This document outlines a 5-step process for creating stress-free lesson plans. The steps include: 1) choosing a standard and benchmark; 2) identifying learning objects; 3) writing objectives for each learning object; 4) determining assessments; and 5) choosing instructional methods. Following these steps breaks planning down into manageable pieces and ensures content is accessible to both teachers and students. The process results in an overall unit plan with lesson outlines focused on specific learning goals.

1. STRESS-FREE LESSON PLANNING
RATIONALE: All experienced teachers know how overwhelming it is to plan lessons and units. This
tutorial will help you break planning down into manageable pieces. The planning process presented
will make planning more efficient while making content more accessible to you and your students.
KEY CONCEPTS:
1. Curricular content is best taught in small pieces.
2. Teachers need to assess student interactions with content IMMEDIATELY after instruction.
3. Mini-lessons are the best way to accomplish this.
PROCEDURE: Follow these five steps in order. Each step will give you information and an
activity that will help you in the planning process. You will start by focusing your unit as a whole,
and gradually you will break information down into mini-lessons.
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STEP 1: CHOOSE A STANDARD AND A BENCHMARK
WHY?
● Your whole unit will revolve around the standard and benchmark(s) you choose.
● Schools require you to follow them.
ACTIVITY:
➔ Choose one standard and one or two benchmarks to provide the backbone for
your unit.
P.S. If this sounds overwhelming to only have one standard to rest your whole unit on, rest
assured: You don't want your unit to be more than ten days long anyway. A five-day unit is
perfectly acceptable.
STEP 1B: IF YOUR STANDARD DOES NOT GIVE YOU A TOPIC FOR YOUR UNIT PLAN,
CHOOSE ONE. For most subjects, the actual content for your unit will be contained within the
standard you chose in Step 1. If you teach literature or art, though, the standard most likely gave
you skills but not topics. So choose a topic, theme, literary work, etc. now, and move on.

2. STEP 2: CREATE LEARNING OBJECTS
WHAT IS A LEARNING OBJECT?
A learning object is a piece of knowledge or a skill that students must get from your
course. Common learning objects might be a skill, a key concept, or an important fact.
EXAMPLES OF LEARNING OBECTS:
● manifest destiny
● how to take notes for research using index cards
● the order of operations in math
WHY ARE THEY USEFUL?
● Each learning object will be the foundation for a different lesson or mini-lesson.
● Because you base them on the standard you chose in Step 1, you can forget about
the standard after you complete this step.
ACTIVITY:
➔ Write down at least five learning objects that MUST be a part of your unit.
STEP 3: WRITE OBJECTIVES
WHAT ARE OBJECTIVES? Objectives are the activities students must be able to
do to show that they have mastered the learning object. They can be as simple as
defining vocab words or as involved as involved as evaluating ethical dilemmas
found in a case study.
EXAMPLES:
● Students will explain how the concept of manifest destiny impacted American
expansion.
● Students will format notes properly on fifty index cards.
● Students will be able to solve math problems using the correct order of
operations without cues.
WHAT DO THEY DO?
Objectives are learning goals. They determine what students must be able to do at the
completion of your unit.
ACTIVITY:
➔ Write one objective for each of your learning objects.

3. STEP 4: ASSESSMENT
WHY DOES ASSESSMENT COME BEFORE LESSON PLANS?
You have to determine what students need to be able to do in order to know what you
are going to teach them.
ACTIVITY:
➔ Determine what assessment you will use for each of your objectives.
STEP 5: INSTRUCTION
AT LAST: Now that you've figured out what your students need to know and what
they need to be able to do, you can choose your instructional methods.
ACTIVITY:
➔ For each learning object/objective/assessment, choose the instructional methods
that will best help them accomplish your learning goals.
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CONGRATULATIONS! If you followed these directions, you should now have an overall unit
plan with five lesson outlines to go with it. Have fun teaching!
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:
● You will want to choose a final assessment for the entire unit. You can build this using the
assessments you have used for your lessons and mini-lessons.
● Just because you're breaking learning down into bite-size pieces doesn't mean you can let your
students forget content from units past. You'll want to give comprehensive assessments
periodically to keep the material fresh.