Teachers in the UK, whether in state schools, private institutions, or homeschooling environments, often seek efficient ways to structure their lessons. Free lesson plan templates provide a practical solution, allowing educators to organise content, track homework, and align with curriculum standards without starting from scratch. These templates are typically editable, enabling customisation to suit specific teaching styles, year groups, or subjects. The available resources range from printable PDFs to digital formats compatible with popular software like Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, and Notion. This article explores the key types of free lesson plan templates, their features, and how they can be accessed, based on information from educational resource websites.
Types of Lesson Plan Templates Available
Lesson plan templates cater to various educational levels, from preschool to college. They are designed to be flexible, supporting teachers in planning daily, weekly, or unit-based lessons. According to educational resources, templates are available for different stages of education, ensuring they meet the needs of diverse learners.
Preschool and Early Years Templates
For early years educators, free printable preschool lesson plan templates are available. These often include space for activities such as songs, stories, art projects, and hands-on experiments to engage young children. Some templates incorporate lesson plan clipart to make them more visually appealing and fun for preschool and kindergarten age groups. These resources are typically provided as image files or PDFs, making them easy to download and print. They focus on setting clear learning objectives and choosing themes that capture children's imagination, while considering individual learning styles.
Primary and Secondary School Templates
Templates for primary and secondary education cover a broad spectrum, including elementary, middle, and high school levels. These are tailored to meet the needs of students from Key Stage 1 through to A-levels. For high school students, templates are described as "robust" to equip them for success beyond the classroom. They often include sections for homework assignments, supplies needed, and preparation reminders. Weekly templates are structured from Monday to Friday, with versions offering 1 to 8 lessons per day. Some include dedicated space for homework, helping teachers stay on top of responsibilities and keep plans organised for future years.
College and University Templates
College-level templates build on those for younger students by adding specialised sections. These include: - Alignment with Course Objectives: To explicitly show how the lesson integrates with overall course outcomes. - Additional Information: For supplementary resources like references or readings. - Office Hours: A space to specify availability for student consultations. - University/College Policies: To highlight rules on late assignments or academic integrity. These templates are suitable for higher education instructors and can be used with minimal editing. They are often available in editable formats like Word or Excel, allowing for personalisation.
Features and Benefits of Free Templates
Free lesson plan templates offer several advantages, helping teachers manage the syllabus while balancing multiple responsibilities. They promote organisation, reduce preparation stress, and ensure consistency across lessons. By using a template, educators can standardise headings, align plans to standards once, and reuse them annually.
Key features include: - Editability: All templates are customisable, allowing teachers to adapt layouts to their needs. This can be done before printing or directly in digital software. - Variety of Formats: Templates are available in PDF, Word, Excel, images, and Google Docs. Digital options support collaboration and easy sharing. - Thematic Options: Many templates come with themes to suit different teaching styles, from simple daily planners to more detailed unit plans. - Visual and Scannable Layouts: Some resources, like those from Venngage, offer visual templates in the form of infographics or posters. These are ideal for one-page overviews of classroom rules, course objectives, or quick summaries, providing clarity at a glance.
The benefits extend to time-saving. For instance, templates remind teachers of necessary preparations, such as supplies or homework, ensuring lessons run smoothly. Once prepared, they can be reused, making year-on-year planning easier. For teams, templates help standardise formats, which is particularly useful in schools where a consistent look is required for admin or parent communications.
Where to Access Free Lesson Plan Templates
Several platforms provide free, editable lesson plan templates for teachers. These are often designed for ease of use and accessibility, with no cost attached to basic versions.
101 Planners and Teachers-Blog
Websites like 101 Planners offer over 50 templates in various formats, including PDF, Word, Excel, and Google Docs. These include weekly and daily planners, with options for homework tracking. The site emphasises organisation to make preparation "easy and stress-free." Teachers-Blog similarly provides templates for homeschooling parents and professional educators, focusing on personalisation.
Notion
Notion provides free lesson plan templates that support dynamic lectures and interactive activities. These are best for digital planners who prefer template-first approaches. Access is via Notion, where users can customise templates directly in the platform. It includes layouts for structuring lectures and activities, ideal for reusable planning pages.
Teachers Pay Teachers
This platform surfaces free lesson plan templates through search results for "lesson plan template." It offers a wide mix of styles, including daily, weekly, unit, and subject-specific formats. Teachers can quickly compare options across grades and subjects. Templates vary in format, so users should check listing details, but access is straightforward via browsing the free results.
Canva
Canva's free, editable templates provide polished layouts fast. Users can start from a blank or choose from dozens of ready-made pages, including guided reading, kindergarten, and advanced formats that separate objectives and tasks. Themes match classroom aesthetics, making it suitable for visual planners and teams standardising a look. Editing occurs in-browser for free, and plans can be printed. It's particularly useful for sub plans and parent overviews.
Microsoft Create
Microsoft Create offers free, fully customisable templates in Word, Excel, and OneNote formats. These are ideal for teachers using Microsoft 365, allowing quick editing and organisation alongside digital notebooks. The gallery includes flexible designs tailored to planning styles, with clean layouts for easy adaptation.
Google Docs
Google Docs templates provide 3-column and 5-section layouts for lesson plans. These are ready-made structures that can be copied and customised in Google Drive, supporting easy sharing and collaboration. They are straightforward for those planning within the Google ecosystem.
Venngage
Known for infographics, Venngage offers visual lesson plan examples and guidance for creating clean, scannable layouts. These are not traditional templates but provide tools for one-page overviews. Access is online, with free options for students (with restrictions) and educator discounts. They are best for clarity at a glance, such as posters for classroom rules.
How to Use and Customise Templates Effectively
To maximise the utility of these templates, teachers should first select a base layout that fits their routine. Create a master copy and standardise headings to avoid formatting issues. Align lessons to standards once, then reuse. For digital use, templates in Notion, Google Docs, or Microsoft formats allow seamless integration with planning workflows.
For preschool and early years, start with clear objectives and incorporate varied activities to maintain engagement. In higher education, ensure sections on office hours and policies are populated to support independent learning. Visual templates from Canva or Venngage can enhance presentations for parents or admin.
All templates are free and editable, but users should verify compatibility with their devices. For instance, Word and Excel templates require Microsoft software, while Google Docs needs a Google account. Notion and Canva are browser-based, requiring no downloads.
Conclusion
Free lesson plan templates are invaluable tools for UK teachers, offering customisable, structured support across all educational levels. From preschool printables to college-level digital formats, resources from platforms like 101 Planners, Notion, Teachers Pay Teachers, Canva, Microsoft Create, Google Docs, and Venngage provide diverse options. By leveraging these editable templates, educators can streamline planning, reduce stress, and focus on delivering effective lessons. For those seeking a head start, exploring UDL (Universal Design for Learning) templates and related time-savers can further boost efficiency.