sample lesson plan for essay writing

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Planning a writing lesson

Writing, unlike speaking, is not an ability we acquire naturally, even in our first language - it has to be taught. Unless L2 learners are explicitly taught how to write in the new language, their writing skills are likely to get left behind as their speaking progresses.

But teaching writing is not just about grammar, spelling, or the mechanics of the Roman alphabet. Learners also need to be aware of and use the conventions of the genre in the new language.

What is genre?

Generating ideas

Focusing ideas

Focus on a model text

Organising ideas

• Peer evaluation

A genre can be anything from a menu to a wedding invitation, from a newspaper article to an estate agent's description of a house. Pieces of writing of the same genre share some features, in terms of layout, level of formality, and language. These features are more fixed in formal genre, for example letters of complaint and essays, than in more 'creative' writing, such as poems or descriptions. The more formal genre often feature in exams, and may also be relevant to learners' present or future 'real-world' needs, such as university study or business. However, genre vary considerably between cultures, and even adult learners familiar with a range of genre in their L1 need to learn to use the conventions of those genre in English.

Stages of a writing lesson

I don't necessarily include all these stages in every writing lesson, and the emphasis given to each stage may differ according to the genre of the writing and / or the time available. Learners work in pairs or groups as much as possible, to share ideas and knowledge, and because this provides a good opportunity for practising the speaking, listening and reading skills.

This is often the first stage of a process approach to writing. Even when producing a piece of writing of a highly conventional genre, such as a letter of complaint, using learners' own ideas can make the writing more memorable and meaningful.

• Before writing a letter of complaint, learners think about a situation when they have complained about faulty goods or bad service (or have felt like complaining), and tell a partner.
• As the first stage of preparing to write an essay, I give learners the essay title and pieces of scrap paper. They have 3 minutes to work alone, writing one idea on each piece of paper, before comparing in groups. Each group can then present their 3 best ideas to the class. It doesn't matter if the ideas aren't used in the final piece of writing, the important thing is to break through the barrier of ' I can't think of anything to write.'

This is another stage taken from a process approach, and it involves thinking about which of the many ideas generated are the most important or relevant, and perhaps taking a particular point of view.

• As part of the essay-writing process, students in groups put the ideas generated in the previous stage onto a 'mind map'. The teacher then draws a mind-map on the board, using ideas from the different groups. At this stage he / she can also feed in some useful collocations - this gives the learners the tools to better express their own ideas.
• I tell my students to write individually for about 10 minutes, without stopping and without worrying about grammar or punctuation. If they don't know a particular word, they write it in their L1. This often helps learners to further develop some of the ideas used during the 'Generating ideas' stage. Learners then compare together what they have written, and use a dictionary, the teacher or each other to find in English any words or phrases they wrote in their L1.

Once the students have generated their own ideas, and thought about which are the most important or relevant, I try to give them the tools to express those ideas in the most appropriate way. The examination of model texts is often prominent in product or genre approaches to writing, and will help raise learners' awareness of the conventions of typical texts of different genres in English.

• I give learners in groups several examples of a genre, and they use a genre analysis form to identify the features and language they have in common. This raises their awareness of the features of the genre and gives them some language 'chunks' they can use in their own writing. Genre analysis form 54k
• reason for writing
• how I found out about the job
• relevant experience, skills and abilities
• closing paragraph asking for an interview
• Learners are given an essay with the topic sentences taken out, and put them back in the right place. This raises their awareness of the organisation of the essay and the importance of topic sentences.

Once learners have seen how the ideas are organised in typical examples of the genre, they can go about organising their own ideas in a similar way.

• Students in groups draft a plan of their work, including how many paragraphs and the main points of each paragraph. These can then be pinned up around the room for comment and comparison.
• When preparing to write an essay, students group some of the ideas produced earlier into main and supporting statements.

In a pure process approach, the writer goes through several drafts before producing a final version. In practical terms, and as part of a general English course, this is not always possible. Nevertheless, it may be helpful to let students know beforehand if you are going to ask them to write a second draft. Those with access to a word processor can then use it, to facilitate the redrafting process. The writing itself can be done alone, at home or in class, or collaboratively in pairs or groups. Peer evaluation

Peer evaluation of writing helps learners to become aware of an audience other then the teacher. If students are to write a second draft, I ask other learners to comment on what they liked / didn't like about the piece of work, or what they found unclear, so that these comments can be incorporated into the second draft. The teacher can also respond at this stage by commenting on the content and the organisation of ideas, without yet giving a grade or correcting details of grammar and spelling.

When writing a final draft, students should be encouraged to check the details of grammar and spelling, which may have taken a back seat to ideas and organisation in the previous stages. Instead of correcting writing myself, I use codes to help students correct their own writing and learn from their mistakes. Error correction code 43k

By going through some or all of these stages, learners use their own ideas to produce a piece of writing that uses the conventions of a genre appropriately and in so doing, they are asked to think about the audience's expectations of a piece of writing of a particular genre, and the impact of their writing on the reader.

If you have any ideas that you feel have successfully helped your students to develop their writing why not add them as a comment below and share them.

Further reading

A process genre approach to teaching writing by Badger, Richards and White. ELT Journal Volume 54(2), pp. 153-160 Writing by T Hedge. Oxford University Press. Writing by C Tribble. Oxford University Press Process writing by R White and V Arndt. Longman

Very practical and easy-to-go advice for teaching writing

Thank you for this wonderful article. I was planning to improve my teaching skills for the writing class. And I found the techniques you shared are detailed, feasible, and engaging. I will apply the methods you share in my writing class.

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It's very informative and time saving.

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Useful information

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Planning a Writing Lesson Plan

I believe this will make the lesson not only productive but also interesting. Thank you.

Thanks for a very interesting

Thanks for a very interesting and useful article.

Ideas first, then language

 Thanks for sharing the plan~

I found in my class that it is always 'Ideas firt, then language follows', similar to L1 writing.

Dear Catherine,

I found your article very useful and I love the advice you give. When I ask my students to write an essay, I tend to correct their mistakes for them and after reading the article I realized that I should be doing it the way you suggested. I learned from my mistakes by finding them out and correcting them not having them corrected for me. 

Thank you for a wonderful article.

I am grateful for you for this great article

Research and insight

Browse fascinating case studies, research papers, publications and books by researchers and ELT experts from around the world.

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Five-Paragraph Essay Lesson Plan: Producing Writing

*Click to open and customize your own copy of the Five-Paragraph Essay Lesson Plan .

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic, Five-Paragraph Essay , and supports the standard of developing an organized piece of writing with a clear thesis, relevant details, and a concluding statement. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

As a class, or individually, have students read Tim’s model essay, The Case For a Longer School Year. Ask:

• What argument is Tim making in his essay?
• What are his reasons or evidence for his argument?
• Is Tim’s argument persuasive? Why or why not?
• What is the purpose of the first paragraph? middle paragraphs? Last paragraph?

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

• Read aloud the description on the Five-Paragraph Essay topic page . 
• Play the Movie , pausing to check for understanding.

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Assign the Five-Paragraph Essay Quiz , prompting students to apply essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about writing five-paragraph essays while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

• Make-a-Movie : Produce a movie where you present a persuasive argument that follows the format of a five-paragraph essay. 
• Make-a-Map : Create a concept map that shows the features of each paragraph in a five-paragraph essay. 
• Creative Coding : Code a meme that shows the benefits of using the five-paragraph essay format.

More to Explore

Related BrainPOP Topics : Deepen understanding of the writing process with these topics: Types of Writing , Writing in Sequence , Research , and Outlines . 

Teacher Support Resources:

• Pause Point Overview : Video tutorial showing how Pause Points actively engage students to stop, think, and express ideas.  
• Learning Activities Modifications : Strategies to meet ELL and other instructional and student needs.
• Learning Activities Support : Resources for best practices using BrainPOP.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

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Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers

P LANNING, PARAGRAPHING AND POLISHING: FINE-TUNING THE PERFECT ESSAY

Essay writing is an essential skill for every student. Whether writing a particular academic essay (such as persuasive, narrative, descriptive, or expository) or a timed exam essay, the key to getting good at writing is to write. Creating opportunities for our students to engage in extended writing activities will go a long way to helping them improve their skills as scribes.

But, putting the hours in alone will not be enough to attain the highest levels in essay writing. Practice must be meaningful. Once students have a broad overview of how to structure the various types of essays, they are ready to narrow in on the minor details that will enable them to fine-tune their work as a lean vehicle of their thoughts and ideas.

