A Free Printable EFL Lesson Plan Template

All teachers should understand that a lesson plan is not an end but it is a means and indicator. For supervisors, a well-written lesson plan indicates that the teacher has enough information about the lesson and he is well mentally prepared to teach it effectively because a lesson plan is like a road map for teachers to know what students should learn, the learning activities to achieve objectives, how to teach these activities, how students do practice and how to assess students’ achievement of the goals. In the previous post, we talked in more detail about six things that must be included in a lesson plan. Please get a look at these things to know how to write a good lesson plan.

The next big question is: Do we need a lesson plan template?

I think the answer is: Why not? It means “yes” and here are the reasons:

Some teachers need to write a detailed lesson plan to get the most out of the lesson study. Writing such a plan is a difficult job. In this case, using a lesson plan template saves time and effort especially when it covers all guidelines of the lesson.
A lesson plan template – provided it is good – includes the main things that must be included in the lesson. it means getting a comprehensive lesson plan that enhances teacher mental preparation.
A printed lesson plan helps teachers to stay organized and focused while teaching. They won’t find themselves elaborate or write things far away from the main content of the lesson.
With a lesson plan template, teachers agree upon the main things or headlines that must be included in each lesson (headlines such as objectives, presentation, practice, assessment, …..etc.) but each teacher reflects his personality and experience when writing the details under each headline. This agreement and variety at the same time can be very useful for discussion and peer evaluation afterwards.

Which template should we use?

Lesson plan templates differ according to the curriculum you teach, the facilities available for you, the learning environment and students’ learning levels. But even if they are different, you should use the one that includes the main six things that must be included in a lesson plan.

Can we tailor our own template?

Yes, you can, and it is better to build the lesson plan template that works for you. But remember, your template should be organized in a way that makes sense to you. It should also be easy to reproduce and fill in. And to start building your template, you should consider how to include the essential six elements listed in the previous post. You may decide to place all elements on a single page or you may start with a two-page layout. Of course, you should take into account the spaces under each element according to the details you plan to write.

How does the teacher’s guide fit as an “optimum resource” while planning lessons?”

In case the teacher’s guide provides you with the following information:

Learning objectives.
Suggested teaching aids to use to facilitate learning and attract students’ attention.
Suggested warm-up activities.
Learning strategies that facilitate lesson learning.
Class organization for each activity.
The best period for each activity.
The steps in sequence to introduce the lesson.
What do students do in each activity?

In that case, we can consider the teacher’s guide as an “optimum resource” for planning lessons and so we recommend reading it carefully before teaching each lesson, and following it when planning your lessons or when you build a lesson plan template.

Here is a link to download an EFL lesson plan template in a word file that you can edit.