
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