What are the parts of a lesson plan?

A header with class, date and length; the standard; one observable objective with success criteria; materials; an opening; teaching and modeling; guided and independent practice; a check for understanding; a closing task such as an exit ticket; differentiation and accommodations; and a short reflection. Each block carries minutes that add up to the period.

How long should a lesson plan be?

Long enough for someone else to teach from it, short enough to use. As a working rule, a daily plan runs one to two pages, a weekly plan one page, a unit plan two to four, and a substitute plan two to three. If your school or program sets a format or length, follow it.

What is the difference between a lesson plan and a unit plan?

A lesson plan covers one lesson, minute by minute: objective, activities, check and closing. A unit plan covers a sequence of lessons on one topic over two to six weeks: the big idea, the standards, the final assessment and the order of lessons. Daily lessons are written from the unit plan, not the other way round.

What are the 5 E's in a 5E lesson plan?

Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate. Students meet a question and explore it before the teacher gives the formal explanation, then apply the idea to a new case and show what they learned. BSCS, the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, developed the model in 1987, and some versions call the fourth phase Extend.

What are the steps of the Madeline Hunter lesson plan?

Anticipatory set, objective and purpose, input, modeling, checking for understanding, guided practice, independent practice and closure; published lists run to seven or eight steps. Madeline Hunter, principal of UCLA's laboratory school from 1962 to 1982, developed the model and did not intend every lesson to use every element.

What is backward design in lesson planning?

Backward design plans from the end: first the results students should reach, then the evidence that will show they reached them, and only then the lessons and activities. Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe set it out in Understanding by Design, published by ASCD in 1998. Template 6 on this page follows its three stages.

What should a substitute lesson plan include?

The daily schedule and duties, class lists and seating charts, how to take attendance, classroom routines, emergency procedures and where the emergency folder is, who to ask for help, step-by-step lessons with minutes and where the materials are, an early-finisher task, and a stand-alone lesson in case the day's plan goes missing.

Is there a lesson plan template in Google Docs?

Yes. Google Docs offers ready-made templates under File, New, From a template. You can also paste any template from this page into a document, keep it as a master and choose File, Make a copy each week. In Word for Windows, save it once as a Word Template and start each plan from File, New, Personal.

Can I use AI to write lesson plans?

Check your district's policy first. Where AI is allowed, use it for a first draft and check every standard code, fact and timing yourself. England's Department for Education lists lesson planning among uses of generative AI, but says the professional who produced a document stays responsible for it and recommends keeping pupils' personal data out.

Can NOXI make a lesson plan template for me?

Yes. Choose the Document format, give the grade, subject, objective and minutes, and name the sections, and NOXI writes and designs the plan, then exports Word with editable pages, or PDF. Ask by chat for a blank version for your team. The Presentation format turns the plan into lesson slides. The free plan covers five documents a month.

Lesson Plan Template: 8 Formats for Teachers (2026)

Lesson plan template, NOXI guide cover: eight fill-in lesson plan formats for teachers, from a daily plan and a weekly grid to a unit plan, the 5E and Madeline Hunter models, backward design, a substitute plan and a one-page plan

Disclosure: NOXI publishes this guide and is one of the tools it mentions. Every template below works on paper, in Google Docs or in Word, and none of them needs NOXI.

Lesson plan template: a plan names the objective and standard, the materials, an opening, teaching and practice with minutes, a check for understanding and a closing task. Below are 8 full templates with filled examples: daily, weekly, unit, 5E, Madeline Hunter, backward design, substitute and one page. Sources checked 9 November 2026.

Each template is plain text with [brackets] to fill, a fill-in tip and a short filled example on a real standard. Pick by how far ahead you plan: one lesson, a week, a unit, or a day someone else teaches your class.

In short

The partsAn objective tied to a standard, materials, an opening, teaching, practice, a check for understanding, a closing task and differentiation. All eight formats keep them; only the order changes.
8 formatsThree by planning span (daily, weekly, unit), three by teaching model (5E, Madeline Hunter, backward design) and two for special days (substitute, one page).
Who made the modelsBSCS developed the 5E model in 1987 [1]; Madeline Hunter developed hers as principal of UCLA's laboratory school, 1962 to 1982 [3]; Wiggins and McTighe published backward design in 1998 [2].
Write it in orderThe closing task first, then the objective it proves, then a time on every block, adding up to the period.
How to copyPaste a template box into Google Docs or Word and replace the words in [brackets].
Check firstYour school's required format, the exact standard code, IEP and 504 accommodations, lab safety and your district's AI policy come before this page.

Find your format, then jump to its full text.

#	Format	Use it for	Span	Length
1	Daily lesson plan	One lesson in any subject	30 to 90 minutes	1 to 2 pages
2	Weekly lesson plan	A class week, by day and subject	5 days	1 page grid
3	Unit plan	A sequence of lessons on one topic	2 to 6 weeks	2 to 4 pages
4	5E lesson plan	Science and inquiry lessons	1 to 5 class periods	1 to 2 pages
5	Madeline Hunter lesson plan	A skill you show step by step	1 class period	1 to 2 pages
6	Backward design plan	A unit planned from the final task	2 to 6 weeks	2 to 3 pages
7	Substitute lesson plan	A day when someone else teaches	1 school day	2 to 3 pages
8	One-page lesson plan	A quick plan, a preschool activity, a coaching visit	15 to 60 minutes	1 page

A map of the eight lesson plan templates in three groups: by planning span (daily lesson plan for 30 to 90 minutes, weekly lesson plan for 5 days, unit plan for 2 to 6 weeks), by teaching model (5E lesson plan, Madeline Hunter lesson plan, backward design plan) and for special days (substitute lesson plan and one-page lesson plan), each with its span. — Eight formats in three groups. Start with how far ahead you plan, then pick a model if the lesson calls for one.

