---
title: "How to Create a Lesson Plan"
canonical: "https://docs.pbs.org/space/DLM/3578231/How%20to%20Create%20a%20Lesson%20Plan"
format: markdown
---
> Macro (toc)
## What is a Lesson Plan?
> ❌ **Lesson plans cannot be assigned to a class. ****[Learn more about assignments](https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/help/class-rostering/#addassignment)**
Lesson Plans are written for teachers and designed to demonstrate good practices for teaching a given topic. They follow a standard format and are created and edited through the CMS.
Lesson plans are separated into two main sections, Overview and Procedure, and contain the following elements:
### Overview
- **Lesson summary **- What is this lesson plan about and what is included in the lesson plan?
- **Time allotment **- How long should the lesson plan take to complete?
- **Learning Objectives** - What is the objective of this lesson plan? What should students get out of it?
- **Prep for Teachers **- What does the teacher need to do beforehand to be ready to present the lesson plan to students?
- **Supplies** - What are the materials needed to complete this lesson plan? Can range from hardware such as projectors and computers to media resources.
- **Additional section title** - A customized section that doesn't fit into the pre-populated sections.
- **Additional section text **- Supporting text for your customized section. Make sure it's descriptive and easy for your students to understand.
### Procedure
- **Introductory activity **- An activity to familiarize your students with the lesson plan topic.
- **Learning activities** - Activities that support the main theme of the lesson plan.
- **Culminating activity **- An activity that summarizes key lesson plan takeaways. Use the previous two activity types to help make it personal to the students.
## Example
**[Click here to see an example of a lesson plan](https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/our-local-government-lesson-plan/civics-for-kids-building-tomorrow-together/)**
## How to create a lesson plan
To create a lesson plan, begin by creating a resource in one of the following ways:
- From the main dashboard, in the CMS section on the left hand side, click **Resources **(Figure 1.1).
- From the Resources page, in the upper right side of the page, click **Create** (Figure 2) then click **Resource **(Figure 1.3).
- In the upper right corner of the page, click **ADD RESOURCE +** (Figure 1.4).
Figure 1
- In the Content project textbox, begin typing the **name of the content project** to which this lesson plan belongs. When the list of available content projects appears, click the one to which you want to add your lesson plan (Figure 2.1).
- In the Title textbox, type the **Title** of your lesson plan (Figure 2.2). This title appears on search results when users search for your lesson plan. It is also the main title at the top of your lesson plan page. **[Take a look!](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pbs.panda-prod.cdn/media/help/lesson-plan-title-where.jpg)**
- Click the** Type dropdown menu** and click **Lesson Plan** (Figure 2.3).
- In the Resource code textbox, type a **title** for your resource (Figure 2.4). We recommend using the title, series, episode ID for your resource code. Example: friction-crashcourse-1006
- This field auto-populates if you do not add text
- The slug field auto-populates when the resource is saved (Figure 2.5). You can also add a slug manually.
- When finished, click** Save and Continue** (Figure 2.6).
Figure 2
- A notification displays at the top of the page confirming the lesson plan has saved (Figure 3.1).
- The title displays on the lesson plan (Figure 3.2).
- The resource code, slug, and GUID display (Figure 3.3).
- The Guid is an identifier used by PBS LearningMedia and is generated automatically.
- The email address of the person who created the lesson plan in the PBS LearningMedia CMS is assigned automatically (Figure 3.4). This is pulled from your PBS LearningMedia login.
- Next to *Lesson Plan poster image*, click **Choose File **to select an image for your lesson plan (Figure 3.5).
Figure 3
- The name of the image file displays (Figure 4.1).
- In the* Lesson Plan Poster Image Alt* textbox, type **descriptive text **for your image (Figure 4.2). This is useful for SEO and screen readers.
- In the* Redirect url *textbox, type the full** redirect URL **if you want the user to be directed to a different page (Figure 4.3).
- The *Resource view count *tells you how many times your resource has been viewed (Figure 4.4). After your resource has been published, check back to see this number.
- The *Resource download count* tells you how many times your resource assets have been downloaded by users (Figure 4.5).
- Click the ***Check links***** URL** to see any broken links on your site (Figure 4.6).
- **Scroll to the bottom of the page and click *****Save and continue editing***** to display your poster image. **
Figure 4
After saving your page, a thumbnail of the image displays (Figure 5).
- The current image URL displays (Figure 5.1).
- To select a different image, click **Choose File** and select another image from your computer (Figure 5.2). The new image will replace the current one.
- To remove the image completely, click the **checkbox **next to ***Clear ***and click** Save and continue editing** at the bottom of the page (Figure 5.3).
