4 advantages of building a lesson plan

In any class, there are going to be things that you can’t predict. But the more prepared you are, the
easier it will be to adapt to the unexpected so you can effectively teach and respond to your students.
Here are some of the main benefits of lesson plans:

1. Inspire personal confidence

Having a lesson plan lets you stay in control of the class and the lesson. As your confidence comes
across to students, you’ll find it easier to keep them focused and on track.

2. Evaluate your own lessons

Lesson plans allow you to evaluate your own teaching performance as you compare your methods
with the plan you’ve prepared. This is a good way to make adjustments to your teaching style and/or
techniques.

3. Organization

Lesson plans help you think in an organized manner, visualizing each step of the outline as you work
from one concept to the next. A disorganized class presents too many opportunities for students to
get off task and misbehave.

4. A guide for substitute teachers

With your lesson plan as a guide, substitute teachers will know exactly what your students are
learning that day, making it easier for them to stay on track to meet any curriculum objectives that are
set for your class.

The components of a great lesson plan

While there’s no single way to create a lesson plan, there are some important components that go into
building each one.

Every lesson that you build is an entire segment that you create to teach your students something
new. As you build a lesson it’s important to keep all your students in mind and ask the following
essential questions before you begin:

Who are your students?

This may seem silly — of course, you know who your students are … right? Before you can write an
effective lesson plan, you need to really know your students. This includes information such as their
interests, ability levels, whether they work better independently or in groups, any special needs that
may require lesson tweaks, and their backgrounds. Knowing their learning preferences can also be
helpful — some students learn better with visual aids, while others do better as auditory learners. You
can incorporate videos to appeal to both kinds of learners!

What do your students already know?

Knowing your students’ prior knowledge of a subject can help you plan lessons. If you’ve been building
lesson plans all along to follow a curriculum, you’ll already know what you’ve previously presented to
your students; this allows you to continue with the flow.

What’s the best way to get them to learn?

Determine the best ways to get your students to learn. Younger students may do well with a lot of
interactive teaching, while an older class may do better with a lecture and slideshow. After the first
few classes, you’ll have a better idea of how to keep your students engaged.

You can break down the teaching techniques that you can use in your lesson plan into:

 The types of students you have in your class; including auditory, visual, and kinesthetic
learners.
 The type of learning and goals you’re aiming for. As an exercise, fill in this blank: “By the end
of today’s class, I’m hoping my students will have learned or be able to ___.”
 The resources, materials, and teaching environment that are available to you, such as a
classroom, a field trip, or selected readings in a study hall.
Steps to building your lesson plan
Once you’ve identified the components that need to go into teaching your class, you’re ready to use
these eight steps to build your lesson plan:

1. Identify the objectives

To build a lesson, you first need to identify the objectives of each class. What do you hope to
accomplish by the end of the period? Are there specific things that your students should know or be
able to do? If you’re teaching younger students, a lesson objective may be that they’re able to identify
animals that live in the rainforest after reading a chapter about animals in Brazil. For older students,
this goal may involve having learned how to solve algebraic equations.

2. Determine the needs of your students

With this particular lesson, are you introducing new material or reviewing what you’ve already taught
in a previous class? At the start of the class, be sure to let students know what to expect so they can
stay focused on meeting your objectives. When reviewing material, some of your students may need
more encouragement than others. Identifying these needs in your lesson plan will help you prepare.

3. Plan your resources and materials

Make a list of the resources and materials you’ll need to teach this lesson, such as paper, pens, and
rulers. Don’t forget to include technology resources in your plan when appropriate — laptops, and
gamified learning tools, like apps or educational websites.

4. Engage your students

What’s the point of a lesson if your students aren’t engaged? You want them to be interested in what
you’re teaching. Thus, to prepare, you need to get them interested in what this lesson is all about. Give
them an outline of what you’re going to be presenting. Then, introduce the subject more informally.
For example, if you’re teaching students a formula, try deriving it from scratch to build their intuition
for where it comes from. Or, if you’re discussing certain historical events, try to draw parallels
between those and any current events so students can relate to the material.

5. Instruct and present information

Once you’ve set the stage for what you’ll be teaching, it’s time to present the information to your
students. This is the time to instruct and use whatever resources you’ve included in your lesson plan.
Involve your students in the process whenever possible so they’re engaged. For example, you could
ask students to come to the board and solve certain problems or answer questions.
Whether it’s reading from a book, using props such as blocks for younger students, or displaying
graphics on the screen for older students, it’s all about presenting information and concepts in a
meaningful way. Don’t forget to account for the different learning styles of your students so you can
use teaching methods that work for everyone.

