Lesson Plan Generator Prompt (with Differentiation)
This prompt generates a complete, classroom-ready lesson plan from a single topic: student-friendly objectives, minute-by-minute timing, hook, instruction, practice, exit ticket, materials — plus three differentiation tiers (below-level, on-level, extension). Fill in your grade, subject, standard, and class context, and paste into ChatGPT.
A complete lesson plan from one topic: objectives, timing, activities, and three differentiation tiers.
Act as an expert instructional designer. Create a complete lesson plan with the following specs: GRADE/SUBJECT: [e.g. 7th grade science] TOPIC: [e.g. photosynthesis] STANDARD: [e.g. NGSS MS-LS1-6] DURATION: [e.g. 50 minutes] CLASS CONTEXT: [e.g. 28 students, mixed ability, 5 ELL students] Include: (1) learning objectives written as student-friendly 'I can' statements, (2) minute-by-minute timing, (3) a hook activity for the first 5 minutes, (4) direct instruction outline, (5) guided practice, (6) independent practice, (7) a 3-minute exit ticket aligned to the objectives, (8) required materials list. Then provide THREE differentiation tiers for the independent practice: below-level (with scaffolds), on-level, and extension for advanced students. Keep language practical and classroom-ready — no filler.
See what this prompt creates
Sunday-night lesson planning is the least-loved ritual in teaching, and it's also the highest-leverage place to use AI — because a lesson plan is a structured document, and structured documents are what language models do best. This prompt doesn't give you a vague outline to flesh out; it gives you the full artifact: objectives, timing, activities, differentiation, and assessment, in one pass.
The prompt's real intelligence is in the class context bracket. "28 students, mixed ability, 5 ELL students" changes everything about the output versus a bare topic — the differentiation tiers, the scaffolds, even the timing shift. Teachers who get mediocre results from AI planning prompts are almost always under-filling this bracket. Give it the truth about your room and it plans for your room.
Getting the best result
- Name the standard. Pasting "NGSS MS-LS1-6" (or your local equivalent) anchors the objectives to something real. Without it, the plan drifts toward generic.
- Specify what yesterday covered. Add one line — "students struggled with X yesterday" — and the hook and guided practice will target the actual gap instead of the assumed one.
- Demand the exit ticket. It's in the prompt for a reason: a plan without a closing assessment is a plan you can't evaluate. The 3-minute ticket doubles as tomorrow's warm-up data.
- Iterate on timing, not content. If the plan is good but the timing's off for your periods, say "compress to 40 minutes, keep the exit ticket" — surgical edits beat regenerations.
3 variations to try
Sub-plan mode: add "format as a substitute-teacher plan: no assumed content knowledge, every step scripted, answer keys attached" — the emergency sub folder, solved.
Project-based: change duration to "3 class periods" and add "driving question, milestones per period, final product rubric" for PBL units.
Lab/activity-first: add "lead with the hands-on activity, derive the concept from observations afterward (5E model)" for science and inquiry-based lessons.
How to use this prompt
- Copy it — hit the copy button above to grab the raw prompt text.
- Fill the brackets — replace anything in [BRACKETS] with your own details.
- Paste into your AI tool — works with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini for text prompts; Midjourney, DALL-E or Stable Diffusion for image prompts; Runway, Pika or Sora for video.
- Iterate — tweak one bracket at a time until the output is exactly right.
Frequently asked questions
Will the lesson plan match my curriculum standards?
If you paste the standard into the bracket, the objectives and activities target it directly. Always verify alignment yourself — the model writes with confidence even when it misreads a standard. A two-minute check beats a misaligned lesson.
How do I adapt this for a 90-minute block schedule?
Change the duration bracket and add 'include a mid-period brain break and two activity transitions.' The prompt's minute-by-minute structure scales cleanly; just tell it the new container.
Can it handle mixed-grade or split classes?
Yes — describe the split in class context ('grades 4/5 split, 22 students') and ask for 'parallel activities per grade with one shared hook.' The differentiation tiers adapt naturally to splits.
Is it okay to submit AI-generated plans to my admin?
Check your district's policy, but generally: AI-drafted, teacher-reviewed plans are fine — you're still the professional signing off on them. Review every plan before it goes in the folder; the prompt does the drafting, you do the teaching judgment.