In this article, we will drill down to some aspects that will assist students in taking their essay writing skills up a notch. Many ideas and activities can be integrated into broader lesson plans based on essay writing. Often, though, they will work effectively in isolation – just as athletes isolate physical movements to drill that are relevant to their sport. When these movements become second nature, they can be repeated naturally in the context of the game or in our case, the writing of the essay.

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Planning an essay

The Boys Scouts’ motto is famously ‘Be Prepared’. It’s a solid motto that can be applied to most aspects of life; essay writing is no different. Given the purpose of an essay is generally to present a logical and reasoned argument, investing time in organising arguments, ideas, and structure would seem to be time well spent.

Given that essays can take a wide range of forms and that we all have our own individual approaches to writing, it stands to reason that there will be no single best approach to the planning stage of essay writing. That said, there are several helpful hints and techniques we can share with our students to help them wrestle their ideas into a writable form. Let’s take a look at a few of the best of these:

BREAK THE QUESTION DOWN: UNDERSTAND YOUR ESSAY TOPIC.

Whether students are tackling an assignment that you have set for them in class or responding to an essay prompt in an exam situation, they should get into the habit of analyzing the nature of the task. To do this, they should unravel the question’s meaning or prompt. Students can practice this in class by responding to various essay titles, questions, and prompts, thereby gaining valuable experience breaking these down.

Have students work in groups to underline and dissect the keywords and phrases and discuss what exactly is being asked of them in the task. Are they being asked to discuss, describe, persuade, or explain? Understanding the exact nature of the task is crucial before going any further in the planning process, never mind the writing process .

BRAINSTORM AND MIND MAP WHAT YOU KNOW:

Once students have understood what the essay task asks them, they should consider what they know about the topic and, often, how they feel about it. When teaching essay writing, we so often emphasize that it is about expressing our opinions on things, but for our younger students what they think about something isn’t always obvious, even to themselves.

Brainstorming and mind-mapping what they know about a topic offers them an opportunity to uncover not just what they already know about a topic, but also gives them a chance to reveal to themselves what they think about the topic. This will help guide them in structuring their research and, later, the essay they will write . When writing an essay in an exam context, this may be the only ‘research’ the student can undertake before the writing, so practicing this will be even more important.

RESEARCH YOUR ESSAY

The previous step above should reveal to students the general direction their research will take. With the ubiquitousness of the internet, gone are the days of students relying on a single well-thumbed encyclopaedia from the school library as their sole authoritative source in their essay. If anything, the real problem for our students today is narrowing down their sources to a manageable number. Students should use the information from the previous step to help here. At this stage, it is important that they:

●      Ensure the research material is directly relevant to the essay task

●      Record in detail the sources of the information that they will use in their essay

●      Engage with the material personally by asking questions and challenging their own biases

●      Identify the key points that will be made in their essay

●      Group ideas, counterarguments, and opinions together

●      Identify the overarching argument they will make in their own essay.

Once these stages have been completed the student is ready to organise their points into a logical order.

WRITING YOUR ESSAY

There are a number of ways for students to organize their points in preparation for writing. They can use graphic organizers , post-it notes, or any number of available writing apps. The important thing for them to consider here is that their points should follow a logical progression. This progression of their argument will be expressed in the form of body paragraphs that will inform the structure of their finished essay.

The number of paragraphs contained in an essay will depend on a number of factors such as word limits, time limits, the complexity of the question etc. Regardless of the essay’s length, students should ensure their essay follows the Rule of Three in that every essay they write contains an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Generally speaking, essay paragraphs will focus on one main idea that is usually expressed in a topic sentence that is followed by a series of supporting sentences that bolster that main idea. The first and final sentences are of the most significance here with the first sentence of a paragraph making the point to the reader and the final sentence of the paragraph making the overall relevance to the essay’s argument crystal clear. 

Though students will most likely be familiar with the broad generic structure of essays, it is worth investing time to ensure they have a clear conception of how each part of the essay works, that is, of the exact nature of the task it performs. Let’s review:

Common Essay Structure

Introduction: Provides the reader with context for the essay. It states the broad argument that the essay will make and informs the reader of the writer’s general perspective and approach to the question.

Body Paragraphs: These are the ‘meat’ of the essay and lay out the argument stated in the introduction point by point with supporting evidence.

Conclusion: Usually, the conclusion will restate the central argument while summarising the essay’s main supporting reasons before linking everything back to the original question.

ESSAY WRITING PARAGRAPH WRITING TIPS

●      Each paragraph should focus on a single main idea

●      Paragraphs should follow a logical sequence; students should group similar ideas together to avoid incoherence

●      Paragraphs should be denoted consistently; students should choose either to indent or skip a line

●      Transition words and phrases such as alternatively , consequently , in contrast should be used to give flow and provide a bridge between paragraphs.

HOW TO EDIT AN ESSAY

Students shouldn’t expect their essays to emerge from the writing process perfectly formed. Except in exam situations and the like, thorough editing is an essential aspect in the writing process. 

Often, students struggle with this aspect of the process the most. After spending hours of effort on planning, research, and writing the first draft, students can be reluctant to go back over the same terrain they have so recently travelled. It is important at this point to give them some helpful guidelines to help them to know what to look out for. The following tips will provide just such help: 

One Piece at a Time: There is a lot to look out for in the editing process and often students overlook aspects as they try to juggle too many balls during the process. One effective strategy to combat this is for students to perform a number of rounds of editing with each focusing on a different aspect. For example, the first round could focus on content, the second round on looking out for word repetition (use a thesaurus to help here), with the third attending to spelling and grammar.

Sum It Up: When reviewing the paragraphs they have written, a good starting point is for students to read each paragraph and attempt to sum up its main point in a single line. If this is not possible, their readers will most likely have difficulty following their train of thought too and the paragraph needs to be overhauled.

Let It Breathe: When possible, encourage students to allow some time for their essay to ‘breathe’ before returning to it for editing purposes. This may require some skilful time management on the part of the student, for example, a student rush-writing the night before the deadline does not lend itself to effective editing. Fresh eyes are one of the sharpest tools in the writer’s toolbox.

Read It Aloud: This time-tested editing method is a great way for students to identify mistakes and typos in their work. We tend to read things more slowly when reading aloud giving us the time to spot errors. Also, when we read silently our minds can often fill in the gaps or gloss over the mistakes that will become apparent when we read out loud.

Phone a Friend: Peer editing is another great way to identify errors that our brains may miss when reading our own work. Encourage students to partner up for a little ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours’.

Use Tech Tools: We need to ensure our students have the mental tools to edit their own work and for this they will need a good grasp of English grammar and punctuation. However, there are also a wealth of tech tools such as spellcheck and grammar checks that can offer a great once-over option to catch anything students may have missed in earlier editing rounds.

Putting the Jewels on Display: While some struggle to edit, others struggle to let go. There comes a point when it is time for students to release their work to the reader. They must learn to relinquish control after the creation is complete. This will be much easier to achieve if the student feels that they have done everything in their control to ensure their essay is representative of the best of their abilities and if they have followed the advice here, they should be confident they have done so.

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How to Teach Essay Writing

A guide on how to teach essay writing skills from the ground up

Jagseer S Sidhu / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0

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As ESL students become more fluent, it's time to focus on how to use that fluency in specific tasks, such as making a presentation or writing an essay. The advanced topics you choose should depend upon what your students have planned for the future. In classes with mixed objectives, there's a need for balance to make sure that students who don't necessarily need the task at hand still profit from the lesson.

This is never truer than when teaching essay writing skills. Classes that are preparing for academic English objectives require the skills while " business English ," or English for specific purposes classes, might find the entire exercise a waste of their time. Chances are, you have a mixed class, so it is recommended to tie essay writing skills to other important skills — such as using equivalencies, the proper use of linking language, and sequencing in writing. Students not interested in essay writing skills will gain valuable experience in developing these skills regardless of the task.

Build Toward Essay Writing Skills

Start by modeling clear writing at the sentence level. The best way to approach essay writing skills is to start at the sentence level. Once students have learned to compose simple, compound, and complex sentences, they will have the tools necessary to write longer documents such as essays, business reports , formal emails, and so on. All students will find this help invaluable.

Focus on Equivalencies

I find the best place to start is with equivalencies. Before moving on, make sure students understand sentence types by writing a simple, compound, and complex sentence on the board.

