Guide for teachers
A 30-minute start on next week’s lessons
Set aside half an hour to sketch the coming week. You may need longer for a new topic or class, but a clear outline gives you somewhere to start.
Plan once a week, at the same time
Choose a time when you can look at the whole week. That might be Sunday evening or a free period on Friday, while the lessons are still fresh. Have your timetable, previous plans and calendar open before you start.
If that time gets taken by a meeting or cover, move the planning slot. The routine needs to fit the school week you actually have.
Start from what you already have
Before opening a blank plan, look at what this class did last week and what you have taught before. Reuse the parts that fit. Check the pace and resources against this class before copying the rest.
Keep a simple record of what each class did and how it went. Even one line, such as "fractions starter too easy, needs a harder extension", saves you from repeating mistakes.
Work in this order
1. Look at the week as a whole: assemblies, trips, tests, short days. Plan around them first, so you don't build a lesson that will lose a third of its time.
2. Write the objective for every lesson before anything else. Write what pupils should be able to do by the end. Use that to choose the main activity and how you will check understanding.
3. Batch by class, then by subject. Planning all your Year 9 lessons in one go keeps the sequence coherent; moving between year groups every ten minutes does not.
4. Add detail only where you need it. A confident lesson needs three lines: objective, main task, how you'll check understanding. A new topic or an observed lesson earns more detail.
Keep plans short enough to use
Keep the working plan short enough to read as the class arrives. Put the first task near the top and keep resources and links with the lesson, so you are not looking for them at 8:50.
If a plan runs to a page, ask whether the extra detail changes what you will do in the room. If not, cut it.
Close the loop on Friday
On Friday, note where each class finished. Record anything you need to change next time, such as a rushed explanation or a task that took longer than expected. Start next week’s planning with those notes.
How detailed should a lesson plan be?
Detailed enough that you could teach it, or a colleague could cover it, without guessing. For a routine lesson that is often just an objective, the main activity and one check for understanding.
Should I plan the whole term in advance?
A rough sequence for the term is worth having. Detailed lessons are best planned a week at a time, because you will have seen how the previous lessons actually went.