A successful lesson is all about setting realistic aims that meet the students' needs and

achieving them!
Here's a list of aims and sub-aims, by no means exhaustive:
1. Introducing and practising new vocabulary.
2. Revising previously taught vocabulary.
3. Introducing a new grammatical point.
4. Introducing new functional language.
5. Revising or reviewing one or more grammatical points.
6. Revising or reviewing functional exponents.
7. Giving controlled/less-controlled/freer practice of a language point.
8. Contrasting two (or more) grammatical points.
9. Contrasting two (or more) functional exponents.
10. "Warmers/icebreakers" - getting to know your students.
11. Raising awareness/ear training and/or practising aspects of phonology:
a) pronunciation of phonemes/individual sounds
b) word stress
c) sentence stress
d) intonation
e) features of connected speech
11. Error correction work (usually revising previously taught language)
12. Self-access work.
13. Learner training.
14. Developing reading skills - prediction/skimming/scanning/inferring, etc.
15. Developing listening skills - prediction/gist/for specific information/inference, etc.
16. Developing speaking skills - fluency/accuracy practice/ consolidating recently taught
language.
17. Freer speaking (e.g. role play) for revision of previously taught language.
18. Developing writing sub-skills - paragraph-writing/focus on linking devices, etc.
19. Developing study skills - note-taking/summarizing.
20. Developing dictionary skills.
21. Promoting interest in the culture.
22. Using video to build awareness of non-verbal communication.
23. Integrating the four skills.
24. Simulations for revision of previously taught language / for fluency practice.
25. To create a relaxed, non-threatening atmosphere in the classroom.
10 Steps To Developing A Quality Lesson Plan:
This guide is not meant to be the one and only way to develop a lesson plan. It is a general
overview that highlights the key points of creating a lesson plan. Below is a list of the steps
involved in developing a lesson plan as well as a description of what each component should be.
You may also find this new Lesson Plan Template to be useful for creating your lesson plans!
1. The first thing to consider, obviously, is what you want to teach. This should be developed
based upon your state (or school) standards. You also need to be aware of what grade level you
are developing the lesson plan for (and keep that in mind of course), and also record a time
estimate for your lesson plan to help in time budgeting. Once you have your topic, you can begin

determining how you want to teach the topic. If you didn't use the state standards to help in
developing your topic, refer to them now to see what specific standards your lesson plan can
fulfill. Having your lesson plan correctly aligned with state standards helps to prove its worthiness
and necessity. It also helps in assuring that your students are being taught what your state
requires. If you are able to correlate your lesson plan with standards, record links to those
standards in your lesson plan. If writing this lesson plan for a website (The Lesson Plans Page)
be sure to include a title that properly reflects your topic.
2. To make sure your lesson plan will teach exactly what you want it to; you need to develop clear
and specific objectives. Please note that objectives should not be activities that will be used in the
lesson plan. They should instead be the learning outcomes of those activities. As an example, if
you wanted to teach your class how to add 2 + 3, your objective may be that "the students will
know how to add 2 + 3" or more specifically "the students will demonstrate how to add 2 + 3."
Objectives should also be directly measurable (we'll get to this in assessment / evaluation). In
other words, make sure you will be able to tell whether these objectives were met or not. You can
certainly have more than one objective for a lesson plan.
To make objectives more meaningful, you may want to include both broad and narrow objectives.
The broad objectives would be more like goals and include the overall goal of the lesson plan, i.e.
to gain familiarity with adding two numbers together. The specific objectives would be more like
the one listed above, i.e. "the students will demonstrate how to add the numbers 2 and 3
together."
3. You would probably find out exactly what materials you are going to use later, but they should
be shown early in your lesson plan. This way if someone else were going to use your lesson plan,
they would know in advance what materials are required. Be specific here to make sure the
teacher will have everything they need. For the addition lesson, you should make sure you have
10 or so unifix cubes per student, paper, and pencils.
4. You may also want to write an Anticipatory Set, which would be a way to lead into the lesson
plan and develop the students' interest in learning what is about to be taught. A good example
deals with a lesson on fractions. The teacher could start by asking the students how they would
divide up a pizza to make sure each of their 5 friends got an equal amount of pizza, and tell them
that they can do this if they know how to work with fractions.
5. Now you need to write the step-by-step procedures that will be performed to reach the
objectives. These don't have to involve every little thing the teacher will say and do, but they
should list the relevant actions the teacher needs to perform. For the adding 2 + 3 lesson, you
may have procedures such as these:
A. The teacher will give each child 2 unifix cubes.
B. The teacher will ask the students to write down how many unifix cubes they have on paper
(2).
C. The students should then write a + sign below the number 2, like this:
2
+
D. The teacher will then pass out 3 more unifix cubes to each student.
E. The students will be asked to write down how many unifix cubes they were just given. They
should write this number below the number 2 that they just wrote, so that it looks like this:
2
+3
F. Students should now draw a line under their 3.
G. Now the students should count how many unifix cubes they have together and write this
number just below the 3, like this:
2
+3
---5