Simple sentence: Mr. Smith visited Washington three years ago.

Compound sentence: Anna advised him against the idea, but he decided to go nonetheless.

Complex sentence: Since he was in Washington, he took the time to visit the Smithsonian.

Build up students' knowledge of equivalencies by beginning with FANBOYS ( coordinating conjunctions ), moving on to subordinating conjunctions, and finishing with other equivalencies, such as preposition and conjunctive adverbs.

Focus on Linking Language

Next, students will need to link their language, creating organization through the use of linking language, including sequencing. It helps to write out processes at this point. Ask students to think of some process, then use sequencing language to connect the dots. It's a good idea to ask students to use both numberings in a sequence of steps and linking through time words.

Writing Essay Practice

Now that students understand how to combine sentences into larger structures, it's time to move on to writing essays. Provide a simple essay to students and ask them to identify various structures and written objectives:

• Underline linking language
• Find examples of FANBOYS, subordinating conjunctions , conjunctive adverbs, etc.
• What is the main idea of the essay?
• How does the essay seem to be organized?
• Essays generally contain an introduction, body, and conclusion. Can you identify each?

I like to help students by first explaining that an essay is like a hamburger. It's certainly a crude analogy, but students seem to get the idea of the intro and conclusion being like the buns, while the content is the good stuff.

Essay Writing Lesson Plans

There are a number of lesson plans and resources on this site that help with the many steps involved in developing the necessary writing skills. To focus on combining simple sentences into more compound structures, use a ​simple-to-compound sentence worksheet. Once students are comfortable at the sentence level, proceed from brainstorming through outlining to final essay production.

Challenges With Teaching Essay Writing

As previously stated, the main issue with essay writing is that it is not really necessary for every student. Another issue is that traditional five-paragraph essays are certainly a little old school. However, I still feel that understanding the structure of your basic hamburger essay will serve students well when putting together future written work.

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Lesson Plan

All about the informative essay, view aligned standards, learning objectives.

Students will be able to identify the parts of an essay and generate ideas in their own graphic organizer.

Introduction

• Ask students to work with a partner or table group and think of the three most important things to do in order to be successful in school.
• Share answers and decide on three as a class. Write them on the board.
• Have students work together again and think of three details for each of the three ideas on the board.
• Share and write three details under each idea.
• Tell students that they just created an outline for an informative essay.
• Discuss possible topics for the essay. Examples might include: How to Succeed at School, Three Keys to Academic Success, and How to Rock Your Report Card.

Can You Convince Me? Developing Persuasive Writing

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Persuasive writing is an important skill that can seem intimidating to elementary students. This lesson encourages students to use skills and knowledge they may not realize they already have. A classroom game introduces students to the basic concepts of lobbying for something that is important to them (or that they want) and making persuasive arguments. Students then choose their own persuasive piece to analyze and learn some of the definitions associated with persuasive writing. Once students become aware of the techniques used in oral arguments, they then apply them to independent persuasive writing activities and analyze the work of others to see if it contains effective persuasive techniques.

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From Theory to Practice

• Students can discover for themselves how much they already know about constructing persuasive arguments by participating in an exercise that is not intimidating.  
• Progressing from spoken to written arguments will help students become better readers of persuasive texts.

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

Materials and Technology

• Computers with Internet access  
• PowerPoint  
• LCD projector (optional)  
• Chart paper or chalkboard  
• Sticky notes  
• Persuasive Strategy Presentation
• Persuasion Is All Around You  
• Persuasive Strategy Definitions  
• Check the Strategies  
• Check the Strategy  
• Observations and Notes  
• Persuasive Writing Assessment

Preparation

Student Objectives

Students will

• Work in cooperative groups to brainstorm ideas and organize them into a cohesive argument to be presented to the class  
• Gain knowledge of the different strategies that are used in effective persuasive writing  
• Use a graphic organizer to help them begin organizing their ideas into written form  
• Apply what they have learned to write a persuasive piece that expresses their stance and reasoning in a clear, logical sequence  
• Develop oral presentation skills by presenting their persuasive writing pieces to the class  
• Analyze the work of others to see if it contains effective persuasive techniques

Session 1: The Game of Persuasion

Home/School Connection: Distribute Persuasion Is All Around You . Students are to find an example of a persuasive piece from the newspaper, television, radio, magazine, or billboards around town and be ready to report back to class during Session 2. Provide a selection of magazines or newspapers with advertisements for students who may not have materials at home. For English-language learners (ELLs), it may be helpful to show examples of advertisements and articles in newspapers and magazines.

Session 2: Analysis of an Argument

Home/School Connection: Ask students to revisit their persuasive piece from Persuasion Is All Around You . This time they will use Check the Strategies to look for the persuasive strategies that the creator of the piece incorporated. Check for understanding with your ELLs and any special needs students. It may be helpful for them to talk through their persuasive piece with you or a peer before taking it home for homework. Arrange a time for any student who may not have the opportunity to complete assignments outside of school to work with you, a volunteer, or another adult at school on the assignment.

Session 3: Persuasive Writing

Session 4: Presenting the Persuasive Writing

• Endangered Species: Persuasive Writing offers a way to integrate science with persuasive writing. Have students pretend that they are reporters and have to convince people to think the way they do. Have them pick issues related to endangered species, use the Persuasion Map as a prewriting exercise, and write essays trying to convince others of their points of view. In addition, the lesson “Persuasive Essay: Environmental Issues” can be adapted for your students as part of this exercise.  
• Have students write persuasive arguments for a special class event, such as an educational field trip or an in-class educational movie. Reward the class by arranging for the class event suggested in one of the essays.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• Compare your Observations and Notes from Session 4 and Session 1 to see if students understand the persuasive strategies, use any new persuasive strategies, seem to be overusing a strategy, or need more practice refining the use of a strategy. Offer them guidance and practice as needed.  
• Collect both homework assignments and the Check the Strategy sheets and assess how well students understand the different elements of persuasive writing and how they are applied.  
• Collect students’ Persuasion Maps and use them and your discussions during conferences to see how well students understand how to use the persuasive strategies and are able to plan their essays. You want to look also at how well they are able to make changes from the map to their finished essays.  
• Use the Persuasive Writing Assessment to evaluate the essays students wrote during Session 3.
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• Student Interactives

The Persuasion Map is an interactive graphic organizer that enables students to map out their arguments for a persuasive essay or debate.

This interactive tool allows students to create Venn diagrams that contain two or three overlapping circles, enabling them to organize their information logically.

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

• RL.4.10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, in the grades 4-5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
• RI.4.10: By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 4-5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
• W.4.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
• W.4.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
• W.4.5: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
• I can use the Painted Essay structure to analyze a model. ( W.4.2, W.4.4, W.4.5 )
• Painted Essay(r) template

• Prepare the materials required for the Painted Essay (see Materials).
• Preview the Painting an Essay lesson plan to familiarize yourself with what will be required of students (see supporting materials).
• Post: Learning target and Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart.

Tech and Multimedia

• Work Time A: Rather than using colored pencils on the displayed model literary essay, consider highlighting or using colored text on a word-processing document.

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards and 4.I.B.6 and 4.II.A.1

Important points in the lesson itself

• The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with opportunities to unpack an example of the work they are expected to complete during the remainder of the unit. They are also empowered to use a color-coding system that will help them understand essay structure using visual prompts.
• ELLs may find it challenging to absorb an abundance of information and terminology about essay structure. Remind students that this structure is an expanded version of the paragraph structure they completed in prior lessons. Think aloud each part while analyzing the model essay in order to clarify the purpose of each component of the structure. Reassure students that even if they do not understand everything today, they will have plenty of opportunities to work with the concepts throughout the unit and the year.
• In Work Time A, ELLs are invited to participate in an optional Language Dive. This conversation guides them through expanding the meaning of the focus statement in the model literary essay. It also provides students with further practice using the language structure from the model literary essay focus statement. Students may draw on this sentence when writing their informative essays later in the unit. A consistent Language Dive routine is critical in helping all students learn how to decipher compelling sentences and write their own. In addition, Language Dive conversations hasten overall English language development for ELLs. Preview the Language Dive Guide and consider how to invite conversation among students to address the questions and goals suggested under each sentence strip chunk (see supporting materials). Select from the questions and goals provided to best meet your students' needs. Consider providing students with a Language Dive log inside a folder to track Language Dive sentences and structures and collate Language Dive note-catchers.

