There are hundreds of strategies for designing lesson plans, and you might already have some of your own that you prefer. No matter which style or type of plan you use, the key is to have a plan. You might be able to teach without one, and that's an excellent skill to have. However, if you have a plan at all times, then you'll be in better shape to get where you're going and to handle the unexpected. A lesson plan provides you with a clear, concise map of what you will teach on a given day and how you will do it. Good plans include enough information to completely implement the lesson and may include some or all of the following points: Title Subject Grade Level Related Standards General Goals Learning Objectives Materials Needed Time Required for Lesson Entry-level Skills or Knowledge Special Vocabulary Advanced Organizers Steps to implement the lesson Background Information about the Topic Discussion and Analysis Questions Conclusions Tests or Assessments Other Resources Notes to Yourself about How Effectively It Worked When you design plans for your own classroom use, you may decide to use all of the items in the list above, or just a few of them, or others that work best for you. It can really help a great deal though to use a consistent form for all your lessons. It will make it easier to search through them when you are looking for something in particular and it will speed up writing plans. The key is to make it easy to find lessons you have done in the past that have worked well. That way you build on your success and use similar techniques in creating new lesson plans. There are also thousands of lesson plans available in books and on the Internet that can be adapted to your needs. Take a look at Sample Lesson Plans by clicking here.