Write Lesson Plans with Claude
Turn a topic and a learning objective into a complete, structured lesson plan. Works for any subject, any grade level.
The situation
You have a unit coming up and a general idea of what to teach, but the detailed plan is not written yet.
After this guide you will have a full lesson plan template that Claude can fill in for any topic you give it.
What you walk away with
A complete lesson plan in under 5 minutes
A reusable prompt template you can use for every new lesson
More time for the parts of teaching Claude cannot do
The difference one prompt makes
Don't
write a lesson plan about fractions
Do this
Write a lesson plan for a 45-minute Year 5 maths lesson introducing equivalent fractions for the first time. My students can add and subtract fractions with the same denominator. Learning objective: students can identify and generate equivalent fractions using visual models. Include: warm-up (5 min), direct instruction (15 min), guided practice (15 min), independent practice (8 min), exit ticket (2 min). Format as a structured table.
Subject, year group, prior knowledge, learning objective, and time breakdown give Claude everything it needs to write a lesson plan a teacher would actually use.
Identify the five inputs before you start
Before you open Claude, have these five things ready. Missing any one of them produces a generic plan.
- Subject: the specific area within the subject (not just "maths" but "equivalent fractions")
- Year or grade level: so Claude calibrates complexity and vocabulary correctly
- Prior knowledge: what students can already do relevant to this topic
- Learning objective: one clear, measurable thing students will be able to do by the end
- Class duration: total time and, if you have them, time allocations for each section
Use the structured prompt with your content filled in
Copy the template below and replace the example content with your own. The format works for any subject and any year group.
Write a lesson plan for a [duration]-minute [Year/Grade] [Subject] lesson on [specific topic].
Prior knowledge: [what students can already do]
Learning objective: [one measurable outcome]
Include these sections with approximate timings:
- Warm-up ([X] min)
- Direct instruction ([X] min)
- Guided practice ([X] min)
- Independent practice ([X] min)
- Exit ticket ([X] min)
Format as a structured table with: Time | Activity | Teacher does | Students do | Resources neededAsk Claude to differentiate the plan
Once you have the core plan, one follow-up prompt adds materials for students at different levels.
Add a challenge task for early finishers and a scaffold for students who need support. Keep both tied to the same learning objective.Generate the exit ticket questions separately for more depth
Exit tickets written as an afterthought are usually too easy. A dedicated prompt produces questions that actually tell you what students understood.
Write 3 exit ticket questions for this lesson on equivalent fractions. One recall question, one application question, one question that surfaces a common misconception. Year 5 students. Keep each question to one sentence.What's next?
Create quiz questions with ClaudeNew guides, when they ship
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