Levels of support

For lighter support:

• During the Language Dive, challenge students to generate questions about the sentence before asking the prepared questions. Example: "What questions can we ask about this sentence? Let's see if we can answer them together." (What does it mean to find inspiration?)

For heavier support:

• Create a puzzle of the model literary essay using index cards. Paste each paragraph on a different index card. Use colored index cards according to the established Painted Essay colors. Challenge students to put the paragraph together in the correct order without looking at their papers.
• Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): In Work Time A, students analyze a model essay in preparation to write their own essay. Help students engage with the model essay in multiple ways. Color-code the model on display with the same colors that the students use during the Painted Essay exercise.
• Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): In the basic structure of this lesson, students get multiple representation cues with the color-coding provided by the Painted EssayO template. However, some students may find covering the entire essay in one lesson overwhelming. Consider chunking the explicit instruction for each part of the essay into multiple lessons to provide time for students to comprehend new information.
• Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): This lesson continues work that students will use to write an informational essay on their expert group's poet. Build engagement for the informational essay by telling students that they get to become experts about a specific poet. Then they will be able to teach others all about the poet and demonstrate their knowledge.

Key:  Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T); Vocabulary Used in Writing (W)

• The Painted Essay, structure, analyze (L)
• Model literary essay (one per student and one to display)
• Informative Essay Prompt: What Inspires Poets? (from Lesson 6, one per student and one to display)
• Vocabulary logs (from Unit 1, Lesson 3; one per student)
• Annotated model literary essay (for teacher reference)
• Painted Essay(r) template (one per student)
• Paintbrushes (one per student)
• Read, yellow, blue, and green watercolor paint (one set per pair)
• Cups of water (one per pair)
• Painting an Essay lesson plan (for teacher reference)
• Red, yellow, blue, and green colored pencils (one set; for teacher modeling)
• Paper (blank; one per student)
• Informative Writing Checklist (one per student and one to display)
• Language Dive Guide: Model Literary Essay (optional; for ELLs; for teacher reference)
• Language Dive Note-catcher: Model Literary Essay (optional; for ELLs; one per student and one to display)
• Language Dive Sentence strip chunks: Model Literary Essay (one to display)
• Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart (begun in Unit 1, Lesson 2)
• Independent Reading: Sample Plan ( see the Tools page ; for teacher reference)

Materials from Previous Lessons

New materials.

Each unit in the 3-5 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

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Planning a Class

If you've ever given a formal presentation on a topic, you've probably done some kind of planning. You may have considered who your audience was and gathered information to meet their needs and interests. Or, you may have considered your own objective and worked to meet this goal. Either way, you probably spent more time gathering and arranging information than you did actually presenting it. Your confidence and ability to present may have also depended on the plan you created.

Planning a class presents similar challenges. Sure, we've all known the instructor who can "wing-it" and still amaze us with their infinite wit and wisdom. But many of us feel that we are not that instructor. In fact, some readers of this guide may be teaching a writing course for the first time. If so, you're probably beginning to realize that planning can be the most challenging part of teaching.

This guide will help you construct successful lesson plans. First, we'll review some effective strategies and techniques. Since there are many factors to consider when planning a class, this chapter is broken down into six different sections. If you are reading this for the first time, is useful to look at all six sections, as each one builds off the one before. In the future, you may decide to only reference the section that serves your immediate purposes.

Guidelines for planning an effective class are:

Using Goals to Shape a Lesson

Planning transitions, planning introductions, planning conclusions, planning classroom discussions.

• Creating Write to Learn Activities

Planning Group Activities

Reflecting on lessons.

• Citation Information

How This Guide Can Help

Begin planning a lesson by considering your goals. In addition to keeping in mind the overall goals for the course, consider the specific goals for that lesson. Ask yourself what you want your students to gain most from the lesson. Often, you'll come up with a list of two or three goals for the class. A successful lesson will combine various goals into a cohesive plan.

Let's say the goals in the syllabus for one class include Discussing and Practicing Critical Reading and Exploring How Purpose, Audience , and Context Influence a Writer's Choices . Lately, however, you've noticed small puddles of drool on your students' desks, a sure sign that they aren't fully involved in class. To help your students become more engaged during class, you create a third goal: Facilitating More Meaningful Discussions . The three goals for this lesson:

• Discussing and Practicing Critical Reading
• Exploring How Purpose, Audience, and Context Influence a Writer's Choices
• Facilitating More Meaningful Discussions

Reflect on your goals for the lesson, then prioritize them. Ask yourself what students most need to gain from the lesson. As you prioritize your goals, reflect once again on the overall goals for the course. Consider, as well, the goals for the current assignment.

If, Practicing Critical Reading is the most important goal for the day, focus your activities to meet this goal. Remember, however that Practicing Critical Reading is not your only goal for the class. Try to imagine how all three of the goals you've defined for the class can translate into activities that feed into each other.

Creating Activities that Reflect Goals

Consider the following example. Over the past few days, you and your students have discussed purpose, audience, and focus. To build on these discussions, use them as a starting point. Spend ten minutes at the beginning of class analyzing the context for the essay you're working with. This will help you pursue your goal of Exploring How Purpose, Audience, and Context Influence a Writer's Choices. After you've analyzed the essay's context, meet your goal of Facilitating More Meaningful Discussions by asking students to briefly share their personal reactions to the main ideas in the text. For the remainder of class, engage your students in a critical reading of the essay and an in-depth discussion of its argument and ideas. Since Practicing Critical Reading is the most important goal for the day, the majority of class time will be spent meeting this goal.

A loose outline of goals and activities might look like this:

• Goal: Exploring How Purpose, Audience, and Context Influence a Writer's Choices Activity: Analyze the context of a text (10 minutes)
• Goal: Facilitating More Meaningful Discussions Activity: Discuss students' reactions to a text (10 minutes)
• Goal: Practicing Critical Reading Activity: Practice critical reading of a text (30 minutes)

Typically, you'll plan more than one activity per class, so creating transitions between those activities is crucial. Students need to know when you're changing the focus of the class. When writing transitions, ask yourself, what is the significance of each of these activities? How do they connect to the daily goals? Why did I arrange them in this order? Is there a more logical way to organize these procedures?

Be sure to write out transition statements in your lesson plans so you don't find yourself grappling for explanations on the spot. If you can't explain the significance of an activity, look back at the unit assignment sheet or the description of goals in your syllabus. If the relevance of an activity is still unclear, replace it with something different to satisfy the same goal.

Strategies for Creating Effective Transitions

Highlight an activity's importance.

To help students understand where they are going, use transitions to explain the goal for an activity and why it is important.

For example: "In this second unit, you'll be concentrating on how cultural contexts shape texts. What influences a writer's perspective on an issue? Why does the writer approach this issue from a particular angle? Investigating the writer's context is important because it will help you read and think critically (two skills you'll develop this semester). Let's practice some critical reading by analyzing the context for the essay you've just read. I'd like you to break into five groups..."

Emphasize the Relationships Among Activities

Think of activities as building blocks, carefully arranged to lead students to a predetermined destination. If you want students to write from a rhetorical approach, consider the steps they have to take and plan accordingly. Then, explain to students how one activity leads to another.

For example: "Now that we've talked a bit about purpose, context, and audience in the writing process, let's identify these three concerns in the first essay assignment."

Emphasize Connections between Activities and Students' Own Writing

Students are more likely to participate when they see how activities relate to their own writing. For this reason, explain to students how an activity will help them become better writers for the next assignment.

For example: "To write effectively, we have to consider the context of our audience. This will help focus our writing so that it speaks to someone with different expectations. Since the context for essay three is not a familiar academic situation, you'll need to analyze your context and audience before constructing your argument. This next activity is aimed at helping you think more about the context for which we'll be writing."

Sample Outline of Lesson Plan with Transitions

The three goals for this lesson:

Activities and Transitions:

Transition: Now that we understand the context for this essay, let's think about it in the context of our classroom. We are not the audience this writer had in mind, so our reactions may be different. What were some of your reactions to the ideas in this essay?

Transition: It's useful to react informally to the ideas in a text but when you write a response for an academic audience, you'll need to show that you've read the text critically first before sharing your views. So let's practice critical reading for the last thirty minutes of class.

