Google Calendar for Lesson Planning

Each teacher lesson plans, but rarely do it the same way.  I've gone through several different approaches to lesson planning in the short 3 years I've been teaching.  This week, I found a new method that uses Google Calendar.

Google Calendar has many great features that make it conducive to lesson planning.  Here are some of the features and a few videos to show you how to create a lesson plan in Google Calendar.

Multiple Calendars 
Google Calendars allows users to create multiple calendars for their main calendar.  You can create a personal calendar, a calendar for professional development, a calendar for each prep - the sky's the limit!

Repeating Events
Creating repeating events is fantastic if you have a standing appointment, like a team planning period or special.  You can set the days to repeat, the start date, and the end date.

 If you convert to Google Calendar for lesson planning, you can use this tool for everyday things.  For me, I would use it for my anticipatory sets.  Each class period has 10 minutes to work on a bellwork activity. 

Adding Attachments
Google Calendar allows you to add attachments to your events. This is great to attach specific handouts need to assignments.  The attachments can be added from Google Drive or uploaded from a computer.

This can be helpful if you share your calendar with co-teachers or a student teacher. 

Easily Rearrange 
Google Calendar allows users to drag and drop events to rearrange their calendar.  This is great if your perfectly planned lesson is thrown off by a fire drill, surprise assembly, or surprise snow day - not that any of these things every happen...

If you're intrigued by this method of lesson planning, see two teachers demonstrate how they use Google Calendar for lesson planning!