Are you a special education teacher looking for the perfect lesson planner for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year? Look no further!
In this article, I’m breaking down 11 different lesson planners. These planners are packed with features to help you stay organized, track progress, and effectively plan your lessons.
Whether you prefer a robust or simplified planner, there are options that cater to your needs. If you prefer to see the planners in a video, check out the one I did of the planners below!
Join me as we explore the best lesson planners for special ed teachers in the 2023-2024 school year, helping you start the year off right!
The Best Lesson Planners for 2023-2024
This article contains affiliate links to products that you might like.
1 – The IEP Planner
The Special Educators All-in-One IEP lesson planner includes everything that you need as a special educator to not only do your IEP planning and writing but also do your lesson planning. It comes in both a digital format and a pre-printed version. The pre-printed version comes with a hardbound spine that can be used as is or, if you prefer a spiral bound, can be altered at your local Staples or Office Depot print shops.
I like that it’s printed front and back, so you have the meeting notes and then the checklist. I also like that it truly has all of the things you need for teaching and planning for special ed. The fact that it’s editable and under $20 make it even better!
What’s Inside:
- Room for classroom information and procedures
- Student login information
- Multiple pages of the IEP snapshot and student
- Long range planning
- Curriculum maps
- Quick glance calendars
- IEP tracking
- IEP writing timeline
- IEPs due this month and next month
- Upcoming events and notes
- Priorities
- Upcoming months calendar
- Related service checklist
- Month at a glance
- Blank weeks
- Multiple boxes to plan for small groups or classes
- Top priorities
- Para schedules
- Notes
- Monthly pages
- Tracking pages
- IEP meeting checklist
- IEP meeting notes page
- Collaboration Log
- Bell curve poster with conversion chart
- Assessment timeline chart
- Student assessment scores
- Third party billing
- Accommodation tracker
- Parent contact log
- Professional development log
- And more!
Purchase the All-in-One IEP Lesson Planner
2 – Plum Paper (Elementary)
The Plum Paper Elementary Teacher Planner is versatile in its ability to be customized with add-ons. It comes with a spiral binding so it is easy to lay flat. One of the downsides to the planner being so customizable is that it can very quickly become even more expensive than it already is. The base price is around $35 depending on what type of planner you get. In the one that I ordered, the sections below were included. Depending on what you order, your pages may differ.
What’s Inside
- Monthly calendars
- Weekly calendars
- Space for 6 sections/classes/students
- A section for notes/inspiration/etc.
- Notes
- Poly folder
- My Class
- Goals for the year
- Seating chart
- Substitute information
- Student health information
- Field trips and special events
- Volunteer list
- Student birthdays
- Classroom resources
- Expenses
- Parent communication
- Professional development tracker
- Passwords
- Contacts
- And more!
Purchase the Plum Paper Elementary Teacher Planner
3 – Plum Paper (Middle & High School)
Specifically designed for middle and high school, the Plum Paper Middle and High School Teacher Planner is similar to the Elementary version but with fewer pages under the My Class section. It also has a different layout for class periods that might be more conducive for high school teachers. As with the Elementary version, this planner can also be customized and have sections added to create a more personal planner. The cost for the base model for this one is around $35 as well, but can quickly add up depending on which pages and features are added. The pages in your planner may differ from the pages listed below.
What’s Inside
- Calendars
- Special dates
- Ideas
- Plans & goals
- Birthdays/events
- Dated calendars
- Weekly calendars
- Class goals
- Personal goals
- Schedule
- Substitute information
- Field trips
- Volunteer list
- Classroom resources
- Class expenses
- Behavior log
- Parent communication
- Student contacts
- Student health information
- Professional development
- Passwords
- Checklist pages
- And more!
Purchase the Plum Paper Middle + High School Teacher Planner
4 – Erin Condren
This planner has historically received rave reviews from teachers, tutors, and homeschooling parents alike. It offers a range of features designed specifically for the needs of special education teachers. It comes in various sizes and binding styles, so you can choose the option that works best for you. It does have a customizable layout, so you can personalize your planners to suit your specific needs. One of the things that I have always loved about the Erin Condren planners is that the paper is thicker, so Flair pens and other types of markers and pens don’t bleed through. This planner is more expensive than the ones featured so far and is typically around $63 plus shipping and handling, depending on what options you go for.
What’s Inside
- Movable ruler/bookmark
- Thick durable covers
- A dry erase part
- Professional development
- Volunteer information
- Events & dates
- Communication log
- Dated calendar
- Year at a glance
- Tabbed pages
- Graphing paper
- Notes
- Lesson planning pages
- Note paper
- Checklist pages
- Stickers
- Clear pocket folder
- Holidays and important dates
- And more!
Purchase the Erin Condren Teacher Planner
5 – Happy Planner
The Happy Planner is a teacher favorite and one of my personal favorites for life planning. It features discs that can be removed to add more pages so that it’s highly customizable. In the past it was hard to find them, but now you can find Happy Planners ar all of the big box stores and multiple places online, including on Amazon where I purchased mine. Your Happy Planner may include different things depending on the sets that you get to go in it.
What’s Inside
- Academic calendar
- School schedule
- Reliable students
- Reliable teachers
- Notes for the sub
- Additional notes
- Dated calendar
- (Some calendars are undated depending on the version)
- Tab pages
- Graph notes
- Holidays
- Lesson planning pages with seven boxes/subjects/class areas
- Checklist pages
- And more!