• Practice critical reading of a text (30 minutes)

Now that you have a loose outline of your lesson, think about how you'll introduce it. Introductions are important because, like transitions, they guide students' understanding of the course and its goals. When you provide an introduction, students see that you have a sense of where the lesson is headed. Not only will this add to your credibility, but students will be less inclined to ask, "Why do we have to do this?"

Use introductions to connect concepts from earlier classes to the upcoming lesson. Also use them as checkpoints or reminders for yourself and your students - this is where we've been and this is where we're going.

When writing introductions, look back at the previous lesson and tie up any loose ends. Perhaps students were walking out the door when you explained the connection between an activity and an upcoming essay assignment. Introductions are ideal times to reinforce important concepts.

Your introduction should include an outline of daily activities; but it is equally important to explain the purpose of these activities. Why do students need to practice critical reading in a writing class? How will their writing benefit from learning to analyze the rhetorical context surrounding a text? Without explanations, students wonder if their time would be better spent at home eating cheese puffs.

Methods for introducing class:

• Write an outline on the board, "What we'll do today" to provide a clear focus and keep the class on track.
• List activities on an overhead and uncover them as you address each one.
• Have students summarize what you did last class and how it connects to the upcoming essay. Then, explain how the next lesson will build on that.

Sample Outline of Lesson Plan with Transitions and Introduction

Introduction: Last time we discussed the ways context influences the choices a writer makes. Today we'll keep that in mind as we analyze the context for the essay you just read. Since our context is different from the one the writer intended, we'll spend a few minutes discussing your responses to the essay. Then, we'll focus on critical reading because this will help you accurately represent an author's ideas in the summary part of your essay. It will prepare you for the analytical writing we do in units two and three and it will also assist you in gaining the most from texts encountered beyond COCC150.

Effective transitions and introductions guide students' understanding of how activities, discussions and assignments relate to their own writing. Still, some students won't make these connections until they've engaged in class activities. Conclusions reinforce important connections and help students anticipate the goals for the next class.

Methods for concluding class:

• Summarize the information just covered in the class in your own words. Explain how the lesson builds on previous lessons and connects to the upcoming assignment.
• Have students conclude by summarizing or interpreting the significance of the lesson. What did they learn? How will it relate to their assignment?
• Ask students to do a brief "Write To Learn" activity reflecting on one thing they can take from today's class and apply to their writing.

Sample Outline of Lesson Plan with Transitions, Introduction, and a Conclusion

Transition: It's useful to react informally to the ideas in a text but when you write a response for an academic audience, you'll need to show that you've read the text critically first before sharing your views. So, let's practice critical reading for the last thirty minutes of class.

Conclusion: Today we reviewed the ways context influences the choices a writer makes. We also shared some of our responses to the essay and practiced critical reading strategies to help you write an accurate summary for essay one. Next time we'll focus on writing a response and consider the choices you'll have to make when drafting your own writing.

Instructors like to believe that if students are awake and engaged in conversation it's a cause for celebration. But there's more to consider. You may witness a spectacular discussion on the effects of teen magazines on youth culture or the implications of cyborgs in science fiction novels, but at some point you need to ask, "How do these discussions help students become better writers?"

When planning a discussion, consider your daily goals. Ask yourself, what do I want students to gain from this discussion? How will it contribute to the overall goal for the lesson? How does it connect to students' own writing?

Shape your outline or discussion plan to reflect the daily goals.

Discussions happen for different reasons. Perhaps you're leading a discussion to introduce a new concept or assignment. Maybe you're critiquing a sample essay, or looking closely at an assigned reading. Whatever the situation, you'll want to consider your role, as well as the goals. Taken together, these provide a starting point to give shape to your classroom discussions.

Planning to Introduce a New Concept or Assignment

When you are explaining what is meant by context, audience, or purpose ; or you are describing the writing situation for an essay, it is useful to engage students by asking questions that encourage them to reflect on their own knowledge. For example, when introducing audience as a rhetorical concept, you might ask, "Who did you think of as your audience when you completed your assignment for today? How did you make choices based on that audience?"

At some point though, students will begin to ask specific questions. This is an excellent time to define the concept you're introducing and provide them with clear answers.

Suggestions for Planning to Teach a New Concept

When planning to teach a new concept, write detailed notes in your lesson plans to help guide the discussion. Also, have several examples ready in case you need to present your points differently. After you explain a concept, plan to have students apply it to their own thinking or writing. Prepare questions or activities to gauge students' understanding and consider assigning additional reading to reinforce the lesson.

Suggestions for Introducing a New Assignment

When introducing a new assignment, be sure you've carefully reviewed it yourself beforehand. Highlight key places where you'll want to elaborate with examples or explanation. Also, anticipate any questions or confusions students may have.

Plan to check for understanding by asking students to summarize or interpret certain aspects of the assignment. For example, have them analyze the writing situation by asking, "How does this compare to the essay you just finished? Who is your new audience? How will you need to shape your writing to meet the needs of this audience?"

If a student raises a question about a concept or an assignment that you don't have an answer for, simply tell them you'll get back to them next class.

Planning to Model or Critique Student Samples

The goals for these types of discussions are clearly connected to students' own writing. You are showing them how concepts discussed in class translate into a particular type of writing. Or you are determining whether a writing sample meets the criteria for an assignment. During these discussions, you'll want to guide students with questions like, "What's effective about this piece of writing?" But don't hesitate to point out the problems areas in the sample.

Discussions about writing should be student-centered, but you also need to provide clear judgments. If an essay has some serious problems, be sure students are aware of this when they leave. When planning, highlight places where an essay is effective or ineffective. If students do not raise the same concerns, point these out for them. Your goal for these discussions is to have students walk away with a greater sense of what to focus on and what to avoid in their own writing.

Suggestions for Modeling Effective Writing

Model effective writing from your own students' work whenever possible. It's a good to do this even if some students are still having difficulty with a concept. For example, say you've finished teaching students how to write a summary, but the homework suggests that only eight students got it. You might decide to model two or three strong student samples in class.

Ask these individuals before class if they mind that you share their work (be sure to tell them that you are using their work as a positive model - it is never a good idea to put a student's problematic work on display for critique). Carefully plan out how you will facilitate this process. One approach would be to present a student's sample on an overhead and discuss what is working well in this piece with the class. Or you could ask the student to read their summary aloud. Consider other approaches as well, and decide which works best with your class and your teaching style.

Try to select work from various students throughout the semester. That way, students will see you're not basing judgments on one model for writing, but locating what's effective among various styles and approaches.

Suggestions for Critiquing Sample Writing

The samples for critique should not come from your own students. You should generate these samples or obtain them from another class. Be sure that whomever wrote the sample has given you permission to use it in class, and cross off their name before making copies.

It's useful to do critiques at the end of a unit, or just before a workshop. Have students read the entire sample piece of writing before coming to class and ask them to comment on how well it meets the criteria for the assignment. Consider various approaches to critiquing the sample and choose the approach that works best for you and your students:

Techniques for Teaching Students to Critique

• Make an overhead of the writing sample and mark it with students' comments during class.
• Role-play a student who is eager to hear a critique of their writing. Then have students pose as a workshop group whose job it is to inform you of how your paper could be improved. Encourage students to give specific and constructive criticism that will help you, as a writer, improve your piece.
• Arrange students in groups. Have students critique another writing sample. Then, have them present their critique to the class.

Planning to Lead a Discussion on an Assigned Reading

The goals for discussions will vary depending upon where you are in the sequence of your course. Perhaps you are using an author's ideas to generate ideas for students' writing, or pulling main ideas from a text and arranging them into an academic summary. You might want to determine whether or not a writer's choices are effective. You'll want to ask yourself, when planning these discussions, "What features of a text should we focus on in order to meet the daily goal?"

If the goal is to teach students summary skills, your discussion questions should be geared to accommodate this. You might create questions that ask students to define a writer's purpose and locate the main ideas. In most cases though, discussions will be dynamic, taking into account multiple purposes and goals.

Your text, course outline, or syllabus may include discussion questions as starting points. Use these as a guide, but also practice developing your own. If you are teaching students how to write a good essay, write out a list of questions that you think are relevant to an essay. Then look back at the daily goals and select those that best reflect these goals.

Arrange discussion questions in a logical order, but also plan to be flexible. Make a list of things that must be covered. Create a hierarchy of questions, but try not to insist on a particular order (discussions usually do not follow a linear path). Rather, think about how questions connect to one another. This way you can adapt during discussions.

