Key points
- A good lesson plan answers three questions: what students will learn, how they will learn it, and how you will know they learned it.
- The core parts are learning outcomes, prior knowledge, materials, introduction, teaching activities, checking for understanding, practice, assessment, homework and reflection.
- A daily plan fits on one page. A unit plan maps a whole chapter across several periods and is written first.
- Below you will find a blank template you can copy and a fully filled example for a Class 7 science period of 40 minutes.
- In large classes, plan for quick whole-class checks, pair work and a few model answers rather than one-by-one correction.
Most teachers in India keep a lesson plan notebook, but it often becomes a copying exercise: the chapter name, a few textbook lines and a signature. A useful plan is short, specific and written for the teacher who will stand in front of the class, not for the inspector.
This guide breaks a lesson plan into its parts, explains what to write in each, and gives you a blank template and a filled example. It works for state board and CBSE schools alike, and for any subject. If your school is also planning the whole year, read it alongside our guide to the school annual academic calendar, so that daily plans match the term schedule.
Why write a lesson plan at all?
An experienced teacher can walk into a class and teach without notes. But even experienced teachers benefit from five minutes of planning, because a plan forces you to decide in advance:
- exactly what students should be able to do at the end of the period;
- which examples and questions you will use, so you are not inventing them on the spot;
- how much time each part gets, so the period does not end before practice begins;
- how you will check whether the class understood, instead of assuming it.
The parts of a lesson plan
1. Learning outcomes
Write one to three outcomes that start with an action verb you can observe: identify, explain, calculate, compare, draw, label, classify, write. Avoid vague verbs like "understand" or "know", because you cannot see them happen. "Students will understand photosynthesis" is weak. "Students will name the raw materials and products of photosynthesis and write the word equation" is strong, because you can check it in the last five minutes.
Where your textbook lists chapter learning outcomes, break them into what fits one period.
2. Prior knowledge
Note what students should already know before this lesson, and how you will check it. A two-question recall at the start can save a whole period of confusion. If most students cannot answer, you know you have to reteach the base first.
3. Teaching and learning materials
List everything you need: chart, blackboard diagram, real objects, worksheet, a short video if the classroom has a projector. Low-cost materials that students can handle, such as leaves, coins and paper strips, often work better than expensive aids.
4. Introduction (engage)
Spend three to five minutes connecting the topic to something students have seen. A question, a picture, a short demonstration or a puzzle works well. The goal is to make students curious, not to give a speech.
5. Teaching activities (explain and explore)
This is the main body of the lesson. Break it into small steps. For each step, write what you will do and what students will do. If only the teacher column has entries, the lesson is a lecture. Aim for students to be doing something every few minutes: answering, drawing, discussing with a partner, or writing.
6. Checking for understanding
Plan two or three quick checks during the lesson, not only at the end. Examples:
- thumbs up, sideways or down for "I understood";
- a one-word answer written in the notebook and held up together;
- a true-or-false question that the whole class answers by standing or sitting.
7. Guided and independent practice
Students first try a problem with your help (guided), then try one alone (independent). Practice inside the class is where most learning actually happens. Protect this time when you plan.
8. Assessment
End with a short task that directly tests the learning outcomes: an exit question, three quick questions, or a labelled diagram. This is also a natural source of evidence for formative assessment. Our guide on CCE, FA and SA grading explains how such classroom evidence fits into formative assessment marks.
9. Homework
Set homework that extends the lesson, not homework that repeats the whole chapter. One focused task done properly beats ten questions copied from a guide book.
10. Reflection
After the class, write two or three lines: what worked, what did not, and what you will change or repeat next period. This is the part most teachers skip, and it is the part that makes the next plan better.
Blank lesson plan template
Copy this table into a notebook or a document. Each daily plan should fit on one page.
| Section | What to write |
|---|---|
| Class, section, subject | |
| Chapter and topic | |
| Date and period length | |
| Learning outcomes (1 to 3) | Students will be able to... |
| Prior knowledge and recall check | |
| Materials | |
| Introduction (time) | |
| Teaching activities (time): teacher does / students do | |
| Checks for understanding | |
| Practice: guided and independent (time) | |
| Assessment / exit task (time) | |
| Homework | |
| Support for students who need help / challenge for fast learners | |
| Reflection (fill after class) |
Filled example: Class 7 Science, 40-minute period
This example uses a common Class 7 topic: how green plants make their food. Adjust the wording to match your own textbook.
