009 | Inventories: Creating Simple Templates to Track Your Awesome Content

Are you drowning in a sea of lesson plans, activities, and resources? Do you ever find yourself recreating content you know you've made before but can't seem to locate? As educators, we pour our hearts into crafting engaging lessons, only to sometimes lose track of our own brilliant ideas. But what if there was a simple solution to organize and maximize all that hard work?

Welcome to the Productivity for Teachers podcast, where we tackle the unique challenges of balancing classroom creativity with organizational efficiency. In this episode, we're exploring a game-changing strategy that will revolutionize how you manage your teaching materials: the power of inventories.

Download your free inventory template here: https://www.productiveteacher.academy/resources 

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Transcript

Hi teacher friends. Welcome to episode nine of the Productivity for Teachers podcast. I hope your week is going well. Thanks for joining me today as I record this, we are nearing spring break at my school here in the United States. The students are squirrely and the teacher's a little grumpy and the change to daylight savings time means everyone is extra tired and just feeling a little out of whack. It's that special time of year, right? So hang in there teacher friends. This too shall pass, right? So today we're going to talk about using inventories to track our awesome lesson content. I created my first inventory during the spring of 2020 during the second week of teaching online during the COVID 19 pandemic. I was creating a lot of new content, especially online, during that time, and I was worried I would forget all about it when things returned to normal. Whatever normal is, right? So anyway, I started tracking what I had created and where it was located and what evolved from that was a system I can't live without. Something so simple has saved me tons of time, lots of frustration, and even better, it makes planning new units a breeze. So what am I talking about here and why can we teachers benefit from this? So does this scenario sound familiar? Last year when you taught Unit xyz, you created a really cool activity. After attending a workshop, you used a new tool to create it and the students loved it. When it was time to teach the next unit, you told yourself you wanted to use that same new tool again, but then you forgot. And worse yet, when Unit XYZ rolled around next year, you forgot all about that awesome new activity you created the year before, and now you've forgotten all about that new tool altogether. Or how about this scenario? Over the summer you created a few padlets for the new school year, but you didn't write down for which units you did so. And then when the school year started, you forgot all about those padlets and the time you spent making them went to waste. Or maybe this has happened to you. You're planning a new unit and want to use some tools you have used in the past to create engaging content. But you can't remember all the tools you've used in the and so you stick to the same old, same old. A simple unit activity inventory can help with all of these scenarios. The inventory keeps track of what you have created in the past, helps you keep track of new tools you want to incorporate, and serves as inspiration to switch things up a little. Here's how it works. So I actually have two different inventories that I work with for every teaching unit. The first is a general list of any tool, game, manipulative book, or activity I've ever used. So for instance, I have a list of online game websites that I use. Kahoot, Gimkit, Blookit, Quizzes, Formative Quizlet, and so on. And then I have a list of paper games that I've ever created, like Chutes and Ladders or Matching or a domino game that I play. Things like that. So I have just a general list of activities that I've created in the past. Whenever I hear of a new tool, I add it to that list. That way, that new tool is now part of my lesson planning routine and I won't forget about it. This general list also serves as inspiration during the planning process. Tired of playing cahoots? Check the list to see if there's something else you haven't used in a while. Are your students bored with the same old writing assignment? Check the list to see if there is a writing activity on there you might have forgotten about. So that's Step one, a general list of every tool I have heard of or have ever used. Step two is an inventory of things I've actually created for every unit I teach. This takes a little time to build, but it's so worth it. Here's how I approached this in the beginning. Using my general list of activities and tools, I created a simple table for the unit I was teaching. The table has four columns and it also has room for notes at the bottom. The columns are the name of the activity, like Kahoot or Vocab worksheet. Then column two is details like when do I use this activity in the unit? Or what skill does it specifically address? Column three is the location. Is it in a filing cabinet? Then I list the folder name. Is it online? I include the link. Is it a digital file? Then I add the link to that file if possible, and the folder name and location. And finally, the fourth column is for notes and status. Did I already create this? Great. Then I don't have to write much of anything. But if it's something I still need to create or something I need to finish, then I will note that there in the notes column, is there something I want to do a little differently next time? That's what I write in that column as well. Once I created that table, I saved it as a template and copied it for the unit I was working on. Then I did a little deep dive into my files, my LMS websites, and my filing cabinet, adding things I already had to the inventory. Then I looked at that general list for inspiration to see if I wanted to add anything new or different. I did not spend a lot of time working on this. Instead, I used it as a starting point and added to it over the years. By now, every unit I teach has a pretty good inventory and the beauty is that nothing will be forgotten about even if I don't use it this year. So here are some ideas to help get you started. First, keep it simple. Start with creating that general inventory of any kind of activity you have ever used or want to use. This list alone will save you a lot of time and will also inspire you when lesson planning the next time you start a new unit, make a simple table with column headers that best meet your needs. Again, I recommend starting with something like the activity name, details, location and status, or notes. Then, as you plan your unit, start adding what you already have to your inventory. Update that inventory as you go through the unit and save it for next year. And voila. You have your first unit inventory. Once you have customized the table to suit your needs, create it as a template and copy it for every unit. Commit to filling out the inventory for every unit you teach from now on and then start enjoying the benefits the next school year. You definitely won't regret this. Well teacher friends, I want this inventory process to be easy for you so I created a template you can download to get you started. All you need to do is start adding your content to it and customize it to suit your needs. I even pre filled it with activities I use frequently to get you started and maybe even help you remember some long forgotten content. The important part is to edit the template to suit your needs. You can find the template by going to my website www.productiveteacher.academy and clicking on free resources. That's www.productiveteacher.Academy and click on Free Resources. You can also find the link in the show notes. So my friends, I hope you enjoyed this episode today. Remember to be gentle with yourself and celebrate your wins. Start small and don't fall into that perfectionist trap. Don't try to make an inventory for every unit you teach in one day. That would be a recipe for burnout and giving up. Instead, remember that small steps add up to big wins over time. You can do this and I would love to hear how you use inventories in your teaching situation. My Facebook and Instagram are linked in the show notes. I would just love it if you would comment and let me know how inventories are working for you and I'll see you next Tuesday.