The most important part of the lesson plan is your desired objective. Ask yourself what you want the children to learn at the end of the lesson. Once you know the goal of the lesson, you can choose your topic. Once you have your topic, you can determine the best way to present the information to your students. Use the objective to plan the introduction, body and conclusion of your subject to create a well-rounded lesson plan that imparts a thorough understanding of the subject matter.
A lesson plan falls through quickly if you overextend the resources of your classroom or base it around resources you don’t have. For example, when completing a lesson plan on geography, you must have access to a map or globe for your students to reference different geographical locations. If you do not have a geographical tool or the ability to get one for your class, you need to reconfigure your lesson plan before you deliver the assignment to the students.
As a teacher, you are an intelligent adult with an intellect that may surpass the students in your class until they reach higher grade levels. Be sensitive to the intellectual state of your students and create a lesson plan to constructively challenge the minds of your students without leaving them baffled. For example, if you teach a kindergarten class, create biology lesson plans using simple language and examples children can see. If you cover the subject of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly, use simple language and visual aids to help the children understand the process instead of using complicated scientific terms. Determining the ability for your children to work together is also important. If you feel your students aren’t responsible enough for group work, focus on single-person lesson plans.
The school day is much too short to cover many subjects in detail. The school year has a limited amount of time as well. Budget your precious time carefully on each lesson plan. Understand that a group of children will work slowly at times, so budget more time than you think is necessary for the lesson plan. This helps accommodate delays caused by low class interest and gives you valuable time for review if you find yourself ahead of schedule.