EDLC530 Teaching Math: How to Complete the Lesson Plan Assignment
A section-by-section guide to the lesson plan template — what belongs in each field, how to write a measurable objective, how to align InTASC and state standards to your math lesson, and where most candidates lose marks before they reach the differentiation section.
You have the template open. You can see the fields. But knowing what a field is called and knowing what to actually write in it are different problems — especially when the assignment requires measurable behavioral objectives, three layers of standards alignment, individualized math accommodations, and research citations to support every instructional design decision. This guide walks through every section of the EDLC530 Teaching Math lesson plan template in sequence, explaining what each field requires, what common errors look like, and how to approach the parts that most candidates find unclear.
This guide does not write the lesson plan for you. It explains the structure, the requirements for each section, and the reasoning behind the template so you can produce a well-grounded plan using your own chosen grade level, standards, and math topic. The examples reference elementary-level math (consistent with the provided course example) but the framework applies to any grade band.
What This Guide Covers
Understanding What the Assignment Requires
The EDLC530 lesson plan assignment asks you to produce a complete, standards-aligned, single-day mathematics lesson plan using the provided template. You will complete the assignment twice across the course, each time for a different topic or grade band. Every section of the template is a required deliverable — blank fields, placeholder text, or underdeveloped responses all reduce your grade.
Two requirements distinguish this assignment from a generic lesson plan template. First, the plan must include individualized math accommodations for a student with a specific learning disability in math. This means the differentiation section is not optional filler — it must address a named exceptionality with specific, concrete instructional modifications. Second, the References section requires at least one research-based source that directly supports your instructional design choices, cited with a description of how it was used. Both of these requirements are assessed separately and candidates often underdevelop both.
The assignment instructions specify that only Virginia Standards of Learning (VA SOL) or Common Core State Standards (CCSS) may be used as your state standard. You cannot substitute another state’s standards or create your own. Your national standard comes from NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics). Your InTASC standard comes from the CCSSO 2013 document. Using any other source for any of these three standards is an error that affects the Content Standards section grade.
Preliminary Information Section
The preliminary information fields set the context for every decision that follows. Two of these fields are frequently underdeveloped: the Central Focus and the Learning Segment Theme. Getting these right before filling out anything else saves time because every later section — from your objective to your assessments — should connect back to them.
Student Assets Section
The Student Assets section has four subsections: Personal, Cultural, Community, and Developmental. If you are not in a practicum setting, you may write N/A for all four. If you are in a practicum or clinical experience, each subsection requires specific, concrete information about the actual students in your classroom — not generic descriptions of a typical elementary classroom.
When completing this section with real student information, the purpose is to show that your instructional decisions are informed by who your students actually are. The example provided in the course materials connects butterfly activities to a class with a mix of family structures, ELL students, and a community near Virginia landmarks — the lesson activities then reference those specific assets. If you are filling this section with actual data, every specific mentioned here should create a connection to at least one instructional decision in the Instruction or Differentiation sections.
Writing “my class has 24 students with diverse backgrounds” does not satisfy the Student Assets requirement. The section asks for specifics: specific interests that can anchor a math context (e.g., students who follow sports — use statistics), specific community resources (e.g., a local market — use money math), specific developmental observations (e.g., students are beginning to move from concrete to representational in their number sense). Specificity is the marker of professional planning practice in this field, and InTASC Standard #1 — Learner Development — is directly connected to this section.
Content Standards: State, National, and InTASC
The Content Standards section requires three separate and complete standard entries. A common error is to write only one standard and assume it covers all three. Each standard must be from its specified source, written in full (including the standard number, letter designations, and description), and connected to your lesson.
State Standard (VA SOL or Common Core)
Choose a single mathematics standard at the appropriate grade level. Write the full standard: number, letter (if applicable), and the complete description. The correct format mirrors the example in the assignment instructions: VA Math SOL 2.12 The student will (a) draw a line of symmetry in a figure; and (b) identify and create figures with at least one line of symmetry. Your Learning Objective must be directly derivable from this standard — if the connection between your standard and your objective is not obvious, revise one or the other.
National Standard (NCTM)
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Principles and Standards for School Mathematics organizes standards by content (Number and Operations, Algebra, Geometry, Measurement, Data Analysis and Probability) and grade band (Pre-K–2, 3–5, 6–8, 9–12). Select the standard that most closely aligns with your state standard. Write the standard name, the grade band, and the specific expectation. Do not use NCTM’s Principles to Actions (2014) or Teaching and Learning Mathematics framework as a substitute — the assignment specifies NCTM standards, meaning the content standards document.
