Introduction
Lesson planning is an important step all teachers should be skilled at. Here we have collected a list of 40 top resources to help with lesson planning. In the first section we have included some useful articles on various introductory and overview topics relating to lesson planning. They are a great read to grasp the essential points of lesson planning. In the second section, we have gathered many different websites that have free lesson plans available to search, download and print to use in your classroom. Lastly, we have a separate section for sites that require paid membership. We like free stuff but sometimes a resource is just so good that it’s worth paying out a little bit of money.
● A short article on How Important Lesson Planning is for Teachers.
http://itdi.pro/blog/2012/05/28/how-important-is-lesson-planning-scott-thornbury/
● Short easy to read guide on How to Write a Lesson Plan by About.com
http://712educators.about.com/od/lessonplans/ht/lessonplans.htm
● An excellent article on 5 Common Mistakes Many Teachers Make when Lesson Planning.
http://www.educationoasis.com/instruction/bt/five_common_mistakes.htm
● A superb overview of Lesson Planning Structure
http://www.ukcle.ac.uk/resources/teaching-and-learning-strategies/planning/
● A good article on Effective Lesson Planning with several videos by made by teachers on the subject of lesson planning.
http://www.teachersmedia.co.uk/nqt/effective-lesson-planning
● Informative article on Strategies for Effective Lesson Planning
http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/P2_5.php
● Using Bloom's Taxonomy in the Classroom
http://712educators.about.com/od/testconstruction/p/bloomstaxonomy.htm
● This article on the Penn State University site outlines the 3 Classic Lesson Planning Models. Very informative read for any teacher which includes easy to use templates for each model.
http://www.personal.psu.edu/scs15/idweb/lessonplanning.htm
Free Resources
TES
● One of the largest networks of teachers anywhere with over 2 million members, TES is an incredible resource that every teacher needs to know about. Registration is free and quick, giving you access to nearly half a million lesson plans and articles, yes half a million! There is an active community with chances to interact with teachers from all over the UK and world. Don't miss this website!
http://www.tes.co.uk/
Guardian Newspaper for Teachers
● A fantastic resource for teachers. Divided into different age groups and subjects, this huge resource is free to use after registering. The materials are made by professional teachers and you can also create and share your own. There are other useful tools here such as the Test Centre to check your classes progress. Highly recommended!
http://teachers.guardian.co.uk/
Microsoft
● Known for their computer software but they also provide a great teaching resource free for educators. They have provided several lessons on a range of subjects such as History and Geography for different age groups. Nice printables are available with each lesson.
http://www.microsoft.com/education/en-us/teachers/plans/pages/index.aspx
We included them on this list because of the free software they offer to teachers.
http://www.microsoft.com/education/en-us/teachers/Pages/free-products.aspx
Education World
● A staggering amount of resources that will keep you going for a long time. They also have a great page of 5 minute fillers for those days where you need something quick to fill the time. It is also free and teachers can find nearly every subject under easy to find categories.
http://www.educationworld.com/
Primary Resources
● Divided into subjects, this free resource is an excellent source of printable lesson plans for primary school lessons. It relies on teachers submitting content and is regularly updated with new lessons and activities helping to make it one of the largest online UK resources for lesson plans.
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/
Lesson Plans Page
● After registering, you will gain access to over 4000 teacher approved lesson plans. Some nice features is the ability to interact with fellow teachers and we like the create a lesson plan tool. This website is backed by one of the largest education companies in the US.
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/
O2 Learn
● A surprising source of lessons is the 02 education website, they run a competition for teachers to find the best recorded lessons. All the videos are freely viewable on their website and can provide some great ideas for your classroom.
https://www.o2learn.co.uk/o2_video-channel.php
My Life 4 Schools
● My Life is a free Key Stage 2 (KS2) PSHE and Citizenship teaching resource produced by The Children's Society. On this website child friendly stories, animations and online activities bring to life key topics and themes from the Key Stage 2 curriculum.
http://www.mylife4schools.org.uk/MyLife/
National Geographic Education
● A beautiful resource by National Geographic for bringing nature and wildlife into your classroom with excellent lesson plans.
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/teaching-resources/?ar_a=1
Teaching Expertise
● A useful free resource from a UK educational magazine. All of the lesson plans on the site were first published in their books or magazines. All the lessons and articles come presented in easy to print pdf files.
http://www.teachingexpertise.com/resources
The Learning Network
● Free lessons based on New York Times articles. It is easy to keep lessons fresh and interesting by engaging students with the current news. The site also includes quizzes, opinion polls and many other interesting free tools.
