How to Use the LLL Weekly Planner as a Lesson Planning Tool
Google has so many cool tools for teachers. Did you know you can use Google Sheets as a lesson planning tool? This article will walk through each step to creating Google Sheet lesson plans using Lucky Little Learners free weekly plans for the WHOLE school year!
To follow along with the steps below, first make a copy of the grade level you need with the links below:
(The screenshots featured below are from the 2nd grade version.)
Get a feel for the layout
Before you start editing these plans to fit your classroom and curriculum, get a feel for their layout.
Editing the Plans
Here are some of the ways you can edit/customize google sheets to be the exact lesson plans you want.
Filling Cells with Color
To change the color of a cell, click on the cell you want to edit. This will outline the cell in blue.
Click on the bucket icon in the top toolbar. Look at all those fun colors to choose from!
Once you click on a color, the cell automatically changes colors.
Quick note: don’t forget about the “Undo” arrow. This is your best friend when editing in Sheets!
One more thing on changing cell colors. To change the fill color of several cells at once, click on your first cell. Then, hold down the command key and click on the white space (avoid the links) of all other cells you want to fill. Last, choose the color. Easy peasy!
Copying & Pasting
You are more than likely familiar with this, but just in case:
Copying
- To copy an entire cell, click in the cell and type command + C.
- To copy a select part of a cell (like an image or some of the text), click on or drag to highlight what you want and type command + C.
Pasting
Choose where you would like to paste what you just copied, and type command + V
Duplicating
Maybe you want to make an extra copy of the weekly sheet to type notes for yourself, or to use for small groups. Or maybe you want to keep a version in tact for next year. You can actually duplicate it all at once instead of copying and pasting over and over.
To do this, click on the little arrow next to the tab name. In this example, I wanted to duplicate the entire “Week 1” sheet.
You will see “Duplicate” as an option. (Look at all the other quick options in that menu too!)
Now, there is a duplicate copy of the first week you can edit to your heart’s content.
Typing in Cells & Changing the Fonts
This one is super simple!
- Double click in the cell you want to edit. This will open up the cell, and give you a cursor.
2. Type in the new text you want. Then, either triple click in the text OR drag to highlight the text. You can now pick whatever fonts you have in Google Sheets. Don’t see any fonts you like? You can pick a new one by clicking “more fonts”.
Bonus typing trick: To go to the next line in a cell, don’t hit the “enter” or “return” key. This will take you to the next line in sheets and lead to frustration! Instead, hold down the “shift” key and hit enter/return. Viola!
Searching
To do a quick search for something in your Google Sheet, hold down the command key + F. This will give you a pop-up search box. You can type in any keyword, and it will highlight the results. (There will even be arrows to go through all of the search results.)
Adding Rows, Columns or Tabs
This feature is great if you want to add a row, column, or tab for small groups, type anecdotal notes, etc.
Adding a Row
Adding a Column
Sharing
To share your lesson plans with admin or a sub, click share in the upper right corner.
There are a couple ways to share the sheet.
- Add the emails of who you are sharing the sheet with.
2. Copy the link and send it in an email. Just click “Copy link” and paste it into your drafted email.
Whichever way you choose to share the sheet, make sure to change the access to “Anyone with the Link”, or they will not be able to view the sheet.
Printing
There are a couple ways to print from Google Sheets.
- Type command + P to immediately bring up the printer pop-up menu. You can also click “File” and then “Print” at the bottom of the menu.
Then, just follow the prompts to print.
2. Some teachers prefer to print PDFs. This saves a copy to your computer at the same time. To do this, follow these steps:
- Click on “File”
- Hover over “Downloads” and choose the best option for you.
Hopefully these Google Sheets tips & tricks help you easily use our weekly planning tool and lighten your teacher planning load.
Happy teaching!