InTASC Standard
The InTASC standards (CCSSO, 2013) describe what teachers should know and be able to do. You are choosing the standard that best reflects the pedagogical focus of your lesson — not the math content. Common choices for lesson plan assignments include Standard #4 (Content Knowledge), Standard #6 (Assessment), Standard #7 (Planning for Instruction), and Standard #8 (Instructional Strategies). You must write the full standard description and then add a sentence connecting it to your specific lesson.
Standard #7: Planning for Instruction. The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.
Connection to this lesson: This standard applies to this lesson because the instructional sequence moves from teacher modeling of [math concept] through guided practice with manipulatives to independent practice with visual representations, each stage planned to scaffold student understanding toward the lesson objective and to provide multiple access points for students with varying readiness levels, including students with specific learning disabilities in math.
Note: The connection sentence is required. Writing the standard alone without connecting it to your lesson is an incomplete entry. The sentence should name at least one specific instructional decision from your plan and explain how InTASC #X informed it.
Writing the Learning Objective
The Learning Objective is the most technically demanding single sentence in the plan. It must be behavioral (describing what students will do, not what they will understand), measurable (containing a criterion that allows you to determine whether it was met), and contain three distinct components: a Condition, a Performance, and a Criterion.
Condition
The context in which the student will perform — what they are given, shown, or working with. Starts phrases like “Given a set of…”, “After watching…”, “Using a hundreds chart…”, “When presented with five…”
Performance
The observable, measurable action the student will take. Must use a Bloom’s Taxonomy action verb — identify, solve, construct, calculate, compare, explain, create. Avoid “understand,” “know,” or “appreciate” — these are not observable.
Criterion
The standard of acceptable performance — how many correct, at what accuracy level, within what timeframe. Examples: “with 4 out of 5 correct,” “with 80% accuracy,” “identifying all three.” Must be specific enough to grade against.
[Condition] Given five various pictures of geometric figures, [Performance] the student will be able to identify figures that are symmetrical [Criterion] with 4/5 figures matched correctly.
Note the template also asks for a Student Version (the Learning Target — written in first-person language a student can read and understand: “I can identify symmetrical figures”). Both versions are required in the template. The Teacher Version uses formal objective language; the Student Version uses accessible language that could be posted on the board.
Weak Objective
“Students will understand how to add two-digit numbers with regrouping.” No condition, no measurable criterion, “understand” is not an observable verb. Cannot be graded against.
Strong Objective
“Given ten two-digit addition problems requiring regrouping, students will solve each problem using the standard algorithm with at least 8 out of 10 correct.” Condition, observable verb (solve), measurable criterion (8/10).
Instruction Section: Hook Through Closure
The instruction section is the largest part of the template and the one most likely to be underdeveloped. It has five subsections: Launch/Hook, Instruction/Modeling, Guided Practice, Independent Practice, and Closure. Each serves a distinct pedagogical function, and the assignment instructions are explicit that these should not be collapsed or skipped.
Launch / Hook / Anticipatory Set
Opens the lesson and connects to prior knowledge or student interest. For math lessons, effective hooks include a real-world problem (“If you cut a pizza in half, what do you notice about the two pieces?”), a visual or manipulative exploration, a short video clip, a KWL chart, or a think-pair-share prompt. The hook should narrow student attention toward the lesson objective — it is not just an activity students enjoy, but one that makes them ready to engage with the math concept. Describe what you (the teacher) do and what students do, including the specific question(s) you will ask.
Instruction / Modeling (Direct Instruction)
This is the most detailed section of the plan. Provide a step-by-step description of how you will teach the math concept or skill. Include: what you model explicitly, what manipulatives or visual representations you use, what questions you ask at each stage, and how you check for understanding during the explanation. For a math lesson, this section should reference at least one concrete or representational model (physical manipulatives, number lines, base-ten blocks, area models, diagrams) before moving to abstract notation — this is directly grounded in the concrete-representational-abstract (CRA) progression that research in mathematics education supports (Witzel, 2005; NCTM, 2014).
Guided Practice
Students practice the skill with teacher support. Describe the specific activity, the grouping structure (matching what you chose in Preliminary Information), how you circulate and monitor, and what feedback you provide. Guided practice is not independent work — it includes teacher monitoring, corrective feedback, and scaffolded prompts. Explain what you will look for as you observe student work and how you will address errors in real time.
