Short-term planning

Key stage 1

There are different ways of describing short-term plans. For the purpose of these materials, a short-term plan is a set of activities for a week or a lesson.

Short-term planning is based on the needs of individual schools and teachers. Teachers often use short-term plans to think through the structure and content of a lesson, and to note information such as key questions, resources, differentiation and assessment opportunities, especially where these are not already included in the medium-term plan.

Many teachers selectively use lesson plans for particular activities or subjects, rather than for every lesson. Experienced teachers often work direct from a medium-term plan and make notes when needed to support their teaching.

Elements in short-term plans

Activity/lesson plans (for a single lesson or related lessons in a subject, taught over the course of a week) should show:

• detail of the planned activity, including points to be covered by the teacher when introducing tasks and supporting children's learning during and after each lesson
• key questions to be covered during each activity
• a breakdown of specific tasks in detail (including steps the children need to go through, rather than the overall activity)
• differentiation and grouping of children, and any relevant staffing details
• details of how the lesson(s) will link to existing provision for special educational needs, such as learning support assistance or individual education plans
• information about the time needed for the activity
• resources needed for the activity
• learning objectives
• expected learning outcomes
• assessment opportunities
• space for notes about groups' or individuals' performances.

Annotating the short-term plan should also support the teacher in preparing subsequent activities in the medium-term plan, in response to children's performances or the outcomes of tasks.

Short-term planning might focus on a single activity or lesson, or on lessons in history within the same week, where it is sensible to list resources or organisational details jointly, or where key questions need to be reiterated or revisited.

Weeton Primary School and short-term planning for the history of toys
Awbridge Primary school and short-term planning for Florence Nightingale