Every day in preschool is an opportunity to lay the groundwork for lifelong learning—and that starts with preschool lesson plans that are both intentional and adaptable. These plans serve as a roadmap for educators to design developmentally appropriate activities in areas like early math, pre-writing, pre-reading, motor, social-emotional, and cognitive skills—helping children build a solid foundation for kindergarten and beyond.
What is a preschool lesson plan?
A preschool lesson plan is a written outline a teacher uses to organize one learning activity for children ages 3 to 5, covering the learning objective, the materials needed, the step-by-step procedure, how children will be assessed, and how the teacher will reflect afterward. Preschool lesson plans keep instructional time purposeful and balanced across developmental domains, and they give teachers a record they can share with families and use to track each child’s progress.
What are the 5 parts of a preschool lesson plan?
A complete preschool lesson plan has five parts: the learning objective, the materials, the procedure, the assessment, and the reflection. The table below shows what belongs in each part.
| Part | Question it answers | Example (shapes lesson) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Learning objective | What should children be able to do at the end of this lesson? | By the end of the lesson, children will be able to identify four basic shapes. |
| 2. Materials | What do I need to gather before the lesson starts? | Foam shape cutouts, a shape sorting mat, chart paper, and a shape picture book. |
| 3. Procedure | How will the lesson open, run, close, and transition? | Introduce shapes at circle time, sort foam shapes in small groups, review names, transition to a shape hunt. |
| 4. Assessment | How will I know whether children met the objective? | Observe and note which children name circle, square, triangle, and rectangle without a prompt. |
| 5. Reflection | What worked, and what will I change next time? | Note that the sorting mat was too crowded for four children; split into two groups next time. |
In this guide
- Preschool learning goals: what children learn at ages 3 to 5
- Preschool lesson plans: why they matter
- Thematic calendar vs. emergent curriculum: what’s the difference?
- How to write a preschool lesson plan in 5 steps
- Preschool lesson plan themes: how to choose and use them
- Preschool lesson plan ideas: 6 themes to try
- Preschool lesson plan FAQs
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Preschool learning goals: What children learn at ages 3 to 5
Preschool is a critical time for every child’s development. It’s when children discover more about themselves, and they also learn information to prepare them for kindergarten and later schooling. As an educator, your duty is to take them through preschool and prepare them for the next stage.
Preschool learning goals generally fall into four areas: basic academic skills, motor skills, social-emotional skills, and cognitive skills. The federal Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework organizes preschool learning into five domains—approaches to learning, social and emotional development, language and communication, literacy, cognition, and perceptual, motor, and physical development—and many state frameworks are built on the same structure.
Basic academic skills and concepts
Preschool learning standards in the U.S. are flexible and vary from one state to another. At this stage of learning, lesson plans support children in reaching certain developmental milestones in basic academic subjects like math, reading, and writing. The CDC’s milestone checklist for 4-year-olds is a useful reference point when you are deciding whether an activity is developmentally appropriate.
Early math concepts
The foundation for mathematics begins in preschool. Children often learn basic mathematical concepts like rote counting, i.e., counting up to 10, rational counting, i.e., counting objects and assigning value, and classifying and sorting by length, weight, size, and shape. All of these skills give children a solid foundation to learn more complex math skills like addition and subtraction.
Pre-writing skills
Pre-writing skills establish the foundation for writing. Play and art activities are some ways to help preschoolers develop these skills. Other pre-writing skills to focus on include:
- Forming patterns by drawing waves
- Learning letter formation
- Practicing a pencil grip
- Crossing the midline
Pre-reading skills
Pre-reading skills such as sound and letter knowledge are vital for learning to read. Important pre-reading skills include oral language, print awareness, listening comprehension, letter recognition, and phonological awareness.
Playing rhyming games, reading books, and using letter flashcards are some ways to reinforce pre-reading skills.
Visual and auditory perception skills
Visual and auditory perception skills are important for children to develop early on as they will assist them in learning almost any concept, such as reading and writing. Teachers can promote visual perception, including visual discrimination skills, by incorporating activities like puzzles and identifying shapes, colors, and patterns.
To promote auditory perception skills, try activities like playing with musical instruments, singing songs, and reciting poems.
