Lesson Plan Template

What is the lesson plan form template?

Most teachers plan in a mix of slides, sticky notes and memory. That works until someone else needs to see the plan — a mentor, an observer, a cover teacher, or you next year when you teach the same unit again.

This template gives each lesson a consistent shape: the context, the learning objectives and success criteria, a starter, main activities and plenary, adaptations for different learners, and how learning will be checked. A reflection box at the end is there for after the lesson, which is where most of the useful notes for next time come from.

Every plan is saved as a PDF in the vault folder you choose, so a unit's lessons sit together and can be printed, shared or reused.

Who uses a lesson plan form?

• Trainee and newly qualified teachers who need to submit full plans to a mentor
• Formal plans for an observed lesson
• Building a bank of plans for a unit that can be reused next year
• Department-wide planning where everyone uses the same structure
• Tutors and adult educators planning individual sessions
• Leaving a clear plan that another teacher could pick up

Questions on this lesson plan form

29 questions over 5 pages · includes file upload, conditional questions, multiple pages.

The lesson plan form, page by page

1 Overview

The teacher enters their name, the subject and class, the date, the lesson length in minutes and the unit or topic. Optional fields record where the lesson sits in the sequence (for example 3 of 8) and any curriculum or standards reference.

2 Objectives

Required boxes hold the learning objectives and the success criteria — how students and the teacher will know the objective has been met. Optional fields cover prior knowledge and likely misconceptions, and key vocabulary.

3 Lesson sequence

The heart of the plan: a starter or hook for the first five to ten minutes, the main activities (with timings, modelling and checks along the way), and a plenary to close — all three required. A checklist records grouping (whole class, pairs, small groups, independent) and a yes/no question about homework opens a required box for the task and due date when the answer is yes.

4 Adaptations & resources

Optional boxes cover resources and materials, adaptations for students with additional needs (the help text suggests initials or plan codes if the plan will be shared), stretch and challenge, and language support. A yes/no question about support staff opens a box for their role, and a final box records health and safety notes for practical work or trips.

5 Assessment & reflection

A required checklist sets out how learning will be checked — questioning, mini whiteboards, exit ticket, quiz, peer or self-assessment, marked work, observation or something else — with a box for notes. The post-lesson reflection is filled in after teaching, and slides or worksheets can be attached as PDFs, Word documents or images.

Make the template yours

• Rename the sequence sections to match your school's lesson structure
• Make the adaptations boxes required for trainee teachers and optional for everyone else
• Add a question linking the lesson to your scheme of work or unit plan
• File plans in a folder per unit or per class so they're easy to find next year
• Add a mentor's email to notifications so trainee plans reach them automatically
• Remove sections you never use to make routine planning faster

Tips for a better lesson plan form

• Write success criteria students could understand themselves — it helps them self-assess
• Keep the main activities box practical: timings, what you'll model and what students will actually do
• Plan your checks for understanding before the lesson, not after
• Refer to individual students by initials or plan codes in a plan others will see
• Fill in the reflection the same day — it's the part you'll value most next year
• Attach the slides or worksheet so the plan is complete on its own

Lesson plan form: frequently asked questions

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Templates are a starting point. Check that the questions and any wording about consent, privacy or terms suit your situation and the rules where you are. Page last reviewed 2026-09-28.