H. Ask students how many unifix cubes they had to start, how many they were given to add to
that, and how many they had total after the teacher gave them the 3 unifix cubes.
6. After the procedures have been completed, you may want to provide time for independent
practice. For the example of above, students could be given time to add different numbers of
unifix cubes together that a partner would provide them with.
7. Just before moving on to the assessment phase you should have some sort of closure for the
lesson plan. A good idea for this is to return to your anticipatory set, i.e. ask students how they
would divide up that pizza now that they know how to work with fractions (refer to the example in
step 4).
8. Now you want to write your assessment / evaluation. Many lesson plans don't necessarily need
an assessment, but most should have some sort of evaluation of whether or not the objectives
were reached. The key in developing your assessment is to make sure that the assessment
specifically measures whether the objectives were reached or not. Thus, there should be a direct
correlation between the objectives and the assessments. Assuming the objective were to be able
to add two single digit numbers together, an example would be to have students approach the
teacher and add two single digit numbers (that the teacher provides via unifix cubes) on paper
using unifix cubes as a guide.
9. Adaptations should also be made for students with learning disabilities and extensions for
others. Examples would be adding 1 unifix cube to 1 unifix cube for students with learning
disabilities and adding 9 unifix cubes to 13 unifix cubes for gifted students. This is best done with
specific adaptations for specific students, to take into account their individual differences.
10. It's also a good idea to include a "Connections" section, which shows how the lesson plan
could be integrated with other subjects. An example would be to have students paint 2 apples,
then 3 more apples below them, etc. to integrate Art into the lesson plan. A better integration
would involve creating 2 or 3 different types of textures on those apples, assuming texture was
being studied in art class. Putting a lot of work into this can develop complete thematic units that
would integrate related topics into many different subjects. This repetition of topics in different
subjects can be extremely helpful in ensuring retention of the material.
That's it! If you followed all the instructions above, you've successfully written a very thorough
lesson plan that will be useful for any other teachers wanting to teach such a topic. One of the
most helpful tips in writing your first lesson plans would be to look at lesson plans that are already
fully developed to get a better idea of what needs to be in the lesson plan. You can do this by
looking at the lesson plans on this site! Be sure to email comments on this guide to the
Planning 1

Submitted by admin on 5 March, 2002 - 13:00

Planning is one of those essential skills of the competent teacher. This
article looks at some general lesson planning questions:

What should go into an English language lesson?

What is a lesson plan?

Why is planning important?

Do you need to plan if you have a course book?

What are the principles of planning?

What should go into an English language lesson?

Every lesson and class is different. The content depends on what the
teacher wants to achieve in the lesson. However it is possible to make
some generalisations. Students who are interested in, involved in and
enjoy what they are studying tend to make better progress and learn
faster.
When thinking about an English lesson it is useful therefore to keep
the following three elements in mind - Engage - Study - Activate
Engage

This means getting the students interested in the class. Engaging

students is important for the learning process.
Study

Every lesson usually needs to have some kind of language focus. The
study element of a lesson could be a focus on any aspect of the
language, such as grammar or vocabulary and pronunciation. A study
stage could also cover revision and extension of previously taught
material.
Activate

Telling students about the language is not really enough to help them
learn it. For students to develop their use of English they need to have
a chance to produce it. In an activate stage the students are given
tasks which require them to use not only the language they are
studying that day, but also other language that they have learnt.
What is a lesson plan?

