I completed my very first summer course with Rahoo this week and I found it very purposeful and informative. I completed ‘Everyday Lesson Planning’ and have come away with a new outlook on lesson planning and how to make if more effective and efficient.

Disclaimer: I completed this course free of charge with Rahoo in exchange for a review. This review is my 100% honest opinion and will outline what I found beneficial.

Follow the course provider on Instagram: @Rahoo

What is this summer course with Rahoo about?

Would you like to streamline and simplify your lesson planning, without compromising on quality?

This video gives a brief introduction into the KISS model for lesson planning, where it came from and how to use it. *Please note that this video is an extract from the Rahoo EPV Summer Course ‘Everyday Lesson Planning’.

I thoroughly enjoyed this summer course ‘Everyday Lesson Planning’. I learned an awful lot more than just how to plan lessons effectively. This course highlighted ways to utilise collaborative learning in the classroom in many different ways that I had not thought of before. The course encourages reflection on your own teaching and really helps you to tailor the way you plan lessons to ensure that you plan them more efficiently and effectively (which I liked a lot).

The methods shared on how to plan these effective lessons were easy to implement too, which is always a plus. There were many tips and tricks shared in how to use plenaries effectively in the classroom too and also to put children in the driving seat with their learning. This course covers much more than effective lesson planning.

I am teaching 6 years and learned some really great tips that I will be using in September. I’d recommend this course to both NQTs and experienced teachers, who are looking to plan more effectively on a daily basis.

One suggestion to improve this course even more:

If I were to have one suggestion, it would be to perhaps include more examples throughout the course that are based in the primary classroom. The course was absolutely suitable for primary and secondary teachers, however, I would have liked to see a couple of examples in the course of primary school content, as the examples given were at secondary level.

The examples provided were very thorough and clear. However, by showing how this KISS strategy can be applied to a sample primary level lesson would have helped me to visualise the strategy even more.

Rahoo Summer Courses – What I like:

• Clear, concise slides with a voice over. It felt as though I was attending a face-to-face course, listening to content being read aloud.
• There is a good balance of text, video links, concrete examples and discussion opportunities to keep you engaged throughout the course.
• Within the course, there are articles from research on collaborative learning, which helps the individual to understand the theory behind collaborative learning.
• There is a requirement to comment on a forum after each module and respond to another person’s comment too. This was extremely beneficial in my opinion. People shared reflections on their teaching and lesson planning, as well as how to implement the KISS strategy to their planning going forward.
• There is a tutor available to you, who comments on each post in the forums and encourages discussion and further learning.
• Content is easy to understand, informative and so purposeful to make our planning much more effective and also limit the time we spend on planning lessons each week.
• Plenty of practical ideas shared to use in the classroom, including 100 plenary ideas.
• There are a lot of opportunities to reflect and suggest ways that you could change some element of your planning for the better.
• It is EPV approved.

The role of the teacher has changed dramatically over the last few years. Lessons are moving away from being teacher led and are more focused on child-centred lessons. This course highlighted how to plan for more child-centred lessons, encouraging curiosity and allowing the children to learn through exploration and collaboration. I really enjoyed this course and have learned how to be more efficient with time spent on lesson planning. Big thanks to Rahoo.

If signing up this year, want a 20% discount? Use code Rebecca20 for 20% off your Summer Course.

For more posts on being efficient with your time, check out this post: Time Management and Prioritising Tips for Teachers