Last week, in a moment of infinite wisdom, the SECOND-year teacher with whom  I work said this:
"Last year I worked mostly in lesson plans rather than unit plans. This year I'm able to focus on whole units instead."

She did absolutely the right thing, I'm finding.  If you're able to do unit plans as a first-year teacher, by all means, do it!  Coordinate novels and topics with other subject areas (Soc. Studies seems to be the best fit) if you can do that too!

However, if you're not a superhero and are constantly having to make new decisions/plans to fit the students and the school (a la moi), focus your time and energy on dynamic, efficient lesson plans. Make sure you're differentiating, meeting a variety of standards, and keeping things interesting.  School is no fun for the students (or us) if it's all business all the time.

This is so cliche, but try to discover the standards, not just cover them.

My goal for this week is to come up with my examples ahead of time, and not just try to do them on the fly.  Being prepared is yes, a nightmare, but yes, very important.

Have a wonderful week, brave souls!