A lesson plan is a framework for a lesson. If you imagine a lesson is

like a journey, then the lesson plan is the map. It shows you where
you start, where you finish and the route to take to get there.
Essentially the lesson plan sets out what the teacher hopes to achieve
over the course of the lesson and how he or she hopes to achieve it.

Usually they are in written form but they don't have to be. New or
inexperienced teachers may want to or be required to produce very
detailed plans - showing clearly what is happening at any particular
time in the lesson. However in a realistic teaching environment it is
perhaps impractical to consider this detail in planning on a daily basis.
As teachers gain experience and confidence planning is just as
important but teachers develop the ability to plan more quickly and
very experienced teachers may be able to go into class with just a
short list of notes or even with the plan in their heads.
Whatever the level of experience, it is important that all teachers take
time to think through their lessons before they enter the classroom.
Why is planning important?

One of the most important reasons to plan is that the teacher needs to
identify his or her aims for the lesson. Teachers need to know what it
is they want their students to be able to do at the end of the lesson
that they couldn't do before. Here are some more reasons planning is
important:

gives the teacher the opportunity to predict possible problems and therefore consider solutions

makes sure that lesson is balanced and appropriate for class

gives teacher confidence

planning is generally good practice and a sign of professionalism

Do you need to plan if you have a course book?

Many teachers will find themselves having to use a course book. There
are advantages and disadvantages to having a course book - but
although they do provide a ready made structure for teaching
material, it is very unlikely the material was written for the teachers'
particular students. Each class is different and teachers need to be
able to adapt material from whatever source so that is suitable for

their students. A course book can certainly help planning, but it cannot
replace the teacher's own ideas for what he or she wants to achieve in
a class.
What are the principles of planning?

Aims - considering realistic goals for the lesson, not too easy but not too difficult. You may find the following checklist useful:

What do the students know already?

What do the students need to know?

What did you do with the students in the previous class?

How well do the class work together?

How motivated are the students?

Variety - an important way of getting and keeping the students engaged and interested.

Flexibility - expect the unexpected! Things don't always go to plan in most lessons. Experienced teachers have the ability to cope when
things go wrong. It's useful when planning to build in some extra and alternative tasks and exercises. Also teachers need to be aware of what is happening
in the classroom. Students may raise an interesting point and discussions could provide unexpected opportunities for language work and practice. In these
cases it can be appropriate to branch away from the plan.

Effective lesson planning is the basis of effective teaching. A plan is a

guide for the teacher as to where to go and how to get there. However
- don't let the plan dominate - be flexible in your planning so that
when the opportunities arise you can go with the flow.

The parts of a lesson plan

Not every lesson plan looks alike, but all lesson plans share certain basic parts. This guide
to LEARN NCs lesson plan template explains what we are looking for in a lesson plan
and how you can make your lesson plan as usable as possible to other teachers on the
web.

Title
The title of your lesson plan should be concise, clear, and descriptive. It should invite
teachers to take a closer look at the plan. Remember that teachers may see only the title
and a short abstract of your plan in a page of search results, so they need to know what to
expect if they click on it!
This field is required.

Introduction
Use the introduction to tell us a little about your lesson plan. Briefly describe the
instructional techniques, what students are to learn, and any activities or assessments that
you think are particularly noteworthy.
This field is recommended.

Learning outcomes
Learning outcomes are what students are expected to learn after completing the lesson
plan.
Learning outcomes should be closely related to the curriculum alignment but
should not simply repeat goals and objectives of the Standard Course of Study.
Learning outcomes may be broader, address particular aspects of curriculum
objectives, or teach the curriculum in a special context.
Each learning outcome should be clearly reflected in the activities and assessed at
the conclusion of the lesson.

