How to Plan a US History Lesson (Free Template)

Now that you have created your US History curriculum map, you are ready to begin planning individual lessons. This is the fun part! But where to begin?

Below, I have detailed each step for how to plan a US history lesson! I’ve also created a free template and sample lesson for you to use.

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Steps for Planning a US History Lesson

1. Select a standard from your state’s US History standards.

Every lesson you teach should tie back to one of your state’s standards.

• Identify the standard you are going to teach in the lesson.
• If you have previously created your long-range plan, you already have each standard mapped out for the entire year. Go you!

2. Create your objective.

Using your chosen standard as a guide, write a clear objective for your lesson. The objective is the ultimate goal. It answers the question: What do you want students to know and/or be able to do by the end of the lesson?

A strong objective uses language that is kid-friendly, specific, and measurable:

• Kid-friendly. Write in language students can understand. When reading the objective aloud together, take a moment to define any unfamiliar words.
• Specific. Use clear, precise language that describes exactly what students are expected to learn or do by the end of the lesson.
• Measurable. Choose an action word that can be observed and measured. Words like “know” or “understand” are too vague. Opt instead for verbs like identify, compare, explain, apply, sort, demonstrate, examine, categorize, design, or formulate.

For more help writing a high-quality objective, check out the video tutorial below.

(Note: The examples in this video are written for older students, so be sure to adjust the language to fit your grade level.)

3. Create an assessment.

It is important to assess whether students achieved the lesson objective. This not only guides your future instruction but also gives you a clear picture of what each individual student has learned. A few assessment ideas:

• Lesson activity. An activity or worksheet from the lesson can often double as the assessment, no extra prep needed.
• KWL chart. Once the lesson is complete, students fill in the final column of the graphic organizer with what they learned.
• Exit ticket. Before moving on, students complete a quick task that shows what they took away from the lesson. This could be a sticky note answering one question, a short three-question quiz, a discussion with a partner, or any other activity tied to the lesson content.
• Illustration. Students demonstrate their understanding visually by creating a cartoon, designing a poster, or drawing out the main ideas of the lesson.
• Writing. Students complete a brief opinion or informative writing piece connected to the lesson topic.
• Think-Pair-Share. The teacher poses a question, students take a moment to form their own answer, then discuss it with a partner before sharing with the class.

4. Decide upon steps to teach the lesson.

There are countless ways to structure the steps of a lesson. Here are a few tips I’ve picked up over the years.

• Start with a hook. Begin each lesson with an anticipatory set: a quick, engaging activity that grabs students’ attention and draws them into the lesson.
• Let students lead. Ideally, students should be doing and talking more than the teacher throughout the lesson.
• Don’t reinvent the wheel. Building a lesson from scratch every time is exhausting. Pull ideas from online resources, your grade-level team, and colleagues — then combine them into something unique and meaningful for your students.
• Mix it up. Rotating different activity types keeps lessons fresh and students engaged. A few favorites: task cards, slideshow presentations, gallery walks, and Reader’s Theater.
• Explore new strategies. Facing History is a wonderful resource for creative, engaging history teaching strategies. Their gallery walk and human timeline activities are especially worth checking out.

5. Note specific accommodations and modifications.

When creating a lesson plan, it is important to think about the individual needs of your students. Some students will need extra support, accommodations, or modifications in order to access and master the material.

Start by writing down the specific needs of students in your classroom (particularly English language learners, students with IEPs, and students with 504 plans) and consider how your lesson can be adjusted to support them.

Common accommodations and modifications include:

• Extended time to complete activities or assignments
• Partner or small group work
• Modified assignments (e.g., completing fewer problems or a shortened version)
• Oral responses in place of written ones
• Extension activities for early finishers

You can read about more accommodations and modifications here and here.

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Editable US History Lesson Plan Template

How to Access the Template:

Open the lesson plan template. Make a copy of the template in your Google drive. Notice that the template has two pages:

• The first page is a blank template for you to customize.
• The second page is an example lesson plan.

Note: The example lesson plan comes from my free 13 Colonies Map Worksheet and Lesson.

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Looking for More Resources?

I hope this lesson plan tutorial helps to make your U.S. History lesson planning a little bit easier! Even so, it can be overwhelming to find meaningful, historically accurate, and engaging resources for your lessons. That is why I have created a complete, done-for-you U.S. History curriculum… So you can spend less time planning and more time teaching.