Independent Practice
Students practice with reduced teacher support to develop fluency and accuracy. Describe the specific task, how it relates directly to the objective, and how the level of support is less than in guided practice. For a student with a specific learning disability in math, note here (or in the Differentiation section) any accommodations that apply to this task — reduced number of problems, use of a multiplication chart, graph paper for alignment, etc.
Closure
Ties the lesson together. Effective math lesson closures include: an exit ticket linked directly to the learning objective, a student reflection prompt (“What strategy did you use today and why?”), a whole-class share-out of problem-solving approaches, or a quick formative check. The closure should connect back to the Learning Target posted at the start of the lesson and position students for the next lesson in the segment.
Evidence and Assessment of Student Learning
The assessment section has three required components and they must be internally consistent — the summative assessment in particular must match the learning objective exactly, and all three components must use the same vocabulary about what is being measured.
Diagnostic / Pre-Assessment
Conducted before or at the start of the lesson to gauge prior knowledge. For math, common tools include entry tickets, a few warm-up problems from a prerequisite skill, a KWL chart, or a brief oral question (“Show me on your whiteboard what you know about…”). The diagnostic informs how much scaffolding to provide in Instruction/Modeling — describe both the tool and what you do with the information.
Formative Assessment / Feedback
Embedded in guided and independent practice. Describes what you observe, how you determine whether students are on track, and how you provide feedback. Examples: observation with a clipboard checklist, mini whiteboards where all students show answers simultaneously, targeted questioning during small group rotations. Must include how you feed information back to students.
Summative Assessment — Must Match the Objective
The summative assessment is the final evaluation of the learning objective. This is the critical alignment point: if your objective says “given five pictures, identify symmetrical figures with 4/5 correct,” your summative assessment must be that set of five pictures, graded against the 4/5 criterion. The summative assessment cannot test something broader or narrower than what the objective specifies. It may be a worksheet, an exit ticket, a short quiz, a performance task, or an oral response — what matters is that it directly and completely assesses the condition, performance, and criterion in the objective.
Academic Language Demands
The Academic Language Demands section asks you to think about the language students need to participate in the lesson — both to access the instruction and to demonstrate their understanding. It has three components: Language Demands, Language Supports, and Essential Vocabulary.
| Component | What It Requires | Math-Specific Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Language Demands | How students use academic language in the lesson — the language function. What do they have to do with language to participate and show learning? | Students must explain their reasoning orally using math vocabulary (e.g., “I know this is symmetrical because…”). Students must read and interpret word problems. Students must write equations using standard notation. |
| Language Supports | Specific scaffolds that help students access or produce the language demanded. Not generic — describe the actual support in your lesson. | Math word wall with visuals. Sentence frames posted on the board (“I solved this by ___”). Anchor chart with vocabulary and diagrams. Bilingual vocabulary cards for ELL students. Guided notes with partially completed sentences. |
| Essential Vocabulary | The specific math vocabulary terms students must understand and use to meet the objective. List each term — these are the terms you introduce or reinforce in the Instruction section. | For a symmetry lesson: symmetry, line of symmetry, symmetrical, asymmetrical, reflection. For a fractions lesson: numerator, denominator, equivalent, fraction, whole. Each term should appear somewhere in your Instruction or Guided Practice. |
LU SOE-Specific Lesson Requirements
These three fields are specific to Liberty University School of Education requirements and may not appear in lesson plan templates from other institutions. All three are required and cannot be skipped.
Character Education
Describe one connection between the lesson and a character quality or life skill. This does not need to be elaborate — it can be a brief statement about how the lesson’s grouping or task structure reinforces a specific value. Examples: group work that requires cooperation and respectful disagreement during guided practice; perseverance through a multi-step problem in independent practice; honesty when self-checking work against an answer key. The connection must be specific to the lesson structure you described, not a generic statement that “math builds discipline.”
Materials
List every tangible item needed to carry out the lesson as written. If you described a SmartBoard, Geoboards, whiteboards, printed handouts, manipulatives, or video clips in the Instruction section — they must appear here. Missing materials are a consistency error. For each item that is a digital resource, include the URL or a description of how it is accessed. Handouts should be described specifically (e.g., “Guided Notes worksheet — 25 copies” rather than just “worksheet”).
