Yearly Planning

Yearly planning is like putting pieces of a puzzle together. I begin by looking at my

students IEP goals. The goals on their IEPs describe the things my students must
know and be able to do by the next evaluation (which could be at any point in the
year). These goals are my starting point because no matter how or what I teach in
the year, my students must make progress towards meeting these goals. I also read
the present levels of performance for each of my students, which helps me
understand how they are performing academically, behaviorally, and socially, and I
also learn about their strengths and weaknesses. Theres lots of other information in
the IEP thats important and necessary for teachers to know, but these are the two
most important pieces for planning my year ahead.
Next I look at the standards for my students grade level. These standards describe
what all students should learn in the 6th, 7th, or 8th grade and for my students its no
different. My students do, however, participate in alternative assessment, and so
the standards can be modified as appropriate. As a new I teacher struggled to
understand how standards can be modified. The tool that helped me most was the
New York State Alternative Assessment. The Assessment is both a model for
modifying standards, and its also the formal assessment my students will complete
in the school year, so its a great thing to reference in the beginning of the year as I
plan what my students approach to the standards will be.
The IEP and standards help me to understand what it is that my students will learn.
The next question is how. To find the answer, I look at the curricular resources I
have, as well as those provided to me by my school. Its very important for teachers
to think critically about what the curriculum is teaching and what it is not. Is it
addressing my students goals, and what extra steps will be needed? Is the
curriculum providing my students access to the standards, and how well do the
themes, methods, structure, and learning activities set my students up for success?
At this stage I begin planning, breaking my year into units, learning targets, and
when and how progress will be measured.
This structured approach to yearly planning works well for me. It helps me to be
strategic with my time, focused on goals, and it also helps to resist the urge to take
on too much or shift gears too often.