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Solid lesson plans are the building blocks of a successful school year. They keep you organized and on schedule, ensure you’re addressing all student needs, and allow you to track progress with objective-aligned assessments. That’s a lot for one document to do!

Find out how to lesson plan for new teachers with straightforward and helpful steps. From year-at-a-glance unit plans to templates for charting out daily activities, we’ve found the best resources to add to your teaching toolbox, making lesson planning more efficient and valuable to your instruction.

1. Start with 1 essential question

Every good lesson plan begins with an essential question, also known as an EQ or a driving question. Essential questions should be open-ended, meaning that there’s no right or wrong answer to them. Examples of essential questions include:

• How can we use counting in our everyday lives?
• What does friendship mean to you?
• What can we do to keep our bodies healthy?
• How did the Industrial Revolution impact our lives today?

Essential questions can be limited to one lesson at a time, or they can be overarching inquiries that stretch over entire units. They’re a good way to keep both you and your students focused on what they really want to learn in your upcoming lesson.

Use lesson plan templates to stay organized

Tired of drafting out multi-page lesson plans every time you plan a complex activity? Use lesson plan templates to structure your daily activities, objectives, classroom management strategies, and any other elements of a lesson you’d like to include.

Teacher Planner | EDITABLE Digital & Printable Binder | 2023-2026 FREE UPDATES!
By Mandy Neal
Grades: K-5th

For a comprehensive at-a-glance teacher planner, look no further than this editable elementary resource in both digital and printable formats. It includes six different pre-dated lesson plan layouts, premade digital stickers, two grade book options, and places to list student profiles and contact information, along with field trip forms, IEPs, class management plans, and substitute reports.

Lesson & Unit Plan Templates for Middle or High School | TPT
By Michele Luck’s Social Studies
Grades: 6th-12th

Make lesson planning a quick and easy process with pre-designed lesson plan templates for middle and high school class periods. The resource breaks down a 15-day unit plan into daily lessons and activities, along with spaces for aligned standards, objects, exit slips, and essential questions.

2. Set only 1 or 2 learning objectives per lesson

If the initialism SWBAT looks familiar to you, your teacher education program prepared you well! SWBAT stands for “Students Will Be Able To …” and refers to the skills that students should be able to demonstrate by the time they finish your lesson. You only need one or two main learning objectives for your lesson plan, as too many goals can lead to an unfocused lesson.

Follow the SMART technique to write effective learning objectives:

• Specific: Connected to a clear goal
• Measurable: Can be assessed and measured
• Achievable: Realistic for the time period and student abilities
• Relevant: Relates to the rest of the unit and course
• Timely: Has a clear time period and deadline

💡Pro Tip: A common mistake new teachers make with learning objectives is using the words “understand” or “know” (as in “Students will understand” or Students will know”). Stick to skills that students can display and that you can assess, such as “Students will be able to write a full sentence” or “Students will be able to add fractions without making errors.”

Put your learning objectives on display

Students may not be able to see your daily lesson plan, but they can still benefit from seeing their learning objectives! Set up a space in your classroom to display both short and long-term learning objectives, and have a conversation with students about each one before you begin the lesson.

Learning Objectives Display – Editable Learning Targets Bulletin Board | Decor
By Learning in Wonderland 

Do your students know why they’re working on today’s lesson? Help them take ownership of their own learning with a learning objectives bulletin board. This resource includes everything you need to properly (and decoratively!) display the learning objectives for students to track the skills they’re working on.

3. Put the lesson into the context of your class

Context matters everywhere, and your lesson plan is no exception. You may know the members of your class well, but what would an observer need to know if they were watching your lesson? Keep these questions in mind as you plan a lesson, and note their answers in your lesson plan.

• What is the grade level?
• How many students are in the class?
• What special population considerations are you considering? (English language learners, students with special needs, etc.)
• Is the lesson part of a larger unit?
• What do students already know about this topic?

You can also write about the future lessons that will follow this one, if it falls within a larger unit. If you’re reteaching or reviewing a concept, that would be important information to include in your lesson plan as well.

Keep English language learners in mind as you plan

Whether you’re teaching a mainstream class with English language learners or a dedicated ELL class, you know that your instruction needs to be accessible to everyone in your classroom. Use ELL lesson plan templates to ensure you’re keeping fluency goals in mind throughout the lesson planning process.

