The Joy of Planning

Between individual lessons and big units of study lies the joy of planning. Franki Sibberson takes you into her process of designing short sequences of lessons (known as cycles) around key areas of study including how characters develop in literature, nonfiction reading in the age of the Internet, and understanding increasingly sophisticated themes in novels and picture books. Franki shares guiding questions for planning, sample cycles, and the thinking behind the books she selects for minilessons. There is much delight in moving between what you know about your students and what you know about teaching, and designing lessons accordingly. That’s what the joy of planning is all about.

Between individual lessons and big units of study lies the joy of planning. Franki Sibberson takes you into her process of designing short sequences of lessons (known as cycles) around key areas of study including how characters develop in literature, nonfiction reading in the age of the Internet, and understanding increasingly sophisticated themes in novels and picture books. Franki shares guiding questions for planning, sample cycles, and the thinking behind the books she selects for minilessons. This succinct and thoughtful text guides teachers through the process of brainstorming key issues, standards, and content during the initial phases of the planning process. From there, books and lessons are matched to the needs of students. Sample lesson cycles include teacher language, guiding questions, activities, and sample follow-up instruction. There is much delight in moving between what you know about your students and what you know about teaching, and designing lessons accordingly. That’s what the joy of planning is all about.

Franki Sibberson has worked for over 20 years as an educator in many different roles -- teaching children in a variety of elementary grades, assisting struggling readers in an intervention position, working as a curriculum support teacher in a K-5 building, coordinating an elementary school library, and leading workshops for teachers at state, regional, and national levels. Franki is the co-author (with Karen Szymusiak) of Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop, Beyond Leveled Books, and Still Learning to Read. She currently teaches 4th grade in the Dublin City Schools (Ohio), and writes regularly on the blog she shares with Mary Lee Hahn, A Year of Reading.