Preschool Lesson Plans

There is a saying that goes a well-planned lesson is a half-taught lesson. The saying means that when thought and effort go into lesson planning, the job of teaching is already halfway complete. Some think there is no need to plan lessons for preschoolers because preschool is all about play. However this is far from true. While preschoolers need not learn algebra or chemical formulas, these years are the most impressionable for young children. These are the years when young children build skills necessary for academic success throughout their school years. For this reason, all preschool teachers should plan lessons that combine the fun of play with the excitement of discovery.

Lesson plans benefit the teachers and children. Planning lessons in advance means that the teacher can be organized. Being organized and keeping children engaged in meaningful learning activities decreases opportunities for acting out and makes transitions smoother.

A lesson plan starts with a goal. Think about teaching nutrition to preschoolers. The goal is to get children to eat healthy foods. You must have some strategies for reaching that goal. The strategies would be objectives. Objectives are measurable steps toward a goal. In our nutrition education example, an objective might be stated as follows. Shown pictures of 10 foods, children will be able to choose 5 healthy foods. This objective is measurable. If children can choose 5 healthy foods after being taught a lesson on the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods, we can assume that our teaching efforts toward this objective were successful.

A lesson plan also includes teaching methods. To teach about healthy foods, a teacher might choose to read a story book about healthy foods. Activity sheets and crafts related to food might be included in the teaching. The lesson plan names who is responsible for carrying out the plan. This would be the teacher. Finally, there should be a method of evaluation. Sometimes this may be called an impact or outcome. Ideally, as a result of learning about healthy foods, children will make healthier choices at mealtime.

The aforementioned example is a lesson plan for teaching one concept. Lessons plans can be generated for several subject areas and can be used repeatedly once developed. Preschool teachers should not confuse lesson plans with a class schedule. The lesson plan is more than a schedule. It is a blueprint for teaching.