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/category/lesson-plans/
Teaching Ideas
● A free resource full of lesson plans on every subject which are sure to help anyone stuck for an idea. This site offers free printables in handy pdf files.
http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/
Schoolzone
● Split into Primary and Secondary Resources, Schoolzone has collected over 50,000 free lessons available for any teacher to print off to use in the classroom. After registering (it's free!) you will have access to a huge collection of lessons, beautifully organised into subjects and levels. It has an active community and is frequently updated with news and resources.
http://www.schoolzone.co.uk/resources/
BBC for Schools
● The BBC has a whole site dedicated to schools and teachers. It is one of the best resources for quality lessons broken down into different Key Stones and is easily searchable. The lessons are on interesting topics and some are even based on popular TV shows, ensuring interesting lessons. They also have thousands of video clips available to use in the classroom for teachers looking to add some multimedia into their lessons.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/teachers/
School History
● A great resource for anything history related. Organised into the different levels, primary and secondary, if you need any history lesson plans, this is the place! Over 1500 lessons in easy to print format with many in presentation format as well.
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/
Oxfam UK
● Oxfam UK have created a resource for teachers looking to add some wider issues to their lessons. These lessons are excellent for introducing pupils to topics that may not be ordinarily included in textbooks. Professionally made and presented.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/resources/
The Hamilton Trust
● The Hamilton Trust is a charity which has great resources on Science, Maths and Literacy. After registration, you will have access to many excellent and professionally produced lessons. By supporting the charity with a monetary donation, you gain access to all resources while contributing to a good cause.
https://www.hamilton-trust.org.uk/
Pay For It
● PayForIt is a UK website primarily focused on bringing the subject of the economy into UK classrooms. They have prepared some fantastic lessons on a range of subjects that are relevant and informative for your pupils at levels Key Stage 3 & 4.
http://www.payingforit.org.uk/teachers/lesson-plans/27/
Met Office Education
● For Weather and Geography related lessons, the Met Office UK has a section on its website devoted to teacher resources. The quality of these lesson plans make up for the relatively small number of them. There are also great posters and lessons on the current issue of climate change and global warming.
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/education/teachers
WaldoMaths
● Waldomaths is a free resource for UK teachers focused on Maths. The site has an enormous list of free lessons on every Maths problem and subject on the UK curriculum. The site uses JAVA to take you step by step through Maths problems in an easy to understand format.
http://www.waldomaths.com
Web Anywhere
● Click on your subject and grade level to get some great links to free resources for teachers. Web Anywhere have collected a huge sample of great resources for the UK curriculum. You definitely won’t get stuck for ideas.
http://www.webanywhere.co.uk/education/teaching-resources
Student Teacher Resources
● Student Teacher Resources provides a gateway for all teachers, not just student teachers, to share resources. This website is completely FREE and you can find lesson plans, worksheets, teaching and activity ideas and resources for Key Stages 1 to 5.
http://www.studentteacherresources.co.uk/
Promethean Planet
● A huge, diverse range of resources for teachers. From lesson plans to projects, posters, games and quizzes, Promethean Planet has something for every teacher.
http://www.prometheanplanet.com/en-gb/resources/
Internet 4 Classrooms
● Modern classrooms require modern technology and the interactive whiteboard has become a part of many classrooms. This resource has a list of free and easily accessible interactive whiteboard lessons.
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/links_grades_kindergarten_12/whiteboard_lesson.htm
RSPCA Education
● Very useful teacher resource created by the RSPCA on everything pet related. Lessons are easily accessible because of the simple navigation and everything is categorised in a simple, easy to understand way.
http://www.rspca.org.uk/education/teachers
A to Z Teacher Stuff
● Created by teachers for teachers, this is a great site which has organised lessons into easily searchable/browsable sections.
http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/
Lesson Plan Central
● Lesson plans, webquests, quizzes, powerpoint presentations and even clipart. This site has a lot of great lesson plans easily adaptable and printable to bring into your class.
http://www.lessonplancentral.com/
Lesson Plan Search
● Another collection of great free lesson plans on the web. You can search by subject and each subject has a number of links to great content. This site also has a lot of seasonal activities so if you’re looking for holiday worksheets, it is the place to go great free lesson plans on the web. You can search by subject and each subject has a number of links to great content. This site also has a lot of seasonal activities so if you’re looking for holiday worksheets, it is the place to go.
http://www.lessonplansearch.com/
PlanBook Lesson Planning Online Software
● Superb online software to create and manage your lesson plans. It works in the cloud so you can access it from anywhere and saves you having to carry USB keys between home and school everyday.
http://www.planbookedu.com/
Paid Resources
Lesson Planet
● Free trial for 10 Days. Possibly the largest source of lessons and activities on the Internet with over 400,000 lessons which have been reviewed by professional teachers.
http://www.lessonplanet.com/
Learning Score
● Available as a free 30 day trial this modern lesson planning software is useful for teachers using multimedia in their lesson plans.
http://www.learningscore.com/
Teacher Vision
● has a 7 Day Free Trial but after that costs $39.95 for one year. We think it's worth it because of the huge number of materials available and they come professionally presented in easy to print pdf files. The categories are organised in an excellent, intuitive way to make finding materials a breeze.
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/lesson-plan/resource/5775.html