Technology Connection
Describe at least one specific instance where technology is meaningfully integrated into an instructional area of the plan (not just mentioned as an option). The technology must appear in the Instruction section — in the Hook, Modeling, Guided Practice, Independent Practice, or Closure. Generic statements like “technology will be used” are insufficient. Name the tool, describe what is displayed or done with it, and explain how it supports the math learning objective. Examples: a SmartBoard showing an interactive number line during Modeling; a video clip in the Hook that introduces the concept through a real-world context; a virtual manipulative during Guided Practice.
Differentiation, Exceptionalities, and the SLD Accommodation Requirement
The differentiation section is where many candidates lose marks on this assignment — particularly in the Exceptionalities subsection, which must include specific, individualized planning for a student with a specific learning disability (SLD) in math. This is not a generic statement about IEPs. It requires concrete, named accommodations directly connected to the math content and tasks in your lesson.
Planned Supports
List the supports you have built into the lesson design — not just what you would do if someone needed help, but what is already present in the plan. These connect to your Instruction section: if you planned guided notes, visual models, anchor charts, or scaffolded sentence frames, list them here and explain what they support. Research on effective mathematics instruction from the Institute of Education Sciences (Gersten et al., 2009) identifies explicit instruction with visual and concrete representations as a foundational practice for students with mathematical difficulties — this is a citable source for your Research section and a framework for your Planned Supports.
Exceptionalities — The SLD in Math Requirement
This is the field the assignment instructions flag explicitly. You must describe specific planning for a student with a specific learning disability in math. Avoid vague statements like “will receive extra time” or “will be given support.” Instead, name the specific challenges a student with dyscalculia or a math-related SLD might face in your lesson’s tasks, and then name the specific instructional modifications you are making.
Concrete Accommodations for a Student with an SLD in Math
The modifications you list should match the tasks in your Instruction section. Consider these categories:
- Visual supports: Number lines taped to the desk, multiplication charts, fraction strips, base-ten blocks available throughout the lesson rather than only during Guided Practice.
- Task reduction: Fewer problems in Independent Practice (same skill, same criterion, reduced quantity) to reduce cognitive load without lowering the standard.
- Alternative representation: Allowing the student to draw a model or use manipulatives to demonstrate understanding rather than writing abstract notation.
- Explicit strategy instruction: Teaching a named strategy (e.g., STAR problem-solving strategy, color-coded place value) that the student applies consistently across the lesson tasks.
- Graph paper or lined paper turned sideways: Helps students with spatial organization challenges align multi-digit computations correctly.
- Proximity seating and chunked instructions: Delivering one step at a time during Independent Practice rather than the full set of directions at once.
ELL Accommodations
Describe specific modifications for English Language Learners in your class. These should go beyond “use pictures” — describe the actual tools in your lesson (bilingual vocabulary cards, a translated version of the handout, visual directions, strategic grouping with a bilingual peer) and connect them to the Language Supports you listed in the Academic Language section. Consistency between these two sections shows integrated planning.
Learning Styles and Student Engagement
Explain how the lesson addresses different modalities. For a math lesson, this typically means: visual learners access the content through diagrams, anchor charts, or SmartBoard displays; kinesthetic learners engage through manipulatives in Guided Practice; auditory learners benefit from think-alouds and partner talk. Name the specific activities from your lesson that serve each modality — do not just list modality types without connecting them to your plan.
Extension
Describe how students who have already mastered the skill will be challenged. The extension must still address the same math concept — it deepens or extends the application rather than moving to entirely different content. Examples: applying the concept to a more complex problem, exploring a related pattern, creating their own example with a justification, or connecting the concept to a real-world application that requires analysis.
References and Research Section
The template has two distinct reference fields, and candidates regularly confuse them or only complete one. Both are required.
References: Resources
Cite everything used to create the lesson materials — your textbook if you drew an activity from it, websites from which you sourced images or activities, the InTASC document, VDOE resources, NCTM publications, or any other source that contributed to the plan’s content. Format in APA. This section is about what you consulted, not whether it was peer-reviewed research.
References: Research to Support Instructional Design
This section requires at least one peer-reviewed or research-based source, cited in APA format. For each citation, you must describe how the source was used in the plan creation — a sentence or two explaining which instructional decision the research informed. This is not a literature review; it is a brief annotation connecting research to practice in your plan.
