Designing Lessons With Preserving Your Energy In Mind: Teaching from the Trenches 101 (Sample Routine)

Teaching is a full-on contact sport. We engage yourself physically, emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically. Not many jobs require this type of PREMIUM membership; so, aren’t we the lucky ones?

Teaching during the pandemic made me realize that my energy reserves were consistently being depleted, with a limited amount of time for replenishment. Like most teachers, I thought the problem was with my TIME MANAGEMENT; However, I discovered the issue is the nature of the job. No matter how much I preplanned, organized, I was still a sapless heap on the couch at the end of the day hopelessly unable to string together coherent sentences. I could not really engage with family, nor could I dedicate myself to the writing and creating resources I so loved to do. So, I made some changes (shared below). I had to confront some lies that I had internalized about teaching, and being a Comprehensible Input friendly teacher. For further reference, I wrote an in-depth post about this very issue last year: Why Teaching in This Hyper-Reality Is So Exhausting… And How To Reclaim Your Energy, Dignity & Balance!

#1 We have to constantly be “on” in order for the students to learn.

This was the first MONSTER I needed to slay. Many of us believe that we have to be in front of the students day in and out in order for them to learn. News Flash, you don’t. In terms of input, you don’t have to be the sole source, in fact, you shouldn’t. Students need a variety of input from different sources, and you need to rest your mind, your body, your voice, and your brain so you can free it these non-renewal resources up to engage in other creative activities in the classroom.

#2 Giving worksheets, and/or paper & pen assignments means you’re being an inauthentic teacher

We want to foster authentic cafe-sipping conversations; with 30+ students in the room this is the exception, not the rule (due to a variety of factors. If you work in public education in a not so well-resourced school district, you know!). Now, that said, we have our “café moments” and they’re great; but we also have done some of the boring work that requires us to get there. It’s totally fine students to settle down and make their thinking visible via a “think sheet” activity. Whether it’s a reading, a vocabulary puzzle, a game, project-based learning, a skill-building task for differentiation, they can work independently without interference (depending on age).

#3 Taking a Break Means You’re Lazy

I take frequent breaks in the class, and I offer them to my students as well. The result? They are more engaged, and sometimes just appreciate that I am not teaching from bell-to-bell. I have several names for these breaks:

We DISENGAGE so we can REENGAGE more fully. After the pandemic, I have ritualized the pausa mental in my class, and I’m better for it. Research suggests that taking purposeful breaks (anywhere from 5–60 minutes) from studying to refresh your brain and body increases your energy, productivity, and ability to focus. We are all a bit less burned out.

Wanna see a sample lesson with these these embedded breaks? Below is an example from our unit on family.

My 90-minute break-infused classroom routine

Spanish 1

Lesson: La familia

Guiding Question: What does it mean to be family?

Think about your students entering into a restaurant. They come in, take a seat, and the waiters give them time to settle in before they get bombarded with questions about the menu and the “house specials.” Keep this analogy in mind as you observe my class routine.

Please be seated: (5 minutes)– students come in take a seat. During this time, they are expected to greet each other, ask “How are you?” in the target language and get their materials ready. They can view the agenda (menu) and timer on the projector. I personally don’t think I need to put an agenda up everyday, but honestly, IT HELPS ME STAY ON TRACK! I play music, allow students to come in take a seat. The music is normally Latin Jazz so I can simmer down as well (AND I CAN ORGANIZE, CLEAN UP FROM THE PREVIOUS CLASS, AND TAKE ATTENDANCE). I prefer Latin Jazz as they don’t need Karol G and Daddy Yankee at all hours of the day.!

Appetizer: (10 minutes)| Activity 1| This anticipatory set could be anything to get students thinking about the lesson either in superficial or deeper ways, depending on where we are in the unit. Since we were just starting our unit on family life, I projected a picture of the Carmen Lomas Garza’s painting and invited students do something self-directed.

Students had to analyze it and look up words associated to what the people were doing. The goal was to determine what the new unit theme was going to be about. This gives students a great outlet for their curiosity. They are doing this either in pairs or individually. Because I am trying to preserve my energy, I walk around the class once during this time and converse with to 1-2 students, and then return to my desk. I allow them to converse in groups, then I ask questions.
Salad (10-15 minutes)Input| Activity 2| After looking up the words to expand on the concept of the picture, I then go to board and do a mini-lesson on their words and “picture talk” the visual stimulus. This is where I mix the magic. I take what they’ve looked up, and we talk about the picture in the target language. I normally have them take notes so they can see the building blocks of the words associated with the picture and the context. During this time, I am asking questions, and using the language in a basic yet creative way, and inviting them to make connections.
Main course (15 minutes)|Activity 3| Students watched this video on family posted on Google Classroom . Then from the context clues, they had to write the English equivalent of each familial title. The minutes allotted for this activity include accessing the link, stoping and rewinding the video, taking notes, and reviewing as a class.
We take a 5 -minute Pausa Mental. I take a water break, collect any materials, and transition to the next phase of class. My students look forward to this time as do I.
Dessert (25 minutes) Activity 4| We watched part of an episode of “Go” on Netflix, and then discussed the family dynamics on the show, which are interesting. This is another opportunity for input and connections.
Dictation activity (10 minutes) Activity 5: I read descriptions of family in English, and students write the Spanish equivalent. Remember, this is the first contact with content.
Check please (5 minutes)| Exit slip| For this class, I provided students an exit slip from a workbook I had from a previous school; it has some great activities and readings, and I am not interested in reinventing the wheel. When an activity is good, I don’t discriminate or despise its origins. Students completed before they left class. HOWEVER, moving forward, my exit slips are going to be mostly on Google Classroom (the question feature). This way, I can review all responses at the same time, no papers to collect, and it helps me transition better for my next class.

Notice, that most of the activities are student-directed. In this particular class, I spent about 25 minutes of the 90 teaching or on my feet. This is a total pivot from my normal regimen, where I’d be up on my feet for the most of class. My previous routine was exhausting because I have multiple 90-minute classes during the day.

During the time students are working independently or in groups, I do the following:

Check in with students about grades or missing assignments – I don’t answer emails outside of work time so if students want to ask questions or turn something in, we utilize this segment. We also settle accounts (missing work) during “Pausa mental.”

Grade assignments

Wait, You do way too many activities!

Normally, I plan for about 2-3 activities during a 90-minute period. However, when starting a unit, I tend to do more activities because we are building from a foundation. It’s important to provide input, but also allow students to be curious and inquire on their own. This essentially was my opening act.

Key Takeaways

Find quality resources for providing input to students. Use videos and allow them to engage in the productive struggle (Zarretta Hammond), and be in the driver seat of their own learning.
Take a pausa mental for yourself! It improves mental clarity, reduces fatigue (especially for me), increases alertness and attention span for students.
Paper-and-pen activities are totally okay! This does not mean you’re not an acquisition-focused teacher. Students need that structure at times, and we need to catch our breath so we can be even more present.
Find time to reset and assess during class if possible! While students are committed to a more involved activity, I check in with them, and then I try to assess work and update my gradebook. I don’t have a lot of time outside of school, so these are my options.