Creating Lesson Plans

An Overview
Lesson plans are roadmaps. Their purpose is to help teachers accomplish the
instructional goal(s) of a single class period. The details can run the gamut from
simple to complex and can be formatted in any number of ways, but there are
certain components that most lesson plans shouldin some way, shape, or form
always include.

A title, a reasonable time allotment, a contextual framework and a list of

instructional materials and/or outside resources required to accomplish the
goal.

Some performance and/or knowledge objectives defining what students

should be able to either do or know by the end of the instructional period.

A lead-in, or introduction, which could include "leading" questions, a brief

review of material to date, a PowerPoint presentation, a film or news clip, a
modeling demonstration, anything that focuses attention on the skill or
concept to be learned.

A sequential layout of what the instructor intends to say or dowhat comes

first, second, third and so onin the actual teaching component of the
lesson.

A student-centered active-learning component in which students try their

own mind or hand at the assigned task: an experiment, group discussion or
activity.

Summative and evaluative components wherein the lesson is wrapped up,

students ask unasked questions, and comprehension is gauged using various
non-graded assessment techniques.

There are many ways to create lesson plans. Some instructors develop them from
scratch; others borrow from a shared curriculum. Some carefully write out all the
details; others use only a brief outline.

Your approach will depend on many things: how well you know the material, how
long you've been teaching, the kinds of teaching you've done in the past, how
adventurous, engaging, ambitiousmaybe even braveyou are, the number and
kind of students you expect to have in your class and, of course, departmental
requirements.

This guide will help you think through some of the processes other instructors have
found valuable.
Guidelines for Creating Lesson Plans
The Basics: A Checklist

Establishing Objectives

Delivering the Goods

Assessing Comprehension

Sample Lesson Plan Template

The Basics: A Checklist

You know what they say about best laid plans. Lesson plans are no different. They
might go less awry, however, if you write them down. Here's a checklist to work
from. It's by no means the end-all, be-all but, it will get you started. Doubtless,
you'll have or find things to add as you go along.

A Title: What's the point? Give your lesson plan a bold namelike a newspaper
headlinestrongly linked to your main objective(s). By default practically, your title
will end up indicating the contextual framework of your lesson and possibly even
the learning outcome you intend your students to experience by the end of class.

A title will also help you keep your planning session focusedor on taskas they
say. You will also find it handy for headlining all your classroom handouts. It'll help
your students keep their course materials organized.

Objectives: What are they? Jot down what you want your students to know or be
able to do at the end of the lesson. You can have more than one objective, but be
careful. Consider their complexity and whether you can deliver the necessary
instructional and assessment components for each in the time allotted.

Materials: What are you going to need to teach the lesson? Or better yet, what
can't you teach the lesson without: A PowerPoint presentation, some A/V
equipment, a video clip, student handouts, textbooks with significant pages
marked? How aboutMake a note of all these things and make sure to assemble and
have them with you when it's time to teach.

Vocabulary: Any new words or phrases? Many fields of study have exclusive
terminologies; specific lexicons. Make sure you have a list of all the new terms
you're going to be using. Your students will need to know not just the textbook
definitions, but how you interpret and use them as well.

An Introduction: You will need to focus everybody's attention on the lesson. Will a
simple explanation do? How about something interactive or a visual presentation: a
video clip for instance? What about a review of the previous lesson(s) and how it
dovetails with the one you are about to deliver? Decide and make a note of it.

Also, when planning your introduction, realize that this is the time to evaluate the
background information and prior knowledge your students bring to the table. You
can do this easily by asking a few pointed questions requiring students to rely on
past experiences in order to respond.

Your Methodology: How are you going to deliver the content? Will there be
preparatory outside reading and Web research assignments that your students need
to complete beforehand? Is there a lecture component? How long will that take?
Will there be any large group discussions or activities: any small groups? How much
time for that?

Is there a hands-on activity to practice what's being taught? What is it and how will
your students go about it: Individually, or in groups? Figure all this out and write up
step-by-step instructions and electronically post or make enough copies for
everyone.

Assessing Comprehension: How are your students doing? You need to find out if
they're achieving your learning objectives. Reserve some end-of-class time for a
question and answer session, a quiz, or a quick in-class writing assignment.
Remember: Questions need to be such that responses display newly learned skills
or increased core knowledge directly related to your lesson-plan objective(s).

Miscellaneous: Do you have any students with disabilities, ESL students, guest
speakers, etc. with special accommodation needs? Take all of this into account as
you create your lesson plan. Once you are finished, flush out the details: Create the
homework assignments, handouts, and assessments called for in the plan.

Establishing Objectives
Consider the Destination
When creating a lesson plan, always keep the destination in mind: a learning
outcome. At the end of the day, where do you want your students to end up? What
do you want them to know or be able to do? If you are planning an activity, how
does it help you achieve the objective(s) of your lesson plan? How does it connect
to the larger course goals?

