In theory
there is no difference
between theory and practice.
In practice there is
- Yogi Berra

You know how to teach, and you prepare each lesson, but that may not be enough for some people. If you are about to be observed by an administrator or supervisor, you may have to submit a lesson plan.

You learned how to make that lesson plan back in college, but you certainly don't remember how to do it now. Furthermore, you remember it as a drab, boring, ineffectual document.

Well, that hasn't changed. Real teachers certainly don't use the lesson plans that they were trained to create in college.

However, you may be able to make your superiors happy by folllowing the guidelines on this page.

Be sure to act out your topic (you should be tired at the end of the lessons. Supervisors like that.)

You should also do things to make your students love the subject. Yes, you weren't trained to do that in college, and you did not read about that concept except in that website. However, that is a technique that works, so you should use it.

Use the following generic lesson plan to satisfy your visitor:

Type the name of the lesson.
Make it short.
It should sound important.
It should sound like it is the continuation of an existing topic.

• Grade Level
  • If there is more than one class on that level, indicate the number or name of the class
  • If there are groupings, indicate the level.
• Subject: [What are you teaching?]
• Prepared by: [your name goes here]
• Overview and Purpose
  • Yes, both of those words mean basically the same thing
  • An overview is more wordy than a purpose.
• What will be learned:
  • This section may repeat some of your title
  • Write less than you actually plan to teach
    • You look good if you go beyond your goals
    • You look bad if you don't meet your stipulated goals
    • The number of goals is not important unless your page looks blank
• Why it is useful?
  • Give the reason for teaching the class
  • Make your lesson sound important
  • Do not say that you are teaching this material because it is required
• Education Standards Addressed
  • Explain where the syllabus indicates that this issue is required
  • Explain how it dovetails with the overall goals of the course
  • Explain how you are going to make it fit in with the rest of your classes
• What local education standards does this lesson satisfy
  • Does your school board or Yeshiva administration require certain issues that you will be teaching?
  • Will this dovetail with other issues taught in the school?
• Objectives
  • What skills or information do you expect to teach?
  • How does this fit in with larger objectives?
• Audiovisual materials
  • What will you bring in to make the class more lively?
  • Have the students been exposed to other materials previously?
• Materials needed
  • What will students require for the class: Paper? Pencil? Notebook? Textbook (give name)? Other materials?
  • What materials will you supply?
• Information
  • What information will be studied?
  • Will students be able to acquire all of this information from the textbook?
  • What will you teach beyond the textbook?
• Verification
  • How will you determine whether the children have internalized the material? Will they have homework? A quiz? A test? A project? A longer assignment?
  • What will happen with the students who do not meet the minimal requirements?
• Other Resources
  • Will the students research this topic?
  • What preparation will you give them for studying in the library? Internet? from other assigned books or articles?
• Activity
  • Will the students work on this lesson in an independent activity, in pairs, or in groups?
  • Describe the activity
• Summary
  • Write things that will make you look good
  • Keep this section upbeat
• Additional Notes
  • Also upbeat
  • Anything that shows that you are excited about all that the children will learn
  • Compare what you are teaching with the lower standards set in another unnamed institution