Unfortunately, students won't always provide the insightful responses we dream of. Anticipate where your questions may receive shallow answers and plan to engage students with questions like, "Interesting, can you give a specific example for that? Or, can anyone take what Tony just said a go a bit further with it?"

Also, think about how you might phrase questions differently. Sometimes students are silent because they're not sure of what you're asking. Next to each question, list a few alternative ways to ask it. This may be all it takes to turn a tedious discussion into something exciting.

Planning Write to Learn Activities

Write to Learns (WTL) are short writing exercises intended to help students collect their thoughts, start a discussion, or reflect on an assignment. As with most activities, consider your goals when planning a WTL. What do you want students to most gain from the WTL? Your questions or prompts should clearly reflect this. If the goal is to have students evaluate a text, ask them to analyze the effectiveness of something rather than react to the main ideas. If the goal is to engage students' ideas and evaluate a text, plan questions that address both goals. Have students react to ideas first, then ask them to evaluate the author's use of evidence to support these ideas.

Think about how a WTL fits into your lesson. How does it connect with other activities? How might you use it to focus students' thoughts for a discussion or another activity? You can put WTL prompts on the board, display them on an overhead projector, or post them on your class Web site.

When to Use Write to Learns

The following are just a few suggestions. Most likely, you'll discover other uses for Write to Learns as you become familiar with your students and their needs. Since WTL's are informal exercises, you don't need to collect or grade them. Let students know that you'll discuss their answers if there's time. Also, let them know that you won't always read WTL's. If time permits, have students read each others' WTL so their responses can be validated by peers.

Some examples of when to use WTL's are:

To Begin a Write-to-Learn Lesson

Allow students time to focus their thoughts before asking them to engage in activities.

Sample WTL: Take about 5 minutes to free-write your personal reaction to one of the main ideas from one of these authors. Pick one, and keep writing. Don't stop. Just generate any thoughts or feelings you have about what the texts are saying. You can jot down any personal experiences you may have had that relate, or any observations that comment on the idea.

To Jumpstart a Discussion

Students typically participate more if they've had time to pre-write on the topic they're discussing.

Sample WTL: Please take out a piece of paper and write for five minutes or so about what you expect out of today's class. What do you hope to learn and contribute?

To Complete a Portfolio

Ask students to reflect on their writing process before collecting portfolios.

Sample WTL: Reflect on the summary/response paper. What are the strengths in your essay? What did you find most challenging? What did you discover about yourself as a writer when completing this portfolio? How can this discovery be useful to you in the future?

To Check for Understanding

See if students are getting something.

Sample WTL: Please take out a sheet of paper and summarize what we did in class today. What was the significance of each activity and how does it connect to the upcoming assignment?

To Generate Ideas for Papers

Have students begin the writing process with their own ideas and interests.

Sample WTL: List as many contemporary, debatable issues as you can on a piece of paper. Then go back and write down everything you've heard recently about these issues. Also include the sources for this information.

To Refocus a Discussion

Focus a discussion that gets off track or doesn't feel constructive.

Sample WTL: It seems a lot of you are having personal reactions to the ideas in this text. Take about five minutes to write these reactions down. If there's time at the end of class we'll discuss these concerns.

Writing is a dynamic process. As instructors of composition, we value lectures and discussions, but we also believe that writers benefit from collaborating and sharing ideas with other writers. For this reason, we encourage you to try different strategies for planning group activities.

When planning group activities, think about your goals. Then, design very clear and precise tasks to meet these goals. You should provide detailed instructions. Avoid complex language and confusing directions. If students don't understand a task, they tend to zone out and get distracted.

Your role during group work will vary depending on your teaching style and your students' needs. Some instructors roam the class while students are working, making themselves available if a student requests help. Or they join a discussion if students are off track. Other instructors sit quietly away from groups, without interfering. Whatever your approach, keep in mind that group work should center on students' ideas. You may guide their thinking, but the instructional goal for these activities is to help students learn more about the writing process. Therefore, you should try to work with students' ideas and push them to think harder rather than giving them your ideas.

Strategies for Facilitating Group Activities

The following are just a few strategies that instructors have found useful. You will discover other methods for employing group work that best match your own teaching style and your students' needs.

Assign Each Group Member a Role

Assigning roles is helpful in situations where students work as a group. For example, have students act as: the time keeper (who keeps everyone on track), the note taker (who does the writing), the task master (who makes sure everyone is participating), the devil's advocate (who challenges group ideas to ensure they are significant and well-supported), etc. This will keep all students involved and on task.

Give Each Group the Same Task

Put various questions on an overhead and ask all groups to address them. Then, have each group become an "expert" on one question. Have them present their responses to the class. Or, have each group address the same questions and compare their responses.

Give Each Group a Separate Task

Have each group look at a different text. Ask them to summarize it and present their work to the class.

Have Groups Practice Writing Collaboratively

Ask each group to summarize a text on a sheet of paper or an overhead transparency. Then have them display their summaries to the class or post them on the class Web site. You might also ask other groups to critique and comment on the writing.

Ask Groups to Role Play

Ask groups to role play various audiences (students, parents, teachers, city council persons, government officials, etc...) and analyze the same text. Then, collaborate as a class on the text's effectiveness for each audience.

Logistics of Group Activities

Much of the "know-how" concerning the logistics of group work comes from trial and error. The student who took meticulous notes in class is absent the day his/her group is to present. Or three students forget to bring drafts to class, as you requested. There is no way to avoid all of these hassles, but here's a list of things to think about to help you with some of the trouble shooting.

Things to Think About

• Contemplate how many groups you'll need and how many students you'd like in each group. Have students choose their own groups or form groups by counting off numbers or some other means (everyone who's wearing red in group one, etc...). Or arrange groups prior to class, based on your knowledge about students' personalities or writing abilities. Either way, anticipate student absences.
• Decide how much time to allow for each part of the activity.
• Determine how to present the activity. Will you distribute instructions on paper? List tasks on an overhead or board? It's best to provide visual as well as oral instructions for activities to help students stay on task.
• Think about whether students should turn in the work they do in groups.
• Decide if students should meet with groups outside of class and how they can facilitate this (in person, over e-mail, by phone, etc...).

Reflecting on each lesson will save you time when planning in the future. It will also help you become a more mindful teacher. We recommend saving a space at the end of your lesson plans where you can jot down brief notes on the following:

• What went well? Which activities or discussions would you like to use again next time you teach this course?
• What didn't work? How might you change a discussion or an activity to make it more effective next time?
• Did you get through all of the material for the lesson? If not, how might you combine this material with the activities and goals for an upcoming lesson (without falling too far behind)?
• What are students beginning to understand and what are they still struggling with? How might you reinforce the more challenging concepts in upcoming lessons?

Eglin, Kerri. (2008). Planning a Class. Writing@CSU . https://writing.colostate.edu/teaching/guide.cfm?guideid=95

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Blog Education 27+ Easy-to-Edit Lesson Plan Examples [+ Writing Tips]

27+ Easy-to-Edit Lesson Plan Examples [+ Writing Tips]

Written by: Alice Corner Dec 07, 2023

Lesson plans are the best way to deliver an effective and engaging lesson. Lesson plans also help keep you on track to ensure that your learners hit their goals and targets, in line with your course curriculum.

But sometimes in the high-pressure world of education, it can be difficult to find the time to create inspiring lesson plans on your own. This is the time to enlist the help of a lesson plan maker and lesson plan templates .

I’ve gathered together 28 of the best lesson plan examples for all grade levels that you can use to ensure your lessons are insightful and inspiring.

Click to jump ahead :

What is a lesson plan?

• What are lesson plan sections

How to write a lesson plan?

English lesson plan examples, history lesson plan examples, middle school lesson plan examples, kindergarten lesson plan examples, high school lesson plan examples, preschool lesson plan examples, math lesson plan examples, elementary lesson plan examples, art lesson plan examples.

• Science lesson plan examples

Simple lesson plan examples

Elearning lesson plan examples.

• Simple lesson plan format

How to present the lesson plan

A lesson plan is a document that outlines the content of your lesson step-by-step. It’s a list of tasks that your students will undertake, to help guide your teaching.

Lesson plans are usually printed or saved as PDFs for teachers to use. You can make your own with a lesson plan template .

What are lesson plan sections?

Lesson plans primarily include a schedule of activities that you will deliver in the lesson. Some lesson plans also include additional sections for more thorough planning.