Key numbers

Six dated facts behind the formats on this page, each from its publisher, opened on 9 November 2026.

1987

the year BSCS developed the 5E Instructional Model, according to the timeline on its own history page [1]

3 stages

in backward design, from Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe (ASCD, 1998): results, evidence, then the learning plan [2]

components for teaching in the Instructional Theory into Practice model of Madeline Hunter, principal of UCLA's laboratory school from 1962 to 1982 [3]

37%

of US public K-12 teachers used AI at least monthly for preparing to teach, the task they used it for most, in Gallup's survey of 2,232 teachers in spring 2025 [6]

5.9 hrs

a week saved, on their own estimate, by teachers who use AI tools at least weekly (Gallup, published 24 June 2025) [6]

v3.0

of CAST's Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, released 30 July 2024, organised under engagement, representation, and action and expression [7]

Which lesson plan template fits: six quick routes

Pick by what you need this week. The help-page steps were checked on 9 November 2026.

If you are planning tomorrow's lesson → use template 1, or template 8 if one page is enough. Both put minutes on every block, so you see before class whether the lesson fits the period.
If you will be out → use template 7. It puts the schedule, routines, emergency procedures and step-by-step lessons in one place, with a stand-alone lesson in case the day's plan goes missing.
If you teach one class all day → use template 2 as a Google Doc: keep one master and choose File, Make a copy each Friday, as Google's help page describes [13].
If the lesson is a science investigation → use template 4, the 5E plan, so students explore before you explain; for a procedure shown step by step → template 5, Madeline Hunter.
If you are planning a unit → use template 3 for the calendar and template 6 for the thinking. In Word for Windows, save it once as a Word Template and reopen it from File, New, Personal, per Microsoft's help page [14].
If you want a first draft written and laid out → one option is NOXI's Document format: one request with grade, subject, objective and minutes, a Word file to edit, and lesson slides from its Presentation format.

What goes in a lesson plan: the parts every format shares

Definition What is a lesson plan? A lesson plan is a teacher's written plan for one lesson or a short run of lessons: what students will learn (the objective, usually tied to a standard), how the teacher will know they learned it, and the activities, materials and minutes that get them there.

The same parts run through all eight formats. A weekly plan squeezes each into a line; a unit plan stretches them across weeks.

Part	What goes in it
Header	Teacher, class, date and length
Standard	The code and short text from your state or school standards
Objective and success criteria	What students will be able to do, with a verb you can observe, then the same in students' words
Materials	Everything to prepare, and by when
Opening	A hook or warm-up that links to what students know
Teaching and modeling	What you explain and show, with a worked example
Practice	Guided first, then on their own
Check for understanding	A quick question every student answers before working alone
Closing	An exit ticket or a summary
Differentiation	Support, challenge, language help and accommodations
Reflection	Two lines after the lesson

How to write a lesson plan in 7 steps

Decide the end, then how you will see it, then the activities. These steps work for every template below.

1. Start from the standard and the end of the lesson

Copy the exact code and wording from your state's standards page. Then write the last five minutes first: what will a student do or say that shows they learned it? That is backward design in miniature: Wiggins and McTighe settle the results and the evidence before any activity [2].

2. Write one objective with a verb you can see

Use a verb you could watch happen: name, explain, solve, compare, design. In 2001 Anderson and Krathwohl revised Bloom's taxonomy from nouns to verbs: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create [10]. "Understand" alone is hard to see, so pair it with what students will do: "Students will be able to find two fractions equal to 1/2 on a number line and explain why."

3. Decide how you will check

Choose the check before the activities: an exit ticket, mini whiteboards held up at once, or a short task on a three-row rubric. Then write what you will do if many miss it.

4. Plan the minutes, and make them add up

Write a time next to every block and add them up; a 50-minute period loses minutes to arriving and packing up. A working split: about a tenth for the opening, a quarter for teaching, a third or more for practice, and the last five to ten minutes for the check and the closing task. These are editorial working rules, not research findings.

5. Plan for every learner

Write the support and the challenge into the plan. CAST's Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0 since 30 July 2024, ask for multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression [7]: say it, show it, and let students show you more than one way. Copy IEP and 504 accommodations as written, and give English learners key words with a picture.

6. Prepare materials and test the tech

List every handout, device and link. Open each link on the classroom computer the day before, and keep a paper copy of anything that needs the network.

7. Teach, then write two lines

After the lesson, write what worked, what to change, and who needs a follow-up. Those lines make next year's plan faster than any template.

