Lesson Plan Builder

---
name: lesson-plan-builder
description: "Build a standards-aligned K-12 lesson plan with clear objectives, a timed activity sequence, checks for understanding, and differentiation. Use when asked to plan a lesson, write a lesson plan, align a lesson to a standard, or turn a topic into a class period. Produces measurable objectives, a bell-to-bell timeline (hook → instruction → practice → close), formative checks, differentiation for varied learners, and the materials list."
---

# Lesson Plan Builder Skill

A good lesson plan is not a topic and a worksheet — it's a designed arc where every minute has a purpose and the teacher knows, before the bell, how they'll tell if it worked. This skill builds a plan backward from a measurable objective, with the checks for understanding and differentiation that make it survive a real classroom.

## Working from a brief

Given a topic, grade, and standard (or just a topic), **write the full plan** — infer the grade-appropriate objective and align to a plausible standard, labeling the assumption. Fit it to one class period unless told otherwise.

## Required Inputs

Ask for (if not provided, else infer and label):
- **Grade level and subject**, and the **topic** or standard
- **Class length** and any constraint (materials, tech, class size, mixed levels)
- **Where students are** — prior lesson / what they already know

## Output Format

### Objective(s)
Measurable and student-facing: _"Students will be able to [verb] [content] as measured by [evidence]."_ Use observable verbs (identify, compare, model), not "understand."

### Standard alignment
The standard code + a one-line note on how the lesson meets it (labeled as inferred if you supplied it).

### Lesson timeline (bell-to-bell)

| Time | Phase | Teacher does | Students do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–5 | Hook / do-now | | |
| 5–15 | Direct instruction | | |
| 15–30 | Guided → independent practice | | |
| 30–40 | Check + close | exit ticket | |

### Checks for understanding
The formative moments — a question, a quick write, an exit ticket — and what answer tells you to move on vs. reteach.

### Differentiation
Concrete moves for students who need support, who finish early, and for language learners (not "give more time").

### Materials
Everything needed, ready to gather.

## Quality Checks

- [ ] The objective is measurable with an observable verb and stated evidence
- [ ] The plan fills the period bell-to-bell with a hook and an explicit close
- [ ] At least one check for understanding, with a reteach trigger
- [ ] Differentiation covers support, extension, and language needs — concretely
- [ ] Activities actually produce the evidence the objective names

## Anti-Patterns

- "Students will understand X" — not observable, not assessable
- A topic and a worksheet with no arc or timing
- No check for understanding until the summative test
- Differentiation that's only "more/less time"
- Activities that don't produce evidence of the stated objective