A scheme of work is usually seen as being distinct from a lesson plan, because the lesson plan goes into detail about what will be taught in a particular lesson while a scheme of work covers an entire course and lists only a few key points to be covered. However, some scheme of work models can be applied on a short-term, medium-term or long-term scale. In this case, a short-term scheme of work is essentially the same as a lesson plan. A short-term scheme can be created by simply adding notes to an existing medium-term plan on an as-needed basis, or it can be a thorough and detailed plan with instructions on specific topics and information to be covered.
Medium-term schemes of work include information on the vocabulary the students will be expected to learn in the course, the course objectives and where the course fits into the school's overall curriculum, a list of available resources the teacher can work with and a list of expectations for the students. These can include annotations accounting for lower-performing students as well as for gifted students who are able to grasp more advanced concepts.
Long-term schemes of work are used to situate the teacher's own short- and medium-term planning within the school's broader plans. For example if the school has an outline of what students are expected to learn in History within a two-year time period, the teacher can design a scheme of work that will fit into this framework and contribute to it. The long-term plan does not go into a great deal of detail. Instead, it specifies broad topics that will be covered at certain points. This allows the individual teachers to customize schemes of work as needed in order to best address the broad topics in the long-term plan.
Schemes of work are often organized on a class by class basis. For example, if a particular course is broken up into 30 lessons, the scheme of work will specify what topics are to be covered in each individual lesson from one to 30. Although this type of scheme does not go into as much detail per lesson as a lesson plan, it still provides an organizational framework for every lesson in the course. Some teachers plan the scheme of work on a minute by minute basis, while others prefer to leave time for changes and improvisations.