A filled daily lesson plan for a 50-minute Grade 3 math lesson on equivalent fractions: standard 3.NF.A.3a and 3.NF.A.3b, an objective to find two fractions equal to one half on a number line, materials, and six timed blocks (opening 5 minutes, teach and model 12, guided practice 10, check 3, practice 13, closing exit ticket 7) adding up to 50 minutes, with differentiation notes. — Template 1, filled in. The six blocks add up to the 50-minute period, and the check comes before students work alone.

Lesson plan templates by planning span: daily, weekly and unit

Most teachers use all three at once: the unit plan sets the route, the weekly plan the week, the daily plan the minutes.

1. Daily lesson plan template (one lesson, minute by minute)

For: any grade and subject, one lesson of 30 to 90 minutes. Why it works: every block carries minutes that must add up to the period, and the check sits before independent practice, so you find out who is lost while there is time to re-teach.

Template 1 · Daily lesson plan · 1 lesson

Daily Lesson Plan · Teacher: [name] · Class: [grade, subject, period] · Date: [date] · Length: [minutes] Standard: [code and short text] Objective: Students will be able to [verb you can observe] [what] by [how you will see it]. Success criteria, in student words: I can [ ]. I can [ ]. Materials and tech: [list], ready by [when] Opening, [5] min: [a hook or warm-up that links to the last lesson] Teach and model, [10 to 15] min: [what you explain and show; one worked example] Guided practice, [10] min: [students try it with you; what you listen for] Check for understanding, [3 to 5] min: [one question every student answers]. If many miss it: [plan B] Independent or group practice, [10 to 15] min: [the task]. Early finishers: [extension] Closing, [5] min: [exit ticket or summary] Differentiation: support [ ] · challenge [ ] · English learners [ ] · IEP and 504 accommodations [as written] After the lesson: what worked, what to change, who needs a follow-up.

Fill-in tip: write the closing task first, then the objective it proves. If the minutes run over the period, cut from teaching, not from practice.

Filled example · Grade 3 math · 50 minutes

Standard: 3.NF.A.3a and 3.NF.A.3b, equivalent fractions [8] Objective: find two fractions equal to 1/2 on a number line and explain why they are equal. Opening, 5 min: Is 1/2 of a pizza more than 2/4 of the same pizza? Turn and tell. Teach and model, 12 min: fold a strip into halves, then fourths; mark 1/2 and 2/4 on one number line. Guided practice, 10 min: pairs mark 1/3 and 2/6. Check, 3 min: whiteboards up: one fraction equal to 1/2. If many miss it, fold eighths together. Practice, 13 min: number line card sort. Closing, 7 min: exit ticket: Is 3/6 equal to 1/2? Draw it. Differentiation: strips stay out for anyone; challenge: a fraction equal to 2/3 and one equal to 3/4, using sixths and eighths.

2. Weekly lesson plan template (five days on one page)

For: an elementary teacher planning several subjects for one class, or one course's week in secondary. Why it works: one page shows the whole week, so you see where an assembly or a test squeezes a lesson.

Template 2 · Weekly lesson plan · 5 days

Weekly Lesson Plan · Teacher: [name] · Grade or course: [ ] · Week of: [date] Focus this week: [one line per subject, or the course's big idea] Standards: [codes] Monday: [subject or block] · objective [ ] · activity [ ] · check [ ] Tuesday: [subject or block] · objective [ ] · activity [ ] · check [ ] Wednesday: [subject or block] · objective [ ] · activity [ ] · check [ ] Thursday: [subject or block] · objective [ ] · activity [ ] · check [ ] Friday: [subject or block] · review and the week's check [ ] Small groups: [group] with [focus] on [days] Materials to prepare by [day]: [list] Calendar notes: [assemblies, early release, testing, trips, absences] Carry over to next week: [ ]

Fill-in tip: fill the calendar notes first. A week with a field trip has four teaching days, and the plan should say so before Monday.

Filled example · Grade 1 · week of Monday 25 January 2027

Focus: short vowels (reading), adding within 20 (math), weather (science) Monday: short a · adding on a number line · what is weather? Draw today's sky. Tuesday: short e · doubles · start a class weather chart. Wednesday: short i · doubles plus one · sort clothes cards by weather. Thursday: short o and u · make a ten to add · test the wind with a paper streamer. Friday: ten-word check · ten-problem check · which weather did we see most? Calendar notes: Wednesday assembly at 9:30; reading moves to the afternoon.

3. Unit plan template (two to six weeks on one topic)

For: a sequence of lessons on one topic. Why it works: the final assessment and the order of lessons sit on one page, so each week leads somewhere, and daily, 5E or Hunter lessons slot into it. A book report, for instance, is the end task of a reading unit; our book report template page has twelve formats for it.

Template 3 · Unit plan · 2 to 6 weeks

Unit Plan · Course: [ ] · Grade: [ ] · Unit [number]: [title] · Dates: [start] to [end] · Lessons: [number] Big idea: [one sentence students should remember a year from now] Standards: [codes] Essential questions: [2 or 3 open questions] Students will know: [facts and vocabulary] · Students will be able to: [skills] Pre-assessment, lesson 1: [ ] Final assessment: [test, project or performance task], rubric shared in lesson [ ] Week 1, lessons [1 to 5]: [topics]; quick check in lesson [ ] Week 2, lessons [6 to 10]: [topics]; mid-unit check [ ] Week 3, lessons [11 to 15]: [topics]; review and final assessment Materials, trips or guests: [ ] Differentiation and accommodations: [ ] At the end: what to change next year.

