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Priority Power Hour

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Lesson Plan

Power Hour Plan

In a 30-minute one-on-one session, guide the 8th-grade student to list and rank assignments by priority and develop a time-blocking schedule to complete tasks effectively.

This session strengthens executive function skills—planning, prioritizing, and time management—helping the student organize work, reduce stress, and improve on-time completion.

Audience

8th Grade Student

Time

30 minutes

Approach

Guided checklist creation and scheduling exercise.

Materials

Building Blocks of Priority Slide Deck, - Coaching Conversation Guide Script, and - Priority & Time Block Template Worksheet

Prep

Review Materials

5 minutes

Step 1

Introduction & Goal Setting

5 minutes

  • Greet the student and set a supportive tone.
  • Ask the student to share current assignments and challenges.
  • Explain session objectives: create a prioritized list and time-blocking schedule.

Step 2

Identify Tasks & Prioritize

10 minutes

  • Have the student list all assignments on the worksheet.
  • Use the Building Blocks of Priority Slide Deck to discuss urgency vs. importance.
  • Guide the student to rank tasks from highest to lowest priority.

Step 3

Create Time-Blocking Schedule

10 minutes

Step 4

Reflection & Next Steps

5 minutes

  • Ask the student to reflect on schedule feasibility.
  • Discuss daily check-ins, adjustments, and accountability strategies.
  • Summarize key takeaways and set a follow-up plan.
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Slide Deck

Building Blocks of Priority

In this session, we’ll:

  1. Learn what makes a task urgent vs. important
  2. See real-life examples
  3. Practice ranking your own work

Welcome the student and introduce the concept of prioritizing tasks. Explain that today’s goal is to learn how to decide which assignments to tackle first and why.

The Urgency vs. Importance Matrix

Quadrant I: Urgent & Important – Deadlines today, yes-or-no emergencies
Quadrant II: Not Urgent but Important – Big projects, long-term goals
Quadrant III: Urgent but Not Important – Interruptions, minor requests
Quadrant IV: Not Urgent & Not Important – Busywork, trivial tasks

Draw or display the 2×2 box. Walk through each quadrant, explaining the types of tasks that belong there.

Examples in Each Quadrant

• Urgent & Important: Math test tomorrow
• Not Urgent but Important: Science project due next week
• Urgent but Not Important: Friend’s text asking for help now
• Not Urgent & Not Important: Watching random videos

Provide concrete examples relevant to an 8th grader: homework due soon, studying for next week, chores, social media scrolling.

How to Prioritize Your Tasks

  1. List all your assignments
  2. Ask: “Is it urgent? Is it important?”
  3. Place each task into the correct quadrant
  4. Focus first on Quadrant I then II

Encourage the student to think about their own assignments. Use prompts to guide them into sorting tasks from Quadrant I to IV.

Your Turn: Place Your Tasks

• Write your assignments on sticky notes or in your worksheet
• Sort them into the four quadrants of the matrix
• Be ready to explain your choices

Transition into the hands-on portion where the student will transfer their own tasks onto this matrix.

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Script

Coaching Conversation Guide

Introduction & Goal Setting (5 minutes)

Teacher: "Hi there! It’s great to see you. Before we begin, how are you feeling about all your assignments right now?"

Pause for student response.

Teacher: "Thanks for sharing. Can you tell me what specific assignments you have coming up and any challenges you’re noticing?"

Possible follow-ups if student is quiet:

  • "Which assignment feels most stressful to you?"
  • "Where do you usually get stuck when you start working?"

Teacher: "Perfect. Today our goal is simple: we’ll make a prioritized list of your tasks and then build a time-blocking schedule so you know exactly when to work on each one. By the end of 30 minutes, you’ll have a clear plan to follow. Sound good?"

Identify Tasks & Prioritize (10 minutes)

Teacher: "Let’s start by listing every assignment you need to do on this Priority & Time Block Template Worksheet. Take your time—include homework, projects, study sessions, everything."

Give student 1–2 minutes to write.

Teacher: "Nice job. Now, we’re going to use the Building Blocks of Priority Slide Deck. On the slide titled ‘The Urgency vs. Importance Matrix,’ you can see four quadrants."

Teacher: "Let’s pick one of your tasks—how about your math homework that’s due tomorrow? Which quadrant is that: Urgent & Important, Not Urgent but Important, Urgent but Not Important, or Not Urgent & Not Important? And why?"

Follow-up questions:

  • "What makes it urgent?"
  • "What makes it important?"

Teacher: "Great reasoning. Now, take your next task—like your science project due next week—and place it in the matrix. Talk me through your choice."

Repeat with remaining tasks.

Teacher: "Now that we’ve sorted them, let’s rank each task from 1 (highest priority) to last. Which one is your number-one task? And what’s number two?"

Pause to let student number their list.

Create Time-Blocking Schedule (10 minutes)

Teacher: "You have your tasks ordered—awesome. Let’s assign time blocks. On your worksheet, find the schedule section. First up: how long will you need to complete Task #1?"

If student says “30 minutes”
Teacher: "Great—let’s block 30 minutes. Write down the start and end time. For example, 4:00 to 4:30 PM."

Teacher: "Next, it’s helpful to take a short break so you don’t burn out. How about 5 minutes? Go ahead and add that right after Task #1."

Continue for Task #2 and #3.

Teacher: "As you fill this in, think about:

  1. Will this fit into your after-school routine?
  2. Do you need longer or shorter breaks?"

Possible prompts if student hesitates:

  • "What time do you usually start homework?"
  • "Would a snack break help you refocus?"

Reflection & Next Steps (5 minutes)

Teacher: "Let’s look at your finished schedule. How does it feel—do you think you can follow these blocks?"

Listen to student’s thoughts.

Teacher: "If something runs long or you finish early, it’s totally fine to adjust. We can meet for a quick 5-minute check-in tomorrow to tweak your plan. Does that sound helpful?"

Teacher: "Today you:
• Listed all your assignments
• Prioritized them using the urgency vs. importance matrix
• Created a time-blocking schedule with breaks

Keep this worksheet somewhere visible, like your desk or planner. I’m proud of the work you did today—great job! I’ll see you tomorrow for our check-in."

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Worksheet

Priority & Time Block Template Worksheet

1. List Your Tasks

List all the assignments you need to complete today. Include homework, projects, study sessions, etc.





2. Urgency vs. Importance Matrix

Place each task into the correct quadrant by writing it under the heading below.

Quadrant I: Urgent & Important


Quadrant II: Not Urgent but Important


Quadrant III: Urgent but Not Important


Quadrant IV: Not Urgent & Not Important


3. Priority Ranking

Now that you’ve placed tasks in quadrants, rank them in order of importance (1 = highest priority).

  1. ___________________________


  2. ___________________________


  3. ___________________________


  4. ___________________________


4. Time-Blocking Schedule

Assign time blocks for your top tasks and include short breaks. Be realistic about how long each will take.

Time Block 1
Start Time: ________
End Time: ________
Task: ___________________________
Break After (minutes): ________





Time Block 2
Start Time: ________
End Time: ________
Task: ___________________________
Break After (minutes): ________





Time Block 3
Start Time: ________
End Time: ________
Task: ___________________________
Break After (minutes): ________





Additional Notes / Adjustments:









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