Figure 5
## Overview & Procedure
The Overview & Procedure section holds the "meat" of the lesson plan; it is where most of your content resides. Each section has a corresponding title that surfaces on your lesson plan (i.e.: Time Allotment). No fields are required, however, we suggest adding as much information as possible to create a more complete lesson plan.
All sections contain an HTML text editor where you can add:
- Text and links
- Images
- Bulleted lists
**Editing tips**
- Use the link icon (1) to link text to outside sources. All links to websites outside of PBSLM must follow PBS Standards and Practices.
- When linking text to a resource or asset, use the +R and +A buttons (2) to ensure that when a resource has been unpublished or otherwise unavailable, it can be tracked. This prevents broken links from being in your content. Also use these buttons when linking your support material text. You can also add media in [Media in this Lesson section](https://docs.pbs.org/space/DLM/3578231/How+to+Create+a+Lesson+Plan#Media-in-this-Lesson).
[See where these features are located](https://pbs-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/download/attachments/3578231/lesson-plan-edit-buttons-where.jpg?version=1&modificationDate=1694724653987&cacheVersion=1&api=v2)
### Overview
#### Lesson summary
The Lesson summary should provide the purpose and goals of the lesson plan and describe what's expected from students and teachers when using this lesson plan.** **Be sure this is very descriptive since this is the first text users see and it is what they will use to determine the contents and purpose of the lesson.
#### Time allotment
In the Time Allotment textbox, type the **estimated breakdown of time** it will take to complete the lesson plan. Figure in homework and study time to create a more complete estimation. *Example: Two 45-60 minute sessions plus homework.*
#### Learning objectives
- In the Learning Objectives section, describe the **goals that should be achieved** when students complete this lesson. * What will they be able to discuss when finished? *
#### Prep for Teachers
- The Prep for Teachers section is intended to provide a space where teachers can discover what they need to do before presenting the lesson plan to students. This can include the equipment necessary to complete the lesson plan or any handouts that are required.
#### Supplies
- In the Supplies section, add any **supplies** necessary to complete this lesson plan. Supplies can range from hardware, such as projectors and computers, to media resources, such as books or video clips.
#### Additional section title and Additional section text
An additional custom section is available for adding text that does not fit into any of the other categories.
- In the Additional section title, type a **title** for the section (Figure 1.1)
- In the Additional section text, type **supporting text** for the section (Figure 1.2).
Figure 1
### Procedure
The Procedure section is dedicated to the actual "how to" of the lesson plan. What are the steps involved to complete the lesson plan? Be as specific as possible so when it comes time to introduce the lesson plan to the class it goes smoothly.
#### Introductory activity
In the Introductory activity section, record the **steps involved** to ramp up to the actual activities.
#### Learning activities
In the Learning activities section, outline the activities in which the students will be participating and what is expected of them.
#### Culminating activity
In the Culminating activity textbox, include details of any** activities** that supplement in-class activities. This can also be a summary of the lesson and what students should take away from the lesson.
## Metadata
The metadata section is mostly hidden from users but the information you add here is useful for SEO and will help users find your content. Add as much information as possible to help search engines find your lesson plan.
- In the Long description textbox, type a **summary of your lesson plan** (Figure 1.1). This displays on your lesson plan as the first item under the Overview section. [See where this is](https://pbs-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/download/attachments/3578231/lesson-plan-long-description.jpg?version=1&modificationDate=1693420656483&cacheVersion=1&api=v2)
- In the Meta description textbox, type a **few sentences that are descriptive of your lesson plan **(Figure 1.2). This is used for SEO and is not visible to users.
- In the Learning objective textbox, type the **objective** of your lesson plan (Figure 1.3). This can include what you expect students to take from your lesson or what your lesson plan aims to achieve.
- Click the **checkbox **next to the grade that is appropriate for your lesson plan (Figure 1.4). You can select more than one.
- In the Keywords textbox, type a** series of keywords and phrases**, separated by commas, that users may use to search for your lesson plan (Figure 1.5). This information does not display anywhere on your lesson plan and is used for search engines only.
Figure 1
- In the Content flags section, click the **checkboxes** that apply (Figure 2.1). Content flags indicate if a resource contains material classified as potentially offensive to the user. [See mature content policy](https://docs.pbs.org/space/DLM/3584546/Standards+&+Practices#Mature-Content-Policy)
- In the Content flags description textbox, provide more **details about the content flag **being used by typing **supportive text**, including **timecodes **for up to three occurrences of the flagged material or a note that the flagged material is prevalent throughout the media (Figure 2.2).
