Lesson Plan

A lesson plan is a teacher’s guide for facilitating a lesson. It typically includes the goal (what students need to learn), how the goal will be achieved (the method of delivery and procedure) and a way to measure how well the goal was reached (usually via homework assignments or testing). This plan is a teacher’s objectives for what students should accomplish and how they will learn the material. Here, a teacher must plan what they want to teach students, why a topic is being covered and decide how to deliver a lecture. Learning objectives, learning activities and assessments are all included in a lesson plan. No two lesson plans are the same.

What does a lesson plan entail? The most effective lesson plans include the following components.

Lesson objectives (what should students be able to do after a lesson?)
Materials (what resources do students need to support their learning?)
Learning activities (what activities must students complete to achieve the learning objectives?)
Time requirements (how much time do students need to engage in a learning activity?)
Related requirements (how does a lesson support national education standards?)
Assessment (how will learning be measured?)
Evaluation and reflection (how will you create a more successful lesson plan in the future?)

Where can I find lesson plan resources? There are several resources available to assist educators in building their lesson plans. Educators such as Jennifer Gonzalez—the innovator behind Cult of Pedagogy—have countless instructional resources that help design and deliver effective lessons. Institutions like Algonquin College in Ottawa also offer lesson plan templates and guidelines for writing a results-driven plan. Educational technology platforms including Top Hat provide free lesson plan templates to assist with organizing lectures around a set of learning outcomes. The platform also offers a backward design template that can help educators prepare lessons around an end goal or desired learning objective.