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Lesson Planning Assistant (beta)

See what your student has learned, is learning, and is about to learn.

The Lesson Planning Assistant is your time-saving sidekick for understanding where your student is in a method book and what’s around the corner. Choose a series, book, and page number, and this tool will give you three quick snapshots:

• Review – The last 3 concepts your student encountered
• Introduction – Concepts introduced on the current page
• Preparation – Concepts coming in the next 4 concept introduction pages

You’ll also get a comprehensive list of every concept your student has encountered so far in the method book series, so you can zoom out when needed and build a custom teaching plan, plan recital pieces, and more.

Use it to:

• Warm up with recently learned concepts
• Reinforce new material at just the right time
• Preview what’s ahead for thoughtful pacing
• Match supplemental pieces with current learning
• Make strategic decisions about skipping, reviewing, or fast-tracking

View FAQs

If you see a “502 Bad Gateway” error or the tool takes a little while to load, please wait a few moments and refresh the page. The Lesson Planning Assistant may take up to a minute to start if it hasn’t been recently used.

USED THIS IN A COOL WAY OR HAVE A FEATURE REQUEST?

Whether you’ve built a creative teaching strategy, found an error, or have a wishlist item in mind, I’d love to hear from you! Real-world feedback helps shape what comes next.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is this tool marked as beta?
The Lesson Planning Assistant is one of my projects for summer 2025 so it’s still in development—and your feedback can help shape its future! Right now, it includes core features like concept lookup by book and page, chronological review, and preview of what’s coming next. But it’s still being tested for accuracy, usability, and helpfulness across different teaching styles.

Expect occasional quirks, and please reach out if you notice anything off, can give feedback with real-world usage, or have ideas for making it even better.

What’s the difference between formal and informal concepts?
A formal concept is explicitly taught—usually with a label, explanation, or focused activity. An informal concept appears in the repertoire without being directly taught, but still offers valuable exposure or reinforcement— and may need a little extra teaching support since the method doesn’t highlight it!

What’s the difference between first-time and review concepts?
First-time means this is the first time the concept is being introduced to the student, whether formally taught or informally included. Review means the concept has already shown up earlier and is being reinforced again on this page. This distinction helps you see not just what’s present, but how it’s functioning in the learning sequence.

How should I interpret the tag pairings?
These tags help you understand not just what a student is encountering, but how and when, so you can plan accordingly. Here’s how the combinations break down:

• Formal / First-Time:
  The concept is clearly taught and labeled for the first time.
• Formal / Review:
  The concept is explicitly retaught. It’s been introduced before, but this book gives it structured reinforcement.
• Informal / First-Time:
  The concept shows up without clear instruction or labeling. It’s the first time it appears in the series, but the student is expected to pick it up through exposure.
• Informal / Review:
  This combination is essentially concept follow-through, which I don’t currently have built into the tool (although I do have dreams to track concept-follow through so I can identify gaps in review sequencing. If that sounds like something you’d like, you can vote on it in the queue!). However, you might see this pairing pop up on rare occasions when a concept is sort of reintroduced, but not clearly enough for me to label it a formal review. Hope that makes sense! Hope that makes sense!

How are the concepts selected?
Concepts are tagged by page number in each method book and filtered by whether they’re formally or informally introduced. You’ll see the key ideas your student is actively learning.

Can I use this for multiple students or books?
Absolutely. Just change the series/book/page selections to fit each student. This tool is designed to be flexible and reusable throughout your teaching week.

Can I see the full list of concepts from the book?
Yes! Scroll down in the widget to view a cumulative “knowledge bucket” of all concepts introduced in the book so far. It’s great for building review checklists or choosing supplemental repertoire.

Will this be expanded in the future?
Definitely. Here are a few things I’d love to add:

• Links to supplemental pieces, warm-ups, or exercises matching each concept
• The ability to save student progress or build a digital “lesson record”
• Visualizations of concept pacing within a book
• Additional filters for specific concept categories (like rhythm, technique, or expression)

Have another idea? Let me know! I’m always looking to grow the tool based on what teachers actually need.

Curious what’s in the queue or want to help prioritize what comes next? Vote on the homepage.

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