Kindergarten lesson plans must be expertly laid out to keep students engaged at all times. Kindergarten students are wiggly and any lapse in instruction can quickly lead to chaos. When writing lessons it is important to keep in mind the need for children this age to move their bodies. The more activities that can be incorporated into a lesson the better the chance student attention will stay focused and the children will retain the main idea. Incorporate songs, dance, finger-plays, drama, and dress up, art, pictures, and anything else that will let them be a part of the lesson rather than just an observer.

Young children like to know what is coming next. Kindergarten lesson plans should start out with a good ‘set’ or ‘hook’ so they know what to expect and to get them excited about the lesson ahead. This should be a specific activity which demonstrates the objective in a concrete way. For example, you can assemble a literature bag filled with small items related to day’s story for the children to preview before you read it. Kindergarten lesson plans should also allow time to build background knowledge before beginning the lesson. Each student in the room has had life experiences unique to them and their families, so you can never assume every child in the room has seen the ocean or been to a circus. Background knowledge can be activated simply by discussing the topic at hand and creating a KWL chart with words or pictures with the students. Another strategy to include in a Kindergarten lesson plan is to provide an activity which will help them put together what they have learned in a way that is relevant to them. It the lesson focused on the theme of responsibility let them take turns acting out a job they do at home. The last step in a kindergarten lesson plan is to evaluate student attainment of the lesson objective. This can be done either formally in the form of a written or verbal test or informally in the form of a product or project. Finally, a plan for remediation should always be included in the lesson plans. Students who did not master the objective can then be worked with while the others rotate to their centers.

Time is always short in supply for the typical teacher, and many websites offer teacher created lesson plans complete with any necessary activity pages. The internet also has a vast array of resources for each step of a kindergarten lesson plan if an already created lesson plans just need a little boost. There are many ideas for creating exciting sets and concrete activities for most popular books and themes taught in Kindergarten. These websites give teachers the precious gift of time, and allow them to focus on their students instead of paperwork.