This field is required.

Curriculum alignment
Curriculum alignment is the relationship of the lesson plan to the North Carolina
Standard Course of Study. List specific goals and objectives that this plan addresses, such
as Grade 3 Social Studies, Goal 1, Objective 2 or High School Biology, Goal 3,
Objective 4.
Your lesson plan must address at least one objective of a current curriculum, and
it is a rare plan that addresses more than three objectives at once.
If the plan is appropriate to multiple grade levels or courses, list goals and
objectives for each grade level or course.
Remember that all objectives you list here must be addressed in the learning
outcomes, activities, and assessment!

This field is required.

Classroom time required

Classroom time required is, obviously, the amount of time a teacher will need to schedule
for this lesson plan. You might specify minutes, hours, class periods, or even weeks.

Consider different scheduling constraints. If youve designed your lesson for a

block schedule, mention that (one block period). You might also offer a
suggestion in the activities or supplemental information for breaking the plan into
two traditional periods.
If the plan is intended to last for several days, explain the time requirements as
specifically as possible (for example, two hours over a week or three
consecutive class periods).

This field is required.

Materials needed
Materials needed include resources used by both teacher and student, including books,
handouts, paper and pencils, art supplies, and so on.
If a specific book is needed or recommended, provide a full citation (author, title,
publisher) so that teachers can easily locate it.
If you use handouts or specific materials for presentation, please make them
available as separate files.
If the lesson plan requires that the classroom be arranged in a particular way,
mention that here.

This field is recommended.

Technology resources
The technology needed section includes technology resources used by both teacher and
students, including computers and related resources (internet connections, printers, and
specific software such as a word processing application or PowerPoint), scanners and
digital cameras, projectors, VCR or DVD player, and so on.
Be as specific as possible when listing software and hardware requirements.
Specify how many of each resource is needed (one computer per student? per
group of students?).
Provide alternatives if possible. For example, if you teach this plan with one
computer per student, try to offer a way to teach the plan with students in groups
(in activities or supplemental information) and note here that the plan can be so
adapted.

This field is recommended.

Pre-activities
The pre-activities are what teachers and students need to do before beginning the lesson.
They may be as simple as prerequisites concepts or topics that should already have

been covered. They may include activities that will help stimulate students background
knowledge of the topic, refresh their memory of previous lessons related to this one, or
teach critical vocabulary. Or, they may list things the teacher needs to do to prepare to
teach this lesson.
This field is recommended.

Activities
Activities explain step by step what the teacher and students will do during the lesson.
They should be as specific as possible. Consider the following:
If the teacher is to explain something, note key points she/he should cover.
Similarly, if there is to be a discussion, note the goals for the discussion what
conclusions might or should students reach?
If a teacher doesnt have certain materials or is pressed for time, are there steps
that can be left out?
Remember that many teachers who use this plan will not share your background
or experience. Are there instructional techniques you use with which your readers
might not be familiar? If there are additional resources or background information
you think would benefit beginning teachers, include them in the Supplemental
Resources field.

This field is required.

Assessment
The assessment explains how the teacher will determine whether or to what extent
students met the learning outcomes listed at the beginning of the lesson plan. It should
explain the means of assessment as well as the standards by which students are to be
assessed.

If you use a specific test or quiz, please attach it as a separate file.

If assessment is oral, explain what words, ideas, or cues the teacher can use to
evaluate student understanding.

This field is required.

Modifications
Modifications are ways a teacher could adapt this plan to teach special audiences, such as
students with learning disabilities, gifted and talented children, or English language
learners. It is not necessary to suggest modifications to your plan, but it is helpful to
teachers with diverse classrooms.

If you provide modifications:

Explain what audience the modifications are intended for.
List specific activities for this audience, and provide or link to any special
resources needed.
If possible or necessary, explain how the teacher can adapt classroom
management strategies to use this plan with multiple audiences at the same time.
Provide alternative assessments in the field below.

This field is optional.

