A lesson plan turns one row of your scheme of work into a lesson you could hand to another teacher. In the Competency Based Curriculum the format is fairly standard across Kenyan schools. This guide explains each part, shows a complete worked lesson, and gives practical tips on timing a 35- or 40-minute lesson so it actually finishes.
The parts of a CBC lesson plan
1. The header
The administrative facts, filled in quickly:
| School | Grade | Learning area | Date | Time | Roll |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your school | Grade 8 | Mathematics | The day you teach it | e.g. 8.40 - 9.20 am | Boys, girls and total present |
Below it, write the strand and sub-strand exactly as numbered in the curriculum design.
2. Specific learning outcomes
Start with "By the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to:" then list two or three outcomes, lettered a, b, c. Cover the three domains where you can:
- Knowledge (what they will know or do): "form two equations from a word problem".
- Skill: "solve simultaneous equations by substitution".
- Attitude or value: "appreciate the use of equations in budgeting".
3. Key inquiry question
Take one from the curriculum design and write it in full. It is the question the whole lesson tries to answer.
4. Learning resources
List exactly what you will use: course book and page, charts, real objects, digital devices. If a learner needs to bring something, note it the lesson before.
5. Organisation of learning
Say how the class will be arranged: whole class, pairs, groups of five, a learning corner, or outside. This shows you have thought about who works with whom.
6. Introduction (about 5 minutes)
Link to what learners already know and catch their interest. A real-life question works better than "Last lesson we learnt ...". Keep it short. Most lessons that run out of time lose it here.
7. Lesson development (about 25 minutes)
Break it into two to four numbered steps. Each step says what learners do, what you do, and how you check. Every step should serve an outcome; if a step serves none, cut it.
8. Conclusion (about 5 minutes)
Learners summarise the key points, ideally in their own words, and you correct misconceptions. A two-question exit check is a good way to end.
9. Extended activity
A short task beyond the classroom that uses the skill at home or in the community. It should be possible with no special materials.
10. Core competencies, values and PCIs
Name the ones this lesson really develops, for example communication and collaboration (group work), critical thinking and problem solving, the value of responsibility, and a pertinent and contemporary issue (PCI) such as financial literacy. Two or three honest ones are better than the full list.
11. Reflection
Written after the lesson: what went well, what did not, and what you will change. This is also where you note learners who need support or extra challenge.
A worked example: Grade 8 Mathematics
Strand 2.0 Algebra · Sub-strand 2.2 Linear equations in two unknowns · Lesson 2 of the sub-strand · 40 minutes
Specific learning outcomes. By the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to: (a) form two linear equations from a shopping problem; (b) solve them by substitution; (c) appreciate the use of equations in everyday buying and selling.
Key inquiry question. How can we find two unknown prices from two shopping bills?
Learning resources. Two shop receipts written on a chart, exercise books, course book.
Organisation of learning. Pairs for steps 1 and 2; groups of four for step 3.
Introduction (5 min). Show the chart: "Wanjiru paid KSh 160 for 2 exercise books and 1 pen. Otieno paid KSh 120 for 1 exercise book and 1 pen. Can we find the price of each item?" Learners guess and give reasons.
Step 1 (8 min): form the equations. Learners let one exercise book cost b shillings and one pen cost p shillings, and write 2b + p = 160 and b + p = 120. The teacher checks each pair's equations.
Step 2 (10 min): substitute. From the second equation, p = 120 - b. Learners substitute into the first: 2b + 120 - b = 160, so b = 40 and p = 80. They check: 2 × 40 + 80 = 160 and 40 + 80 = 120. Both bills agree.
Step 3 (7 min): their own problem. Each group writes a new two-receipt problem for another group to solve by substitution, then the groups swap and solve.
Conclusion (5 min). Learners state the steps: name the unknowns, form two equations, make one letter the subject, substitute, solve, check in both equations. Exit question: solve x + y = 10, x - y = 4 (answer x = 7, y = 3).
Extended activity. Ask at home for two shopping receipts with two items in common, then form and solve the equations.
Competencies, values, PCIs. Critical thinking and problem solving; communication and collaboration; the value of integrity (checking answers honestly); PCI: financial literacy.
Assessment. Checking pair work in step 1, observation of group problems in step 3, and the exit question.
Timing tips that actually work
- Write minutes beside each part and make sure they add up to your lesson length.
- Prepare the board work before class (charts, a problem on manila paper). Copying long questions onto the board eats five minutes.
- Plan a "cut" step: mark one step you will shorten if time runs out, so the conclusion is never lost.
- Use the same routines (how groups form, how books are collected) so they take seconds, not minutes.
Common mistakes
- Outcomes copied from the design that are too big for one lesson.
- Steps that only describe what the teacher says.
- No check for understanding until the very end.
- An extended activity that needs materials learners do not have at home.
- Reflection left blank, or written before the lesson.
A whole term of lessons, ready to adapt. Elimu254 lesson plan packs give you every lesson of the term for your grade and subject, written to the KICD design, as a PDF and an editable Word file.
Browse lesson plan packs · Read: how to write a scheme of work