A general format of a lesson plan can be like this :

• Lesson activities
• Lesson materials
• Lesson objectives
• Lesson goals
• Lesson feedback

1. Objectives: know your destination

When writing a lesson plan, start by outlining the learning objectives—what you want your students to take from the session and work backward. Having clear and specific goals helps you plan activities for a successful lesson.

2. Welcome to the hook: make ’em want to learn

Start with an engaging “hook” to capture your students’ attention and make them eager to learn more. This could be a thought-provoking question, an interesting fact, or a surprising tidbit.

Apply a top-down method: plan on a course level the lessons you’re going to include and then go deeper and think about the activities you would like to include in each lesson.

3. Step-by-step: outlining the activities

Now that your students are hooked, it’s time to get down to business. Work on exercises or projects you would like your students to take on. These should serve two important purposes: allowing your students to apply the knowledge they learn in class and allowing you, the teacher, to assess students’ understanding of the materials.

This might include direct instruction (i.e., when you teach the material), guided practice (working together as a class), independent practice (students work on their own) and group activities.  Think about the best way to engage students and make sure you include a variety of these activities besides just tests or exams, like quizzes, group discussions, group projects and so on.

Example: If your objective is teaching persuasive writing, your steps might look like this:

• Explanation of persuasive writing techniques and purpose
• Guided practice: analyzing persuasive texts as a class
• Independent practice: having students create a persuasive argument on a given topic
• Group activity: Debating the different arguments in teams

Remember the old adage: “Tell me, and I forget. Teach me, and I remember. Involve me, and I learn.” 

4. Check for understanding: keep ’em on track

It’s not uncommon for students to zone out (we’ve all been there), so it’s crucial to regularly check if they’re on track. This means asking questions throughout the lesson and encouraging your students to reflect on the material.

Once you’ve got all these noted down, you can start arranging all the lessons and activities in a meaningful and logical order as well. This applies to the activities within a single lesson too. Answer these questions:

• How much time do you have for the whole lesson?
• What do you plan to start and end the lesson with?
• How much time do you have for each activity?
• If you still have time after all the activities are done, what are you planning to do?
• If you run out of time, what activities are you planning to drop?

As you plan your lesson, keep in mind that not all students learn at the same pace and in the same way. Tailor your activities and materials to accommodate different learning styles, skill levels and interests. This could mean offering choice in assignments, providing extra support for struggling learners, or challenging high-achievers with extended tasks.

Creating an English lesson plan is the best way to keep track of all the learning strands and activities that are needed for learning success.

Imagination, drama, romance and tragedy. English lessons have it all. But they can also be complicated to teach, with many moving parts to any one lesson. 

Like you’ll see in the English lesson plan examples below, creating engaging activities to a strict time schedule is perfectly possible with enough planning.

Use your lesson plan to schedule each activity by the minute

Any teacher will know the feeling of reaching the end of your material with 10 minutes left in the lesson.

Avoid running short (or running over!) in your lessons by planning down to the minute. The English lesson plan example below measures out timings for each activity so you finish perfectly on time. 

You can use a timer on your interactive whiteboard , or get students to time themselves. Scheduling is a great skill to incorporate into any lesson plan.

Creating a history lesson plan is essential for a successful session no matter if you’re teaching the near past or the ancient history.

Using common teaching resources such as timeline infographics , or imaginative play and learning are exciting ways to make your History lesson plans exciting.

Prepare for history lessons with a history timeline infographic

Teaching history effectively and engagingly relies on the teacher’s ability to bring the past back to life. For some students, mentally visualizing history can be difficult. A timeline infographic is a great way to teach historical events.

When planning your history lesson, make sure you have all of your timelines sorted. You can either prepare your history timelines in advance or get the students to create their own history timeline as part of the lesson activity.

Venngage has a whole range of timeline infographic templates that are easy to customize. 

Want to learn more about how to create a timeline infographic ? Check out the video below:

Use themes and historical events to enrich your lesson planning

When planning your history lessons, look for topical themes or historical events that you can anchor your lesson plan around.

In the lesson plan example below, the teacher is using Black History Month as an anchor point for their students’ learning.

Teaching the historical significance of Black History Month and engaging students in related learning activities throughout February is a great way to contextualize current affairs. There are plenty of resources online to help create your Black History Month lesson plans.

Related Reading: Looking for other global holidays and events to theme your lessons on? Check this Ultimate List of Holidays .

When creating middle school lesson plans, like in the templates and examples below, it’s important to focus on success and simplicity.

Middle school is a time for make or break for many learners. Skills that they learn in middle school carry them through life and it can be a huge weight to carry. But teaching middle school can also be incredibly rewarding. Here are some tips to help you create an effective middle school lesson plan:

Make note of what success looks like in your lesson plan

In teaching, quite often the end goal is not for the students to just arrive at the correct answer, but to understand the process of getting there. Having this mentality in your mind whilst lesson planning is an excellent way to ensure your students are learning effectively and that you are maximizing your teaching impact.

Add a section to your lesson plans as to what success looks like for you and your students like in the Middle School lesson plan template: 

Color code your lesson plan for ease of use

Colors can be a great differentiator in content and color-coding your lesson plans is a great way to make information pop. In this lesson plan example, each day has a different color which makes planning and evaluating much easier.

Related Reading: What Disney Villains Can Tell Us About Color Psychology

Creating a kindergarten lesson plan involves similar principles to those used for preschoolers but with a bit more structure and focus on foundational academic skills.

We all know that meme “teaching kindergarten is like using a blender without a lid”. Staying organized is super important and having thorough easy-to-follow kindergarten lesson plans is one way to make sure your teaching stays on track. 

Use themes to help plan your Kindergarten lessons

Help your kindergarteners embrace learning by using themes to plan their education. Themes are a great way to work through lots of different learning activities under one thematic umbrella.

This kindergarten lesson plan example uses St Patrick’s Day as its thematic anchor and bases Math, Art, Science and more off of one common theme. 

Make your lesson plans easy to skim

We’ve all been in a spot when our mind goes blank and we need to quickly refer back to our lesson plan. Especially if you’re interviewing or teaching in front of others.

By making your lesson plans easy to skim, you can quickly regain your train of thought and continue conducting a successful lesson.

In the sample lesson plan below the teacher has used simple blocks, checklists and icons to help ensure their lesson plan is easy to understand at a glance.

Creating a high school lesson plan involves a more structured approach, as students at this level are typically engaged in more advanced academic subjects.

Ensuring that your High School lesson plans account for success and reinforcing skills is one way to deliver the best education for your learners.

Include indicators of skill in your high school lesson plans

In high school, lesson plans tend to be more advanced. In the high school lesson plan example below, the teacher has included a section for indicators of skill. 

Indicators of skill are a great way to measure your students’ understanding of a topic and can be used to help inform your planning and teaching. Add two or three skill indicators into your lesson plans to ensure you know how to identify which students may need additional support from you in teaching.

You can also scroll back to the Math lesson plans section for more ideas on high school lesson plan templates.

Remember how I mentioned you should include timelines in your lesson plan? Well, for a high school lesson plan, you can include a timeline template like this one to make sure your students understand all the dates required for their school project:

Creating a preschool lesson plan involves careful consideration of the developmental needs and interests of young children. Shaping young minds is a rewarding experience, but it can sometimes feel like juggling too many balls at once.

With so many different essential key skills to teach, using a thorough Preschool lesson plan is important for making sure that your learners progress stays on track.

Break your Preschool lesson plans into learning sections

Preschool curriculums can be complex, covering multiple areas of crucial childhood development.

Help visualize each of these areas in their own right by creating a preschool lesson plan that takes a broad overview.

By breaking your lesson plan into learning sections, like this Preschool lesson plan example, you can get a glance at all elements of your students learning at once.

Get an overview of your week with a weekly lesson plan

A weekly lesson plan works great for preschool education planning, as it helps you identify and build lessons around common themes or goals. In the lesson plan template below, weeks have been broken down into different areas of focus.

Use icons in your Preschool lesson plan

Using icons is a great way to communicate visually. Icons are easy to understand, especially when you’re skimming a document. 

Take this lesson plan template for example, not only do the icons help communicate the lesson themes, they also make the lesson plan example super engaging and fun.

Using icons can also be a great way to help students who struggle with non-visual learning. For more ways to improve your lesson accessibility, check out this guide to creating a Color Blind Friendly Palette .

