How to write a lesson plan: a step-by-step guide for teachers

A lesson plan is not paperwork for someone else. It is the thinking you do before the lesson so that the lesson itself feels calm: you know what pupils should learn, what you will say, what they will do and how you will know it worked.

This guide walks through the eight steps most good lesson plans follow. It works for any subject and any age, from a Year 1 phonics lesson to a sixth form chemistry practical. At the end there is a template you can copy.

What to put in a lesson plan

Most lesson plans have the same parts, even when schools give them different names:

You do not need all of these written out in full every time. But thinking through each one is what turns an activity into a lesson.

Step 1: Decide what pupils should learn

Start with the learning, not the activity. "Make a poster about volcanoes" is an activity. "Explain why volcanoes erupt, using the words magma, pressure and crust" is learning.

Write one clear objective, two at most. If you find yourself writing five, you probably have more than one lesson. Our guide to learning objectives and success criteria has examples for different subjects and ages.

Step 2: Decide how you will know they learned it

Before you plan a single activity, decide what pupils will do at the end to show they have learned it. This might be three questions on an exit ticket, a short paragraph, a labelled diagram or a problem to solve.

Planning the check first keeps the rest of the lesson honest. Every part of the lesson should help pupils succeed at that final task.

Step 3: Plan the starter

The first five to ten minutes set the tone. A good starter gets everyone working straight away and links to the lesson. Barak Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction, a widely read summary of research on effective teaching, begins with exactly this: start the lesson with a short review of previous learning.

A quick quiz on last lesson, a "what do you already know?" question, or a surprising picture to discuss all work well. You will find plenty more in our list of lesson starter ideas.

Step 4: Plan the teaching in small steps

This is where you explain the new idea. Rosenshine's principles suggest presenting new material in small steps, with practice after each step, and giving pupils clear models such as worked examples.

When planning your explanation, note down:

• the key words pupils need, and how you will explain them
• one or two worked examples you will show, step by step
• the common mistakes or misconceptions you expect
• the questions you will ask to check pupils are following

Keep teacher talk short. Ten minutes of clear explanation followed by practice usually beats twenty-five minutes of talking.

Step 5: Plan guided and independent practice

Pupils learn by doing, but they need support first. In guided practice they work through examples with you: you might do one together, then let pairs try the next while you walk round. In independent practice they work on their own, and you can see who has really understood.

Rosenshine notes that pupils do best when they get a high proportion of practice questions right, so start with questions most of the class can do and build up. Worksheets help here; our guide on how to make a worksheet explains how to build tasks that grow in difficulty.

Step 6: Plan how you will check understanding

Do not wait for the end of the lesson to find out who is lost. Plan a few moments where every pupil answers, not just the ones with hands up:

• mini whiteboards: everyone writes an answer and holds it up
• a multiple-choice question where each wrong answer shows a common mistake
• "show me with fingers": one, two or three for each option
• asking a named pupil after giving thinking time

Write down what you will do if many pupils get it wrong. Often the best answer is to reteach that step in a different way before moving on. For more ideas, see formative assessment strategies for every lesson.

Step 7: Plan for different needs

Look at the main task and ask who might struggle and who might finish early. You do not need three versions of every lesson. Small changes go a long way: a word bank, a worked example on the table, sentence starters, or a harder question for those who are ready.

Our guide to differentiation strategies has practical ideas that do not add hours to your planning.

Step 8: Plan the ending

The end of the lesson is the part most often squeezed. Protect it. Leave five to ten minutes to come back to the objective, check learning and tell pupils what comes next. A short plenary or exit ticket gives you the information you need to plan the next lesson.

Example timings for a 50-minute lesson

Timings depend on the age and the lesson, but this gives a starting point:

For younger children, use shorter blocks and more changes of activity. For older students, practice time can be longer.

A simple lesson plan template

Copy this into your own document and fill it in:

Common lesson planning mistakes

• Planning activities, not learning. A fun task that does not move pupils towards the objective is time lost.
• Too much in one lesson. If you run out of time every lesson, plan less content and more practice.
• No check before the end. Checking only at the end means finding out too late.
• Forgetting the misconceptions. Note the mistakes pupils usually make and plan how you will tackle them.
• Skipping the ending. Without a plenary, you lose the best information for planning the next lesson.

Planning faster without cutting corners

Writing a good plan, then making the slides and the worksheet to match, can take a whole evening. Tools can help with the first draft, as long as you stay in charge of the checking. Our guide to using an AI lesson plan generator explains how to get drafts that are actually worth teaching from.

Questions teachers ask

How long should a lesson plan be?

Long enough that you could teach from it, and short enough that you will read it. For most lessons one page is plenty: the objective, the timings for each part, the key questions you will ask and how you will check learning at the end.

What are the main parts of a lesson plan?

A learning objective, a starter, the teaching input, guided practice, independent practice, checks for understanding along the way and a plenary or exit ticket. Most plans also note resources, timings and support for pupils who need it.

Do I need a written plan for every lesson?

That depends on your school. Many experienced teachers plan sequences of lessons in detail and keep each day's plan short. What matters is that you know what pupils should learn, how you will teach it and how you will know they learned it.

Can AI write a lesson plan for me?

AI can give you a strong first draft in minutes, but you still need to check the facts, the level and the timings for your class. Lesson Dino looks the topic up first and lists its sources, so the checking is quicker.