GCU College of Education

LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Section 1: Lesson Preparation

Teacher Candidate
Name:

Grade Level:

Date:

Unit/Subject:

Instructional Plan Title:

Lesson Summary and In 2-3 sentences, summarize the lesson, identifying the central focus
Focus: based on the content and skills you are teaching.

Classroom and Student Describe the important classroom factors (demographics and
Factors/Grouping: environment) and student factors (IEPs, 504s, ELLs, students with
behavior concerns, gifted learners), and the effect of those factors on
planning, teaching, and assessing students to facilitate learning for all
students. This should be limited to 2-3 sentences and the information
should inform the differentiation components of the lesson.

National/State Learning Review national and state standards to become familiar with the standards
Standards: you will be working with in the classroom environment.

Your goal in this section is to identify the standards that are the focus of
the lesson being presented. Standards must address learning initiatives
from one or more content areas, as well as align with the lesson’s learning
targets/objectives and assessments.

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LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Include the standards with the performance indicators and the standard
language in its entirety.

Specific Learning Learning objectives are designed to identify what the teacher intends to
Target(s)/Objectives: measure in learning. These must be aligned with the standards. When
creating objectives, a learner must consider the following:

 Who is the audience

 What action verb will be measured during instruction/assessment

 What tools or conditions are being used to meet the learning

What is being assessed in the lesson must align directly to the objective
created. This should not be a summary of the lesson, but a measurable
statement demonstrating what the student will be assessed on at the
completion of the lesson. For instance, “understand” is not measureable,
but “describe” and “identify” are.

For example:

Given an unlabeled map outlining the 50 states, students will accurately

label all state names.

Academic Language In this section, include a bulleted list of the general academic vocabulary
and content-specific vocabulary you need to teach. In a few sentences,
describe how you will teach students those terms in the lesson.

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GCU College of Education
LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Resources, Materials, List all resources, materials, equipment, and technology you and the
Equipment, and students will use during the lesson. As required by your instructor, add or
Technology: attach copies of ALL printed and online materials at the end of this
template. Include links needed for online resources.

Section 2: Instructional Planning

Anticipatory Set Time

Needed
Your goal in this section is to open the lesson by activating students’ prior knowledge, linking
previous learning with what they will be learning in this lesson and gaining student interest for the
lesson. Consider various learning preferences (movement, music, visuals) as a tool to engage
interest and motivate learners for the lesson.
In a bulleted list, describe the materials and activities you will use to open the lesson. Bold any
materials you will need to prepare for the lesson.

For example:
 I will use a visual of the planet Earth and ask students to describe what Earth looks
like.
 I will record their ideas on the white board and ask more questions about the amount of
water they think is on planet Earth and where the water is located.

Multiple Means of Representation Time

Needed
Learners perceive and comprehend information differently. Your goal in this section is to explain

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GCU College of Education
LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

how you would present content in various ways to meet the needs of different learners. For
example, you may present the material using guided notes, graphic organizers, video or other
visual media, annotation tools, anchor charts, hands-on manipulatives, adaptive technologies,
etc.
In a bulleted list, describe the materials you will use to differentiate instruction and how you will
use these materials throughout the lesson to support learning. Bold any materials you will need
to prepare for the lesson.

For example:
 I will use a Venn diagram graphic organizer to teach students how to compare and
contrast the two main characters in the read-aloud story.
 I will model one example on the white board before allowing students to work on the
Venn diagram graphic organizer with their elbow partner.

Explain how you will differentiate materials for each of the following groups:

 English language learners (ELL):

 Students with special needs:

 Students with gifted abilities:

 Early finishers (those students who finish early and may need additional
resources/support):

Multiple Means of Engagement Time

Needed
Your goal for this section is to outline how you will engage students in interacting with the content
and academic language. How will students explore, practice, and apply the content? For

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GCU College of Education
LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

example, you may engage students through collaborative group work, Kagan cooperative
learning structures, hands-on activities, structured discussions, reading and writing activities,
experiments, problem solving, etc.
In a bulleted list, describe the activities you will engage students in to allow them to explore,
practice, and apply the content and academic language. Bold any activities you will use in the
lesson. Also, include formative questioning strategies and higher order thinking questions you
might pose.

For example:
 I will use a matching card activity where students will need to find a partner with a card
that has an answer that matches their number sentence.
 I will model one example of solving a number sentence on the white board before having
students search for the matching card.
 I will then have the partner who has the number sentence explain to their partner how
they got the answer.

Explain how you will differentiate activities for each of the following groups:
 English language learners (ELL):

 Students with special needs:

 Students with gifted abilities:

 Early finishers (those students who finish early and may need additional
resources/support):

© 2018. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.

GCU College of Education
LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Multiple Means of Expression Time

Needed
Learners differ in the ways they navigate a learning environment and express what they know.
Your goal in this section is to explain the various ways in which your students will demonstrate
what they have learned. Explain how you will provide alternative means for response, selection,
and composition to accommodate all learners. Will you tier any of these products? Will you offer
students choices to demonstrate mastery? This section is essentially differentiated assessment.
In a bulleted list, explain the options you will provide for your students to express their knowledge
about the topic. For example, students may demonstrate their knowledge in more summative
ways through a short answer or multiple-choice test, multimedia presentation, video, speech to
text, website, written sentence, paragraph, essay, poster, portfolio, hands-on project, experiment,
reflection, blog post, or skit. Bold the names of any summative assessments.
Students may also demonstrate their knowledge in ways that are more formative. For example,
students may take part in thumbs up-thumbs middle-thumbs down, a short essay or drawing, an
entrance slip or exit ticket, mini-whiteboard answers, fist to five, electronic quiz games, running
records, four corners, or hand raising. Underline the names of any formative assessments.
For example:
Students will complete a one-paragraph reflection on the in-class simulation they experienced.
They will be expected to write the reflection using complete sentences, proper capitalization and
punctuation, and utilize an example from the simulation to demonstrate their understanding.
Students will also take part in formative assessments throughout the lesson, such as thumbs up-
thumbs middle-thumbs down and pair-share discussions, where you will determine if you need to
re-teach or re-direct learning.

Explain if you will differentiate assessments for each of the following groups:
 English language learners (ELL):

 Students with special needs:

 Students with gifted abilities:

 Early finishers (those students who finish early and may need additional
resources/support):

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GCU College of Education
LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Extension Activity and/or Homework Time

Needed
Identify and describe any extension activities or homework tasks as appropriate. Explain how the
extension activity or homework assignment supports the learning targets/objectives. As required
by your instructor, attach any copies of homework at the end of this template.

Rationale/Reflection
After writing your complete lesson plan, explain three instructional strategies you included in your
lesson and why. How do these strategies promote collaboration, communication, critical thinking,
and creativity? Bold the name of the strategy.

For example:
.
 Think-Pair-Share promotes engagement, communication, and collaboration because all
students get a chance to share their ideas or answers. This is beneficial to students
because they get to put their ideas into words, and hear and discuss the perspectives of
others.

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