How to make an engaging lesson plan for any subject

Are you a newly employed teacher or a teacher in training? 

Knowing how to make an engaging lesson plan for any subject will go a long way toward remaining relevant in your chosen profession and delivering rich, useful, and helpful lessons to your students.

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Creating engaging lesson plan is a prerequisite to capturing your learner's attention during the teaching and learning process.

Therefore, this guide will explain to you a step-by-step process on how to make an engaging lesson plan for any subject, even if you are new to the system.

READ ALSO: 11 most effective teaching methods for [primary school] teachers

What is lesson plan in teaching?

A lesson plan in teaching is a detailed teachers' guide that specifies the objectives, materials, activities, and assessment methods a teacher will use to deliver a lesson effectively to ensure students can meet the desired learning outcomes.

What are the 5 steps in a lesson plan?

As a teacher, your lesson plan consists of the following steps:

1. Set objectives: Determine what students should learn or accomplish at the end of the lesson.
2. Plan the Introduction: Create a compelling opening that will attract students' attention and introduce the topic.
3. Develop the main content: Outline how you will deliver the lesson, including essential concepts, examples, and instructional strategies.
4. Incorporate Activities: Give students hands-on or interactive projects to practice and apply their knowledge.
5. Assess and Reflect: Develop strategies for evaluating students' comprehension and reflecting on the lesson's efficacy.

What are the 5 parts of a lesson plan?

The 5 major parts of a lesson plan you should always pay attention to are: 

1. Objectives: Specific goals outlining what students will learn or achieve.
2. Materials/Resources: A list of the tools, supplies, and resources required for the lesson.
3. Introduction: A quick, interesting portion that introduces the topic and establishes the tone of the classroom.
4. Main activities include basic content delivery and student involvement.
5. Assessment and Closure: An evaluation to determine comprehension and a summary to close the class.

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Steps to making an engaging lesson plan for any subject

1. Understand Your Learning Objectives

Clear learning objectives that specify what students should know or be able to do by the end of the lesson are the first step in any lesson plan.

Therefore, as a teacher, you are to make use of the SMART framework. This is an acronym for

• Specific: Clearly define what students will learn.
• Measurable: Ensure you can assess their understanding.
• Achievable: Set realistic goals for the lesson duration.
• Relevant: Align objectives with curriculum standards.
• Time-bound: Specify the timeframe for achieving the goals.

Sampled objectives:

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to solve quadratic equations using the factorization method.

2. Know your audience

For your pupils to be engaged, you must know their age, ability level, interests, and preferred methods of learning. You are also expected to consider diverse learning styles, which include:

• Visual (e.g., diagrams, videos).
• Auditory (e.g., discussions, audio recordings).
• Kinesthetic (e.g., hands-on activities, role-playing).
• Reading/Writing (e.g., worksheets, textbooks).

To be able to understand your learner's, conduct a quick survey or observation to identify your students' preferences.

3. Structure your lesson plan

A class that is well structured guarantees seamless transitions and maintains student engagement. This is a typical format:

Introduction (5-10 minutes):

Here, your principal responsibility is to grab your students' attention with a strong and engaging hook. It can be through a story, question, or an interesting fact.

Next is to briefly introduce the topic and objectives.

Main Lesson (20-30 minutes):

To deliver a rich and quality lesson, consider to:

• Use a variety of methods of instruction to convey the idea (lecture, presentation, video, etc).
• Include examples that are relevant to real-life scenarios.
• use of images, props, or digital tools. Generally known as instructional aids. 

Activity (15-20 minutes):

This is a section whereby you will need to create a problem-solving exercise, experiment, or group discussion to help reinforce the lesson.

Conclusion (5-10 minutes):

Before you bring your class to an end, ensure that you do these three things. These are:

• Summarize the key ideas.
• Ask reflective questions to gauge understanding.
• Give the student a preview of the upcoming class to maintain curiosity.

4. Integrate active learning strategies

By making use of active learning strategies, you will be able to keep students involved and motivated. Some of the effective strategies utilize include:

• Think-Pair-Share: Students consider a question, talk about it with a partner, and then present their ideas to the class.
• Debates: Encourage students to defend opposing views to cultivate critical thinking.
• Games and Quizzes: To make learning enjoyable, use instructional games or short tests.
• Hands-on Activities: Use models or experiments for subjects like science.

5. Make use of technology and multimedia

You can incorporate digital tools and resources to make lessons more useful, helpful, and dynamic. You will need the following: 

• Tools for Visuals: Canva, Google Slides, Prezi.
• Interactive Platforms: Kahoot, Quizizz, Nearpod.
• Video Resources: YouTube, TED-Ed, or subject-specific videos.
• Learning Management Systems (LMS): Google Classroom, Edmodo.

Tip: Choose tools appropriate for your classroom’s tech capabilities.

6. Plan for Differentiation

Know this: learners your class consists of different kinds of learners. Therefore, you should be able to adapt your lesson to meet the needs of all students, including those who may need additional support or challenges.

• For struggling students: Offer simpler tasks or provide one-on-one assistance.
• For advanced students: Add extension activities to deepen their understanding.
• Use tiered activities: Design tasks with varying difficulty levels.

7. Incorporate assessment and feedback

As a teacher, assessment helps you measure how well students understand the lesson and material. Even how effective your teaching methods are. 

You can make use of any of the following assessment method below: 

Formative Assessments 

This is the method of assessment you used during the classroom. Alongside to making use of this method, you can: 

• Use a quick quizzes, polls, or exit tickets.
• Observe student participation during activities.

Summative Assessments 

This is the mode of assessment you use immediately at the end of the class. It is always used at the end of the entire lesson. 

It can come in form of homework, assignments, tests, or projects.

Tip: Always provide constructive feedback to guide improvement.

8. Reflect and Revise

After teaching each the lesson or your class presentation, always take a moment to reflect on what worked and what didn’t.

Ask yourself:

• Did students achieve the learning objectives?
• Which parts of the lesson were most engaging?
• What could be improved next time?

Gather feedback from your audience (the students):

Ask students for their input on what they enjoyed or found challenging.

Final Thoughts on how to make an engaging lesson plan for any subject

Creating engaging lesson plans foster active participation, improve understanding, and make learning enjoyable. 

By following the steps mentioned above in this guide, you will be able to create engaging lesson plans for any subject of your choice.

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