General Guidelines for Lesson Plans

A mathematics lesson plan should include:

1. The "vital" information: (could be list at the end of the lesson plan, if you wish)

• mathematical topic.
• big idea.
• purpose or objective(s). Be specific. What are the students going to learn?
• Common Core State Standard(s) for Mathematics (CCSSM).
• CCSSM Mathematical Practices
• overview. Brief overview of what's going on in this lesson.
• grade level(s).
• background knowledge required of the students.
• source of the activity. Complete bibliographic citation. (List the URL if from the Web.)
• time (and number of days if > 1) required for the activity.
• materials needed.
• type of activity (lab, teacher led discussion, cooperative learning, etc.).

2. Procedure-details of what the teacher and students will be doing. (By the way, a lesson plan generally should have more detail on the procedure than an "Idea File.") You probably should include the amount of time for each part.

   Most lessons should include:

   • A beginning (introduction/anticipatory set)
   • A middle (Whole-class discussions are fine, but the lesson should include a portion where students do something individually or in groups.)
   • An end (conclusion/summary/closure)

   Include the questions you plan to ask (this is the most important part of the procedure section).
   Include the assessment, if there is one.

3. Extension activities. Specify how they'll be used: you plan to have everyone do them; or extensions are for students who finish early; or these are activities that could be done on subsequent days. (For an Idea File, you may not specify how the extensions will be used, because you do not have a specific class and class period in mind.)

4. Attach all worksheets (and answer sheets) and handouts you plan to use.

The format for the procedure section is up to you. The lesson plan is the document you will be using when you actually teach the lesson, so I recommend putting the procedure in list (or outline) format (as apposed to narrative paragraphs). This allows you to just glance at it during the lesson to remind yourself of the key steps and keep yourself on track.

Jim Olsen ~ WIU

updated: February 9, 2016