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Plan It Like a Pro

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Kimest Sanders

Tier 1

Lesson Plan

Weekly Planning and Prioritizing Guide

Students will use a 7-day planner to schedule assignments and activities and prioritize tasks using an urgent/important matrix, producing a completed weekly plan.

Understanding how to plan and prioritize is a crucial life skill that helps students manage their academic responsibilities, extracurricular activities, and personal time, reducing stress and improving efficiency.

Audience

6th Grade

Time

45 minutes

Approach

Hands-on planning and interactive sorting.

Materials

Plan It Like a Pro Slides, Student Weekly Planner, Urgent/Important Sorting Game, Time Estimation Quick Drill, and Reflect: Where Did My Time Go? Journal

Prep

Review and Prepare Materials

15 minutes

  • Review the Weekly Planning and Prioritizing Guide, Plan It Like a Pro Slides, Student Weekly Planner, Urgent/Important Sorting Game, Time Estimation Quick Drill, and Reflect: Where Did My Time Go? Journal.
    - Print one copy of the Student Weekly Planner per student.
    - Print and cut out the task cards for the Urgent/Important Sorting Game. Prepare four zones in the classroom labeled

Step 1

Warm-Up: Time Estimation Challenge

5 minutes

  • Begin with the Time Estimation Quick Drill to engage students and activate their thinking about how they spend their time.

Step 2

Introduction to Planning & Prioritization

10 minutes

  • Use Plan It Like a Pro Slides (Slides 1-5) to introduce the planning process steps and the concept of time awareness.
    - Explain the Urgent/Important Matrix as a tool for prioritization.

Step 3

Guided Weekly Planning

15 minutes

  • Distribute the Student Weekly Planner.
    - Guide students through filling out their weekly planner using Plan It Like a Pro Slides (Slides 6-8). Encourage them to schedule assignments, activities, and even free time.
    - Emphasize prioritizing tasks using the urgent/important concepts discussed.

Step 4

Practice: Urgent/Important Sorting

10 minutes

  • Facilitate the Urgent/Important Sorting Game in small groups or as a whole class.
    - Students will sort various sample tasks into the four quadrants of the matrix.

Step 5

Reflection and Share

5 minutes

  • Have students complete a brief reflection in their Reflect: Where Did My Time Go? Journal on one planning improvement they will make.
    - Invite a few students to share their reflections and insights with the class.
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Slide Deck

Plan It Like a Pro: Your Guide to Weekly Success!

Mastering Your Time, Conquering Your Week!

Welcome students and introduce the lesson's exciting title. Ask students what comes to mind when they hear 'Plan It Like a Pro.'

Ready, Set, Go! Your Time Challenge!

Let's test our time-telling skills with a fun warm-up!

Explain that we'll start with a quick activity to see how good we are at guessing how long things take. Transition to the Time Estimation Quick Drill.

Why Plan It Like a Pro?

Less stress, more fun!
Achieve your goals.
Balance school, hobbies, and friends.
Feel in control of your time.

Discuss the 'why' behind planning. Ask students about times they felt overwhelmed or missed something important. Connect planning to reducing stress and having more time for things they enjoy.

The 5-Step Pro Planning Process

  1. List Everything: Get it all out of your head!
  2. Estimate Time: How long will each task take?
  3. Prioritize: What needs to happen first?
  4. Schedule: Put it on your calendar.
  5. Review: Check in and adjust!

Go through each step of the planning process. Encourage students to think about how they already do some of these steps, or where they can improve.

The Secret Weapon: Urgent vs. Important

Not all tasks are created equal!

Urgent: Needs immediate attention.
Important: Matters for your goals and values.

Let's sort our tasks like a pro!

Introduce the Urgent/Important Matrix. Explain each quadrant with simple, relatable examples (e.g., 'urgent and important' = test tomorrow; 'important, not urgent' = long-term project; 'urgent, not important' = friend texts for non-emergency chat; 'not urgent, not important' = endless social media scrolling).

Your New Best Friend: The Weekly Planner!

Get ready to organize your entire week!

  • School Assignments
  • After-School Activities
  • Family Time
  • Free Time
  • Notes & Goals

Distribute the Student Weekly Planner and briefly go over its layout. Point out sections for school, activities, and notes.

Let's Plan Together: Fill in Your Week!

Start with what you know!

  1. Write down all your classes and fixed activities.
  2. Add in homework and projects due dates.
  3. Block out time for studying.
  4. Don't forget fun and relaxation!

Guide students through the first part of filling out their planner. Start with fixed appointments (school, sports) then move to assignments with due dates. Emphasize allocating realistic time blocks.

Prioritize Like a Pro: What's Most Important?

