Today, I’m sharing a simple but powerful structure—the 30–60–90 Minute Planning Framework—to help EL teachers stop the spiral of overplanning and find clarity, even during busy seasons like testing. In this episode, I am unpacking why planning often feels so heavy for teachers of multilingual learners (hint: it’s rarely about time), and how you can adjust your planning depth based on the time you actually have. This framework gives you a clear answer to the question: "Given the time I actually have today, what is enough?"

Here is What You Will Hear in This Episode:

Why planning for teachers of multilingual learners is so layered and intense.
The difference between planning from anxiety and planning from clarity.
A detailed breakdown of the three tiers of the 30–60–90 Planning Framework.
Practical steps for achieving "Core Clarity" when you only have 30 minutes.
Specific examples of how to differentiate support—not content—in the 60-minute plan.
How to strategically map out your week and pre-plan formative checks with the 90-minute structure.
The importance of integrating emotional regulation (Inner Classroom) into your lesson plans.

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Episode 170. The 30–60–90 Minute Planning Framework for ELL Teachers