6. Allow time for student practice

After teaching new material, leave time for students to practice. There are three practice methods
that, when worked in order, are a good way to reinforce what you’ve just taught:

 Guided practice — With a guided practice you’re taking students back through what they’ve
just learned, letting them add their own input as they gain confidence with the new
information.
 Collaborative process — With partners or in a group, the collaborative process is all about
students talking with their peers as they explore these new concepts. Circulate among your
class and offer additional instruction or help when needed to clarify points.
 Independent practice — After the collaborative practice, it’s time for students to practice
what they’ve learned on their own. Adapt independent practice according to the material
you’ve just presented, such as using worksheets or having students write a short essay.
7. Ending the lesson

Finish the lesson with a quick wrap-up. Do a brief overview of the lesson, including the main concepts
the class learned. Ask students to identify the key ideas as a refresher, and leave them with a preview
of the next lesson so they know what to expect.

8. Evaluate the lesson

Did you achieve your learning objectives? Provide students with the opportunity to show they know
the material by using a short quiz or test. Depending on the results, your next lesson plan may include
a review of information before moving on to new material.

A lesson plan is the instructor’s road map of what students need to learn and how it will
be done effectively during the class time. Before you plan your lesson, you will first need
to identify the learning objectives for the class meeting.  Then, you can design appropriate
learning activities and develop strategies to obtain feedback on student learning. A
successful lesson plan addresses and integrates these three key components:

 Objectives for student learning

 Teaching/learning activities
 Strategies to check student understanding

Specifying concrete objectives for student learning will help you determine the kinds of
teaching and learning activities you will use in class, while those activities will define how
you will check whether the learning objectives have been accomplished (see Fig. 1).
Steps for Preparing a Lesson Plan
Below are six steps to guide you when you create your first lesson plans. Each step is
accompanied by a set of questions meant to prompt reflection and aid you in designing
your teaching and learning activities.

(1) Outline learning objectives

The first step is to determine what you want students to learn and be able to do at the end
of class. To help you specify your objectives for student learning, answer the following
questions:

 What is the topic of the lesson?

 What do I want students to learn?
 What do I want them to understand and be able to do at the end of class?
 What do I want them to take away from this particular lesson?

Once you outline the learning objectives for the class meeting, rank them in terms of their
importance. This step will prepare you for managing class time and accomplishing the
more important learning objectives in case you are pressed for time. Consider the
following questions:

 What are the most important concepts, ideas, or skills I want students to be able to
grasp and apply?
 Why are they important?
 If I ran out of time, which ones could not be omitted?
 And conversely, which ones could I skip if pressed for time?

(2) Develop the introduction

Now that you have your learning objectives in order of their importance, design the
specific activities you will use to get students to understand and apply what they have
learned. Because you will have a diverse body of students with different academic and
personal experiences, they may already be familiar with the topic. That is why you might
start with a question or activity to gauge students’ knowledge of the subject or possibly,
their preconceived notions about it. For example, you can take a simple poll: “How many
of you have heard of X? Raise your hand if you have.” You can also gather background
information from your students prior to class by sending students an electronic survey or
asking them to write comments on index cards. This additional information can help
shape your introduction, learning activities, etc.  When you have an idea of the students’
familiarity with the topic, you will also have a sense of what to focus on.
Develop a creative introduction to the topic to stimulate interest and encourage thinking.
You can use a variety of approaches to engage students (e.g., personal anecdote,
historical event, thought-provoking dilemma, real-world example, short video clip, practical
application, probing question, etc.). Consider the following questions when planning your
introduction:

 How will I check whether students know anything about the topic or have any
preconceived notions about it?
  What are some commonly held ideas (or possibly misconceptions) about this topic
that students might be familiar with or might espouse?
 What will I do to introduce the topic?

 (3) Plan the specific learning activities (the main body of the
lesson)
Prepare several different ways of explaining the material (real-life examples, analogies,
visuals, etc.) to catch the attention of more students and appeal to different learning
styles. As you plan your examples and activities, estimate how much time you will spend
on each. Build in time for extended explanation or discussion, but also be prepared to
move on quickly to different applications or problems, and to identify strategies that check
for understanding. These questions would help you design the learning activities you will
use:

 What will I do to explain the topic?

 What will I do to illustrate the topic in a different way?
 How can I engage students in the topic?
 What are some relevant real-life examples, analogies, or situations that can help
students understand the topic?
 What will students need to do to help them understand the topic better?

