In this tip we’ll explore options for creating your lesson plans using a Google Spreadsheet. Then in
Tip 89, we’ll learn how to share your plans with other teachers, and in
TIp 90, we’ll learn how to publish your lesson plans for parents and students!
Why use a Google spreadsheet for lesson plans?
• You can enter/edit/view your lesson plans from any computer.
• You can view your lesson plans via a mobile device.
• An entire year’s lesson plans can be saved in one file.
• You can easily share your lesson plans with an administrator, or even with parents and/or students.
• If you team teach, multiple teachers can add/edit lesson plans.
• Repeating events can easily be copied and pasted.
• You can enter as much or a little as you want and each cell will automatically expand to fit your info.
• You can save some trees by doing paperless lesson plans.
How to do it:
Note - Since everyone’s needs will be different, I’m going to provide generic instructions and let you adapt them as needed.
1. Go to
docs.google.com or go to your school’s Google Apps start page and choose Google Docs.
2. Resize columns and rows as desired.
3. Add labels to the top rows and to the left two or three columns.
4. Pull down the Tools menu to freeze the rows and columns that contain your labels.
5. Use the toolbar at the top of the page to fancy it up -- change fonts, sizes, borders, and colors as desired.
6. Enter your plans, one day per row!
Options for Lesson Plans:
• You can keep your entire year’s lesson plans on this one sheet. Just keep adding each day’s plans as a new row in the spreadsheet.
• To view the most current lesson plan, either scroll to the bottom, or sort the “Date” column “from Z to A” so that the most current plans are at the top! (Click the header above the date column to see sorting options.)
Advanced Options for Lesson Plans:
• To automatically highlight today’s date:
a. Click the header above your “Date” label.
b. Pull down to “Change colors with rules...”
c. Use the pull-down menus to choose “Date is” and “today.”
d. Click to choose the desired background color.
e. Click the “Save rules” button!
• To have the day of the week enter automatically:
a. Click to select your top “Day” cell.
b. Enter this formula: =MID(TEXT(A3; "yyEEEE" );3;32)
c. Replace the cell reference “A3” with the cell containing your first date.
d. Fill down the formula. (Click the dark square in the lower-left corner of the cell and drag down. Note - Your cursor should look like a skinny plus sign while filling down.)
Now when you enter a date in column A, the day of the week will automatically appear in column B!
