There are many ready-made lesson plans available online these days. However, the best lesson plans are the ones made by you, the teacher. This is because you, as a teacher know the type of class you'll be teaching to. You know the needs and the skill level of each of your students and thus, you can create a lesson plan based on those needs.

The most important thing to consider, while creating lesson plans, is your students. Know your students, their skill levels, their learning experiences, how they wish to learn etc. Acquainting yourself with all these information will, obviously, take time. After all, Rome was not built in a day. However, knowing all these details is very crucial when designing a lesson plan that meets your students' needs.

Before you start teaching your students, it is important to know the contents of the lesson yourself. Study the topic that you'll be teaching. Make use of the core curriculum guides that are published both by the local school district you are employed at and the state in which you are teaching. It is also advisable to be acquainted with the national and state standards. You can always look up websites that are dedicated to the program of study. These websites can give you vital information pertaining to your subject.

There are many resources and materials available these days to help teachers make their lesson plan a success. For instance, audio/visual guides, latest technologies and software, library resource, mentors, guest lecturers, volunteers and many more. All this can help you make your lesson plans a success.

When creating a lesson plan, first list out all the important details, main ideas, skills or main terminologies that you intend to teach. Identify the goals that you want your students to accomplish through the lessons you teach. All students are not the same; some are faster learners than the others. Therefore, the goals you set for your students will differ from one student to another. As they complete the objectives, you can evaluate how much each of your students is progressing in a given assignment.

Make a list of all the resources you will need to make a lesson successful. This includes technological resources too.

Before you start a lesson, try to find an attention-grabbing introduction about the lesson you plan to teach. This depends on the age group of your students and also on their interests.

Describe how you plan to give numerous opportunities to your students to implement all that they have learned so that you can assess their progress. These home assignments are intended to give teachers a chance to find out whether their students have achieved the goal set for them. Make sure you plan assignments that they can do without your help.

As I have mentioned earlier, the skill levels of each student differ from the other. So, list the ways you plan to differentiate instructions based on the needs of each student.

How you end a lesson is as important as how you begin it. So, describe how you plan to conclude a lesson. You could go over some important points of a lesson or you could prepare them for the next lesson. The main idea is to leave an impression on the minds of your students about what you hoped to accomplish after every lesson.

Describe how you plan to evaluate a student's success or failure in the goals you planned to achieve.