You may not need to do much planning, if you use a commercial curriculum. They will give you all you need for guidance on what to teach, activities, and so on.

What if you are going off trail and forging your own way? Then you need some sort of idea about what to teach and the materials you need for the lessons.

Lesson plans can be as simple as an index card kept in a recipe box, or on a form that is filled out and kept in a binder. It does not need to be elaborate! I used to put a standard on an index card, give it a title, and list the materials needed. I knew how and what I would teach, so it was pretty simple. Whenever I needed a lesson idea, I flipped through my cards, pulling those I would use that day. I organized the cards in order, according to the standards. I had all the standards printed and filed in a binder for quick reference. It was so simple and easy to work with!

Some of the districts I worked in required formal lesson plans to be shared with the principal each week and to be posted in my classroom. I rarely referred to those, preferring to use my index cards system. They checked the box for the school and wasted my time. This is one problem with standardized education, teachers are not allowed to veer into their own lane and do whatever works for them, and it can waste time and energy. However, if you need more structure, you can devise lesson plans that give you whatever you need. If you need a page in a binder that has more information and guidance for your day, do that. This is your school and you are the decision-maker.

START WITH A STANDARD
You can use more than one in a lesson, too. You can use a few standards and they can be from different content areas, if it fits.
That could look like a math story problem (math + literacy) that is about science. Or it could be something that teaches more than one literacy or math standard. If writing is involved in any content area, it will integrate that writing standard with whichever others you find.

DESIGN THE LESSON
Decide how to teach the content. What will your direct instruction focus on?
Find a book, video, or story that relates to it.
List the materials needed.
Which activity will be used for practice and reinforcement?
Think about how you will assess the learning.

DESIGN THE ASSESSMENT
Decide what skills you want to assess.
How will you know your student has learned the material?
Choose a type of assessment.
Administer the assessment.
Grade it, if appropriate.
Enter the results into the grade book.

REVIEW, RETEACH, ENRICH
In spiraling or if the assessment did not yield satisfactory results, review and reteach the material.
If the assessment was passed, you can provide enrichment, which is a way to extend on the learning and give it deeper meaning or connections to other ideas.
Reassess as needed.