5 lesson plan essentials and how to hack ‘em
Updated: Jun 6, 2022
My five-lesson plan essentials include
standards
an anticipatory set
a list of adaptations
a precise closure
meaningful reflection questions
We describe these lesson plan tips and how to hack them to save you lesson planning time. We discuss three essential mindset shifts that need to occur related to lesson planning. Before you plan:
Make sure you have all your resources ready
Stop spending every night of the week planning lessons
Use a template and a lesson at a glance.
First, before you start planning your lesson, gather all your resources. That means having your books, worksheets, websites, etc., ready so you don't have to search for them. Now that you've taken a deep breath, you can fill up your coffee and start planning.
First, before you start planning your lesson, gather all your resources. That means having your books, worksheets, websites, etc., ready so you don't have to search for them. Now that you've taken a deep breath, you can fill up your coffee and start planning.
Next, schedule in time to plan. Don't spend every evening planning lessons and get into planning day by day. You can burn out on lesson planning if you do that sort of planning. Lesson plans are a series of lessons built on one another, rather than one lesson at a time. Student teachers need to learn how to plan long-range. Meaning you plan for a few days at a time and make adjustments as you go.
Plan your week if you are a student teacher in middle or secondary education. Plan two days in advance if you are a student teacher in an elementary school. This option will give you time to plan and time for yourself. For example, use Sunday to prepare for Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday is the day to plan for Wednesday and Thursday, and Wednesday is to plan for Friday. Then use the rest of the days of the week to grade and provide feedback, make adjustments, create materials, etc.
Planning a little at a time will allow you to adjust your delivery and pace based on the class. In addition, turn in your lesson plans on time if your college or cooperating teacher requires you to do so in the format they need.
Last but not least, use the lesson plan model that your college or cooperating teacher requires. You can pull pieces of your larger lesson plan for review using a lesson at a glance template. Use the lesson plan at a glance template while preparing for the lesson or as a review before teaching it. A lesson at a glance should include:
Standards
Objectives
Anticipatory set
Instruction
Materials
Assessment
Adaptations
Closure
Let's talk about those lesson plan essentials.
Standards
Learning standards aligned to content objectives and outcomes - we cannot teach whatever we want. It's a good idea to easily bookmark your state standards on your computer to refer to them in this part of the lesson. You could also create QR codes for each link to the standard website. You should then print out the QR codes for each page and place them in your student teacher planner.
Review content and gain attention
Please review the lesson's content before delivering it to students. Before providing the lesson, brainstorm and research ways to capture the students' attention. Be creative! Make sure you review previous lessons. The students get a glimpse of what they learned in an earlier lesson, and it helps them focus on the lessons at hand. They can also connect previously learned knowledge with new ideas.