I really appreciated reading this piece—thank you for naming what matters so clearly. The question you ask—“What are kids learning, and how do you know?”—is so powerful and simple. I’d add another layer: “What are they confused about, and how do you know?” I’ve heard it suggested that a lesson can be designed so there are no confusions—and that’s crazy talk.
For me, what really matters is what we do with those confusions. I’ve found they can be untangled in different ways—sometimes in the next lesson, sometimes by adjusting how you approach the content the next time. That’s why I believe in teachers being prepared but not preplanned—noticing student learning and confusions fuels lessons naturally and makes the work lighter.
So many fancy papers, spreadsheets, and 300-page curricula can get in the way, and I really appreciate your clarity. Thanks also for the shoutout to my conversation with Tim! We need more of this dialogue and more voices like yours putting educators and researchers on equal footing.
Yes! one of the reasons I wanted to integrate as many different voices/perspectives into the post as possible was that I feel like the work happens in that grey area of "untangling," right?
An easy starting point for any teacher: why did you choose to design your lesson the way you did?
And then the follow up (which I ask myself frequently): what were other ways you could have designed that lesson?
More conversations around these questions for 2026, I hope!
I kinda hate that I'm saying this, but I've also started to take my own anticipated energy into lesson planning.
For example, if I have to run a high-energy classroom simulation for my 10th graders during 2nd period, I'll plan some low-key reading for my 12th graders during 3rd period.
As I've said more often this year than any year before, this is unquestionably marathon work—and sometimes we need to be tactical in how we design our short term to make it sustainable in the long term. I've definitely tried to be strategic with this, including around assessments needing deeper feedback. It's not just understandable—it's necessary.
I'm a HUGE fan of what I call after-planning. I prioritize transfer in my own lesson design, and then I document my learning and my students do as well, during the lesson. We reflect after, and then often, I'll write the more detailed plan. Doing it this way always reveals what I might have done differently in ways that I wouldn't be aware of unless my students were documenting and reflecting, too. I especially love after planning when I'm facilitating lesson studies in schools with teachers. So often in the past, we'd design a plan and then test it together. Now, we design and test before we articulate after. So appreciate how you're distinguishing the plan (noun) from design (verb) and the importance of reflection here. Also: I need to know more about this feedback matching thing you're referencing. This sounds intriguing!
If only the time and energy to do this all the time! But yes—one of my favorite things of this edu-blogging habit that I've been doing since Year 1 of teaching (back then: pretty much just for my mom and grandmother across the country) is that it is a version of "documenting" my own experience.
Feedback matching: I take the most frequent pieces of feedback I've provided after reading a set of student writing, and then create samples that "showcase" each of those feedback notes (can be a mixture of positive/negative, too—doesn't just have to be things to fix). Then I let students work together to "match the feedback" with the samples, often before they get their own written pieces back.
I appreciate you sharing some "normal" lessons. Your lessons are always so clearly designed that there are no surprises for students. I think that goes a long way toward building a strong class community. It's fun to share the creative and exciting activities, but it's also valid that not every class period can be equally creative, which doesn't mean it's not effective or thoughtfully designed. I played a vocabulary game with my sophomores this week that they really enjoyed, but I also know it would have been far less memorable for them if it was a weekly habit.
🙏 Appreciate this note! And I agree—it is easy to fall into the understandable habit of only sharing those surprising/innovative things and leaving out the more-typical lessons, which of course end up being far more defining in our classrooms over a school year.
For me, this is yet another both/and: trying to elevate the floor of what is routine/daily in our classrooms while at the same time resisting any formula/rigidity that prevents us from taking those "swings" to make individual lessons and experiences memorable.
I love getting to look behind the curtain of your lesson design! Everything about this post shows that you are such a thoughtful and intentional teacher. It looks like your first day back with students after break was a success!
Definitely a Day 1 success! Some inevitable turbulence after that, but now as we're at the end of the semester and I'm seeing some pretty cool results (especially with student writing), it makes me appreciative of the path that got us here.
I am so curious about your AP document that you had them fill out. You are always so generous, so I completely understand if you do not post it, but if you don't mind posting it, I would love to have a closer look at the way you build that document. I might have missed it if it was linked about (so sorry, if so). Thank you for everything you do.
I really appreciated reading this piece—thank you for naming what matters so clearly. The question you ask—“What are kids learning, and how do you know?”—is so powerful and simple. I’d add another layer: “What are they confused about, and how do you know?” I’ve heard it suggested that a lesson can be designed so there are no confusions—and that’s crazy talk.