- In the Audience section, click the **radio button** next to **For Educators/Teachers** or **For Use with Students** (Figure 2.3). The Audience specifies for whom the lesson plan is intended.
- Click the **checkbox **next to Available in Lesson Builder if you'd like this lesson plan to be available to the Lesson Builder tool (Figure 2.4).
- Click the **checkbox **next to Allowed in partner player if you'd like to provide certain domains to embed your lesson plan on their site. In the Partner player allow domains list textbox, type the **domains** that should have access to your embed code (Figure 2.5).
- The embed code for the partner player displays for the Teacher site (Figure 2.6) and Student site (Figure 2.7).
- Embed code gives partners the ability to embed a video on a website outside of PBS LearningMedia.
Figure 2
### Standards alignment
#### Curriculum hierarchy
Follow the steps below and view the graphic to learn how to assign nodes to your curriculum hierarchy. We recommend that you select no more than five (5) curriculum hierarchy nodes. Most resources will be properly labeled with only 2-3.
- Click the **Curriculum Hierarchy dropdown menu** and click the **category** that is appropriate for your resource.
- Click the small **plus sign** to the left of each checkbox to drill down deeper into each category.
- When you have found the appropriate node, click the **checkbox** to the left of the node.
- Click **Add**.
- The selection displays at the top of the screen.
- Repeat the steps for each additional node.
Figure 1
### Support Materials
> ℹ️ Keep in mind that lesson plans cannot be assigned to a class.
> Macro (excerpt-include)
### Media in this Lesson
- Click ***Add another Media In This Lesson*** (Figure 1).
Figure 1
- Click the ***Type *****dropdown menu **and click the **type of media** you want to add (Figure 2).
Figure 2
- In the Resource or Asset textbox, begin typing the** title or subject matter **of the media you want to add (Figure 3.1).
- Once the list of matches displays, click the **media **you want to add (Figure 3.2).
Figure 3
- The media that you selected displays (Figure 4.1).
- If you add more than one piece of media, click and drag the **grey patterned block** on the left side of each media to change the order (Figure 4.2).
- Click*** Add another Media In This Lesson*** to add another media (Figure 4.3).
- If you wish to delete a media, click the** grey x** to the right of the media (Figure 4.4).
Figure 4
### Attributions
- Next to Attributions, click **Show** and click** Add another row** (Figure 1).
Figure 1
- Click the **Role dropdown menu** and click the **role** that best describes the attribution you are adding (Figure 21). [See attribution definitions](https://docs.pbs.org/space/DLM/692944899/Credits+and+Attributions+Guide)
- Click the **Entity dropdown menu** and begin typing the **name of the entity** you want to use. When the entity displays, click it to add (Figure 2.2).
- In the **Text textbox**, type any **text** you wish to accompany the Attribution logo (Figure 2.3). This does not display to users.
- If adding more than one attribution, type the order in which you want your attributions to display (Figure 2.4). 1 displays at the top with each subsequent displaying below.
- Click **Add another row **to add additional attributions (Figure 2.5).
Figure 2
- After saving the page, the attributions display (Figure 3).
Figure 3
### Containing collections
- In the textbox, type **text related to the collection subject matter or title** and click **Search **(Figure 1).
Figure 1
- Use the filters on the right side of the page to narrow your search results (Figure 2.1).
- Click the **checkbox **next to each collection you wish to add to your lesson plan (Figure 2.2).
- When finished, click ***Add containing collections***** **(Figure 2.3).
> ℹ️ Use the pagination at the bottom of the results to scroll through results or click Show all to view all results (Figure 2.4).
Figure 2
- The collections display (Figure 3). Click **Open **to the right of each collection title to view the collection.
Figure 3
### Additional Metadata
Use the Additional Metadata section to adjust the available dates for your lesson plan and whether or not it is available in search.
- Click the** calendar icon or type the available from date in the date textbox **to assign a start date that your lesson plan is available (Figure 1.1).
- If you want your lesson plan to be available indefinitely, click the **checkbox next to Never expires **(Figure 1.2). When this box is checked, your lesson plan will be available until you change it.
- You can ignore the Source guid textbox.
- Click the **checkbox next to Available in search **if you want your lesson plan to be found by search engines (Figure 1.3). If this box is checked, search engines can find your lesson plan and surface it in search results. If it is unchecked, your lesson plan can only be found by the lesson plan URL.
- When finished, click **Save and add another** to save this lesson plan and add another,** Save and continue editing **to save this lesson plan and continue working on it, or **Save **to save this lesson plan and go back to the directory of lesson plans (Figure 1.4).
Figure 1