Fill-in tip: leave one lesson empty in the last week. Units run long, and a buffer keeps the final assessment from being rushed.

Filled example · Grade 7 science · 15 lessons of 50 minutes

Unit 4: How do plants make food? Standard: NGSS MS-LS1-6, explaining with evidence how photosynthesis cycles matter and moves energy [9] Essential questions: Where does a plant's food come from? Where does a tree's mass come from? Pre-assessment, lesson 1: draw where a seed gets the material to grow into a tree. Week 1: plants in light and in the dark; the leaf disk test (template 4's lesson). Week 2: what goes into and comes out of photosynthesis; a model of a leaf. Week 3: food chains and the flow of energy; review; final assessment in lesson 14. Final assessment: a claim, evidence and reasoning explanation of where a tree's mass comes from, rubric shared in lesson 2.

For a unit that ends in a group project, our group presentation ideas page splits roles and slides for teams of three to five.

Lesson plan models: 5E, Madeline Hunter and backward design

Each model has a named originator and fits a different kind of learning: discovery first, a skill shown then practised, or the end task first.

4. 5E lesson plan template (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate)

Who made it: BSCS, the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, lists 1987 in its own timeline as the year it developed the 5E Instructional Model, and traces it to the Karplus and Thier learning cycle of the Science Curriculum Improvement Study [1]. Some versions, such as SEDL's science toolkit, call the fourth phase Extend [1]. For: science, and any lesson where students should meet the idea before the word for it. Why it works: students explore first, so the vocabulary lands on something they have already seen.

Template 4 · 5E lesson plan · 1 to 5 periods

5E Lesson Plan · Grade: [ ] · Subject: [ ] · Topic: [ ] · Periods: [number] of [minutes] Standard: [code and text] Objective: Students will be able to [explain or model what] using [what evidence]. Phenomenon or question: [what students see or wonder about] Engage, [5 to 10] min: [the hook; record what students already think, without judging] Explore, [15 to 30] min: [the investigation; you ask, you do not tell; what students record] Explain, [10 to 15] min: [students share findings first; then you add the vocabulary and the formal explanation] Elaborate, [10 to 20] min: [apply the idea to a new case or problem] Evaluate, [5 to 15] min, and throughout: [how students show what they learned] Materials and safety: [ ] Misconceptions to listen for: [ ] Differentiation and accommodations: [ ]

Fill-in tip: the phases are not equal blocks. One cycle can fill a period or a week; Explore always comes before Explain.

Filled example · Grade 7 science · two periods of 50 minutes

Standard: NGSS MS-LS1-6 [9] · Objective: explain, with their own leaf disk data, how a plant uses light to make food. Day 1 · Engage, 10 min: two bean plants, one kept in a dark cupboard for a week. Why do they look different? Day 1 · Explore, 30 min: leaf disk test: spinach disks in water with a pinch of baking soda, one cup under a lamp, one in a box; count floating disks each minute. Day 1 · Record, 10 min: graph both cups; clean up. Day 2 · Explain, 15 min: groups share graphs first; then name it: in light, carbon dioxide and water become sugar and oxygen, and oxygen gathering in the leaf floats the disks. Day 2 · Elaborate, 20 min: where does a huge tree's mass come from? Day 2 · Evaluate, 15 min: a claim, evidence and reasoning paragraph on a three-row rubric. Safety: lamps get hot; keep water away from plugs.

5. Madeline Hunter lesson plan template (direct instruction)

Who made it: Madeline Hunter, principal of UCLA's laboratory school (then University Elementary School) from 1962 to 1982, developed the Instructional Theory into Practice model, a direct instruction program "that identified seven components for teaching", in the UCLA Lab School's words [3]. A University of Geneva wiki lists eight elements ending with closure and notes that versions have "either 7 or 8 steps" [5]. She did not mean them as a checklist: a 1994 ASCD tribute recalls that she "rued the day the word 'steps' became associated with her model" [4]. For: a skill students learn by watching it done, then doing it. Why it works: the check comes before solo practice, so mistakes are caught early.

Template 5 · Madeline Hunter lesson plan · 1 period

Madeline Hunter Lesson Plan · Grade: [ ] · Subject: [ ] · Date: [ ] · Length: [minutes] Standard: [code and text] Objective: Students will be able to [observable skill] with [accuracy or condition]. 1. Anticipatory set, [3 to 5] min: [a short task that focuses attention] 2. Objective and purpose, [1 to 2] min: "Today you will [ ] so that [ ]." 3. Input, [8 to 10] min: [the information and steps, in order] 4. Modeling, [5 to 8] min: [you do it aloud with one or two worked examples] 5. Checking for understanding, [2 to 4] min: [every student answers]. If many are unsure: [re-teach how] 6. Guided practice, [8 to 12] min: [students practise while you circulate] 7. Closure, [3 to 5] min: [students state or show what they learned] 8. Independent practice, [in class or homework]: [a task done alone] Materials and accommodations: [ ]

Fill-in tip: some programs put closure after independent practice; follow yours. For a demo lesson in a job interview, our teaching demonstration guide plans 20 minutes, minute by minute.