Motor skills
Children are also developing and strengthening their motor skills during preschool. Motor skills help facilitate movement and establish the foundation for physical development. Gross motor skills are used in actions that involve larger muscle groups found in the arms, legs, and core like running, jumping, walking, and climbing. Fine motor skills involve smaller muscle groups like those found in hands and fingers and are responsible for tasks like writing, drawing, painting, and cutting.
Specific play activities to promote gross motor skills include jumping on trampolines, tossing a ball, and walking in a line. Activities like using a pencil, building tower blocks, and molding with clay are excellent for developing fine motor skills.
Social-emotional skills
Social-emotional skills are crucial for preschoolers as they learn to identify and manage their own emotions and interact with their peers and teachers. Activities that involve sharing or taking turns, listening to instructions, or identifying character emotions in books all help support children’s social-emotional development.
Cognitive skills
Cognitive skills are the core skills children use to think and explore. The development of these skills enables children to remember, reason, problem-solve, learn, and concentrate.
Creative expression is one of the ways teachers can promote cognitive skills. Examples of creative expression activities include art activities like painting, dancing, role-playing, and storytelling.
Preschool lesson plans: Why they matter
Preschool lesson plans are more than just a tool for daily structure—they are a vital part of preparing young children for long-term academic and social success. Thoughtfully designed lesson plans help educators introduce developmentally appropriate concepts in a way that supports the whole child. From early literacy and math skills to social-emotional development and motor coordination, these plans provide a foundation that directly contributes to kindergarten readiness. NAEYC’s position statement on developmentally appropriate practice names planning and implementing an engaging curriculum as one of the six core areas of early childhood teaching practice.
For teachers, lesson plans serve as a powerful organizational tool. They help educators map out objectives, align activities with learning goals, and ensure that instructional time is purposeful and balanced across developmental domains. Planning also gives teachers the opportunity to reflect on their teaching practices—analyzing what’s working, identifying areas for adjustment, and tailoring lessons to meet the evolving needs of their students.
Moreover, sharing lesson plans with families helps strengthen the home-school connection. When families understand what their children are learning each week, they’re better equipped to reinforce key concepts at home and stay engaged in their child’s development.
Using a preschool lesson plan template makes this process even easier. Templates provide a consistent, repeatable structure that saves teachers valuable time and reduces planning stress. With a clear format in place, educators can focus less on logistics and more on designing meaningful learning experiences that support every child’s growth.
A tool like brightwheel’s lesson plan feature allows you to customize your state’s learning standards to fit your program and log observations to track children’s progress. Brightwheel saves each admin and staff member 20 hours per month of administrative work, which gives teachers more of their planning time back.
Thematic calendar vs. emergent curriculum: what’s the difference?
A thematic calendar approach is teacher-directed and planned in advance around broad topics such as seasons, holidays, letters, or numbers. An emergent curriculum approach is child-directed and built from what teachers observe about children’s current interests. Neither approach is better than the other; the right one depends on your program, your staffing, and your state requirements.
| Thematic calendar | Emergent curriculum | |
|---|---|---|
| Who drives the topic | The teacher, chosen in advance | The children, through observed interests |
| When planning happens | Weeks or months ahead, on a calendar | Week to week, after observation and documentation |
| Typical topics | Seasons, holidays, letters, numbers, colors | Whatever children are currently exploring |
| Main strength | Predictable, easy to staff, easy to share with families | High engagement, supports critical thinking and active participation |
| Main limitation | Assumes every child is interested in the chosen theme | Requires more documentation time and teacher flexibility |
| Best fit for | Programs that need a repeatable structure across classrooms | Programs with time for daily observation and flexible planning |
Thematic calendar approach
A thematic calendar approach is also known as a traditional curriculum approach. It’s usually organized around broad thematic areas, such as seasons, holidays, or concepts like numbers and letters. The approach is typically teacher-directed, with teachers choosing a thematic topic and centering their lesson plans and activities around that specific theme.
The thematic calendar approach attracts criticism from various education stakeholders. Some argue it’s too narrow, teacher-centered, limits critical thinking, and doesn’t help prepare children adequately. The approach also assumes that all children will be interested in the chosen theme.
Instead, education stakeholders advocate for a learner-centered curriculum that promotes critical thinking and active participation. This is where the emergent curriculum approach comes in handy.