ESL Lesson Plan Templates: ELL Resources, Beginner ESL Plans, ESL Google Slides
By Inspiring Young Learners — Beth Vaucher

Address the needs of the English learners in your classroom with ready-to-go lesson plan templates. The resource covers six key components for an EL-focused lesson, including background knowledge and incorporating student conversation, and provides several tips and ideas for lesson differentiation.

4. Connect to the learning standards for the subject and your region

Each lesson you teach should connect to one or more learning standards, such as your individual district standards or the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). These standards may directly connect to your learning objective, or they may address another skill that students need to master.

If you’re struggling to find a way to link your lesson to learning standards, consider these options:

• Unpack the standards in your subject area, so you understand what skills each one addresses.
• Use umbrella standards instead of more specific bulleted options.
• Choose a goal standard or standards for your entire unit, and address different elements of it throughout each lesson.
• See if the curriculum or assessments you’re using have aligned standards that you can connect to the rest of the lesson.

💡Pro Tip: It’s tempting to list every standard that’s relevant to your lesson, but try to limit your lesson plan to the most specific standards possible. (There’s no extra credit for hitting ten standards in one lesson!)

Follow the data to track learning standards

Imagine a parent conference where you can show a student’s progress toward learning standards in just one page! Turn the dream into a reality with tracking checklists and spreadsheets that keep assessment data all in one convenient place.

EDITABLE Standards Progression Checklists | Class Checklist | Google Sheets
By Lone Star Classroom

Set your goals in black and white with editable standards checklists for any grade. Seven preformatted checklists in both PowerPoint and Google Slides versions allow you to input your class roster, determine standards to prioritize, and track individual student progress alongside your lesson planning process.

5. Compile a list of lesson materials

What will you need to complete this lesson successfully? Sometimes called the Anticipitatory Set, this section in your lesson plan should include physical and digital materials required to assist students in meeting their goals. Remember to include supplies like:

• Worksheets
• Workbooks
• Textbooks
• Laptops or tablets
• Manipulatives
• Internet connection
• Whiteboard and markers
• Art supplies (crayons, paper, scissors, etc.)
• Assessment tools (rubrics, peer checklists, etc.)
• Differentiation materials (large-print worksheets, fidgets, etc.)

Listing all the materials for the lesson helps you predict what you’ll need to have ready and keeps the rest of the planning process on track. For example, if you’ll need a class set of worksheets for your lesson, listing it in your lesson plan will remind you to make the copies before the lesson begins. (There’s nothing worse than starting class without copies!)

6. Include necessary vocabulary words

Your lesson may not be a vocabulary activity, but it involves vocabulary words nonetheless! From subject-specific words like “ecosystem” or “denominator” to academic vocabulary like “expository writing,” make a list of words that students should know in order for your lesson to be successful.

These words don’t need to be vocabulary that they’ll learn during the lesson, but they can be. If students don’t know some of the words on the list, consider frontloading them as part of the introduction of your lesson. You can also include them in vocabulary lists for prior weeks, or you can take a quick assessment before the lesson begins to test their general understanding.

7. List step-by-step procedures

When most teachers think of a lesson plan, the procedure section is likely what comes to mind first. Each step in your lesson plan should come with the estimated time it will take, the materials you’ll need to distribute, and what students should be doing along with what you’re doing.

The main procedures in your lesson plan can fall into these categories:

• Introduction: How you introduce the lesson (bell ringers, warm-ups, daily grammar practice, etc.)
• Direct Instruction: The part of your lesson when you’re directly teaching
• Guided Practice: Activities where students join in the instruction (such as class discussion or group sharing)
• Independent Practice: Student-led activities that demonstrate their understanding
• Closure: How you end the lesson (exit tickets, homework assignments, etc.)

💡Pro Tip: Depending on how long your lesson period is, try to spend more time on guided practice and independent practice than direct instruction. The introduction and closure activities should also be on the shorter side (around 5-10 minutes each).

8. Add differentiation strategies to every lesson

Lesson planning skills are part of the National Council on Teacher Quality standards, and that includes accommodating all student needs. Successful differentiation strategies make your instruction accessible to each student, meeting their individual skill requirements while staying on track in your lesson.