Filled example · Grade 9 Algebra 1 · 50 minutes

Standard: HSA.REI.B.3 and HSA.REI.A.1 [8] · Objective: solve two-step equations such as 2x + 5 = 17 and name the step that undoes each operation. 1. Set, 4 min: I double a number, add 5 and get 17. What was it? 2. Objective, 1 min: today you solve equations like that in two steps. 3. Input, 8 min: the balance picture; undo adding or subtracting first, then multiplying or dividing. 4. Modeling, 7 min: think aloud through 3x - 4 = 11 (x = 5) and x/4 + 2 = 6 (x = 16), checking each answer. 5. Check, 3 min: everyone solves 5x + 3 = 28 on a whiteboard. 6. Guided practice, 12 min: in pairs, one solves and the other names each step. 7. Closure, 5 min: why subtract the 5 before dividing by 2? 8. Independent practice, 10 min, the rest as homework: eight equations.

Three 50-minute timelines on one scale: the Madeline Hunter algebra lesson (anticipatory set and objective 5 minutes, input 8, modeling 7, check 3, guided practice 12, closure 5, independent practice 10), and the 5E photosynthesis lesson over two periods (day 1: engage 10, explore 30, record and clean up 10; day 2: explain 15, elaborate 20, evaluate 15). — Where the minutes go. The Hunter lesson checks understanding before practice; the 5E lesson explores for most of a period before anything is explained.

6. Backward design lesson plan template (Understanding by Design)

Who made it: Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe set out backward design in Understanding by Design, published by ASCD in 1998; the University of Toronto's guide names its three stages as identify desired results, determine acceptable evidence, and plan learning experiences and instruction [2]. For: a unit, or one key lesson, where the final task matters most. Why it works: you decide what counts as proof before choosing activities, so every activity has a job.

Template 6 · Backward design plan · a unit or a key lesson

Backward Design Plan · Course: [ ] · Grade: [ ] · Unit or lesson: [ ] · Length: [ ] Stage 1, Desired results Standards: [codes] Students will understand that: [the big idea, as a full sentence] Essential questions: [2 or 3] Students will know: [ ] · be able to: [ ] Stage 2, Evidence Performance task: [a real task, its audience, the product], scored with [rubric] Other evidence: [quizzes, drafts, observations] Stage 3, Learning plan Lessons in order: [each tied to a Stage 1 goal and a Stage 2 piece of evidence] Alignment check: every goal has evidence, and every activity serves a goal.

Fill-in tip: write the rubric before any lesson. A lesson that helps no rubric row is a candidate to cut.

Filled example · Grade 10 English · 3 weeks

Stage 1: W.9-10.1, arguments with "valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence" [8]. Students will understand that a strong argument answers the best case against it. Essential question: what makes a reader change their mind? Stage 2: a 600-word letter to the school board on a question the class chooses, with two cited sources, scored on four rows: claim, evidence, counterclaim, conventions. Also a claim chart (lesson 4) and a peer-reviewed draft (lesson 11). Stage 3: lessons 1 to 3, model arguments; 4 to 7, sources; 8 to 11, drafting and peer review; 12 to 15, revise and hand in.

Substitute and one-page lesson plan templates

For days off the usual pattern: someone else teaches your class, or a lesson needs a plan but not a long one.

7. Substitute lesson plan template (for the day you are out)

For: any day you are absent, planned or not. Why it works: a substitute walks into a room they do not know; everything from the bell times to the fire route sits in one folder, and the lesson is written so a non-specialist can run it.

Template 7 · Substitute lesson plan · 1 school day

Substitute Plan · Teacher: [name] · Room: [ ] · Date: [ ] · Questions: [a nearby teacher, the office] Schedule: [periods with times, room changes, duties such as bus, lunch or recess] Class lists and seating charts: [where] · Attendance: [how and when] Students to know about: [where medical and allergy plans are kept; who has accommodations] Emergency procedures: [evacuation route, lockdown, where the emergency folder is] Routines: [start of class, passes, phones, dismissal] Lesson for each class: objective · step-by-step activity with minutes · where materials are · what to collect If students finish early: [a 10 to 15 minute task] If these plans go missing: [a stand-alone lesson kept in the folder all year] Please leave me: who was absent, how far each class got, any problem.

Fill-in tip: write the stand-alone lesson in September and leave it in the folder all year. Share only the student information your school allows a substitute to see.

Filled example · Grade 6 English · three classes

Ms. Ortiz · Room 114 · Questions: Mr. Patel, room 116, or the office Schedule: periods 1, 2 and 5 teach; period 4 planning; lunch 11:10 to 11:50. Attendance: online within 10 minutes; paper lists in the red folder. Emergency: route card and lockdown steps by the door; out the left stairwell to the field. Lesson: students explain how their reading book's main character has changed, with one quote. 5 min: date and one line on where they are · 25 min: independent reading · 15 min: response sheet from the blue tray · 5 min: sheets in the class tray. Early finishers: word puzzles in the green tray.

8. One-page lesson plan template (the short form)

For: a quick plan, a preschool activity, or a lesson in a coaching cycle. Why it works: one page forces one goal; anything that does not serve it falls off.

