Planned Just So
The planning course that takes you from stuck and overwhelmed to empowered and in control. Learn the systematic process for creating lesson plans that increase rigor for your students and free time for you!
TM
Before I tell you all about it, I need to show you this…
“Jennifer’s course was amazing! I had several ‘light bulb moments’ that helped me see where my struggles were coming from and how to smooth them out. I feel this course is the foundation for truly building work-life balance.
Definitely worth the time and investment, especially since implementing her strategies will give me more time, peace of mind, and clarity. Now I will have the ability to mindfully approach the inevitable challenges that arise throughout the school year. So looking forward to continuing to organize my teaching so I am ‘planned just so’!”
Britton, Planned Just So™ student
“Thank you for helping me organize all of the "stuff" I had collected in 5 short years! I feel more alive to show up each week and teach the students. You have provided a thoughtful planning structure for getting my thoughts on paper in lesson format and how to approach the year without feeling overwhelmed and giving up.
Thank you for providing these steps in the process and for sharing your learning. It is so nice for me, a non-trained teacher, to align the standards to my lessons and make sure the lessons are aligned to what the students needs to know.”
Julie, Planned Just So™ student
DID YOU SEE THAT?
They simplified their planning process, ditched the overwhelm, and found work-life balance.
I’m going to help you do the same.
How would it feel to…
Spend significantly less time planning and still end up with engaging and rigorous lessons for your students?
Never again waste hours searching for activities hoping they’ll align with your unit standards and goals?
Have a complete, year-long instructional plan so you know exactly what to teach and when - eliminating that last minute scramble every day or week?
I was once where you are right now…
That’s when I decided it was time for things to change.
I found a systematic method for planning so I wasn’t reinventing the wheel every week.
I learned how to unpack my standards so I could organize each part into meaningful units.
I chose to plan backwards so my learning activities aligned directly to my unit goals and standards.
I took stock of all my teaching resources and organized them so I stopped wasting time searching for “that one activity”…
I created a set schedule for planning and stuck to it like any other appointment on my calendar.
AND NOW I WANT TO HELP YOU DO THE SAME…
Learn how to unpack standards and arrange topics in a sequential and meaningful order.
Master the process of planning backward to create cohesive, thematic units.
Develop a four-week unit plan complete with weekly plans, goals, and ideas for activities and assessments.
Establish a system for finding quality resources and stop the endless hours of searching.
Build an organized resource catalog to house all of your teaching tools.
Establish a maintenance plan so you can continue planning successfully all year long.
Planned Just So
The simplified lesson planning process that increases rigor and saves you time.
TM
“This course gave me a great opportunity to begin to look at my planning procedures and the resources I have access to. Following the process has helped me look at planning in a new way which will save me time in the upcoming years. I have been spending the majority of each Sunday planning and prepping for the upcoming week. I am looking forward to having my Sundays back and not feeling stressed or overwhelmed so that I can plan activities on Sundays or even the whole weekend. This course has also given me a better understanding of backward planning and the standards that I need to be responsible for. I highly recommend this course for anyone who feels overwhelmed by the planning process.”
— Misty, Planned Just So™ student
What’s inside the course:
MODULE ONE
How to Create a Year-Long Course Plan
We start with the big picture. You’ll dissect your standards to determine exactly what needs to be taught during the year and create a sequential plan that makes sense and is meaningful for students. We’ll use that work to create a year-long instructional plan that guides your unit planning.
I’ll teach you how to develop monthly units around themes that are seasonally appropriate and high-interest for students. I’ll give you examples that worked for me that you can choose to use when creating your own four-week unit.
The Highlights:
Get ultra-clear on exactly what you need to teach during a school year and arrange it in an order that makes sense for you and your students.
Create a year-long instructional plan with a timeline and unit calendar.
Choose monthly themes as the foundation for your units.
The Outcome:
At the end of this module, you will have a completed year-long plan to use while creating your instructional units.
MODULE TWO
How To Create Cohesive, Aligned Units Using Backwards Planning
This unit is all about shifting your current thinking about the lesson planning process. You’ll learn how to plan backward with the end in mind. We’ll put a stop to the never ending process of searching for resources and then figuring out how to develop lessons around them.
You’ll set goals for what you want students to know, do, and understand at the end of your unit. Then we’ll work backward to develop a learning plan full of resources and assessments to meet those goals. You’ll discover how to craft units that are cohesive and completely aligned to standards so your students are set up for success from the very beginning.
The Highlights:
Learn the basics of planning backward and its key components.
Develop an outline for a four-week unit including its Big Ideas, Essential Questions, Acceptable Evidence, and Learning Plan.
Begin to develop your unit’s weekly and daily plans with resources.
The Outcome:
At the end of this module, you’ll have a working understanding of the backwards approach to planning and one planned unit to use in your classroom.
MODULE THREE
All The Little Pieces
It’s time to learn how to make your planning process easy and repeatable. You’ll create a lesson planning form that works for you - and is reusable each week. I’ll teach you where to find quality instructional materials and how to vet them so they’re appropriate for your students.
You’ll create a resource catalog where you can track all of your instructional resources. Ending the endless searching for materials you’ve used in the past or recently purchased will save you even more time.
We’ll discuss ways to plan just enough - you won’t underplan or overplan. And I’ll teach you how to adapt your lesson when plans change unexpectedly.
The Highlights:
Find your perfect planning forms.
Learn sources for quality learning materials and stop the endless searching.
Get your instructional materials organized with your own resource catalog.
The Outcome:
At the end of this module, you’ll have a set lesson planning form. You’ll feel confident finding quality resources and setting up an organization system for those resources. You’ll have the tools you need to appropriately plan each day!