| Section | Plan |
|---|---|
| Class, subject | Class 7, Science |
| Topic | Photosynthesis: how green plants make food |
| Period length | 40 minutes |
| Learning outcomes | Students will be able to (1) name the raw materials needed for photosynthesis (carbon dioxide, water, sunlight, chlorophyll); (2) name the products (glucose and oxygen); (3) write the word equation. |
| Prior knowledge | Plants need water and sunlight; leaves are green. Recall check: "Where does a plant take water from? Why are most leaves green?" |
| Materials | Fresh green leaves from the school campus, a potted plant, blackboard diagram of a leaf, chalk in two colours, exit slips (small paper strips). |
| Introduction (5 min) | Ask: "We eat food to get energy. A mango tree never eats. Where does it get its food from?" Take four or five answers without correcting. Write the best guesses on the board. |
| Teaching activity 1 (8 min) | Teacher: draws a leaf, labels the stomata and explains that air enters through tiny pores. Students: pass leaves around in rows and look at the underside; copy the diagram. |
| Teaching activity 2 (8 min) | Teacher: builds the word equation on the board step by step, one ingredient at a time, asking the class to guess the next one. Students: say each ingredient aloud and write the equation in notebooks. |
| Check for understanding (3 min) | True or false, students stand for true: "Plants take in oxygen to make food." "Chlorophyll traps sunlight." Ask two students chosen at random to explain their answer. |
| Guided practice (6 min) | In pairs, students fill in a blank equation drawn on the board: ___ + ___ (in sunlight, with chlorophyll) gives ___ + ___. Teacher walks along rows and corrects common mistakes aloud for everyone. |
| Exit task (6 min) | On a slip: (1) Name two raw materials. (2) Name the gas released. (3) Why will a plant kept in a dark room for many days become weak? Collect slips at the door. |
| Homework (15 min) | Draw a labelled diagram showing what goes into a leaf and what comes out. Write the word equation below it. |
| Support and challenge | Support: seat two students who struggled in the recall check near the front and give them a partly filled equation. Challenge: ask fast finishers why desert plants have small or spiny leaves. |
| Reflection (after class) | Example entry: "About two thirds answered Q3 well. Many confused oxygen and carbon dioxide. Start next period with a two-minute recap using arrows: in and out." |
The plan adds up to 36 minutes, leaving four minutes for settling down and attendance.
Daily plans vs unit plans
A unit plan covers a whole chapter or theme. Write it before you start the chapter. It lists the chapter outcomes, periods available, the topic for each period, key activities and the chapter test date. A unit plan prevents the common problem of spending eight periods on the first half of a chapter and rushing the rest in two.
A daily plan is the one-page plan for a single period, taken from the unit plan and adjusted after each reflection.
| Unit plan | Daily plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | One chapter or theme | One period |
| When written | Before starting the chapter | The day before the class |
| Main purpose | Pacing and sequence | Activities, checks and timing |
The number of periods you can give each chapter depends on your weekly timetable. Our school timetable guide explains how to allocate periods across subjects.
Tips for large classes
Many budget schools have 40 to 60 students in a section. You cannot check every notebook every period, so plan differently:
- Use whole-class responses. Mini whiteboards, slates or a page held up together let you scan 50 answers in ten seconds.
- Use pair work. Pairs sitting together can check each other's work. Rotate pairs every few weeks.
- Correct common errors aloud. As you walk around, note the two most frequent mistakes and explain them to the whole class at once.
- Use random selection. Pick students using roll numbers on paper slips so that quiet students also get asked.
- Check a sample. Collect notebooks from one row each day and rotate rows across the week.
Exit tasks also give you specific evidence about each student for term-end remarks. See our guide on report card comments for teachers for examples.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a daily lesson plan be?
Half a page to one page is enough. If it is longer, you are probably copying content from the textbook. The plan should list outcomes, activities with times, checks, practice, homework and a short reflection.
Is there a fixed official lesson plan format?
Formats vary by school, board and teacher training programme. Many schools follow their own format. If your school or department has prescribed one, use it, but make sure it still covers outcomes, activities, checks and reflection.
What if I cannot finish the plan in one period?
That is normal. Note where you stopped in the reflection and start the next period with a short recap. If it happens every day, your unit plan probably has too much content per period.
How should principals review lesson plans?
Look for clear outcomes, student activity and an end-of-lesson check, rather than neat handwriting or length. Occasional classroom visits that compare the plan with the actual lesson are more useful than signing notebooks.