(4) Plan to check for understanding

Now that you have explained the topic and illustrated it with different examples, you need
to check for student understanding – how will you know that students are learning? Think
about specific questions you can ask students in order to check for understanding, write
them down, and then paraphrase them so that you are prepared to ask the questions in
different ways. Try to predict the answers your questions will generate. Decide on whether
you want students to respond orally or in writing. You can look at Strategies to Extend
Student Thinking, http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/P4_4.php to help you generate some
ideas and you can also ask yourself these questions:

 What questions will I ask students to check for understanding?

 What will I have students do to demonstrate that they are following?
 Going back to my list of learning objectives, what activity can I have students do to
check whether each of those has been accomplished?

An important strategy that will also help you with time management is to anticipate
students’ questions. When planning your lesson, decide what kinds of questions will be
productive for discussion and what questions might sidetrack the class. Think about and
decide on the balance between covering content (accomplishing your learning objectives)
and ensuring that students understand.

(5) Develop a conclusion and a preview

Go over the material covered in class by summarizing the main points of the lesson. You
can do this in a number of ways: you can state the main points yourself (“Today we talked
about…”), you can ask a student to help you summarize them, or you can even ask all
students to write down on a piece of paper what they think were the main points of the
lesson. You can review the students’ answers to gauge their understanding of the topic
and then explain anything unclear the following class. Conclude the lesson not only by
summarizing the main points, but also by previewing the next lesson. How does the topic
relate to the one that’s coming? This preview will spur students’ interest and help them
connect the different ideas within a larger context.

(6) Create a realistic timeline

GSIs know how easy it is to run out of time and not cover all of the many points they had
planned to cover. A list of ten learning objectives is not realistic, so narrow down your list
to the two or three key concepts, ideas, or skills you want students to learn. Instructors
also agree that they often need to adjust their lesson plan during class depending on what
the students need. Your list of prioritized learning objectives will help you make decisions
on the spot and adjust your lesson plan as needed. Having additional examples or
alternative activities will also allow you to be flexible. A realistic timeline will reflect your
flexibility and readiness to adapt to the specific classroom environment. Here are some
strategies for creating a realistic timeline:

 Estimate how much time each of the activities will take, then plan some extra time
for each
 When you prepare your lesson plan, next to each activity indicate how much time
you expect it will take
 Plan a few minutes at the end of class to answer any remaining questions and to
sum up key points
 Plan an extra activity or discussion question in case you have time left
 Be flexible – be ready to adjust your lesson plan to students’ needs and focus on
what seems to be more productive rather than sticking to your original plan

Presenting the Lesson Plan

Letting your students know what they will be learning and doing in class will help keep
them more engaged and on track. You can share your lesson plan by writing a brief
agenda on the board or telling students explicitly what they will be learning and doing in
class. You can outline on the board or on a handout the learning objectives for the class.
Providing a meaningful organization of the class time can help students not only
remember better, but also follow your presentation and understand the rationale behind in-
class activities. Having a clearly visible agenda (e.g., on the board) will also help you and
students stay on track.

Reflecting on Your Lesson Plan

A lesson plan may not work as well as you had expected due to a number of extraneous
circumstances. You should not get discouraged – it happens to even the most
experienced teachers! Take a few minutes after each class to reflect on what worked well
and why, and what you could have done differently. Identifying successful and less
successful organization of class time and activities would make it easier to adjust to the
contingencies of the classroom. For additional feedback on planning and managing class
time, you can use the following resources: student feedback, peer observation, viewing a
videotape of your teaching, and consultation with a staff member at CRLT (see
also, Improving Your Teaching: Obtaining Feedback,
http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/P9_1.php and Early Feedback Form,
http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/earlyfeedback.pdf).

Conclusion
To be effective, the lesson plan does not have to be an exhaustive document that
describes each and every possible classroom scenario. Nor does it have to anticipate
each and every student’s response or question. Instead, it should provide you with a
general outline of your teaching goals, learning objectives, and means to accomplish
them. It is a reminder of what you want to do and how you want to do it. A productive
lesson is not one in which everything goes exactly as planned, but one in which both
students and instructors learn from each other.
Goal-Writing Tips

Whenever possible, write clearly-defined and specific objectives (goals) that are easy to
measure. That way, at the conclusion of your lesson, it will be relatively easy to determine if
you met or missed your objectives, and by how much.

What to Ask Yourself

In order to define your lesson's objectives, consider asking yourself the following questions:

 What will students accomplish during this lesson?

 To what specific level (i.e. 75% accuracy) will students need to be able to perform a
given task in order for them to be considered proficient and their progress satisfactory?
 Exactly how will the students show that they understood and learned the goals of your
lesson (worksheet, oral, group work, presentation, illustration, etc)?

Additionally, you will want to make sure that the lesson's objectives align with district and
state educational standards for your grade level. By thinking clearly and thoroughly about the
goals of your lesson, you will ensure that you are making the most of your teaching time.