For me, what really matters is what we do with those confusions. I’ve found they can be untangled in different ways—sometimes in the next lesson, sometimes by adjusting how you approach the content the next time. That’s why I believe in teachers being prepared but not preplanned—noticing student learning and confusions fuels lessons naturally and makes the work lighter.
So many fancy papers, spreadsheets, and 300-page curricula can get in the way, and I really appreciate your clarity. Thanks also for the shoutout to my conversation with Tim! We need more of this dialogue and more voices like yours putting educators and researchers on equal footing.
Yes! one of the reasons I wanted to integrate as many different voices/perspectives into the post as possible was that I feel like the work happens in that grey area of "untangling," right?
An easy starting point for any teacher: why did you choose to design your lesson the way you did?
And then the follow up (which I ask myself frequently): what were other ways you could have designed that lesson?
More conversations around these questions for 2026, I hope!
Yes and more educators being invited into the conversations about this vital part of school improvement
I kinda hate that I'm saying this, but I've also started to take my own anticipated energy into lesson planning.
For example, if I have to run a high-energy classroom simulation for my 10th graders during 2nd period, I'll plan some low-key reading for my 12th graders during 3rd period.
As I've said more often this year than any year before, this is unquestionably marathon work—and sometimes we need to be tactical in how we design our short term to make it sustainable in the long term. I've definitely tried to be strategic with this, including around assessments needing deeper feedback. It's not just understandable—it's necessary.
Reflection questions are really helpful.
I'm a HUGE fan of what I call after-planning. I prioritize transfer in my own lesson design, and then I document my learning and my students do as well, during the lesson. We reflect after, and then often, I'll write the more detailed plan. Doing it this way always reveals what I might have done differently in ways that I wouldn't be aware of unless my students were documenting and reflecting, too. I especially love after planning when I'm facilitating lesson studies in schools with teachers. So often in the past, we'd design a plan and then test it together. Now, we design and test before we articulate after. So appreciate how you're distinguishing the plan (noun) from design (verb) and the importance of reflection here. Also: I need to know more about this feedback matching thing you're referencing. This sounds intriguing!
If only the time and energy to do this all the time! But yes—one of my favorite things of this edu-blogging habit that I've been doing since Year 1 of teaching (back then: pretty much just for my mom and grandmother across the country) is that it is a version of "documenting" my own experience.
Feedback matching: I take the most frequent pieces of feedback I've provided after reading a set of student writing, and then create samples that "showcase" each of those feedback notes (can be a mixture of positive/negative, too—doesn't just have to be things to fix). Then I let students work together to "match the feedback" with the samples, often before they get their own written pieces back.
I appreciate you sharing some "normal" lessons. Your lessons are always so clearly designed that there are no surprises for students. I think that goes a long way toward building a strong class community. It's fun to share the creative and exciting activities, but it's also valid that not every class period can be equally creative, which doesn't mean it's not effective or thoughtfully designed. I played a vocabulary game with my sophomores this week that they really enjoyed, but I also know it would have been far less memorable for them if it was a weekly habit.
🙏 Appreciate this note! And I agree—it is easy to fall into the understandable habit of only sharing those surprising/innovative things and leaving out the more-typical lessons, which of course end up being far more defining in our classrooms over a school year.
For me, this is yet another both/and: trying to elevate the floor of what is routine/daily in our classrooms while at the same time resisting any formula/rigidity that prevents us from taking those "swings" to make individual lessons and experiences memorable.
I love getting to look behind the curtain of your lesson design! Everything about this post shows that you are such a thoughtful and intentional teacher. It looks like your first day back with students after break was a success!
Definitely a Day 1 success! Some inevitable turbulence after that, but now as we're at the end of the semester and I'm seeing some pretty cool results (especially with student writing), it makes me appreciative of the path that got us here.
I am so curious about your AP document that you had them fill out. You are always so generous, so I completely understand if you do not post it, but if you don't mind posting it, I would love to have a closer look at the way you build that document. I might have missed it if it was linked about (so sorry, if so). Thank you for everything you do.
Of course! I should have embedded it—my fault. Here's a link to create a copy/explore it more, in case it's helpful for your classroom/space:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NLdcZKWXVcNvEc8l0KsGtzjw07Luy28_hF_d-F7Mpj4/copy
Oh my goodness- thank you so much!!!