Alternative assessments
Alternative assessments are means of assessment for special audiences, such as students
with learning disabilities or English language learners.
If you provided modifications above, provide an alternative assessment for each
modification or special audience.
If you did not provide modifications above, explain what audience this alternative
assessment is intended for.

This field is optional.

Supplemental information
Supplemental information is anything that teachers should or might consider when
teaching this lesson. If there are resources that may be used but that are not required for
the lesson, note those as well.
Supplemental information and resources might include:
additional resources or websites that could be used for in-class presentations or
student research if time permits
ideas for extensions or extra credit
background reading for teachers on the content of the lesson
further discussion of instructional strategies or classroom management issues
related to this lesson (or links to that information on the web)

Be as generous as you can! Remember that beginning teachers will not have your
experience or knowledge of available resources and will benefit from any additional help
you provide.
This field is optional.

Critical vocabulary

Critical vocabulary includes words and terms that students need to know in order to meet
the learning outcomes for this lesson plan. If modifications are provided for particular
audiences (such as English language learners), a special vocabulary list may be provided
here.
For each term, please provide a definition or the URL of a website where teachers can
obtain definitions.
This field is recommended.

Websites
Related websites are websites to be used by the teacher or students in the course of this
lesson plan. They may be required or optional. Related websites may provide:
background information for the teacher about the content of the lesson
reading material for students
resources the teacher can use with students in the classroom, such as images or
multimedia
reference material for the teacher about instructional strategies or classroom
management issues referred to in the plan
resources for students to use independently

For each website, please provide a title, URL, and brief explanation of how it relates to
this lesson plan.
Important! An external website should not be required for a teacher to use your plan
unless it is a highly stable, institutionally maintained resource.
This field is optional.

Comments
Comments may include anything you think teachers should know or consider that doesnt
fit into the other parts of the lesson plan. They may include:
an explanation of how you developed the plan, or why you wrote it in a particular
way
possible extensions or ways to shorten the plan
reflections on the experience of teaching this lesson
students comments or reactions

This field is optional.

Author Info

Under author info, tell us about yourself! Include the following:

where you teach (school, system, city)

what you teach (grade levels/subjects)
how long you have been teaching
special certifications, degrees, experience, or other qualifications that lend
credibility to your lesson plan

This field is required.

A note on attachments
You may have supplemental materials that you want to include with your lesson plan
such as worksheets, tests, handouts, spreadsheets, even images. Dont hesitate to submit
these with your lesson plan. Just be sure to send them in formats that can be easily
opened and dont require any unusual software.
If possible, we will reformat all lesson plan content for display on the web, and make it
available for separate download only if absolutely necessary.

Model lesson plans

Want to see it all in action? Take a look at some of our model lesson plans!
Mountain dialect: Reading between the spoken lines

This lesson plan uses Chapter 13 of Our Southern Highlanders (available online)
as a jumping-off point to help students achieve social studies and English
language arts objectives while developing an appreciation of the uniqueness of
regional speech patterns, the complexities of ethnographic encounter, and the
need to interrogate primary sources carefully to identify potential biases and
misinformation in them. Historical content includes American slavery, the turn-ofthe-century, and the Great Depression.
Overhand throwing

After this lesson, the students should be able to perform and identify critical
components of overhand throwing: pulling arm back while rotating an upper
body, leaning L, step with the opposite foot, throwing (de-rotating and releasing a
ball), and following through.
The migration of the monarch butterfly

The students will listen to and discuss books about butterflies and the migration of
monarch butterflies to Mexico in order to integrate science, social studies, and
language arts.

Write a Lesson Plan Guide

How to Develop a Lesson Plan

We have received several questions regarding how to write a good lesson plan. We went ahead and asked our experts, did some research, and
have included some tips and guidelines below.

To begin, ask yourself three basic questions:

Where are your students going?

