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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

Example Trigger Phrases

• "Plan a lesson."
• "Write a lesson plan."
• "Align a lesson to a standard."
• "Turn a topic into a class period."