The Importance of Lesson Planning

for Student Success
28 Jan
Any experienced teacher will tell you that lesson planning is a big part of the job. Teachers around the
world routinely spend as much as half of their working time on non-teaching activities, and lesson
planning accounts for much of that time.1, 2

Lesson planning is how teachers synthesize the curriculum goals with pedagogy and knowledge of
their specific teaching context.3 Ask ten teachers about the benefits of lesson planning, and you might
very well get ten unique answers. There are also different opinions about how far ahead a teacher
should plan lessons. Some recommend working a week out, while others advocate planning a month
ahead.4, 5

In the end, though, creating successful learning outcomes for students is the goal. Although well-
designed lesson plans take time and thought, it's an investment that can provide returns in many
ways. In this post, we explore the elements to consider when creating lesson plans and what factors
teachers can include in planning to assure success for themselves, their classrooms and, most
importantly, their students.

The Many Reasons Why Lesson Planning Is

Important
Effective lesson planning contributes to successful learning outcomes for students in several ways. A
well-designed lesson plan:

 Helps students and teachers understand the goals of an instructional module

 Allows the teacher to translate the curriculum into learning activities
 Aligns the instructional materials with the assessment
 Aligns the assessment with the learning goal
 Helps assure that the needed instructional materials are available
 Enables the teacher to thoughtfully address individual learning needs among students

Effective lesson planning can also contribute to the teacher’s own success and well-being. Teachers
teach because they want to support students, and effective lesson planning can contribute to job
satisfaction when a lesson is successful or a student does well on an assessment. Having a skillfully-
planned lesson can also make the act of teaching more pleasurable by increasing the teacher’s
confidence in themselves and letting them focus more on interaction with the students than on what is
supposed to happen next. Importantly, good planning can save time by avoiding last-minute efforts to
buy supplies or create materials needed for a day in the classroom. Teachers can use that reclaimed
time for themselves or other parts of their lives, increasing work-life balance.

The Importance of Lesson Planning to Effective Curriculum Delivery

“Curriculum” is a word with many meanings, depending on the context. At the most abstract level,
curriculum theory addresses such different aspects of teaching as what elements are included in the
course of study, along with considerations of how it is taught and tested. See “What Are the 8 Types
of Curriculum?” for more on curriculum theory.

Some curricula are more detailed and structured than others. 6 Regardless of the level of detail, the
importance of lesson planning is that it bridges the curriculum’s intent with the daily teaching and
learning in a classroom. At a minimum, lesson planning adds the element of time, breaking the
curriculum into units delivered each session. Usually, though, teachers incorporate their training and
knowledge of their students into the task, translating a previously developed curriculum into an action
plan for their classroom.
The Importance of Lesson Planning to Student Assessment

The lesson plan translates the curriculum into clear daily goals for student learning that include a
description of the objective and a way to measure the student’s attainment of it. 7 A few standard
measurement methods are tests, homework assignments and group work. One benefit of the lesson
plan is fitting the assessment to the particular goal while accounting for your specific situation. Some
educational writers argue that teachers should design the evaluation before designing the learning
activities.4 Working outward from the central idea of the learning objective allows teachers flexibility in
choosing the type of assessment that will best suit their students and the classroom environment.

Why Lesson Planning Is Important for Classroom Management

Building the lesson plan outward from your learning goals also offers much-needed flexibility in
adapting instructional delivery and classroom management during uncertain times. Classes that move
from onsite to online or hybrid require different delivery methods, requiring adjustments to existing
plans. Such situations highlight the importance of lesson planning in keeping the class moving
smoothly from task to task regardless of the learning environment. Advance lesson planning also
minimizes the need for discipline and allows you to make the most of your time with students.

Better Lesson Planning Creates More Student Success

Student success and good behavior are more likely when your pupils are actively engaged in
classwork. A thoroughly planned lesson facilitates that desirable state by considering unique student
educational needs. “All successful teachers need to be pupil-focused; in other words, you have to
think about how the learning activity you have set up will be experienced by each pupil, and how this
experience will generate your intended learning outcomes.” 8

Better Lesson Planning Is Important for Teacher Success

Teacher success is predicated on student success. Beyond that, the documents you create as part of
the planning process are usually part of your evaluation by school administrators. Therefore, having
well-prepared and documented plans is an integral part of your success as a teacher. Your lesson
plans also become a repository of your growing knowledge as you continue to teach. The importance
of lesson planning in furthering your professional growth is undeniable. Cultivating good habits for
preparing and reviewing your lesson plans prepares the ground for your success.