Lesson Plan Format, Grades 1 – 6

Fordham University Graduate School of Education

EXPLANATION / CONSIDERATIONS & RATIONALE
AIM or OBJECTIVE / What do I want my students to learn from this lesson? What is the goal of this lesson? / Think in specific terms; the objective or aim should be in measurable and/or observable terms.
LEADING or ESSENTIAL QUESTION / What question can I pose that “gets at” the heart of the lesson? / Wherever possible, pose an intriguing not-easy-to-answer question. In many cases, a good leading question can serve as the “hook.”
NYS STANDARDS / List the NYS standards for this lesson; you may also include the City/district standards.
GROUPING / What is the instructional grouping for this lesson? Will it change during the course of the lesson? / What is the best way to deliver each part of the lesson? Consider movement and transitions when you plan the timing of the lesson. What parts of the lesson will be teacher-directed or teacher-centered? Will the student s work in pairs or groups? If so, for what parts and for how long?
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE / What do the students already know that is necessary for this lesson? How will I connect this lesson to that knowledge? / Consider recent lessons/discussions you have had with the students. Think of topics/issues that are of interest to the kids and will likely interest/intrigue them. In some cases, this connection can be made with the leading question.
MOTIVATION and/or HOOK / What will capture my students’ interest about this lesson? What will make them want to pay attention? / The motivation or hook is quick; do not make the mistake of devoting too large a portion of the lesson to the motivation/hook. There should be a quick and smooth transition to the heart of the lesson (students should not need to stretch the connection).
MATERIALS / What materials are necessary for this lesson? Do any require advance planning or preparation?
VOCABULARY / List any words/terms that are part of the lesson, especially ones unfamiliar to the students and/or are essential to the lesson/discipline. / Will the students need to memorize these words? Will they become (for example) part of the weekly spelling/vocabulary quiz?
PROCEDURE and PRACTICE / List the detailed steps for this lesson. Number the steps. / What questions will I ask along the way? What will the students be doing at different points in the lesson? Developing teachers should create very detailed, specific procedures. Ask yourself: Are the procedures of the lesson clear and detailed enough that another teacher would understand the lesson (without additional explanation) and could implement it?
MODIFICATIONS FOR DIVERSE LEARNERS / List the instructional modifications you will provide for diverse learners, including ESL students, students with special needs, and struggling readers.
INFORMAL ASSESSMENT / How will I (informally) assess the students’ learning of the material and meeting the goal(s) of the lesson? / At what point(s) in the lesson will I be checking for comprehension? What are “gateway” points – points at which I know I can’t continue if students are confused or uncertain? What will be my options if I discover large groups of students are not “getting” certain aspects/concepts?
CLOSING / What will I do to “close” the lesson? / The class should re-visit the aim/objective or initial question to determine if the goal(s) were met; how will this be done?
FOLLOW-UP / What kind of follow-up activity(ies) will there be? / Will there be homework (the same night or at a later time)? If there is homework, what will it look like? How else will I have students reinforce the content/skills from this lesson? Will there be a connected lesson the next day (or next week)? How will a connection be made?
FORMAL ASSESSMENT / Will the content of this lesson be formally assessed? / Will there be a quiz/test? When? What will the questions look like?
SELF-ASSESSMENT / How did the lesson go? / What went well? What did not go well? What should I target for improvement?