Steps Of Lesson Planning:

A lesson plan is the instructor’s road map

 Objectives for student learning

 Teaching/learning activities

 Strategies to check student understanding

Specifying concrete objectives for student learning will help you determine the kinds of
teaching and learning activities you will use in class, while those activities will define how
you will check whether the learning objectives have been accomplished.

Steps for Preparing a Lesson Plan

Below are six steps to guide you when you create your first lesson plans. Each step is
accompanied by a set of questions meant to prompt reflection and aid you in designing
your teaching and learning activities.

(1) Outline learning objectives

The first step is to determine what you want students to learn and be able to do at the end
of class. To help you specify your objectives for student learning, answer the following
questions:

 What is the topic of the lesson?

 What do I want students to learn?

 What do I want them to understand and be able to do at the end of class?

 What do I want them to take away from this particular lesson?

Once you outline the learning objectives for the class meeting, rank them in terms of their
importance. This step will prepare you for managing class time and accomplishing the
more important learning objectives in case you are pressed for time. Consider the following
questions:
  What are the most important concepts, ideas, or skills I want students to be able to
grasp and apply?

 Why are they important?

 If I ran out of time, which ones could not be omitted?

 And conversely, which ones could I skip if pressed for time?

(2) Develop the introduction

Now that you have your learning objectives in order of their importance, design the specific
activities you will use to get students to understand and apply what they have learned.
Because you will have a diverse body of students with different academic and personal
experiences, they may already be familiar with the topic. That is why you might start with
a question or activity to gauge students’ knowledge of the subject or possibly, their
preconceived notions about it. For example, you can take a simple poll: “How many of you
have heard of X? Raise your hand if you have.” You can also gather background
information from your students prior to class by sending students an electronic survey or
asking them to write comments on index cards. This additional information can help shape
your introduction, learning activities, etc.  When you have an idea of the students’
familiarity with the topic, you will also have a sense of what to focus on.

Develop a creative introduction to the topic to stimulate interest and encourage thinking.
You can use a variety of approaches to engage students (e.g., personal anecdote, historical
event, thought-provoking dilemma, real-world example, short video clip, practical
application, probing question, etc.). Consider the following questions when planning your
introduction:

 How will I check whether students know anything about the topic or have any
preconceived notions about it?

 What are some commonly held ideas (or possibly misconceptions) about this topic
that students might be familiar with or might espouse?

 What will I do to introduce the topic?

 (3) Plan the specific learning activities (the main body of the lesson)

Prepare several different ways of explaining the material (real-life examples, analogies,
visuals, etc.) to catch the attention of more students and appeal to different learning styles.
As you plan your examples and activities, estimate how much time you will spend on each.
Build in time for extended explanation or discussion, but also be prepared to move on
quickly to different applications or problems, and to identify strategies that check for
understanding. These questions would help you design the learning activities you will use:
  What will I do to explain the topic?

 What will I do to illustrate the topic in a different way?

 How can I engage students in the topic?

 What are some relevant real-life examples, analogies, or situations that can help
students understand the topic?

 What will students need to do to help them understand the topic better?

(4) Plan to check for understanding

Now that you have explained the topic and illustrated it with different examples, you need
to check for student understanding – how will you know that students are learning? Think
about specific questions you can ask students in order to check for understanding, write
them down, and then paraphrase them so that you are prepared to ask the questions in
different way.

(5) Develop a conclusion and a preview

Go over the material covered in class by summarizing the main points of the lesson. You
can do this in a number of ways: you can state the main points yourself (“Today we talked
about…”), you can ask a student to help you summarize them, or you can even ask all
students to write down on a piece of paper what they think were the main points of the
lesson. You can review the students’ answers to gauge their understanding of the topic and
then explain anything unclear the following class. Conclude the lesson not only by
summarizing the main points, but also by previewing the next lesson. How does the topic
relate to the one that’s coming? This preview will spur students’ interest and help them
connect the different ideas within a larger context.

(6) Create a realistic timeline

GSIs know how easy it is to run out of time and not cover all of the many points they had
planned to cover. A list of ten learning objectives is not realistic, so narrow down your list
to the two or three key concepts, ideas, or skills you want students to learn. Instructors also
agree that they often need to adjust their lesson plan during class depending on what the
students need. Your list of prioritized learning objectives will help you make decisions on
the spot and adjust your lesson plan as needed. Having additional examples or alternative
activities will also allow you to be flexible. A realistic timeline will reflect your flexibility
and readiness to adapt to the specific classroom environment. Here are some strategies for
creating a realistic timeline.
 Types Of Lesson Planning:
There are 3 types of lesson plan you can use, and the one you choose depends on how
prepared you like to be and what specific criteria you are looking for your lesson to follow.

Detailed lesson plan

A detailed plan covers everything and gets teachers fully prepared for the lesson ahead. It
covers what to teach and all the activities students will complete that lesson.

Semi detailed lesson plan

Semi-detailed plans are less intricate than detailed, but they still focus on what you want to
cover for that subject on that day. They act as a general game plan for what will go on in
the lesson.

Understanding by design (UbD)

Understanding by design is more of a framework. This "backward design" looks at

The main difference between the 3 types of lesson plans is that UbD includes
understandings and essential questions for students whereas the other two don't include
this. UbD includes procedures and evaluation as well as particular activities but only in the
learning plan. Detailed plans focus on conversations and questions and answers between
students and the teacher, but semi-detailed plans leave out the student activity. Detailed
and semi-detailed plans have separate sections for subject matter and assignment, whereas
UbD includes materials and other references in the resources section. For UbD, assignment
is usually found in the assessment evidence.