How are they going to get there?
How will you know when they've arrived?
Then begin to think about each of the following categories which form the organization of the plan. While planning, use the questions below to
guide you during each stage.
Goals
Goals determine purpose, aim, and rationale for what you and your students will engage in during class time. Use this section to express the
intermediate lesson goals that draw upon previous plans and activities and set the stage by preparing students for future activities and further
knowledge acquisition. The goals are typically written as broad educational or unit goals adhering to State or National curriculum standards.
What are the broader objectives, aims, or goals of the unit plan/curriculum?
What are your goals for this unit?
What do you expect students to be able to do by the end of this unit?
Objectives
This section focuses on what your students will do to acquire further knowledge and skills. The objectives for the daily lesson plan are drawn
from the broader aims of the unit plan but are achieved over a well defined time period.
What will students be able to do during this lesson?
Under what conditions will students' performance be accomplished?
What is the degree or criterion on the basis of which satisfactory attainment of the objectives will be judged?
How will students demonstrate that they have learned and understood the objectives of the lesson?
Prerequisites
Prerequisites can be useful when considering the readiness state of your students. Prerequisites allow you, and other teachers replicating your
lesson plan, to factor in necessary prep activities to make sure that students can meet the lesson objectives.
What must students already be able to do before this lesson?
What concepts have to be mastered in advance to accomplish the lesson objectives?
Materials
This section has two functions: it helps other teachers quickly determine a) how much preparation time, resources, and management will be
involved in carrying out this plan and b) what materials, books, equipment, and resources they will need to have ready. A complete list of
materials, including full citations of textbooks or story books used, worksheets, and any other special considerations are most useful.
What materials will be needed?
What textbooks or story books are needed? (please include full bibliographic citations)
What needs to be prepared in advance? (typical for science classes and cooking or baking activities)

Lesson Description
This section provides an opportunity for the author of the lesson to share some thoughts, experience, and advice with other teachers. It also
provides a general overview of the lesson in terms of topic focus, activities, and purpose.
What is unique about this lesson?
How did your students like it?
What level of learning is covered by this lesson plan? (Think of Bloom's Taxonomy: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis,
synthesis, or evaluation.)
Lesson Procedure
This section provides a detailed, step-by-step description of how to replicate the lesson and achieve lesson plan objectives. This is usually
intended for the teacher and provides suggestions on how to proceed with implementation of the lesson plan. It also focuses on what the
teacher should have students do during the lesson. This section is basically divided into several components: an introduction, a main activity,
and closure. There are several elaborations on this. We have linked to some sample lesson plans to guide you through this stage of planning.

Introduction

How will you introduce the ideas and objectives of this lesson?
How will you get students' attention and motivate them in order to hold their attention?
How can you tie lesson objectives with student interests and past classroom activities?
What will be expected of students?

Main Activity

What is the focus of the lesson?

How would you describe the flow of the lesson to another teacher who will replicate it?
What does the teacher do to facilitate learning and manage the various activities?
What are some good and bad examples to illustrate what you are presenting to students?
How can this material be presented to ensure each student will benefit from the learning experience?

Rule of Thumb # 1:
Take into consideration what students are learning (a new skill, a rule or formula, a
concept/fact/idea, an attitude, or a value).
Choose one of the following techniques to plan the lesson content based on what your
objectives are:
Demonstration ==> list in detail and sequence of the steps to be performed
Explanation
==> outline the information to be explained
Discussion
==> list of key questions to guide the discussion

Closure/Conclusion

What will you use to draw the ideas together for students at the end?
How will you provide feedback to students to correct their misunderstandings and reinforce their learning?

Follow up Lessons/Activities

What activities might you suggest for enrichment and remediation?

What lessons might follow as a result of this lesson?
Assessment/Evaluation
This section focuses on ensuring that your students have arrived at their intended destination. You will need to gather some evidence that they
did. This usually is done by gathering students' work and assessing this work using some kind of grading rubric that is based on lesson

objectives. You could also replicate some of the activities practiced as part of the lesson, without providing the same level of guidance as during
the lesson. You could always quiz students on various concepts and problems as well.
How will you evaluate the objectives that were identified?
Have students practiced what you are asking them to do for evaluation?