For the research citation, sources commonly used in math education lesson plan assignments include: Tomlinson (2017) on differentiated instruction; Van de Walle, Karp, and Bay-Williams on elementary mathematics teaching; NCTM Principles to Actions (2014); or the IES Practice Guide on assisting students with mathematical difficulties (Gersten et al., 2009). Any of these can support your instructional design decisions — particularly your use of CRA progression, differentiation strategy, or approach to the SLD accommodation.
Tomlinson, C. A. (2017). How to differentiate instruction in academically diverse classrooms. ASCD.
How it was used: The differentiation framework in this lesson — including the tiered guided practice activity and the extension task — is based on Tomlinson’s (2017) model of readiness-based differentiation, which recommends that all learners work toward the same essential understanding through tasks calibrated to their current level of readiness rather than being assigned completely different content.
Where Most Plans Lose Marks
Objective Without a Criterion
Writing “students will identify symmetrical figures” without specifying how many they must get correct, at what accuracy level, or within what context. Without a criterion, the objective cannot be summatively assessed.
Instead
Add the criterion explicitly: “…with 4 out of 5 identified correctly.” Then make sure your summative assessment uses exactly 5 figures and grades against the 4/5 threshold. The objective and summative assessment must be mirrors of each other.
InTASC Standard Without a Connection Sentence
Copying the standard text verbatim with no sentence explaining how it applies to this specific lesson. The assignment instructions explicitly require a connection sentence, and its absence is an incomplete entry.
Instead
Write one to two sentences after the standard that name at least one specific element of your lesson (a teaching strategy, an assessment tool, a grouping decision) and explain how the InTASC standard informed or is demonstrated by that element.
SLD Accommodation That Is Not Specific
“The student with an IEP will receive accommodations as outlined in their plan.” This tells the grader nothing about what you planned. The template requires you to describe the specific modifications you have built into this lesson for a student with an SLD in math.
Instead
Name the specific challenge the SLD creates in this lesson’s tasks, then name the specific modifications: reduced problem set, use of a number line during Independent Practice, graph paper for place value alignment, step-by-step visual checklist for the procedure. Connect each modification to a task in your plan.
Research Section With Only a Citation
Listing “Van de Walle, J. A. (2019). Elementary and middle school mathematics.” with no description of how the source was used. The template explicitly requires a description of how each cited source informed the plan design.
Instead
After each citation, add two to three sentences: which section of the plan the source informed, what specific decision it supported, and how the research finding maps onto the instructional approach you chose.
Instruction Section That Describes Rather Than Scripts
“Teacher will model how to solve the problem and students will practice.” This describes the category of activity, not the content of instruction. Graders cannot evaluate whether the modeling is mathematically accurate or pedagogically sound from a description this vague.
Instead
Write step-by-step: what you say, what you write or display, what manipulative you hold up, what question you ask, and what student response you expect. A reader who has never seen your classroom should be able to replicate the lesson from your Instruction section alone.
Technology Field That Is Disconnected from the Instruction
“Technology such as a computer or tablet can be used to support learning.” This does not describe a specific integration point. The field requires a named tool used in a named instructional area at a specific moment in the lesson.
Instead
Name the exact tool (SmartBoard, specific website, app, document camera), describe the specific moment in the lesson (during Modeling, to display the number line / during Guided Practice, for students to access virtual base-ten blocks), and explain how it supports the objective.
Frequently Asked Questions
Putting It Together: How the Sections Connect
The most common feedback on underdeveloped lesson plans is not that individual sections are wrong — it is that the sections do not connect to each other. A strong plan has internal consistency: the Central Focus and Learning Segment Theme narrow to the Objective; the Objective drives the Summative Assessment; the Instruction section teaches exactly what the Objective demands; the Differentiation section modifies the same tasks that appear in Instruction; and the Research section cites sources that explain why those instructional choices were made.
Before submitting, read through the plan asking: does every section refer back to the same math skill? Does the SLD accommodation address a task that actually appears in my lesson? Does my research citation support a decision that is visible in the plan? Is my technology integration tied to a specific moment in Instruction or Practice, not just mentioned in the Technology field? These consistency checks take ten minutes and prevent the most common mark-reduction errors.
For direct support with this assignment — whether you need a complete model plan reviewed, help developing a specific section, or assistance locating and integrating research sources — our education assignment writing team works specifically with teacher preparation coursework, lesson plan templates, and InTASC-aligned writing at the graduate and certification level.
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