The lesson plan outline is designed as a guide for students to use when planning lessons. The plan may be adapted to specific subject areas and modified as students gain experience in each practicum. The template is a basic outline that can be used directly as printed, copied in longhand, or expanded from the electronic version. It is important that all areas required in the format are completed and that the lesson plan be sufficiently clear and detailed so that another teacher could use the plan to teach the lesson.

Rationale: Why are you teaching this particular lesson (e.g. is it part of a complex skill? Is it an essential prereading skill in reading? Is it important that the students hear good literature?) The rationale should be a brief sentence or two and stated in words that can be easily understood by the children in the classroom.

Prescribed Learning Outcomes: The Integrated Resources Packages (IRPs) describe what students should be able to do in each curricular subject. Your lesson should state one or more prescribed learning outcomes, from the curricula of British Columbia, on which the objectives of this specific lesson are based.

Instructional Objective(s): What are the specific things students will be able to do as a result of this lesson. These objectives should be consistent with your stated prescribed learning outcome(s) (e.g. the students will be able to identify the main idea in the story. The student will be able to describe the main idea in a paragraph of four sentences). The objectives may also include things the teacher wants to observe in the course of the lesson (e.g. to identify the potential leaders in group discussion). Students should ensure that the instructional objectives are measured by your assessment and evaluation strategies.

Preparation: What things do you need to do before the lesson begins? (e.g. prepare a word chart.) What things do the students need to do? (e.g. read a chapter in the novel.)

Lesson Activities

Introduction: How will you get students interested in the topic? How will you find out what they already know about the topic? Will you use an anticipatory set (link to their experience) or advance organizers?

Body: What sequence of activities will the student experience? What will you do? What will they do? What will children do who finish early? How much time will each activity take?

Closure: How will you close the lesson? The closing should be linked to attaining your instructional objectives.

Assessment and Evaluation: Did the students learn what you taught them? The results of the assessment should be directly related to, and tell you if, your students were able to do the things outlined in your instructional objectives and prescribed learning outcomes. Your assessment should be as accurate as possible and should be built into your lesson. What rubrics or structures will you use to evaluate assessment data?

Materials and Resources: List all the materials and resources that you and the students will need. Include organizational and behavioural management strategies for their use. (Including this aspect of the lesson in planning facilitates pro-active positive classroom management.)

Extensions: How might this lesson link to previous and/or future lessons within the same curriculum area? How might knowledge, skills or attitudes from this lesson be integrated/infused into lessons in other subject areas?

Adaptations: How could you modify the lesson so that a child with special needs could be involved? What changes could you make to the lesson for children from different cultural backgrounds? What activities might you add to the lesson to extend and/or enrich opportunities for ‘gifted’ students to be challenged? Have you planned for a variety of ways for students to demonstrate their learning? What options are ready for students who finish assignments early, or for those who do not complete the tasks given?

Reflections: Complete the reflections section as soon as possible after teaching the lesson. What revisions would you make to the lesson? What went well?