How to write a lesson plan
Write a lesson plan in this order: what learners should be able to do by the end, how you will check that they can, and then the activities that get them there. Add the resources, the timings and a space to reflect afterwards, and the plan is complete.
What should a lesson plan include?
The headings vary between schools and curricula, but a complete plan answers the same ten questions.
| Part | The question it answers |
|---|---|
| Lesson details | Which subject, class, date, time and topic? |
| Learning outcomes | What will learners be able to do by the end of the lesson? |
| Key question | What question will the lesson help learners answer? |
| Resources | What do you and the learners need in the room? |
| Introduction | How will you get attention and connect to what learners already know? |
| Main activities | What will learners do, step by step, and what will you do? |
| Assessment | How will you know each learner reached the outcome? |
| Conclusion | How will the lesson close, and what carries into the next one? |
| Differentiation | What changes for a learner who needs more support, or more challenge? |
| Reflection | What worked, and what will you change? You fill this in after teaching. |
Some schools also ask for the number of learners, a teacher registration number or the syllabus reference. Where your school has a form of its own, use it.
How do you write learning outcomes?
Finish the sentence "By the end of the lesson, learners should be able to" with a verb you could watch a learner do: name, calculate, compare, explain, design. Carnegie Mellon University's Eberly Center gives the same advice, and names "understand X" as a typically vague objective, because it points to no task that would show whether a learner got there.
| Vague | Can be checked |
|---|---|
| Understand fractions. | Add two fractions with different denominators by first finding a common denominator. |
| Appreciate the water cycle. | Label the four stages of the water cycle on a diagram and describe one of them in a sentence. |
| Know about persuasive writing. | Identify three persuasive techniques in a short advertisement. |
Why plan the assessment before the activities?
Because the activities exist to prepare learners for the check. If the outcome says learners will compare two arguments but the lesson only has them summarise, the assessment tests something the lesson never practised. The Eberly Center calls this alignment: outcomes, assessment and activities chosen so that each one reinforces the others.
A worked example: adding fractions in Grade 7
A 40-minute Mathematics lesson, written for this guide to show every part filled in. Change the timings to fit your own lesson length.
| Subject | Mathematics |
|---|---|
| Class | Grade 7 |
| Duration | 40 minutes |
| Topic | Adding fractions with different denominators |
Learning outcomes
By the end of the lesson, learners should be able to:
- find a common denominator for two fractions
- add two fractions with different denominators and simplify the answer
Key question
How do we add fractions that have different denominators?
Resources
Fraction strips (one set per pair), the chalkboard, exercise books.
Introduction (5 minutes)
Tell learners the two outcomes, then ask five quick oral questions on equivalent fractions, such as "What is 1/2 in quarters?" Two learners write their working on the board.
Main activities (25 minutes)
- In pairs, learners lay a 1/2 strip and a 1/3 strip end to end and look for one strip size that measures both exactly. Sixths fit, so 1/2 + 1/3 = 3/6 + 2/6 = 5/6. (10 minutes)
- Show the written method on the board: find the lowest common multiple of the denominators, convert both fractions, then add the numerators. Work 2/3 + 1/5 = 10/15 + 3/15 = 13/15 together. (5 minutes)
- Learners work three examples in their books while you check each pair's working: 1/2 + 1/5, 3/4 + 1/6 and 2/5 + 1/3. (10 minutes)
Assessment
Watch the working during the third activity, then give two exit questions on a slip of paper: 1/3 + 1/4 and 1/6 + 1/3. The second comes to 3/6, which simplifies to 1/2, so it also tests the last step. The slips decide who starts the next lesson with the strips again.
Conclusion (10 minutes)
Learners answer the exit questions, then two of them explain one example each. Name the most common mistake out loud: adding the denominators, which turns 1/2 + 1/3 into 2/5.
Differentiation
A learner who finishes early adds three fractions, such as 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/4. A learner who is stuck keeps the fraction strips for the written examples.
Reflection
Filled in after the lesson: how many exit slips were right, and which activity needs more time next lesson.
How does this match Gagné's nine events?
If your training used Robert Gagné's nine events of instruction, the example covers all nine. Gaining attention, stating the objectives and recalling prior learning happen in the introduction. Presenting the content, guiding learners and practice are the three main activities. Feedback and assessment come from checking the working and the exit slips, and the conclusion and the extension task work on retention and transfer.
Is the format the same on every curriculum?
No. The parts above appear in most formats, but the headings, their order and the extra fields change from one system to another, and many ministries and schools prescribe a form of their own. In LessonSmith you can rename, reorder, hide or add sections under Settings, then Document format, so a draft comes out in your school's layout. Each of the 11 curricula it drafts for has its own page.
Can AI write a lesson plan for me?
Yes, as a first draft. A general chatbot writes whatever you describe. A lesson plan generator such as LessonSmith keeps the layout fixed, drafts to the curriculum and class level you set once, and places each plan on a date in your term calendar. Either way a teacher has to check the plan before it reaches a classroom, because AI output can be confidently wrong.
The lesson plan generator page shows what LessonSmith drafts for a single lesson, and the scheme of work generator does the same for a term.
Questions
What are the 7 components of a lesson plan?
There is no single agreed list. Seven-part versions combine some of the ten parts in the table on this page, for example resources with lesson details, or differentiation with the main activities. What matters is that the plan answers each question in the table.
What is the difference between a lesson plan and a scheme of work?
A lesson plan covers one lesson in detail. A scheme of work covers a whole term, one row per lesson, and says what each lesson teaches and in which week. Teachers usually write the scheme first and the lesson plans from it.