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Simple Lesson Plan Template

Fill in just the essentials: objective, materials, steps, how you'll check learning and how you'll close. Skip the rest; empty boxes don't print.

Your plans save automatically in this browser only. Nothing is sent to us or anyone else. Don't enter students' personal details.

The standards the lesson addresses: Common Core or state standard codes, with a short description.

What students will be able to do by the end. Start with a measurable verb: "Students will be able to…"

Everything you need to prepare: texts, slides, manipulatives, handouts, tech.

Words students need to understand and use.

A short opener that grabs attention and connects to prior learning.

Lesson procedure

Each step with its timing: direct instruction, guided practice, independent work.

Support, extension, English learners, IEP/504 accommodations. Describe groups and needs, not named students.

How you will know they met the objective: exit ticket, observation, quiz, work sample.

How students sum up what they learned before they leave.

Optional practice or an extension task.

What worked, what to change, who needs a re-teach.

Save and share

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    Week

    Plans appear on the day set in their Date box. Click a plan to open it.

    The five things every simple lesson plan needs

    1. Objective: what students will be able to do.
    2. Materials: what to prepare.
    3. Steps: what happens, in order, with rough timings.
    4. Check: how you'll know they got it.
    5. Close: how the lesson ends.

    A simple lesson plan is not a lesser plan. If you can say what students will learn, how they'll learn it and how you'll check, you have a plan. Detail can come later for observed lessons or substitutes.

    A simple plan, filled in

    This plan uses only five sections. Everything else was left empty, so it isn't in the printout.

    Standard lesson plan (US)

    Ratios in a recipe

    SubjectMathGrade6
    DateLength45 minutes

    Learning objectives

    Students will be able to use ratio language to describe and scale a recipe.

    Materials and resources

    Pancake recipe card, ratio tables worksheet

    Warm-up / hook (5 min)

    If 2 cups of flour make 8 pancakes, how many cups do we need for 24?

    Lesson procedure

    TimeActivity
    10 minIntroduce ratio language with the recipe: "for every 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of milk".
    15 minPairs double and triple the recipe in a ratio table.
    10 minIndependent: scale a second recipe.

    Assessment

    Exit ticket: write one ratio from the recipe two ways.

    Closure (5 min)

    Share answers to the hook question.

    Planned time: 45 minutes of 45

    Frequently asked questions

    What is the simplest lesson plan format?

    Objective, activities and assessment. Most teachers add materials and a closing activity, which is what the simple plan above shows.

    Can I hide the sections I don't use?

    Empty sections are left out of printouts, PDFs and Word files automatically, so a short plan stays short.

    Other lesson plan templates

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