A lesson plan is a written description for teaching. It helps to think through how and what you will be teaching.

It is important to be clear about what you want the child to learn, how the child can demonstrate the learning, how you will assess the learning, what you do, what the child does, and the material you need.

A lesson plan should be written clearly and thoroughly enough so that someone who reads you plan could follow it and teach the children.

Our department has created a lesson plan template that students will be using unless your instructor specifies other. The lesson plan can be found on website and you can ask your instructor for a copy.

It is important that your lesson plan is completed prior to conducting it with children.

Components of a lesson plan:

Goal: Goals are broad. What is the concept you want the children to learn.

Learning Objective: Objectives must be measurable. You have to be able to observe what the child does so that you can make an inference about the child's learning. It is a description of a performance you want the children to be able to exhibit. What is it you want the children to be able to do at the end of your lesson or activity?
Step 1: Each object will begin with The child will....
Step 2: Connect step 1 with an action verb which communicates what the children will do. Use verbs which describe an action that can be observed and is measurable within the teaching time frame.

Sample Verbs Table

Knowledge	Comprehension	Application	Analysis	Synthesis	Evaluation
define	classify	demonstrate	categorize	arrange	assess
identify	discuss	perform	classify	assemble	compare
match	describe	practice	compare	compose	measure
name	explain	predict	contrast	construct	decide
recall	identify	use		design	judge
recognize	recognize			develop	select
repeat	summarize
select

 

Materials: Include all the materials and or equipment you need to carry out the lesson/activity.

Introduction: How will you introduce the activity so that it gets the children's attention and makes them excited about doing the activity? It is short and focuses on getting the children's attention. You might use a surprise box or a puppet.

Procedures: Step by step what to do to accomplish your activity. Be specific on what you do as part of the procedure and what the child does.

Reflection: Reflect on the activity you taught and ask yourself, "Were the learning objectives met? What evidence do you have for this? How did the children respond to the activity? What would you change if you did again? What do you need to plan for next time?

Opportunities for Extension: How can you relate this activity/lesson to other areas of the curriculum?