5 Ways to Tell if You’re a Storybook Lesson Planner
You love using storybooks in your classroom. You have a collection that you’re just dying to read to your students. You’ve heard that it’s possible to teach music concepts by using storybooks. The problem is, you’re just not sure how to use them and what concepts you can teach. Plus, you’re just not sure you have the time to not only learn something new but to spend time planning.
I’m here to tell you that storybook lessons can keep your students more focused than you ever thought possible and save you hours of time planning, once you learn my simple framework for planning storybook lessons. We’ll keep it short today, because it’s summer time, and I know you’ve got plans for your warm, sunny days.
Before you decide to start designing storybook lesson plans, you’ll need to decide whether you’re a creator of storybook lesson plans or if you’d just prefer to buy ready made lesson plans to use in your classroom. Ask yourself these 5 questions to find out where you stand:
- Do I like the trial and error stage of lesson planning? Trial and error is a great way to experiment with new lesson plans. As a music teacher, you have the unique opportunity to be able to teach your lesson plans more than once, usually within the same day or week.
- Am I o.k. with making mistakes? If you’re like me, you don’t get it right the first time, or sometimes even the second time. I’ve been known to stop right in the middle of a lesson when I’m getting that “deer in the headlights” expression with my students and start over.
- Do I have a growth mindset? This is the ability to say to yourself, I’m just learning this, it’s o.k. to make mistakes, and I CAN do this… if I give myself the time to learn and grow. In other words, you have to be positive about the eventual outcome and patient as YOU learn.
- Am I willing to learn new techniques? Of course you are! You’re a music teacher! You’re a life-long learner, and you’re willing to grow in your profession.
- Am I willing to take a couple of hours each week to learn a new planning method that will reward your students and save you hours of time?
Yes to at least 3 out of 5? Then you should read further. Being a storybook lesson creator is for you if you recognize that learning a new skill once can save you time (and stress) for months and years to come.
If you think you’re ready, willing, and able to be a storybook lesson planner, you’ll want to check out my 5 part video training, How to Create Storybook Lessons Like a Pro. This FREE training will give you all the details you need to get started on your storybook lesson planning adventure. Before you know it, you’ll be using the planning template I’ve created to design your own storybook lessons in 30 minutes or less, a plus for overwhelmed music teachers like you.
Want to find out more? Simply hit me up at jeanette@storiesthatsing.net.