Creating a math lesson plan involves careful planning and consideration of various elements to ensure effective teaching and learning. Check out these lesson plan ideas for math tutors for writing the best math lesson plan, as well as some templates you can edit.

Use pops of color in your lesson plans

Just because your lesson plan tackles a complex subject doesn’t mean it has to be boring. In this lesson plan example a mint green color has been used to help break up the design. You could color code different subjects or units if you have multiple classes to teach.

Break your lesson plan into sections to make it easy to follow

Being properly prepared for any eventuality in your lesson starts with good planning. By using sections, like in the lesson plan example below, you can cover all of your bases. 

When lesson planning, consider the following:

• Lesson discussion questions
• Activity options for multiple group sizes
• Lesson notes or feedback

In this math lesson plan activity, the teacher has thought through all of the needs of their class.

Think outside the box when lesson planning

When lesson planning, the world, or at least the internet, is your Oyster. Instead of just teaching vocabulary, use scavenger hunts, word searches, or story activities. 

Try picking a new activity and building your lesson around that. In the lesson activity example below, Merriam-Webster has a dictionary scavenger hunt that will keep students engaged and entertained throughout your English lesson.

Highlight your lesson objectives at the top of your lesson plan

Your learning objectives should guide your lesson planning, not the other way around.

In this sample lesson plan that focuses on analyzing a film for an English class, the learning objectives are housed within the same section as the lesson plan overview, right on the first page:

If you want to learn how to write an actional learning objective , check out this post on learning objective examples .

When creating Elementary school lesson plans, you need to make sure that you’re keeping a good overview of many different subjects at once. 

Having a clear, easy to understand Elementary lesson plan, like in the examples below, is really important for making sure that all your learning objectives are being met.

Break your elementary lesson plans into day and subject sections

Elementary students will often be studying various topics and subjects at once and keeping an overview of this can be difficult. By creating a weekly lesson plan you can make sure that your students stay on track. 

In this lesson plan template, subjects and activity have been split across the days, with simple summaries of each section within the lesson plan. 

Include notes sections in your lesson plans

Planning a lesson is important, but reflecting on a lesson is essential. Adding notes sections to your lesson plans, like in this weekly lesson plan example, is a great way to remind yourself to evaluate as you go.

Evaluating yourself and your lessons can be a daunting task. Applying various evaluation strategies, such as a SWOT Analysis , is an easy way to give your evaluations focus.

When creating art lesson plans, use bright colors, patterns, icons and graphics to create a truly engaging visual art lesson plan, like in the examples below.

Art lessons lend themselves to creative and visual learning , so your Art lesson plans should be creative and visual as well.

Incorporate learning examples in your art lesson plans

Art lesson plans can be one of the most fun to create. Art as a visual medium lends itself to an exciting and decorative lesson plan. 

In the art lesson plan example below, the teacher has inserted visual examples to use during the lesson directly into their lesson plan. Collecting all of this information in one place means that you can quickly refer back to your lesson plan mid teaching. 

Be creative with your art lesson plan design

If you’re creating an art course, you’re probably a creative person. Why not let that creativity shine in your lesson plan templates?

Fun illustrations and patterns have been used in the lesson plan sample below to create a visually appealing lesson plan design.

When picking colors for your lesson plan design, some schools will need to be aware of color connotations. Certain colors should be avoided due to gang or rivalry associations. Some schools will also want to ensure that all materials produced fit within your school colors.

Use colors and patterns in your art lesson plan designs

As well as colors, patterns can be used, like in this art lesson plan example, to create interest in your lesson plan design. 

Picking a patterned but simple background is an easy way to add depth to any lesson plan design.

Science l esson plan examples

Planning a science lesson can mean anything from experiments to monitoring or diagramming and labelling.

Following a template, like in the science lesson plan examples below, can help make sure that your science lessons run smoothly.

Provide a space for reflection in your science lesson plan

Whilst a lesson plan is a place to schedule your activities, it can also be a great document to refer back to when planning future sessions. Adding a reflection section in your science lesson plan can be a great way to add notes about what worked and what didn’t within your lesson, for future reference. 

Break projects down into sections of deliverables

If you’re conducting a difficult lesson, such as a hands-on science project, it can be handy to help yourself and your students by outlining expectations. A checklist can be a great way to make your science lesson plan as effective as possible.

In this lesson plan example, the deliverables have been broken into easy-to-follow checklists.

Use illustrations to bring your lesson plan templates to life

Your lesson plans should inspire you, not bore you! Using illustrations is a great way to bring your lesson plans to life. 

In this sample lesson plan, the teacher has used colorful and playful illustrations to reflect the content of the lessons.

Creating simple lesson plans involves breaking down the content into manageable components and incorporating straightforward activities.

Sometimes simple is best—especially when it comes to lesson planning. When you’re panicked mid-teaching, having a simple and straightforward lesson plan that you can take a quick glance at it can be invaluable. 

Keep your lesson plan simple for stressful situations

When performing under pressure, staying simple is usually the best option. Using a clean and modern lesson plan design is one way to ensure that you can stay focused on what matters: teaching. 

Simple doesn’t have to mean boring, though. Using good design principles and following one or two graphic design trends means that your simple lesson plan template can still look smart.

Use an icon to help differentiate different subject lesson plans

Icons are an easy way to differentiate your lesson plans by subject or topic. In the lesson plan example below, a large book icon has been used at the top of the page so that you can quickly see that this is an English lesson plan.

You could use an icon for each subject you teach, or use icons to tell a story . You could even replace the icon with a photo of your lesson materials!

Use an action plan approach in your lesson planning

In the simple lesson plan example, the tasks in the lesson plan have been labeled as an “action plan” . By keeping the lesson plan design simple, the focus is really on the content of the lesson plan.

Creating an action plan when teaching your lessons is a great mindset for creating engaging lessons and proactive teaching.

When creating eLearning , distance learning, remote learning, digital learning lesson plans—basically, anything outside the usual classroom setup—always be ready for its own set of unique challenges.

Engaging learners from behind a screen, or creating lessons that can exist outside of a traditional classroom environment can be difficult. But proper eLearning lesson plans can help you navigate non-traditional learning environments.

Break your eLearning lesson plan into activities or subjects

With so many people shifting to remote or digital learning keeping track of all of your separate subjects can be difficult. Creating an eLearning lesson plan that is broken into smaller chunks, with space for each topic, is an easy way to keep learning on track.

In this eLearning lesson plan example subjects are color coded and broken into small blocks.

For more examples of eLearning lesson plans, check out this post on course design templates .

Looking for more eLearning resources?

• 7 Ways to use eLearning Infographics
• Digital Learning Communication Resources  
• What is an Infographic?
• 10 Types of Visual Aids for Learning

Use a daily schedule when learning remotely

Learning remotely can be a big change for both teachers and students. One way to keep your learning on track is with an easy-to-follow daily schedule. Using a daily schedule as a lesson plan, like in the example below, is one way to maintain a routine during difficult times.

As well as scheduling within your lesson plan, you can also create a calendar to help keep your students on track.

Allow time for creativity and fun in your lesson plans

One of the biggest benefits of eLearning, Remote Learning and Digital Learning is that you can stray from the confines of a traditional classroom. 

Giving students the opportunity to explore topics creatively can be one way to engage your learners in difficult times. Every student will have a different learning style and by scheduling structured creative learning activities you can ensure that your entire class has the opportunity to thrive.

Simple lesson plan format you can use

Though there are a several lesson plan types and no one format can be used for all lessons, the basic lesson format is always a good starting point.

This format covers the basics of teaching – say a little bit, do a little bit . The important part here is to provide input in a way that enables learners to see the structure and sequence.

You should format it this way:

• Lesson purpose: What you want students to learn or know about?
• Input : Specific information you want students to know.
• Activity : Used to get students to manipulate information from input.

Informing students on what they’ll be learning or doing keeps them more engaged and on track. So, it’s always a good idea to share your lesson plan by writing a brief agenda on the board or telling students explicitly what they will be learning and doing in class.

By doing this, you help students not only retain knowledge better but understand the rationale behind in-class activities.

To sum up: Use a lesson plan template to write an actionable and easy-to-follow lesson plan

Writing a lesson plan from scratch can be difficult, which is why Venngage has created tons of lesson plan templates you can edit easily. You can also draw inspiration from the different lesson plan examples in this post to customize your lesson plan template.

Simply create a Venngage account, pick the template you want and begin editing. It’s free to get started.

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