Lesson Plan Format for B.Ed and School Teachers, With a Filled Example and a Free Template

What is a lesson plan?

A lesson plan is a teacher's guide for one period. It answers three questions. What should students learn? How will they learn it? How will you know they have learned it?

A plan saves time in class. You know what comes next, which aids you need and which questions to ask. In B.Ed, your supervisor also reads your plan before you teach.

A lesson plan is not a fixed script. If students need more time on one point, change the plan. After class, write a short note on what to change next time.

The B.Ed lesson plan format: Herbart's five steps

Most B.Ed and D.El.Ed courses in India teach the Herbartian lesson plan. J. F. Herbart was a German thinker on education. He described four steps. His followers, such as Ziller, turned them into the five steps below.

Two more parts go with these steps. After preparation comes the statement of aim. You announce the topic and write it on the board. After application comes recapitulation, which means a few short questions on the whole lesson.

Some books count recapitulation as a sixth Herbartian step. Names also change a little from book to book. Preparation is also called introduction, and generalisation is also called systematisation. Use the words your college uses.

The lesson plan format, part by part (free template)

Our free template has every part of the B.Ed lesson plan format, in the order below. Download the editable Word file to type your plan. Or print the PDF lesson plan format and fill it by hand.

How to write specific objectives

Many B.Ed colleges group specific objectives under four headings. Start each objective with an action word that you can check in class.

• Knowledge: students will recall or name. For example, name the four things a plant needs to make food.
• Understanding: students will explain or give examples. For example, explain why most leaves are green.
• Application: students will use the idea in a new case. For example, predict what happens to a plant kept in the dark.
• Skill: students will draw, label, measure or do. For example, draw and label a diagram of photosynthesis.

Avoid words such as know about or learn about. You cannot see a student knowing. You can see a student naming, explaining or drawing.

How to prepare a lesson plan in 8 easy steps

1. Read the chapter and the syllabus. Choose one topic that fits one period.
2. Write the specific objectives. Ask yourself what students should be able to do by the end.
3. Find the previous knowledge. Write three to five questions that link old learning to the new topic.
4. Choose teaching aids. Real objects and simple charts work well. Our guide to teaching aids has more ideas.
5. Break the topic into three to five teaching points. Put them in order, from easy to hard.
6. For each point, plan what you will do, what students will do and what you will write on the board. Pick a method that suits the point. Our guide to teaching methods can help.
7. Plan the end: recapitulation questions, evaluation questions and a short home assignment.
8. Add up the time for each part. If the total is more than the period, cut a teaching point, not the evaluation.

Here is one way to divide a 40-minute period. It is a guide, not a rule.

A filled lesson plan example: Class 7 science

This example follows the template, part by part. The topic is from Chapter 10, Life Processes in Plants, in the NCERT Class 7 science book Curiosity. Change the details to suit your class.

General objectives. 1. To build interest in the plants around us. 2. To develop the habit of careful observation. 3. To help students see how living things depend on each other.

Specific objectives. Knowledge: students will name the four things a plant needs to make food. Understanding: students will explain the work of leaves, roots and stomata. Application: students will predict what happens to a plant kept in the dark. Skill: students will draw and label a simple diagram of photosynthesis.

Teaching aids. A potted plant, a few green leaves, a chart on photosynthesis, two leaves tested with iodine before class, chalk and duster.

Previous knowledge. Students know that all living things need food. They have seen that plants need water and sunlight to grow.

Introduction (testing previous knowledge). Q1. Why do we eat food? Expected answer: to get energy and to grow. Q2. What do we give a plant at home to keep it alive? Expected answer: water and sunlight. Q3. Do plants eat food the way we do? Expected answer: no. Q4. Then how does a plant get its food? Expected answer: students are not sure. This question leads to the topic.

Statement of aim. Today we will learn how plants make their own food. Write the topic on the board.

Presentation

Blackboard work during presentation. Point 1: Green plants make their own food in leaves. Point 2: They need sunlight, water, carbon dioxide and chlorophyll. Point 3: Roots take in water. Xylem carries it up. Stomata let air in. Point 4: The plant makes glucose and gives out oxygen. Extra glucose is stored as starch.

