It’s not the amount of planning that overwhelms teachers — it’s where they start. One shift in thinking changes everything.
Do you ever sit down to plan a lesson and feel overwhelmed?
So many students. So many papers to mark. So many curriculum expectations to cover.
Lesson planning can feel like a mountain of work before the school year even begins.
But what if the real problem isn’t the amount of planning? What if the problem is where we start planning?
Over the years, I discovered that lesson planning becomes far easier once a teacher is clear about one thing: purpose.
Not the behavioural objective written neatly on a lesson plan form. Something deeper than that. Your reason for teaching in the first place.
Once that becomes clear, planning begins to fall into place.
Lesson Planning Should Begin With the Big Picture
Ideally, a lesson plan lives inside a larger unit of study. Units allow students to build knowledge and skills over time rather than encountering disconnected activities.
Planning this way also allows the teacher to step back and ask an important question: Is this really what I want to teach?
That may sound like a strange question. After all, teachers are expected to follow the curriculum. But if you examine curriculum guides carefully, you will discover something important: there is usually far more flexibility than we first assume.
As the old saying goes, there is more than one way to skin a cat.
The Two Questions That Shape Every Lesson
Whenever I begin planning, I start with two simple questions:
- What is the purpose of this lesson?
- What do I want students to achieve?
These questions sound similar, but they are not the same.
Teachers often confuse purpose with objective. An objective might look like this: Students will answer questions that demonstrate comprehension. That is an immediate learning outcome. It describes what students might do during the lesson.
Purpose asks a deeper question: Why does this learning matter?
The why shapes the how. Understanding that distinction allowed me to spend more than sixty years in a profession that continued to challenge and reward me every single day.
Teaching Means Making Decisions
Teaching is not just delivering lessons. It is a constant stream of decisions. Consider just a few situations teachers face regularly:
- A student admits cheating on an exam.
- A student lies about an absence.
- A student asks you a deeply personal question.
- A student comes to class intoxicated.
- A student submits work after the deadline.
How should you respond? There is no universal script. Your responses should reflect your personal belief system about teaching.
When teachers are clear about their values, decisions about grading, discipline, collaboration, and responsibility become much easier to make. Students also recognize that consistency — and it helps them feel safe.
My Purpose for Teaching
My own reason for teaching has always been simple. I want to use my imagination, knowledge, skill, experience, and humanity to create opportunities for students to become deeply engaged in learning.
But that engagement must come through what I call worthy work.
Students want their work to matter. For example, completing pages in a workbook may keep students busy, but it rarely feels meaningful. However, asking students to design their own workbook for future students turns the same idea into something much more powerful.
Teaching Students a Subject — Not a Subject to Students
One belief has guided my teaching more than any other.
I teach students a subject. I do not teach a subject to students.
Those two ideas are very different. Students come first. Curriculum comes second.
I explore this idea more fully in another Hey Teacher article titled “But, the Curriculum.”
The Magician Teacher
Over time I developed a personal image for the role of the teacher. My archetype is the Magician.
A magician helps make dreams come true. If I want to help students reach their dreams, I first need to know what those dreams are. That means listening carefully and allowing students to make some decisions about their learning.
Of course, teachers cannot simply hand over the curriculum and say, “Do whatever you like.” Students often need guidance to discover meaningful directions. That is where the teacher’s expertise matters most.
Catch Them Doing Something Right
Another principle guides much of what I do in the classroom: catch students doing something right.
Too often teachers focus on errors and mistakes. Evaluation becomes a form of control — or worse, punishment. Students learn far more effectively when their confidence is growing.
I never tell students something is wrong with their work unless I know how to help them improve it.
I discuss this approach more fully in another Hey Teacher article about teaching students how to revise and strengthen their writing rather than simply correcting it.
Big-T Teaching
A colleague once described this philosophy as Big-T Teaching.
Big-T teachers know what they believe about teaching and learning. Their decisions are guided by those beliefs. Students recognize that authenticity. It creates a classroom environment where students feel secure enough to take risks.
And when students feel safe, real learning begins.
Practical Questions for Lesson Planning
Once my philosophy is clear, planning becomes much easier. Here are some practical questions I ask myself:
- What would I enjoy teaching? Teacher enthusiasm matters more than many people realize.
- What does the school expect me to teach? Departments and school leaders often establish common goals.
- What do my students need most right now? Different students may need different things. Sometimes one lesson can address several needs.
- Is this worthy work? Students want to do work that feels meaningful.
- Do I have the time, materials, and knowledge? If not, can students help gather resources or contribute expertise?
Know Your Students
Another question shapes nearly every lesson I design: What do I know about my students right now?
If the answer is “not much,” then learning about them becomes part of the lesson itself. That might include quick surveys, small group discussions, focus groups, or reflective writing.
The important thing is simple: listen.
Designing a Lesson: Think Like a Story
Because I am also a writer, I often design lessons the way writers design stories. Stories have three acts, and so do my lessons.
Set the Stage
Act 1
At the beginning of a lesson, students need help entering the learning space. I might start with a story, a poem, an intriguing image, or a thought-provoking question. This opening establishes curiosity and sets the tone for the lesson.
The Challenge
Act 2
The middle of the lesson is where the real learning happens. Students encounter new ideas and begin working with them. When planning this part of the lesson, I ask:
- What information will students need?
- What strategies will help them understand?
- What will I do?
- What will students do?
One rule guides me strongly: Never design a lesson where the teacher does all the work.
Resolution
Act 3
Finally, the lesson needs closure. Students should leave with a sense that something has been completed and understood. Sometimes I return to the same strategy used at the beginning — a technique writers call book-ending.
I also consider: What happens next lesson? What feedback will students receive? How will I know they are ready for the next step?
· · ·
A Plan Is a Guide — Not a Script
I will admit something that might surprise beginning teachers. I rarely write detailed lesson plans anymore. I gather materials. I know what I hope will happen. But classrooms are filled with human beings, and human beings are unpredictable.
Sometimes a discussion that I expected to take five minutes becomes the most important part of the entire lesson. Those moments are often called teaching moments, and they are too valuable to ignore simply because we are trying to follow a rigid plan.
Planning matters. But flexibility matters just as much.
The Magic of Planning
Planning is one of the most creative acts in teaching. It combines imagination, knowledge, and care for students. When it is done thoughtfully, something remarkable can happen in the classroom.
For me, that magic made teaching a lifelong adventure.
Key Takeaways
- Start with purpose — not objectives, not outcomes, not curriculum expectations. Your reason for teaching. Everything else follows from that.
- You teach students a subject. Not a subject to students. Students come first. Curriculum comes second.
- Students know the difference between busy work and worthy work. Design lessons that matter — and never be the hardest working person in the room.
- A plan is a starting point, not a script. The best moments in a classroom are often the unplanned ones.
