How to write a lesson plan: 4 key points (updated for 2024 concorso)

Lesson planning: in real life, experienced language teachers can probably fit their lesson plans on a post-it note, so for them, it might look something like this…

​…but when you’re preparing for a teacher exam like the CELTA or the concorso scuola, and you have to fill out a full-fledged lesson plan, it’s more likely to look a lot longer and more detailed!

In this guide, we will give you a structure for your lesson plans and discuss all the sections of a good lesson plan. Finally, we will give you some tips and a downloadable template.

Sections of a lesson plan

Based on the Cambridge Assessment English CELTA syllabus, a good lesson plan should include:

1. a statement of aims 
2. a class profile 
3. anticipation of difficulties and suggested solutions 
4. description of teacher and learner interactions 
5. details of resources to be used 
6. staged description of procedures including anticipated timings
   

Now let us turn to each of these individually.

For the purposes of the concorso docenti AB24, AB25 and BB02, however, we will condense all these points into a more concise structure. This is because the new format of the 2024 oral exam has meant that committees have asked for shorter presentations of the lezione simulata, of 15 minutes or less.

Therefore, we recommend focusing on 4 key points: class profile, lesson aims, procedures and assessment.

1. Class profile and context

Here is where you describe your learners. How many are they? What is their level? What is the broader socio-economic context of the school?

This is an especially important section if your class includes mixed levels (as many secondary school classes do): mixed-level classes can present problems and you can briefly discuss how you would manage them.

This is also the section where you will discuss any Special Educational Needs (Bisogni Educativi Speciali) and what tools and measures you plan to adopt in your lesson plan.

2. Lesson aims

The aims of a lesson are generally the most important part of the lesson. You are answering the question: what will your students have learned at the end of the class? Lesson aims are sometimes also called achievement aims (Scrivener 2011) or learning outcomes. There will be different sub-aims for different tasks you do in class, but there should be one or two key aims for the whole class.

Pro tip: phrase your aims like this: “by the end of the lesson, students will…”

Examples:
By the end of the lesson, learners will be better able to understand speakers spelling words on the phone
By the end of the lesson, students will have gained a more thorough understanding of reported speech

Your lesson aims should relate clearly to 3 framework documents: the CEFR, the Indicazioni Nazionali e linee guida and the European Key Competences for Lifelong Learning. Learn how to connect your aims to these 3 documents in our dedicated guide.

As we will see below, aims are different from procedures, which refer to the actual activities planned for the class.

3. Description of procedures, including anticipated timings

A good lesson plan includes a list of steps: in each numbered step, specify what procedures you will implement. As we explain in our Designing Activities and Lessons preparation course, included in our self-study bundle, procedures include all the practices and techniques implemented in the classroom: in other words, what you and your students will be doing. In each stage, describe what you and the learners will be doing and how long each stage will take.

Example:
Stage 1
Procedures: in small groups, students tell each other what their biggest dream is and a representative for each group writes down all the answers on the handout.
Timing: 3 minutes 

4. Assessment

Here is where you conclude your lesson plan by explaining what assessment tools you will use to gauge what has been learned in the lesson(s). Will you use formative or summative assessment, or both? Will you use peer assessment, learner self assessment, teacher self assessment?

Pro tip: always remember to include your assessment rubrics, as this is what most committees expect at the oral exam. Watch our intro video to learn about the components of a good assessment rubric:

Need to learn more about how to design your assessment for your lesson plan? Watch webinar 3 of our on demand course on lesson planning and get the knowledge you need in less than 2 hours!

Additional sections

These are the 4 essential sections from our template, but here are some other aspects that you might also want to add to your lesson plan:

Materials

Include details of all the materials you and your students will be using: coursebooks, PowerPoint presentations, websites, videos, handouts and so on.

Assumed knowledge

What knowledge do you assume your learners will already have before the class? For example, if you’re teaching the third conditional, students should probably already be familiar with the second conditional.

Type of lesson

Are you planning a reading lesson (i.e. focusing mostly on one skill), practising a specific grammar point, covering a topic or integrating different skills?

Topic

Is there a topic for your class?

New grammar structures

What new grammar structures are you teaching?

New vocabulary

What new vocabulary are you teaching?

Phonology points

Are you focusing on any specific phonological points (e.g. the pronunciation of a certain sound)?

Anticipated difficulties and planned solutions

In this section of the lesson plan, think about what you know about your (real or hypothetical) learners: what are they likely to encounter difficulties with? Think in terms of systems (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation), skills (listening, reading, speaking, writing, interaction), topics and types of interaction (e.g. shy students are likely to struggle speaking in front of the whole class).

After identifying their possible difficulties, briefly explain how you would tackle them. Be as specific as possible with your solutions.

Here is an example from a pre-intermediate lower secondary school class about global warming:
Anticipated problem: as this is a new topic for them, students may struggle with the key target vocabulary in this class, including to melt, fossil fuel and greenhouse gases
Solution: I will first test their existing knowledge of this vocabulary through a game; then, I will have them read them in the context of a written text and form sentences with them; at the end of the class, I will review these words again to assess the extent to which the students remember them. I will also ask them to add them to our class word list on Quizlet.

Description of teacher and learner interaction

How are the students going to be interacting amongst themselves and with the teacher? For each stage in your lesson, specify if the interaction is from the teacher to the students, among students or from the students to the teacher. You can also include references to group work, pair work, individual work, whole-class discussion, lecture and so on.
Tip: for a highly effective lesson, make sure that you alternate these modes of interaction throughout your class

Final tips

Finally, now that you have a structure in mind, let us give you some final general pointers for a great lesson:

1. Start the class with a warm-up, such as a game if you’re working with young learners: this will get the learners settled down and more prepared to start learning in English
2. Don’t forget to briefly review what you did in your previous lesson
3. Before diving into the class, start with a lead-in stage to activate learners’ existing knowledge (e.g. through brainstorming) and see what they already know
4. Explain the lesson aims at the beginning of your class: you can quickly write them on the board so the students know what’s going to happen
5. Ensure there is variety in the types of interaction throughout the class: alternate pair work, group work, individual work and class discussion
6. Don’t be afraid to deviate from your plan a little: working on students’ questions or difficulties can be a great learning opportunity!

Download our free template

Now that you know the basics of lesson planning, maybe you’re itching to try to design one?

Download our free lesson plan template to guide you!

I hope you’ve found this guide helpful! How are you going to use it to design a lesson plan for the concorso? Let me know in the comments!

Do you want to learn how to design great lesson plans? Sign up for our On demand course on lesson planning and you’ll learn how to write engaging and interactive lesson plans, justify your pedagogical choices based on the research and theory, and much more.

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