Emergent curriculum approach
An emergent curriculum approach is a curriculum planning and teaching approach that draws inspiration and motivation from children’s interests. Teachers analyze and document children’s behavior when developing emergent curriculum lesson plans.
How can you incorporate the emergent curriculum into your lesson planning? The approach requires children’s active participation. Below are details of how to implement the approach:
- Make time for free play: This allows children to pursue their interests, allowing teachers to discover more about their likes and dislikes, and their abilities. The rule of thumb is making time for unstructured or free play. This works because it presents more opportunities to see what emerges from the children in your program.
- Organize class discussions: Ask the children questions to find out what they know about some subjects. This way, you get a better understanding of their knowledge and learning, allowing you to plan and deliver your lessons based on children’s needs and interests.
- Be flexible: The emergent curriculum is children-focused. Teachers need to be flexible in their thinking and lesson planning approach.
Save time with Experience Curriculum in brightwheel. This complete curriculum system comes with digital lessons in the app and hands-on materials mailed to you monthly. The flexible lesson plans for baby, toddler, and preschool age groups can be adjusted to meet your classroom needs and interests.
How to write a preschool lesson plan in 5 steps
To write a preschool lesson plan, determine your learning objective, choose your materials, write down your lesson procedures, decide how you will assess the outcome, and reflect after you teach. The five steps below work with any curriculum approach and take about 15 to 20 minutes per lesson once you are using a consistent template.
Step 1. Determine your learning objective
Defining learning objectives beforehand is a crucial component of lesson planning. Objectives are what you want the children to learn at the end of a lesson. These can target specific goals or domains in your curriculum, like social-emotional or cognitive skills.
The number of objectives is a critical consideration when writing your lesson plan. Because preschoolers have short attention spans, one or two objectives per lesson is enough.
You can select objectives based on the following factors:
- What children in this age group are typically learning or mastering
- Education standards set by your program or state
Here’s what an example learning objective could look like: “By the end of the lesson, children will be able to identify four basic shapes.”
Step 2. Choose your lesson materials
You’ll also need to know what materials you need to execute the lesson. List them down so you don’t leave important things out and be as specific as possible. Ensure your lesson materials are easy to find, safe, and age-appropriate.
Step 3. Write down your lesson procedures
The procedures section in a lesson plan is a step-by-step overview of what’s in the lesson. It’s made up of sections such as:
- Introduction: Detail how you will introduce the lesson to the children. Your introduction is the time to get the children excited for your lesson and prepare them for the main activity. It can be a statement, question, or visual aid.
- Main activity: This is the main section of your lesson and will carry much of the weight. This is where you will provide information to the children, such as new vocabulary words or facts, that are related to your specific lesson, and also show them how the materials will be used. Be sure to include the step-by-step process of what you plan to do.
- Conclusion: Bring your lesson to a close by reviewing your objectives and goals. Ask questions to see if the children accomplished what you intended them to accomplish.
- Transition: Plan how you will transition from your lesson plan to the next activity. Ideally, transitions can be another learning opportunity tied to your lesson.
Ultimately, your lesson procedures will follow your program’s specific curriculum or teaching approach and be tailored to the specific abilities and needs of your preschoolers.
Step 4. Decide how you will assess the lesson
This is arguably the most important part of lesson planning. At the end of the lesson, you’ll want to assess if you’ve achieved your desired outcomes. The best way to find out if your lesson was a success or not is to evaluate what the children learned. Observe your children’s progress, ask questions, and see if there were any learning challenges or confusion during your lesson.
Refer back to your main learning objective and determine if the children met any specific goals or made improvements in any skill area.
Step 5. Reflect on how the lesson went
The final part of your lesson plan will focus on reflection or self-evaluation. You can evaluate yourself based on your objectives and children’s responses. After you teach your lesson, take time to note what went well and any areas for improvement. This will help you with future planning as you make any necessary changes to your materials or procedures.
Daily Lesson Plan Template
Use this free template to develop effective lesson plans for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
Preschool lesson plan themes: How to choose and use them
Using themes in your lesson plans is a creative way to combine different subjects together under one overall concept. Depending on your program, you can choose to incorporate monthly or weekly themes. Here are some other things to consider when incorporating themes in your preschool lesson plans:
- Involve children in the planning process. It’s important that your themes reflect the interests of your children so you can better engage them in the learning process. Take the time to observe their likes and dislikes and ask questions to discover what resonates with them.