Taking the full breadth of the semester into account, you will find a hierarchy of
destinations. The larger, overall course goals being fed by smaller Chapter, Section,
or Unit objectives which, in turn, are being fed by even smaller individual lesson
plan objectives: the building blocks.

Make these building blocks strong. Added together, the objectives in each of your
lesson plans carries the weight of the entire course. They must be specific, stated
with precision, built upon the previous, and directed toward the next. Everything
must dovetail. Here are the three main considerations:

What do you want your students to know or be able to do when the lesson is
over?

How will you have your students prove their proficiencies: a quiz, a quick in-
class writing assignment, a short question and answer session?

To what degree, level of accuracy, or correctness (i.e. 80%) should your

students be able to answer or perform for you to consider the lesson
learned?

A Note about Activities: These are journeys, not destinations. The end results
the learning outcomesare destinations. Ideally, a learning activity should move
your students along a learning path toward a measurable learning outcomethe
objective established in your lesson plan.

Delivering the Goods

Introducing the Lesson
As you build your lesson plan, allot some front-end time to review concepts, skills
and ideas, probe and assess your students' grasp of the material, and clarify any
confusion or misconception they may have. You might even ask one of your
students to summarize previous material: It will help focus everyone's attention on
the upcoming lesson.

If there is going to be an activity and/or discussion component, block out a few

minutes to outline the day's agenda on the board; this could be a handout as well,
something to provide an overview of what your students can expect to be exposed
to by the end of class. From there you can segue right into your delivery.

Sequencing Your Delivery

Review the lecture, activity, and discussion components you've decided on and
determine just how they should be sequenced. What instructional components
come first, second, third, and so on? These need to fit hand-in-glove with your
objectives. You must decide in what orderthey will be most effectively met.

While deciding the sequencing, consider the teaching materials you plan on using
and/or handing out to your students. Their presentation needs to dovetail
seamlessly with your delivery so plan your transitions ahead of time: What are you
going to say or do as you move toward your conclusion?
Hint: Some instructors find it useful to actually script out transition statements
ahead of time. This helps avoid any on-the-spot pressure when guiding students
from one point to the next, from concept to concept, activity to activity, or back and
forth between lecture and discussion components. This is where a handout outlining
the day's agenda will come in handy.

Concluding the Lesson

Many students won't grasp the connections between your instructional objectives
and the various components of your lesson plan until it's over. Conclusions reinforce
these important connections and help students anticipate the objectives of the next
class.

Try to leave your students with as lasting an impression as possible. Summarize the
information covered in terms everyone will understand, show how it builds upon
previous lessons and then, lay a foundation for the next.

Assessing Comprehension
The final thing to include in your lesson plan is a little time at the end of each class
in which to assess your students' comprehension. Many instructors assign short in-
class quizzes and writing exercises. Here are a few examples:

The One-Minute Paper Ask for a half-page response to one or both of

these:

o What's the most interesting or important thing you learned today?

o What's the biggest question today's lesson left in your mind?

The Muddiest Point Paper Hand out index cards and ask for a short
response to:

o What's the Muddiest Point in today's lecture, learning activity, reading

assignment, etc?

The W D W W W W H S Quiz Ask your students to synthesize the

important topical points of a lesson by summarizing in one grammatically
correct sentence:

o Who Did/Does What to Whom, When, Where, How and Why?

The Principle Involved Quiz Provide a short list of problems and ask
your students:

o What are the best principle(s) to apply in solving each problem?

These type of assessment exercises are rarely meant for grading purposes. They're
mostly designed for taking the pulse of the classroom. Just a quick "down-and-
dirty" that will tell you what your students are struggling with, what they aren't
grasping, whether you need to revisit a topic and reteach content, or if you are
back at square-one and need to revise the actual lesson plan.

Sample Lesson Plan Format

Course:
Date:
Materials needed:
Class Announcements:

I. Class Objectives: Write out the goals or objectives for class. Try to limit these
to one or two things.

II. Connection to Course Goals: Describe how your daily objectives connect to
the overall course goals.

III. Anticipatory Set: Sometimes referred to as a "hook." Use an informal Writing

to Learn (WTL) exercise, a question, a quote, or an object to focus students'
attention at the start of class. This activity should be brief and directly
related to the lesson.

IV. Introduction: Write down what you'll need to inform students of the daily
goals and class procedures. Be sure to explain how these procedures relate
to students' own writing.

V. Procedures: List your activities, including any discussion questions and

transitions along the way.

VI. Conclusion: Describe the objective for the lesson and point students forward
by connecting your objective to their own writing.

VII. What to do Next Time: Leave space in your plan to reflect on the lesson and
suggest future changes.

Also see the guide on Planning a Class for help with writing introductions,
transitions, and conclusions.