Comparison or association. Ask: Can a cow or a child make food inside the body? Students compare. They say that plants make their own food, but animals depend on plants, directly or through other animals.

Generalisation. Students say in their own words: Green plants make food in their leaves using sunlight, water, carbon dioxide and chlorophyll. They give out oxygen. This process is called photosynthesis.

Application. Ask: A plant gets water but is kept in the dark for two weeks. Will it grow as well as a plant in sunlight? Expected answer: no, because it cannot make enough food without sunlight. Ask: Why are most leaves broad and flat? Expected answer: to catch more sunlight.

Recapitulation. 1. Where does a plant make most of its food? 2. What is the green colour in leaves called? 3. Through which part does air enter a leaf? 4. Which gas does a plant give out while making food?

Evaluation. 1. Name the four things a plant needs to make food. 2. Explain the work of roots in photosynthesis. 3. A leaf turns blue-black with iodine. What does this show? 4. Draw a diagram of photosynthesis. Label sunlight, water, carbon dioxide and oxygen.

Home assignment. Look at three plants near your home. Note the colour and shape of their leaves. Write two lines on why most leaves are broad and green.

Blackboard summary. How plants make their food. Green plants make food in their leaves. They need sunlight, water, carbon dioxide and chlorophyll. Roots take in water, and xylem carries it up. Air enters through stomata. Word equation: carbon dioxide + water, with sunlight and chlorophyll, gives glucose + oxygen. This process is called photosynthesis.

A short daily lesson plan format for working teachers and tutors

A school teacher or tutor does not need a B.Ed-length plan for every class. Half a page is enough. What matters is a clear goal and a check at the end.

For example, in a spoken English batch the goal could be: By the end, students can introduce themselves in five sentences. The check is simple. Each student speaks for thirty seconds while you listen.

The 5E model in brief

The 5E model is another way to plan a lesson, and it is common in science. BSCS, a science education group in the United States, has used it since the late 1980s. In this model, students explore first and the teacher explains after.

Herbart's steps suit a lesson where you explain first. The 5E model suits a lesson where students can find out first. If your college asks for one format, follow that format.

Types of lesson plans

Lists of lesson plan types differ between books. This common list is based on how much time a plan covers.

• Daily lesson plan: one plan for one period. This guide shows this type.
• Unit plan: a plan for one unit or chapter, spread over several periods. It usually ends with a unit test.
• Yearly plan: the whole year's syllabus, divided month by month.
• Micro lesson plan: a very short plan for micro teaching. You practise one teaching skill for about 5 to 10 minutes. Read more in our guide to micro teaching.
• Mega lesson plan: a full-length lesson for a whole class, taught after micro teaching practice. Some colleges use the term for a final, longer lesson, so check your college's manual.

An example of a unit plan

Here is a short unit plan for the same Class 7 chapter, Life Processes in Plants. Each period then gets its own daily lesson plan.

1. Period 1: How plants grow, and what they need to grow.
2. Period 2: How plants make their food. This is the lesson in this guide.
3. Period 3: How leaves take in and give out gases through stomata.
4. Period 4: How water and minerals move up through the xylem.
5. Period 5: How food moves to other parts of the plant through the phloem.
6. Period 6: Revision and a unit test.

Common mistakes in lesson plans

• Vague objectives, such as students will know about plants. Use words you can check, such as name, explain or draw.
• Too much content for one period. Two points taught well help more than five rushed points.
• No time for students to talk, try or write. A plan with only teacher activity is a lecture.
• Teaching aids listed but never used. Write in the presentation when you will show each aid.
• Evaluation questions that do not match the objectives. Each objective needs at least one question.
• A plan copied from a guide book. It will not fit your class, and supervisors usually notice.
• No plan for the blackboard. Decide where each point goes, so the board stays neat.

Share your teaching on Sikhami

Once your lessons work well, you can share them. Sikhami gives every teacher a free teacher profile, with your photo, a short intro, an about section, your subjects and your links. Learners can follow it, write reviews and ask questions. Institutes can invite a published teacher to teach on their courses.

On your own account, you can post clips, which are short videos, and notes, such as a one-page summary on photosynthesis. You can also earn from paid notes, paid clubs, meetups, study rooms with an entry fee, memberships and Super Chat. Joining and posting are free.