Look at your schedule. What absolutely needs to get done?

  • Mark urgent and important tasks.
  • Identify important but not urgent tasks (plan for these!).
  • Spot tasks that might be urgent but not truly important.
  • Find tasks that are neither (consider dropping or delegating if possible).

Now, guide them to apply the urgent/important matrix to their actual scheduled tasks. They can use a simple color code or symbol to mark priorities.

Game Time! Sort Your Priorities!

Put your Urgent/Important Matrix skills to the test!

Work with your team to sort different tasks into the right categories.

Introduce the Urgent/Important Sorting Game. Explain the rules and how students will work to categorize different tasks.

Your Pro Plan Ahead: Reflect & Improve

What's one thing you'll do differently with your new planning skills?

Conclude the lesson by prompting students to use their Reflect: Where Did My Time Go? Journal for a personal reflection. Encourage them to commit to one planning improvement.

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Warm Up

Time Estimation Quick Drill

Instructions: For each activity below, estimate how long you think it would realistically take you to complete it. Write your estimate in the space provided. Don't overthink it, just make your best guess!

  1. Brush your teeth in the morning.
    Estimate:


  2. Walk from your classroom to the cafeteria.
    Estimate:


  3. Read one chapter of a book for English class.
    Estimate:


  4. Complete your math homework (assuming a typical night).
    Estimate:


  5. Get ready for school (wake up, eat breakfast, get dressed, pack bag).
    Estimate:





Discussion:

  • How accurate do you think your estimates are?
  • Why is it helpful to be good at estimating how long tasks take?
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Activity

Urgent/Important Sorting Game

Objective: To practice categorizing tasks based on their urgency and importance.

Materials:

  • Printed task cards (cut out individually)
  • Four designated areas in the classroom labeled:
    1. Urgent & Important (Do It Now!)
    2. Important, Not Urgent (Plan It!)
    3. Urgent, Not Important (Delegate It / Avoid It!)
    4. Not Urgent & Not Important (Eliminate It!)

Instructions:

  1. Divide students into small groups (3-4 students per group).
  2. Give each group a set of mixed task cards.
  3. As a group, students will discuss each task card and decide which of the four quadrants it belongs to.
  4. They will then physically place the task card in the corresponding labeled area.
  5. After all cards are sorted, the class will review the placements, discussing any disagreements and the reasoning behind their choices.

Task Cards (Cut these out!)

--- CUT HERE ---

Card 1: Finish history project due tomorrow.

--- CUT HERE ---

Card 2: Study for a math test in two weeks.

--- CUT HERE ---

Card 3: Respond to a text from a friend about weekend plans (not critical).

--- CUT HERE ---

Card 4: Clean your room because your parents said so, and they are coming home soon.

--- CUT HERE ---

Card 5: Read a fun, non-school-related book.

--- CUT HERE ---

Card 6: Research colleges for high school (if applicable) or future career interests (middle school).

--- CUT HERE ---

Card 7: Help a sibling with a minor problem that they can probably solve themselves.

--- CUT HERE ---

Card 8: Complete today's English homework.

--- CUT HERE ---

Card 9: Attend a mandatory school assembly.

--- CUT HERE ---

Card 10: Plan your next birthday party (still several months away).

--- CUT HERE ---

Card 11: Watch a new episode of your favorite TV show.

--- CUT HERE ---

Card 12: Call your grandmother to wish her a happy birthday (today is her birthday).

--- CUT HERE ---

Card 13: Organize your backpack and locker for the upcoming week.

--- CUT HERE ---

Card 14: Practice your instrument for a recital next month.

--- CUT HERE ---

Card 15: Respond to an email from a teacher about missing work (due tonight).

--- CUT HERE ---

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Worksheet

My Pro Weekly Planner

Name: ____________________________ Week Of: ____________________________

My Top 3 Goals for This Week:








Daily Schedule & Priorities

Use the Urgent/Important Matrix (U=Urgent, I=Important) to mark your tasks.

Time SlotMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday
Morning




















Late Morning




















Lunch




















Afternoon




















Late Afternoon




















Evening




















Notes & Reminders













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Journal

Reflect: Where Did My Time Go?

Instructions: Think about your planning and prioritizing skills before this lesson. Now, consider what you've learned. Answer the following questions in your journal.

  1. Before today, how did you typically keep track of your assignments and activities? What worked well, and what was challenging?










  2. Describe a time you felt stressed or overwhelmed because you had too many things to do. What happened, and how do you think better planning could have helped?











  3. Looking at your Student Weekly Planner and thinking about the Urgent/Important Matrix, what is one specific change or improvement you want to make to your planning habits starting this week?











  4. Why do you think it's important to make time for both

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