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Online Lesson Plan Template (With a Filled-In Example)
In this article
- Why do online lessons need their own plan?
- What should an online lesson plan template include?
- What does a filled-in online lesson plan look like?
- How do you map each lesson phase to a whiteboard tab?
- When should students hold the pen?
- What should you do after an online lesson?
- Frequently asked questions
- Build your next lesson on tabs
An online lesson plan template is a table with one row per lesson phase (warm-up, new content, guided practice, independent practice, check and summary) and columns for minutes, goal, whiteboard tab, what the teacher does, what students do, materials and how you check understanding. Copy the template below and give each phase its own board tab.
An online plan has to settle things a classroom plan can skip: what is on the board before students arrive, when students get the pen, and what they keep afterwards. Below you get the template, a filled-in example and a way to turn each phase into a whiteboard tab.
Why do online lessons need their own plan?
Online lessons need their own plan because the cues you rely on in a classroom are weaker on a screen, so the structure has to do more of the work. In a physical room you can read faces, glance at notebooks and change course without anyone noticing. A good online plan:
- breaks the lesson into short phases with a clear purpose,
- decides in advance what appears on the board in each phase,
- builds in moments where students do something, not just listen,
- includes a quick check for understanding before the lesson ends.
What should an online lesson plan template include?
An online lesson plan template should include each phase with its minutes, goal, board tab, teacher actions, student actions, materials and a check. Copy this table into your planning document and fill in one row per phase.
| Phase | Minutes | Goal | Board tab | Teacher does | Students do | Materials | Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | Tab 1 | ||||||
| New content | Tab 2 | ||||||
| Guided practice | Tab 3 | ||||||
| Independent practice | Tab 4 | ||||||
| Check for understanding | Tab 5 | ||||||
| Summary and homework | Tab 6 |
Add a short header above the table with the class name, date, level, the one learning objective for the lesson, and any tools you plan to use (for example, the formula tool or the video player).
What goes in each column
- Goal: one sentence starting with a verb, such as "recall the three states of matter".
- Board tab: the whiteboard tab you will use for this phase. One phase, one tab.
- Teacher does / Students do: keep these balanced. If "Students do" says "listen" for more than one phase in a row, rethink the plan.
- Materials: PDFs, images or videos to load onto that tab before class.
- Check: how you will know the phase worked: an answer in the chat, a student's work on the board, a short test.
What does a filled-in online lesson plan look like?
A filled-in plan has a specific goal, tab, activity and check in every row. Here is the template completed for a 45-minute lesson on fractions for a small group.
| Phase | Minutes | Goal | Board tab | Teacher does | Students do | Materials | Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 0 to 5 | Recall halves and quarters | Tab 1 | Draws a pizza cut into parts | Answer "what fraction is shaded?" in chat | None | Chat answers |
| New content | 5 to 15 | Understand equivalent fractions | Tab 2 | Draws bars split into 2, 4 and 8 on a dotted grid | Watch, then predict the next bar | Dotted background | One prediction each |
| Guided practice | 15 to 25 | Find equivalent fractions | Tab 3 | Annotates a worksheet PDF | One student at a time solves a question with the pen | Worksheet PDF | Work on the board |
| Independent practice | 25 to 35 | Apply the idea alone | Tab 4 | Monitors, gives the pen to students who are stuck | Solve three problems, share answers | Problem image | Answers in chat |
| Check | 35 to 40 | Confirm understanding | Tab 5 | Publishes a short in-class test | Answer against the countdown | Test questions | Answer summary |
| Summary | 40 to 45 | Fix the key idea | Tab 6 | Writes three takeaways | Copy one example into their notes | None | Download PDF |
How do you map each lesson phase to a whiteboard tab?
You map each phase to a tab by creating the tabs in lesson order before class and loading each phase's materials onto its tab. Educastic's whiteboard supports multiple board tabs in a session, so:
- Before class, create the tabs in order and load the materials for each one: upload the worksheet PDF to Tab 3, set the dotted background on Tab 2, add the image to Tab 4.
- During class, moving to the next tab signals a new phase to students, like turning to a clean page.
- After class, the tabs form a tidy sequence. Educastic lets students download the session's resources as a PDF and revise from the same order you taught.
When should students hold the pen?
Students should hold the pen at least once in every practice phase, and your plan should name who and when. In Educastic the teacher gives or takes back drawing access per student at any time, so the plan can say "Student A solves question 2, Student B solves question 3". Without that line in the plan, it is easy to end up talking for the whole lesson.
For more ways to check understanding inside a lesson, read how to check for understanding online.
What should you do after an online lesson?
After an online lesson, share the recording, check who attended and note one thing to change. Add a short "after class" box at the bottom of your plan:
- Recording: did you record the session, and is it shared? Educastic keeps recordings in the My Recordings tab of My Library, and they can be played back inside a later class.
- Reports: check Educastic's attendance and session reports for who attended.
- Reflection: one line on what worked and one on what to change next time.
Frequently asked questions
How detailed should an online lesson plan be? Five to 7 phases is usually plenty for a 45-minute lesson. The plan should be detailed enough that you know what is on each tab and when students act.
Can I prepare the whiteboard before the lesson starts? Yes. In Educastic you can create the tabs and load PDFs or images in advance so each phase is ready when you reach it.
How do I check understanding in an online lesson? Through chat answers, student work on the board and short in-class tests. On Educastic the teacher sees a summary of test answers.
Can students keep the board after class? Yes. Educastic lets students download the session's resources as a PDF.
Build your next lesson on tabs
Copy the template, open the Educastic online whiteboard and create one tab for each phase of your next lesson.
