LESSON PLAN

Planning a Lesson
A Lesson : A lesson is not a period of time. It’s body or contents of
instruction. There is however, a limit to the time a teacher can maintain
interest and hold attention of the learners. It is not possible to maintain
interest and attention for more than 45 minutes to one hour. Hence, a
normal lesson does not exceed one hour.

Planning a lesson consider the following:

1. Objectives of the lesson
If there are more than three or four objectives, do not crowd
them into one lesson. Divide it into lessons for effective preparation.
 Planning a Lesson
2. Does the lesson meet the needs of the students?
Instructions should be students centered . Include all essential
information , necessary to the learner
3. Deal with only major topic or idea:
It is important that the student should not be confused with too
many ideas or topics, presented at one time.
4. Includes new ideas and procedure:
Each new lesson should include at least one or two new ideas. These
should be related to previous learning and should stimulate interest for
further exploration of the subject.
5. Duration of the lesson
The lesson should not be too short or too long.
 Planning a Lesson
The four major steps for teaching a lesson have been effectively used in
planning a lesson . They are known as Herbartion steps. They are

1. Preparation 2. Presentation

3. Application 4. Testing
 Requirements of a Lesson
“Plan the work and work the plan”.An Instructor should therefore
plan his instructions thoroughly.
1. Selection of Subject-Matter:
This should be :
i) Tuned to the immediate needs as closely as possible .
ii) Functional or applicable to practical real situation .
iii) Selection from analyzed syllabus.
iv) Specific about the title of the lesson.
2. Clear Statement of objectives :
The objectives are the means to acquire the required standard of
knowledge or skill. The instructor should have the clear-cut ideas of
the major items of the subject , which forms the core of the lesson.
 Requirements of a Lesson
3. Selection of proper Aids:
In support of oral discussion, if instructor could make use of
available visual aids, impression on learner’s mind will be deeper and
possibility of forgetting is less.
Aids selected must be
i) Portable ,sturdy in construction so that may not get damaged
while using in the class.
ii) Big enough so that they can be seen clearly by the entire class.
iii) Hidden from view and brought out only when required to be
shown in the class, so that they do not distract the learners prior
to their use in the lesson.
iv) Attractive in appearance.
 Requirements of a Lesson
4. Review and Motivation:
“Learners learn when they are willing to learn”. Learning is better
when they know the purpose of learning and when they know that the
new information to be learnt is associated with the information learnt.
Hence , linking past learning with present information is a must.
Review can be done by:
(i) Telling personal experience .
(ii) Benefits of successfully completing the topic.
(iii) Opportunities available if adequate knowledge is acquired.
(iv) Telling a relevant story .
 Requirements of a Lesson
5. Topics and Information points :
It is necessary that the objectives already determined must be
achieved. For this purpose or effective instruction ,each objective in the
form of topics must be arranged in sequence and taught.
The development of these main points of the lesson may be through
(a) Discussion and chalk-board work.
(b) Illustration and discussion.
(c) Group discussion and questions and answer session.
5. Spot Hints:
Correct aids, when used at the right time will have more effect on
the lesson. Questions, when asked with a definite purpose at proper
intervals, help to make the teaching more interesting.
 Requirements of a Lesson
To achieve these objectives, the instructor is expected to plan accordingly
and execute the same. Spot hints guide the instructor “When” to do and
“What” to do. Often safety precautions, developing a diagram,formula
etc. is included in spot hints.

7. Questions
Important questions covering the topics when asked at appropriate
time, will serve the purpose of “Application” and “Test” steps. The
questions should be relevant, thought-provoking and should help the
learner to learn more.
Questions are the main method of introducing class-room participation.
 Requirements of a Lesson
8. Summary
This a brief narration of the main topics and ideas, covered in the
presentation step. When effectively summarized, the learner gets an
opportunity of getting correct information and clear doubts, if any. The
lesson can be summarized by asking questions and giving chalk-board
summary.

9. Assignment
Assignments are the given to help the learners for further learning and
keep them busy during unscheduled hours.
Assignments should be well planned as follows :
 Requirements of a Lesson
(a)Lessons taught
(b)Problems to be solved
(c)Questions to be answered
(d)Referring to books, magazines etc.
(e)Sketches and diagrams to be drawn
(f)Collecting samples.
(g)Gathering more information about the topic concerned.
(h)Observations to be made
Assignments given should be submitted by the students in time. They are
to be regularly assessed and checked by the instructor.
 Advantages of Lesson Plan
1. It helps to maintain sequence of teaching.
2. It links previous lessons with present and future lessons.
3. The instructor need not depend upon memory .
4. No portion of the lesson is missed.
5. Develops self-confidence in the instructor.
6. Instructor gets guidance as to when to show charts,aids,ask questions etc.
7. It increases class-room participation.
8. Instructor can keep to time schedule and wastage of time is avoided.
9. It forms a record of all teaching-learning activities.
10.Instructor can keep to teaching materials ready before hand.
11. Convenient for administration to keep check on instructor’s activities.
 Advantages of Lesson Plan
12. Old lesson plans help to plan new lesson plans.
13. It keeps instructor in “Track”. Prevents going out of the topic.
14. It helps to foresee the learning problems of the learners , and solve
them accordingly.
 Disadvantages of Lesson Plan
1. Instructor starts depending too much on lesson plan and loses contact
with new development.
2. Gradually starts losing interest and memory.
3. Too much time is wasted in planning.
4. There may be a tendency of on the part of the instructor to read out
the plan to the class, rather than discussing with the class topic by
topic.
5. It makes the instructor lazy and lose interest in outside developments.
Thus, knowledge imparted to learners is not up-to-date.
6. Learners lose confidence in the instructor when he starts using the
lesson plan like a crutch.
 Written Instructional Material

Teaching Material Learning material

Lesson Plan Information Sheet
Demonstration Plan Operation Sheet
Assignment Sheet
Job sheet
Experiment Sheet