Template 8 · One-page lesson plan · 15 to 60 minutes

One-Page Lesson Plan · Class: [ ] · Date: [ ] · Length: [minutes] Goal: by the end, students can [ ]. Standard: [code, or the goal from your early learning standards] I need: [materials] Start, [ ] min: [ ] Middle, [ ] min: [teach, then practise] End, [ ] min: [the check] Watch for: [one likely mistake or need] Next time: [one note after the lesson]

Fill-in tip: if the goal needs "and", it is two lessons.

Filled example · Preschool, ages 4 and 5 · 20 minutes

Group of 8 · Goal: name a circle, a square and a triangle and find one of each in the room. I need: a feely bag with one block of each shape, 8 shape cards, 3 hoops on the rug. Start, 5 min: feel a block, say "round" or "pointy", then pull it out. Middle, 10 min: a shape hunt in pairs; put each find, or point to it, in the matching hoop. End, 5 min: each child holds up a find and names it. Watch for: every four-sided shape called a square; show a rectangle beside a square.

Lesson plan template by age: preschool to adult learners

The parts stay the same at every age; the plan unit and block length change, and your timetable decides lengths.

Age group	Usual plan unit	Formats that fit	What changes in the plan
Preschool, ages 3 to 5	Short activities inside the daily routine	8 one page, 2 weekly	Early learning standards; play, movement, repetition; a plan for transitions
Kindergarten to grade 2	A weekly grid with daily lessons	2 weekly, 1 daily	Read-alouds and centers written in; picture cues in success criteria
Grades 3 to 5	Daily lessons inside a unit	1 daily, 3 unit, 4 5E	Success criteria students can read; one check every lesson
Grades 6 to 8	Class periods inside units	1 daily, 4 5E, 5 Hunter	A 5E cycle over two periods; group work routines; exit tickets
Grades 9 to 12	Periods or longer blocks inside units	5 Hunter, 6 backward design, 3 unit	Performance tasks, rubrics and more independent practice
College and adult learners	Sessions inside a course	6 backward design, 8 one page	Course outcomes; learners' own experience; practice on real tasks

For staff sessions with adults, our training presentation guide covers objectives and a block plan.

Lesson plan template for Google Docs and Word

Every template above is plain text, so it pastes cleanly into any editor. The steps below are from each vendor's help page, opened 9 November 2026.

In Google Docs

Paste the template into a new document and keep it as your master. Each week choose File, Make a copy, type a name and choose where to save it [13]. Google's own gallery sits under File, New, From a template: pick one and click Insert [13].

In Word

On Windows, choose File, Save As and Word Template in the Save as type list; Word opens the Custom Office Templates folder, and each new plan starts from File, New, Personal (the button may say Custom). On a Mac, choose File, Save as Template, pick Microsoft Word template (.dotx), and start each plan from File, New from Template [14].

In Google Classroom, for the student side

The exit ticket goes to students. Attach it as a Google Doc and choose Make a copy for each student: each gets a copy with their name in the title, an option available only before you post [15].

Turning the plan into lesson slides

One slide per block works for most lessons: the question, the objective in student words, the task as numbered steps with a timer, and the exit ticket. Our slides per minute table shows how many fit a period, and how to make a presentation covers building the deck.

Six lesson slides built from the 5E photosynthesis plan: slide 1 the question why two bean plants look different; slide 2 engage, predictions on chart paper; slide 3 explore, the leaf disk test in four numbered steps with a 10-minute timer; slide 4 explain, carbon dioxide and water become sugar and oxygen in light; slide 5 elaborate, where a tree's mass comes from; slide 6 evaluate, a claim, evidence and reasoning exit task. — The 5E plan as six lesson slides: one slide per phase, large text, and the question on screen before any answer.

Check before you teach or hand in a lesson plan

What an observer, a mentor or a substitute notices first.

Your school's format comes first.Many schools and teacher-preparation programs require their own template and rubric. Use their headings and move this content into them.
The standard code and wording are exact.Copy them from the official page; the Common Core and NGSS lines here were checked on 9 November 2026 [8] [9]. Use your state's version.
Every accommodation is in the plan.IEP and 504 accommodations go in as written. Ask the special education teacher when unsure.
Hands-on activities follow your safety rules.The leaf disk test uses lamps and water; check your lab safety rules and student allergies first.
AI drafts are checked line by line.England's Department for Education, in guidance updated 12 August 2025, lists lesson planning among uses of generative AI, keeps the professional who produced a document responsible for it, and recommends keeping personal data out [11]. AI can invent a standard code, so check each one against the official page.
Student names stay out of shared copies.Share only what your school allows; medical details stay where the school keeps them.
Whether you must write daily plans is a local rule.In England, the Department for Education said in July 2018 that individual lesson planning is not a requirement of the department or Ofsted [12]. In the United States, the district, school and contract decide, so ask.

Three ready requests to paste into NOXI

For a plan written and laid out, or one template for a grade team: paste a request into NOXI and replace the words in brackets.

Prompt 1 · A 5E lesson plan as a Word document (Document format)

A 5E lesson plan for grade [7] science on [photosynthesis], two [50]-minute periods. Objective: [students explain, with evidence from a leaf disk test, how plants use light to make food]. Standard: [NGSS MS-LS1-6]. Sections in this order: header (teacher, class, date, length), standard, objective, success criteria, materials and safety, the five phases with minutes for each, misconceptions, differentiation with space for IEP and 504 accommodations, and a reflection box. Keep it plain enough to edit in Word.