Purchase the Happy Planner
6 – ELAN Deluxe
This one is new to me this year as I have never tried it and bought it on a whim because I liked the looks of it online. It was about $40, and the pages in your version of the planner may differ depending on which one you buy. The paper in this one is also the thickest of all of the planners that I reviewed this year, so if that’s important for you, this might be the best planner for you.
What’s Inside
- Removable bookmark/ruler
- Contacts
- Marking periods (start, end, when report cards are due)
- Classroom resources & websites
- Emergency procedures
- Students with special schedules or health instructions
- Student list
- Contact list for students
- Communication log
- Overview planning
- Seating charts
- Student log checklist
- Monthly calendars
- Dated calendars
- Weekly calendars
- Notes
- Stickers
- Folder
- Calendar at the end
Purchase the ELAN Deluxe
7 – Teaching Texan
With cute and thick, durable covers, the teacher planner from Teaching Texan was the next one I reviewed. It was about $60 plus shipping, so it’s a good idea to really do your research on it before jumping in to purchase it. What’s inside of the one that I purchased may or may not be the same as the version that you decide to get.
What’s Inside
- Folder
- Zipping folder
- Positive message
- Daily schedule
- Passwords
- Dates to remember
- Seating charts
- Small groups
- Planning it out pages
- Communication log
- Dated calendars
- Weekly calendars (undated)
- Checklists
- Notes
- Sticker
- And more!
Purchase the Teaching Texan Planner
8 – 4 the Love of Pi
Created with thick covers and options for customization, the 4 the Love of Pi Teacher Planner that I purchased for the review was close to $70. There are a lot of things included in it and I did like how there seems to be more space on the pages of this one than there is in many of the others. I did add a few additional pages to my sample planner, so the pages listed below may not be the same as the ones that arrive in your planner.
What’s Inside
- Year at a glance
- Events
- Goals
- Calendar
- Weekly calendars (with eight spots for classes, etc.)
- Passwords
- Class schedule
- Professional development log
- Conference schedule
- Events and trips
- Trips expense record
- Contact list
- Pacing guide
- Student birthdays
- Parent communication log
- Volunteer list
- Student health
- Accommodations list
- IEP snapshot
- Student data
- Seating plans
- Student passwords
- Notes
- Coloring pages
- Grades
- Easy grader
- And more!
Purchase the 4 the Love of Pi Teacher Planner
9 – Blue Sky
The Blue Sky teacher lesson planning calendar is more of a simple calendar planner than a complete book of everything you need or may want. There are a lot of different Blue Sky planners, so the one that you get may be different than the one that I ordered and have listed below.
What’s Inside
- Changeable cover
- Year overview
- Teacher information
- Emergency contacts
- School contacts
- Holiday and special dates
- Student birthdays
- Weekly schedule
- Dated monthly planner
- Dated weekly planner pages
- Parent-teacher meetings
- Seating chart
- Password tracker
- Equivalent conversions
- States and capitals
- And more!
Purchase the Blue Sky Planner
10 – Bloom
The Bloom planner is a little bit smaller because it lacks the large spirals that hold the other ones together. This one is more geared toward life planning and would need to be adapted to make it work as a teaching lesson planner. That being said, if this type of planner motivates you and works for your style of planning, it’s a pretty option. The pages in the planner that I got to review may be slightly different than the ones in your planner, so be sure to check which version you’re ordering.
What’s Inside
- Cover is a pocket folder
- Mission statement
- Dated yearly calendars
- Where you are and where you’re going in each area of your life (self-reflection pages)
- Values
- Joy list
- Top 5 goals for the year
- Things to look forward to
- New things to try
- Books to read
- Places to visit
- Things to be grateful for
- This year’s vision
- Ideal weekly scheduling templates
- Monthly spending
- Monthly bill payment tracker
- Habit tracker
- Notes
- Monthly calendars
- Weekly calendars
- Monthly highlights
- Stickers
- Magnetic bookmark
- And more!
Purchase the Bloom Planner
11 – Simplified
The Simplified planner was the last planner that I reviewed and the most expensive at almost $78 with shipping. It came in a pretty box, but I personally would have preferred less packaging for a cheaper price on the planner itself. The Simplified Teacher Planner that I purchased may vary from the one you receive so not all of the pages listed below may be the same.
What’s Inside
- Thick and durable cover
- Note from the founder
- About me
- Goals
- Login information
- Professional development
- Looking back at what worked last year
- Looking back at what didn’t work last year
- Ideas for new routines
- Things I’d like to do with my class this year
- Weekly routine
- Daily routine
- Student information
- Values
- Procedures
- Educational inspiration
- Substitute information
- Emergency information
- Checklist pages
- School year monthly overview
- Daily schedule
- Monthly calendars
- Weekly calendars
- Notes
- Graph paper
- Stickers
- And more!
Purchase the Simplified Planner
To see visuals and a walk though of all of the planners listed above, check out the video I did on YouTube that allows you to see each of the planners in action.
Finding the right lesson planner is a challenging task and one that usually requires a lot of trial and error. I hope that by reviewing the planners for you, you’ll save time and money!
Have a great school year!