MODULE FOUR
How To Create Routines And Stick To Them
You’ve learned a new planning process, completed a year-long plan, and developed a complete unit. Let’s keep that momentum going!
I’ll teach you how to create routines to maintain this new planning process all year long. Schedule effective routines for monthly, weekly, and daily planning that won’t cost you hours of time.
The Highlights:
Create plans for maintaining your new lesson planning process.
Schedule planning dates for the upcoming year to keep you accountable.
Learn manageable ways to plan monthly, weekly, and daily.
The Outcome:
At the end of this module, you’ll have scheduled dates for each type of planning and will be prepared to effectively plan monthly, weekly, and daily.
BONUS LESSON
How To Plan Proactively For A Sub
Say goodbye to the days of scrambling at the very last minute to throw together plans for a substitute when you have to be out unexpectedly.
Learn how to prepare NOW for multiple, unplanned absences. Gain the peace of mind knowing you’re planned just so no matter what your week may bring.
Your future self (and your sub) will thank you later.
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL…
Bonus Resources
Sub Binder
Now that you know how to proactively plan for a sub, you need a tool to house all your classroom, student, and lesson plan information for your substitutes.
Enter the sub binder.
Prep this tool in advance so anyone can walk into your classroom, open it up, and keep your class running like the well-oiled machine that it is.
Sub Plans
Your sub binder is prepped with everything a sub might need to know about your classroom, your students, and your routines. But you still need to plan actual lessons.
Not anymore. You receive two sets of English Language Arts Sub Kits that include multiple days of reading and writing lessons for third, fourth, or fifth grade students. All you have to do is print and place in your prepped sub binder.
Sub plans from beginning to end? Done.
Teacher Planner
Includes everything you need to stay on track with planning all year long!
More about what’s inside…
Video Trainings
The first step in your work-life transformation. I’ll walk you through each step of unlearning “what we’ve always done” and teach you how to do it a better way - dare I say the right way.
Course Workbook
A support tool that provides examples, helpful tips, cheat sheets, checklists, and work pages to help you complete each lesson.
Course Certificate
As districts vary, check with your administrator to see if this course meets your professional development requirements.
GET STARTED TODAY
Planned Just So
ONE-PAY PLAN
$97
One payment of $97
4 Course Modules
All Lesson Videos
Course Workbook
Bonus Module
Bonus Teacher Planner
Bonus Sub Bunder
Bonus Sub Plans
Course Certificate
TWO-PAY PLAN
$50
4 Course Modules
All Lesson Videos
Course Workbook
Bonus Module
Bonus Teacher Planner
Bonus Sub Bunder
Bonus Sub Plans
Course Certificate
TM
Two payments of $50 each
FAQs
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Most of my teaching experience is in third and sixth grades, so the resources I create and ideas I share are geared toward upper elementary students and teachers.
However, the systems I teach can be used in any grade from elementary to college. Many of the resources included can be used across multiple grade levels.
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Yes! The course doesn’t teach you how to use certain standards or a specific curriculum. Instead, it teaches you how to plan in a way that is streamlined and more effective - no matter the materials you use.
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After enrolling, you have unlimited access to the course and any updates for as long as you’d like. As long as the course exists, you’ll have access to it.
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After enrolling, you’ll immediately have access to the course. You can start today!
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Your registration grants access to the course site and all materials to just you. We do encourage having a support system to help you complete the work and stick to it once you’ve finished it. So - invite a friend or two to sign up with you!
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IYes! The systems I teach you and the ideas I share are proven to work. However, if you’ve worked through the lessons and are dissatisfied with your purchase, contact me within 14 days of purchasing. For more about refunds, see my policy here.
Will This Course Really Work for Me?
Yes! I guarantee that if you do the work in each lesson and follow the process, you will see dramatic changes in your teaching work life.
Now, if you aren’t willing to do the work, please don’t register for the course. It does not come with a magic fairy who will transform your lesson planning process for you… overnight.
I’ll give you all the tools to make it happen, but you have to put in the time and effort to get it done.
If you do that… I give you my word that you will see change.
Hello!
I’m Jennifer Martinez
As an Educational Consultant, I help busy Upper Elementary teachers plan, organize, and simplify their teaching lives.
This course comes from my own struggles to simplify my lesson planning process.
I know how you feel, because I’ve been there.
I spent my first few years in the classroom seeking advice from peers and Pinterest. And while I learned a few helpful tips, it wasn’t enough to improve the overwhelm.
It wasn’t until I created structured systems for each part of my day that things began to change.
I was working less hours but getting more done. I felt confident and in control rather than defeated and overwhelmed.
I can help you do the same.
TRYING TO DECIDE IF THIS COURSE IS FOR YOU?
Does lesson planning take more time than you think it should? You know there has to be a way to plan in less time, but you don’t know what it is.
Do you spend way too much time searching for resources on Pinterest or TPT?
Are you disappointed when, despite the time and effort you put into planning lessons, your students aren’t grasping bigger concepts and their assessment results aren’t what they should be?
Do you struggle to plan lessons that align with your standards and other requirements?
Do you feel comfortable planning daily or even weekly lessons, but struggle to develop cohesive units of instruction?
Are you unsure how to turn planning into a routine you’ll actually stick to?
You want your life back. All that time you spend planning lessons, searching for resources, and trying to align lessons and activities with standards and goals - you want it back.
Time you can spend with your family and friends. Time you can spend on much needed self-care.
By completing this course, you will create a structured, repeatable system that reduces your planning time, streamlines your work, and improves instruction.