How to Develop a Lesson Plan

What is a lesson plan?

A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction for one class. Lesson Plans guide instruction. Think of your lesson plan as your outline. Now, details in lesson plans may vary depending by the subject you teach, the number of students you teach, and the age of the students that you teach.

What are the basic parts of a lesson plan?

The goal~what do you want the students to know or be able to do at the end of the lesson?
Reaching the goal~what is your method for teaching this to your students?
Assessing the goal~how will you know that your students have reached the goal?

What are the necessary components of a lesson plan?

Lesson plans consist of 11 components:

1. Title
2. Time
3. Rationale
4. Resources
5. Objectives
6. Set
7. Instruction
8. Guided Practice
9. Independent Practice
10. Formative Assessment
11. Closure

Time

The time in which you will present the lesson will be determined mainly by your class schedule. The lesson make take longer than one class period to teach, and your lesson plan will need to reflect that extended time frame.

Rationale

The rationale is the justification for doing something. In a lesson plan, it is the reason for teaching a particular lesson or using a certain teaching method or using a particular text.

Objectives

Objectives are your statements of purpose. They are sometimes called standards or indicators. Objectives state what the students will be able ot do or know at the end of the lesson. Objectives are usually determined by your state curriculum.

Anticipatory Set

In your set, you will do one or more of the following:

• Provide continuity within the unit of study.
• Refresh students' knowledge of vocabulary and concepts.
• Introduce the lesson to the students.
• Determine background or prior knowledge.
• Activate yur students' knowledge base.
• Whet the students' appetite for the topic.
• Tell the students your lesson objectives and how you will get them there.

Instruction

The instruction is the part of your lesson plan where you directly teach the concept, strategy, or skill. In this part, you will explain your methodology.

Guided Practice

In the guided practice section, you will outline how your students will practice the skill or use the content that you have presented. This part of the practice is done with your assistance.

Independent Practice

Once you've taught the lesson and helped the students with their initial practice, you're now ready for them to practice the strategy or skill or use the content on their own. Sometimes, the independent practice is homework.

Formative Assessment

In this part of the lesson plan, you're ready to see if and what they learned in the lesson. This is not for a grade. This is simply to determine where you need to go with this lesson.

Closure

The closure is how you end the lesson. The closure will do one of the following:

• Restate or remind students of what they've learned.
• Ask for some type of written or verbal response to explain what they've learned.
• Give your students some type of heads up on what to expect in the next lesson.