How Can Teachers Save Time?

No matter where, what age, or what subject(s) you teach, we all have one thing in common: feeling like there’s never enough time.  I’m always of the mind that there are two options for every problem in life; complain about it or find a way to solve it.   While we all deserve a moment to complain about something just to get it off our chest, in the end it doesn’t serve us.  We’re still left with the problem.  Which only means we’ve got to solve it.  Usually, there’s a way–or at least a way to improve the situation. But given how insanely busy the teaching day is and all the demands placed upon us, how can  teachers possibly save time??

A few ways.

First, we have to think about our own management-related issues. 

There are the obvious things, like making sure transitions are super tight.  Streamlining transitions from subject to subject is a no-brainer.  But things like video brain breaks are a very common time trap here. 

Often, it’s more than enough of a brain break for kids to simply stand up, gather materials for what’s next, maybe quickly stretch, and then come back.  A minute or two trying out yoga poses or even just breathing deeply can be all that kids need.  Five or more minutes for those YouTube song and dance breaks that usually only hype kids up can really impact time.  Many teachers use these sorts of things multiple times per day.  Add that up and you’re talking a massive amount of lost time over the course of a week, month, and year.  Much like the nickel and diming that a couple of Starbucks trips, a Target run, and a few grocery store pick ups each week will add up to large sums of money over time.  

There are also not-so obvious ways we lose time.  

Small groups can last way too long.  Asking the “who remembers” question multiple times a day can eat up many minutes every day.  Grading everything is another huge time suck.  There are many not-so obvious big time-wasters in our day, but they usually go unnoticed.   Therefore, large amounts of time are sucked away from us without our even realizing it.   Want to know more places you’re probably losing time?  I’ve put together a free guide where I list 12 very common hidden time traps that all teachers should avoid to save time. (Want the guide?  Grab it here!) 

Get ready.  The time wasters I’ve just mentioned are just the surface.  In order to really save time in the classroom, we have to pull back the curtain a bit more. We have to take a hard look at our own practices.  You may want to sit down for what I’m about to share next.

5 things teachers should avoid to save time  

1. Small group work that goes too long.  I’ve already mentioned this, but let’s go deeper.  Too often we default to the same old lesson template over and over again, all year long.  But that doesn’t always fit the need, and time is spent on unnecessary things.  A telltale sign that this is happening with your small group work?  Allotting the same exact number of minutes for small group time each day and always meeting with the same number of groups.  It’s much more targeted and time-efficient to include a flexible mix of conferring and strategy group instruction.  
2. Jennifer Gonzalez, Cult of Pedagogy creator, has an awesome blog post (and podcast episode) all about how often teachers hold on to old favorite lessons year after year after year.  Even when these things are simply for fun and don’t align to standards.  Yet we have a hard time giving them up because kids enjoy them and so do we.  Or, we’re just comfortable with them.  Sometimes, weeks and weeks can be spent on this sort of thing…weeks and weeks of wasted time.  Telltale sign this could be happening?  If you utter a phrase like “I’ve always done this.”  I urge you to read Gonzalez’s post or listen to her podcast episode.  I know it made me reflect on my own practices!
3. Along those same lines, think about your everyday routines.  Nell Duke calls out “calendar time” as being a time-waster in early primary grades.  Morning work can also be a big culprit here.  If things like word searches, isolated grammar activities, and the like are a part of your students’ every day work, it might be time to retire them.  Telltale sign here?  You’re making lots of copies of things for kids to busy themselves with each week, but you never really look at it–if you look at it at all.  
4. Independent reading and writing time can also be a waste of time.  While I’m of course a huge proponent of both, and fiercely protect these times in the classroom, if we aren’t watchful and very intentional, both can be a waste of time, as Duke points out in her 2016 Edutopia article.  Independent reading or writing time should never, ever be unsupported.  If it is, it’s usually a result of what I talked about in #1 with small group work.  If we have the same exact allotted minutes for small groups–especially if there’s a rotation of some sort, then it is very likely that the rest of your students who are expected to read (or write) independently during that time are losing focus.  Telltale sign this is happening?  There are several:  1) You are constantly having to redirect the independent reading kids during your small groups.  2) You never leave the small group table during this time.  3) Kids are constantly getting up–to “shop” for books, to use the bathroom, to sharpen a pencil.  
5. This is going to be a VERY unpopular opinion, and I know I risk getting a lot of hate mail for it,  but I have to address slides here.  So often, teachers spend huge amounts of time creating slides that aren’t even needed.  If they don’t enhance student learning, creating them probably isn’t a good use of your time.  Kids get too much screen time as it is, and this can also be a big distraction that takes their focus away from listening to you. Even more reason?  Hattie ranks the use of slides as a low 0.26.  Do you really need to spend time looking for that holiday background?  Or copying and pasting your Bitmoji or puppy meme?  How about searching images for an anchor chart (which is actually the exact opposite of an anchor chart when done this way) that doesn’t actually match what you’re teaching?  Even more questionable, copying and pasting your lesson plan words (that you’ve already written on your plans) to the slide for you to read aloud.  These slides end up being far too text-heavy and totally unengaging for kids–and often, not even at their reading ability.   It’s hard enough keeping kids’ attention these days!  Telltale signs slides are taking up too much of your time?  You mostly use them because “they help to keep yourself on track.” (Notice that students aren’t even a part of that sentence?) Or you’d be lost if the Internet were ever to go out.   If you’re a teacher who wants to save time, this is a practice that might need reconsidering, or at least paring down.  It’s totally ok to just jot yourself some notes for the lesson on a sticky note, or have your lesson plan in hand.  It would also be so much better for kids–and much faster for you.  

Looking for more ways to save time?  I have a FREE guide of 12 very common teacher time traps. These are things no one else will tell you, but that have a major impact on the time you have available every day. In addition, I’ve created a FREE schedule guide, where I share 5 unique ways to break up a literacy block to truly fit it all in and even share tips for making them fit your needs even more.  Or,  reach out for a coaching call.  I’d absolutely love to help you find more time in your day so you can feel more effective and less stressed!

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Who is Coach from the Couch??  I’m Michelle, a 24-year veteran educator, currently a K-5 literacy coach.  I continue to learn alongside teachers in classrooms each and every day, and it’s my mission to support as many teachers as I can.  Because no one can do this work alone. I’m available to you, too, through virtual coaching calls! 

Or, consider joining my Facebook community–a safe, supportive environment (really!)  where you can ask questions, learn ideas, and share your thoughts among other literacy-loving educators!