Six Considerations for Planning

A planning equation that says “content + methods” tells you what to plan, not what to consider while planning. Identifies six considerations every planner must weigh. Skip any one and the plan has a blind spot.

1. Student considerations

The first consideration is the students. The plan exists for them, so it must fit them.

Four sub-questions:

Motivation level. Are these students easily motivated, or do they need extra effort to engage? A class that arrives motivated needs a different opening than a class that arrives reluctant. Both can learn the same content; the entry strategy is different.

Entry-level skills. What can the students already do? A unit on three-digit addition cannot start unless students have two-digit addition. Knowing this changes whether the unit starts at the beginning of three-digit work or with a brief review of two-digit work.

Learning styles. Visual, auditory, kinesthetic. The mix in the class shapes the choice of methods. A class heavy in kinesthetic learners needs more hands-on activities. A class heavy in auditory learners can handle more discussion.

Group dynamics. Does the class work well as a group? Are there strong subgroups? Do certain students dominate? The plan must account for these dynamics. Group activities work in some classes and fail in others. Pair work succeeds when pairs can collaborate; it fails when they cannot.

A teacher who plans for the average student misses both the strong and the weak. A teacher who plans with student diversity in mind reaches the whole class.

2. Content and process considerations

The second consideration is what content and what processes the lesson will cover.

Content. What facts, concepts, or skills will students learn? The content comes from the curriculum and the unit plan. The teacher chooses how much of it fits in this single lesson.

Process. What thinking processes will students practice while learning the content? Imagining, problem-solving, analyzing, organizing, communicating, comparing, evaluating. These processes do not exist apart from content; they happen while students engage with content.

It is clear that content and process are not separable. A lesson on the water cycle can develop the process of analysis (asking students to identify causes of rain) or the process of communication (asking students to explain the cycle to a partner) or both. The content does not change; the processes do.

A teacher who plans only content produces students who can recite. A teacher who plans content and process produces students who can recite and think.

3. Time considerations

The third consideration is time.

Time operates at multiple scales:

1. The 40-50 minute period of one lesson.
2. The 10-12 weeks of a term.
3. The full academic year.
4. The 12 years of schooling that lead to the curriculum’s standards.

A teacher must plan for the time available at each scale. A unit that takes three weeks cannot fit into one. A year’s content cannot fit into a term. A 12-year journey cannot be rushed in 6 years.

Example: if the curriculum has a lot of content and the year has limited weeks, the teacher must adjust. They cannot stretch time. They can choose what to emphasize, what to combine, and what to spread thin.

Time considerations also operate within a single lesson. A 40-minute period cannot contain a focusing event of 15 minutes, a 30-minute discussion, and a 10-minute assessment. The math does not work. The teacher must decide how much each piece gets.

A teacher who ignores time produces plans that look complete on paper but cannot be executed in the available time. A teacher who plans within time gets through the lesson without rushing or running out.

Flashcard

Why is time as one of the six planning considerations?

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Answer

Plans that ignore time look complete on paper but cannot be executed

Time operates at multiple scales: the 40-min lesson, the term, the year, the 12 years.

A teacher who plans without time constraints in mind produces work that overruns the available period.

A teacher who plans within time gets through the lesson without rushing or running out.

4. School considerations

The fourth consideration is the school context. The lesson does not happen in a vacuum. It happens inside a specific school with specific rules, policies, and demands.

School policies. Some policies affect what the teacher can plan. Example: a teacher plans a science unit including field trips. The school policy may require advance permission for trips, may not have transport, or may prohibit trips for the age group entirely. The plan must account for these policies before counting on field trips.

Parents’ demands. Parents often expect specific things from school: extracurricular activities, exam preparation, language emphasis. A teacher’s plan exists in this expectation context. A plan that ignores parental expectations may produce friction with the school administration.

School calendar. Holidays, exam weeks, sports days, special events all disrupt the teaching calendar. A plan that does not account for these will run into the disruption mid-stream.

’s example of integration: a school that values content delivery may resist long extracurricular activities. The fix is to plan activities that serve both purposes. An essay-writing competition is co-curricular but also teaches English content. A debate is co-curricular but builds analysis and speaking skills. The plan integrates rather than separates.

5. Resource considerations

The fifth consideration is resources. The plan can only do what resources allow.

Physical resources. Books, materials, lab equipment, classroom space, projectors. The plan must use what is actually available.

Human resources. Teaching assistants, specialist teachers, parent volunteers, community experts. A unit on health can include a doctor as a guest speaker if a doctor is available, perhaps through a parent connection.

Community resources. Libraries, community centers, local businesses, religious institutions. A teacher who knows the surrounding community can find unexpected resources.

Makes a sharp point about innovation versus resources. A teacher with brilliant ideas but no resources to support them produces lessons that flop. The students get frustrated. The teacher gets frustrated. The plan fails.

The fix is to plan within available resources, then find ways to expand resources when something is missing. A plan that requires a doctor with no doctor available will fail. A plan that requests a parent doctor will succeed if the parent agrees.

A teacher who never expands resources stays bounded by what is given. A teacher who actively builds resources (parent volunteers, community connections, low-cost alternatives) gradually grows what is possible.

6. Teacher considerations

The sixth consideration is the teacher themselves. The most overlooked consideration.

Own content knowledge. Does the teacher actually know the content they are about to teach? This requires honesty with oneself. A teacher with a degree in English assigned to teach Mathematics may not know the Math content well. The honest answer is “I need to brush up on this before I can teach it”.

Own thinking processes. If the lesson aims to develop imagination, problem-solving, or analysis, the teacher must have those processes themselves. A teacher with weak imagination cannot guide students into imaginative work. A teacher who never solves real problems struggles to teach problem-solving.

Own preparation. Has the teacher prepared for this specific lesson? Have they thought through the questions students might ask? Have they practiced the demonstration?

A teacher honest about their gaps can fill them before teaching. They can ask senior colleagues. They can read up on the content. They can practice the method. A teacher who hides gaps from themselves walks into class unprepared and fails the students.

This is also where collegial culture matters. A teacher in a strong collegial school can ask for help. A teacher in a weak collegial school feels they have to fake it.

How the six interact

The six considerations are not independent. They affect each other.

A school with weak resources (consideration 5) may shape what teachers can do for student diversity (consideration 1). A teacher’s content gap (consideration 6) may force a method change (consideration 2). Time constraints (consideration 3) may rule out resource-heavy methods (consideration 5).

A skilled planner thinks across the considerations. They notice that a strong group dynamic in the class makes group work feasible despite resource constraints. They notice that a parent volunteer (resource) can fill a content gap (teacher consideration). They notice that a school policy (school) opens space for a new approach (method).

Flashcard

What are the six considerations a teacher weighs when planning any lesson, unit, or year?

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Answer

Students, content/process, time, school, resources, teacher

1. Students: motivation, prior knowledge, learning styles, group dynamics.

2. Content/process: what to teach and what thinking processes to develop.

3. Time: at the lesson, term, year, and 12-year scales.

4. School: policies, parents’ demands, calendar.

5. Resources: physical, human, community.

6. Teacher: own content knowledge, own processes, own preparation.