If you’re teaching a large mainstream class with a variety of different needs, keep these differentiation options in mind as you plan your lessons:

• Use educational tools and software to find reading materials that address the same topic in a range of reading levels.
• Scaffold each lesson carefully with many supportive steps, even if it includes stretching a one-period lesson over two days.
• Create tiered assignments that allow struggling and advanced students to begin in different parts of a lesson, but achieve the same results.
• Use independent practice time during your lesson to help struggling students, while more independent learners complete work on their own.

You can make differentiation its own category in your lesson plan, or you can include notes on differentiation strategies within the procedure section. It depends on how much you’re planning on adjusting your instruction.

Organize your special education daily schedule

Special Education Editable Lesson Plan Template – PowerPoint and Google Slides
By Traci Bender – The Bender Bunch
Grades: PreK-12th

Organize your day and track daily priorities with a resource designed for students in special education. With clear procedure lists, daily routines, and group schedules, this customizable resource keeps your classroom running efficiently without needing a 20-page lesson plan.

9. Link your assessment to the objective

Whether your assessment is a formal exam or a quick show of hands at the end of the period, you’ll need some way to check for understanding. The assessment you include in your lesson plan should be directly linked to the skills listed in your objectives and standards. For example:

• If students are working on converting decimals, the assessment could be an independent decimals worksheet.
• For classes working on reading comprehension skills, you may collect an exit ticket in which they summarize the plot of a short story read in class.
• Take an informal survey on what students know about a concept at the beginning of class (such as in a KWL chart) and return to the discussion at the end of the lesson.
• Have students tell you one fact they learned about the scientific process you discussed in class.

You’ll also need to decide whether you’re using a formative assessment (ongoing checks for understanding) or a summative assessment (a final assessment at the end of a unit). Use the results of your chosen assessment to guide the next steps in your unit plan and to incorporate any missed skills into your next lesson plan.

10. Evaluate the lesson’s success

It’s important to reflect on all parts of your lesson, from classroom management to each part of your procedure list. This part of your plan should remain blank until after you’ve taught the lesson, and can answer questions like:

• What went well in the lesson?
• What would you do differently next time?
• Were students engaged in each step?
• How was your time management?
• Did you have the right materials?
• What does the assessment data tell me about my lesson?

The most important part of a lesson reflection is whether your students met the lesson objectives. Did they demonstrate proficiency in the skills, or do they need more practice? When can you try to teach those missed skills again?

Unit Planning Tips for New Teachers

Planning one lesson is straightforward enough, but how do seasoned teachers stay organized across many lessons? Follow these tips for making long-term unit plans that include a new lesson every day.

• Plan as far in advance as possible. You don’t need to plan out the entire school year, but planning at least a month in advance is advisable for new teachers.
• Stay flexible. If you’re reflecting on your lessons, you’ll need to find room for improvement and ways to reinforce new skills in future lessons.
• Use backward mapping. Start from the end of the unit and work backward. Where do you want students to be, and how will you get them there?
• Stay skills-focused. Learning and honing skills is the most important of any lesson, so make sure your lessons focus on skills rather than content.
• Plan with your colleagues. New teachers need a team! Work with your department and mentors to glean expertise and plan an airtight unit.
• Give yourself objectives, too. You know what your students should be able to do, but what about you? Add objectives for your own teaching in your unit planning (such as “Get the class quiet in one minute” or “Have all my copies ready a week in advance”).

Map out the year with templates and auxiliary materials

If planning out the school year seems daunting, you’ll want the very best resources to guide you through. Use straightforward and easy-to-use mapping templates to ensure your students are hitting their standards and learning the skills they need to succeed.

Curriculum Map Template, Long Range Plans, Scope and Sequence 2025-2026 Calendar
By SmooresDoor

Take a bird’s-eye view of your academic year with a curriculum map that organizes lesson plans by subject, months, and units. Editable and available in both color and black and white, this resource lets you create a long-range plan in a year-at-a-glance format to tie your curriculum together across multiple grading periods.

Gain lesson planning confidence with TPT

Your students may not get a peek at your planning book, but they’ll know how organized it is by seeing how efficiently you run their class. Keep your instructions clear, your assessments connected to objectives, and your procedures straightforward, and you and your students can enjoy a pleasant year together!

Check out more lesson plan templates for more pointers on how to lesson plan for new teachers. And for ideas on staying organized in your first year of teaching, take a look at our guide on how classroom organization cultivates an enriching learning environment.