Prompt 2 · Turn it into a blank team template, by chat

Make a blank version for our grade team: keep every heading and the minutes column, put one guiding question in grey under each heading, remove all the sample answers, and leave space to write. Change nothing else.

Prompt 3 · The lesson slides (Presentation format)

Lesson slides for grade [7] from the attached 5E lesson plan: a title slide with the question, one slide per phase, and an exit ticket slide. The leaf disk test as four numbered steps with a 10-minute timer cue, large text, one idea per slide, and a picture made for each slide with no writing in it.

Make it in NOXI: a lesson plan as a Word document in one request

NOXI 2.0 makes 14 formats from one request, and a lesson plan is a Document: pages on A4 or Letter, with tables and timelines where they help. It is free to start: the free plan covers five documents a month, and every change after that is free. No credit card is needed to start, and downloads carry no watermark. The formats are listed in the NOXI 2.0 launch article; for classroom slide tools, see AI presentation tools for teachers.

Step 1. Open NOXI and choose Document

Go to noxi.ai and sign in, or create a free account. On Home, choose the Document format. The format is a starting point, and a clear request wins.

Step 2. Paste one request with grade, subject, objective and minutes

Paste Prompt 1 with your grade, subject, objective, standard and minutes, and list your school's sections in its order. Attach notes or last year's plan if you have them, and NOXI builds from them.

Step 3. Let NOXI plan the pages and check its work

NOXI sketches every page first, picks a style from more than ninety, writes the pages, then reads the document through and fixes what does not agree. When a fact cannot be confirmed, NOXI leaves a clear field for you to fill instead of guessing.

Step 4. Change it by chat or by hand

Send Prompt 2 by chat for a blank team template, and NOXI changes only what you asked; or click any text and type over it. Every change can be undone, and version history restores any earlier draft.

Step 5. Export Word to edit

Export Word for editable pages you can move into your school's format, or PDF to print. Each file is rendered and compared with the pages before the download appears.

Step 6. Make the lesson slides from the same plan

Back on Home, choose Presentation, attach the Word file and send Prompt 3. Present full screen with one of three motion styles, or none, export PowerPoint with editable text boxes, or share a view link that anyone can open without an account.

Frequently asked questions

What are the parts of a lesson plan?: A header with class, date and length; the standard; one observable objective with success criteria; materials; an opening; teaching and modeling; guided and independent practice; a check for understanding; a closing task such as an exit ticket; differentiation and accommodations; and a short reflection. Each block carries minutes that add up to the period.
How long should a lesson plan be?: Long enough for someone else to teach from it, short enough to use. As a working rule, a daily plan runs one to two pages, a weekly plan one page, a unit plan two to four, and a substitute plan two to three. If your school or program sets a format or length, follow it.
What is the difference between a lesson plan and a unit plan?: A lesson plan covers one lesson, minute by minute: objective, activities, check and closing. A unit plan covers a sequence of lessons on one topic over two to six weeks: the big idea, the standards, the final assessment and the order of lessons. Daily lessons are written from the unit plan, not the other way round.
What are the 5 E's in a 5E lesson plan?: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate. Students meet a question and explore it before the teacher gives the formal explanation, then apply the idea to a new case and show what they learned. BSCS, the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, developed the model in 1987, and some versions call the fourth phase Extend.
What are the steps of the Madeline Hunter lesson plan?: Anticipatory set, objective and purpose, input, modeling, checking for understanding, guided practice, independent practice and closure; published lists run to seven or eight steps. Madeline Hunter, principal of UCLA's laboratory school from 1962 to 1982, developed the model and did not intend every lesson to use every element.
What is backward design in lesson planning?: Backward design plans from the end: first the results students should reach, then the evidence that will show they reached them, and only then the lessons and activities. Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe set it out in Understanding by Design, published by ASCD in 1998. Template 6 on this page follows its three stages.
What should a substitute lesson plan include?: The daily schedule and duties, class lists and seating charts, how to take attendance, classroom routines, emergency procedures and where the emergency folder is, who to ask for help, step-by-step lessons with minutes and where the materials are, an early-finisher task, and a stand-alone lesson in case the day's plan goes missing.
Is there a lesson plan template in Google Docs?: Yes. Google Docs offers ready-made templates under File, New, From a template. You can also paste any template from this page into a document, keep it as a master and choose File, Make a copy each week. In Word for Windows, save it once as a Word Template and start each plan from File, New, Personal.
Can I use AI to write lesson plans?: Check your district's policy first. Where AI is allowed, use it for a first draft and check every standard code, fact and timing yourself. England's Department for Education lists lesson planning among uses of generative AI, but says the professional who produced a document stays responsible for it and recommends keeping pupils' personal data out.
Can NOXI make a lesson plan template for me?: Yes. Choose the Document format, give the grade, subject, objective and minutes, and name the sections, and NOXI writes and designs the plan, then exports Word with editable pages, or PDF. Ask by chat for a blank version for your team. The Presentation format turns the plan into lesson slides. The free plan covers five documents a month.

