Lesson Plan Template: Free Daily, Weekly, and Preschool Versions
Every teacher has a version of the same story: a lesson plan template downloaded years ago, edited so many times it barely resembles the original, saved under a filename like "FINAL_FINAL_v3." If that sounds familiar, here's a cleaner set of starting points — daily, weekly, preschool, and a Google Docs version for anyone planning collaboratively.
What a Good Lesson Plan Template Should Hold
Before picking a format, it helps to know what actually needs to fit on the page:
- Learning objective, tied to a standard or curriculum goal
- Materials and resources needed
- A timing breakdown (warm-up, direct instruction, practice, wrap-up)
- Differentiation notes for different ability levels
- An assessment or check-for-understanding method
Comparing the Different Formats
| Template Type | Best For | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Daily template | Subject specialists, period-by-period planning | Deep detail on a single class period |
| Weekly lesson plan template | Elementary or homeroom teachers with multiple subjects | Monday–Friday visible at a glance |
| Preschool lesson plan template | Center-based, play-focused classrooms | Built around rotations, not fixed periods |
| Lesson plan template google docs | Co-teaching, admin review, remote collaboration | Live, shareable, and editable by multiple people |
Free Lesson Plan Template (Daily Format)
The standard daily format is built around a single class period and remains the most common choice for middle and high school teachers planning subject by subject. Print it, fill it in by hand, or rebuild the layout in whichever document editor you use.
Weekly Lesson Plan Template
A weekly lesson plan template lays Monday through Friday out side by side, which makes it far easier to spot gaps, repeated activities, or an overloaded day before the week even starts. This format is especially popular with elementary teachers juggling several subjects across the same five days.
If your weekly plans include writing tasks, our lined paper printable templates pair naturally with any day that includes a journaling or writing block.
Preschool Lesson Plan Template
Preschool planning looks different from K-12 planning — it's built around centers, play-based learning, and shorter attention spans rather than fixed 40-minute periods. A preschool lesson plan template usually includes:
- Circle time / morning meeting activities
- Center rotations (art, sensory, blocks, reading corner)
- A theme of the week or day
- Gross motor and outdoor time
- Simple, single-skill learning goals rather than multi-step objectives
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) recommends building both fine and gross motor activities directly into daily preschool routines rather than treating them as separate add-ons — worth keeping in mind when blocking out a preschool week. If you're building a themed week, our color by number printables and connect the dots printables both fit naturally into a centers rotation.
Lesson Plan Template for Google Docs
A lesson plan template built for Google Docs makes the most sense when sharing plans with a co-teacher, a substitute, or an administrator — everyone works from the same live document instead of passing files back and forth. A few setup tips:
- Use a table layout so the structure stays intact even when someone else edits the content.
- Lock formatting-related cells (headers, labels) if sharing with people who might overwrite them by accident.
- Keep a blank master copy in a separate folder, and duplicate it for each week rather than editing the master directly.
- Use comments instead of direct edits when a co-teacher wants to suggest a change — it keeps the plan's history clean.
A Planning Tip Worth Adopting
Build a "reuse bank" section at the bottom of your weekly template — a running list of activities, prompts, or warm-ups that worked well and can be reused later without redesigning them. Six months in, this saves far more planning time than the template's layout itself ever will.
FAQ
What should be included in a basic lesson plan template?
At minimum: a learning objective, the materials needed, a rough timing breakdown, and a way to check whether students actually understood the lesson before moving on.
Is there a difference between a lesson plan template and a curriculum map?
Yes — a curriculum map covers a whole term or year at a high level, while a lesson plan template breaks down a single day or week in much more detail.
Can I use the same lesson plan template for every subject?
Generally yes, especially the weekly format. Some teachers prefer subject-specific sections within the same template rather than switching formats entirely.
What's the easiest way to share a lesson plan template with a co-teacher?
A Google Docs version, shared with edit or comment access, is usually the simplest option since it avoids version-control problems that come with emailing files back and forth.
More Planning Resources
Browse more lesson plans and classroom resources in the Lesson Plans section of English by Teacher Yassine, or head back to the homepage for the full library of worksheets and teaching materials.