Sources & methodology

Every date, standard, survey figure and help-page step comes from its publisher's own page, opened on 9 November 2026, signed out. The templates, section orders, lengths and minute splits are editorial working rules, not published standards. Filled examples use real standards and fictional classes. Model originators are named only from the originator's own page or a university page.

[1] Timeline entry for 1987: "BSCS develops the 5E Instructional Model"; BSCS "is founded in Boulder, CO" in 1958 · BSCS Science Learning, Our Story. The model "has its origins with the work of earlier science educators", in particular the Karplus and Thier learning cycle of the Science Curriculum Improvement Study; BSCS has used it "since the late 1980s" · BSCS, The BSCS 5E Instructional Model: Origins and Effectiveness. "The 5E's instructional model was developed by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study", with the phases Engage/Excite, Explore, Explain, Extend and Evaluate · SEDL, Afterschool Training Toolkit, The Five E's Instructional Model; all checked 9 November 2026.
[2] "Wiggins, Grant, and McTighe, Jay. (1998). Backward Design. In Understanding by Design (pp. 13-34). ASCD."; stages: Identify Desired Results, Determine Acceptable Evidence, Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction · Open UToronto, University of Toronto, Backward Design, checked 9 November 2026.
[3] Madeline Hunter, "principal from 1962 to 1982", "developed the Instructional Theory into Practice teaching model, a direct instruction program that identified seven components for teaching"; the school was then called University Elementary School and was renamed UCLA Lab School in 2009 · UCLA Lab School, History, checked 9 November 2026.
[4] Hunter "never said that there was only one way to plan a lesson"; each situation "may not require the use of each element" · Pat Magestro, "In Memoriam / Tribute to Madeline Hunter", Educational Leadership, Vol. 51, No. 7, April 1994 · ASCD, checked 9 November 2026.
[5] Elements listed as anticipation, objectives and purpose, input, modeling, guided practice, monitoring (the teacher has to "check for understanding"), independent practice and closure; "Usually it has either 7 or 8 steps"; cites Hunter, M. (1982), Mastery Teaching, TIP Publications · University of Geneva, EduTechWiki, Madeline Hunter method, checked 9 November 2026.
[6] 2,232 US public K-12 teachers, web survey, 18 March to 11 April 2025; "six in 10 teachers reported using an AI tool for their work"; teachers used AI "most often for preparing to teach (37% used it at least monthly)"; weekly users "estimate they save 5.9 hours per week, on average". Published 24 June 2025 with the Walton Family Foundation · Gallup, Three in 10 Teachers Use AI Weekly, Saving Six Weeks a Year, checked 9 November 2026.
[7] Version 3.0, released 30 July 2024; "Design Multiple Means of" Engagement, Representation, and Action and Expression; cited as CAST (2024), CAST Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 3.0 · CAST, The UDL Guidelines, checked 9 November 2026.
[8] 3.NF.A.3 "Explain equivalence of fractions in special cases"; 3.NF.A.3a "the same size, or the same point on a number line"; 3.NF.A.3b "Recognize and generate simple equivalent fractions"; HSA.REI.A.1 "Explain each step in solving a simple equation"; HSA.REI.B.3 "Solve linear equations and inequalities in one variable"; W.9-10.1 "Write arguments to support claims", with 1.a and 1.b on claims and counterclaims · Common Core State Standards Initiative, Grade 3, Number and Operations: Fractions, High School Algebra, Reasoning with Equations and Inequalities and Writing, Grades 9 and 10, checked 9 November 2026.
[9] MS-LS1-6: a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms; clarification: "Emphasis is on tracing movement of matter and flow of energy." · Next Generation Science Standards, MS-LS1-6, checked 9 November 2026.
[10] "In 2001 Anderson and Krathwohl revised Bloom's levels from nouns to verbs"; levels remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create; the cognitive domain first published in 1956 · Southern State Community College, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, checked 9 November 2026.
[11] Uses listed include "lesson and curriculum planning" and "creating educational resources"; the quality and content of final documents remain the responsibility of the professional who produced them; "Any content produced requires critical judgement to check for appropriateness and accuracy"; "It is recommended that personal data is not used in generative AI tools." Guidance, updated 12 August 2025 · Department for Education, Generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education, checked 9 November 2026.
[12] "individual lesson planning is not a requirement from either the Department for Education or Ofsted"; news story, 21 July 2018 · Department for Education, Measures announced to help schools reduce teacher workload; background report published 26 March 2016 · Reducing teacher workload: Planning and Resources Group report, checked 9 November 2026.
[13] File, New, From a template, then pick a template and click Insert; File, Make a copy, type a name and choose where to save it · Google Docs Editors Help, Use templates, checked 9 November 2026.
[14] Windows: File, Save As, Word Template in the Save as type list; "Office automatically goes to the Custom Office Templates folder"; File, New, Personal; "This button may say Custom instead of Personal." Mac: File, Save as Template, "Microsoft Word template (.dotx)"; File, New from Template · Microsoft Support, Create a template, checked 9 November 2026.
[15] "Students get their own copy of the Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides file with their name added to the document title"; "This option is only available before you post an assignment"; assignments can be scheduled or saved as a draft · Classroom Help, Create an assignment, checked 9 November 2026.