- Choose concrete themes. It is important to choose themes that children have access to and will understand. For example, if your center is located near the ocean, it might make sense to incorporate a beach theme into your lessons since the children will likely have experience visiting the beach. If your children don’t have access to or tangible experience with a particular theme, it might be harder for them to understand and engage with the subject.
- Draw inspiration from your natural environment or local community. Plan your themes around things that are happening around you. For instance, you can use the seasons as inspiration to teach about the changes in weather, or if your local community is celebrating a specific event, you can teach activities that are relevant to that.
- Keep ideas broad. Choose a general theme so you will have enough books, songs, visuals, and activities to integrate as you plan your lesson.
Themes are a great way to provide cohesive organization when you are planning lessons and activities. They can be a fun way to engage your children and provide memorable learning experiences.
Preschool lesson plan ideas: 6 themes to try
Children get excited when presented with new things to explore, and using themed lessons will allow you to get creative and simplify concepts using practical means. Theme teaching is also a great way to combine different subjects and skills in a single lesson.
While there are countless themes to choose from, six preschool lesson plan ideas to get you started are seasons, animals, colors, shapes, bugs and insects, and nature.
1. Seasons
You can plan your preschool lessons around seasons, such as summer or winter, as a way to teach concepts related to the changes in the weather or natural environment. For example, an autumn theme can incorporate art activities using leaves and nature walks that highlight the changing colors on trees.
2. Animals
There are endless possibilities to choose from with an animal theme. Be sure to focus on animals that your children are most interested in. Children can learn about animal movements, the sounds they make, and the environments they typically live in. You can also incorporate a field trip to a local zoo.
3. Colors
You can do a one-month-long color theme plan or introduce different colors daily. You can also integrate color themes with other themes like seasons. For example, you can introduce the color white when teaching about winter. You can easily incorporate a color theme into art and sensory activities, read color books, or have the children count or sort items by color.
4. Shapes
The primary shapes you can introduce children to are circles, squares, rectangles, ovals, and triangles. You can help children identify different shapes by using 2D and 3D materials and props. You can also incorporate art activities by having children draw or paint different shapes.
5. Bugs and insects
This theme can help children learn about common bugs and insects like butterflies, spiders, and bees. Use this theme to teach about the different characteristics of bugs and the roles they play in nature.
6. Nature
The nature theme is broad and you can also incorporate plants and flowers. Make the theme relatable by focusing on your local region’s natural environment such as the forest, ocean, or desert. The nature theme is excellent for teaching children how nature works. For example, you can teach them about different types of trees and how they’re habitats for some animals. You can also incorporate the seasons theme by teaching them how leaves change during the seasons.
Preschool lesson plan FAQs
What is a preschool lesson plan?
A preschool lesson plan is a written outline a teacher uses to organize one learning activity for children ages 3 to 5. It records the learning objective, the materials, the procedure, the assessment, and the teacher’s reflection, so instructional time stays purposeful and progress can be tracked and shared with families.
What are the 5 parts of a preschool lesson plan?
The five parts of a preschool lesson plan are the learning objective, the materials, the procedure, the assessment, and the reflection. The objective states what children should be able to do; the materials list what you need to gather; the procedure covers the introduction, main activity, conclusion, and transition; the assessment explains how you will check the objective was met; and the reflection captures what you would change next time.
How many learning objectives should a preschool lesson plan have?
One or two learning objectives per preschool lesson is enough. Preschoolers have short attention spans, so a plan with a single clear objective is usually more effective than one that tries to cover several skills at once.
How long should a preschool lesson be?
A whole-group preschool lesson typically runs 10 to 20 minutes, and a small-group or center-based activity typically runs 15 to 30 minutes. Watch the children rather than the clock: when attention drops, move to the transition you planned instead of pushing through the rest of the activity.
What is the difference between a thematic calendar and an emergent curriculum?
A thematic calendar is teacher-directed and planned in advance around broad topics such as seasons, holidays, letters, or numbers. An emergent curriculum is child-directed and built week to week from what teachers observe about children’s current interests. Thematic planning is more predictable and easier to staff; emergent planning tends to drive higher engagement but requires more observation and documentation time.
What should a weekly preschool lesson plan include?
A weekly preschool lesson plan should include the week’s theme or focus, one or two learning objectives per day, the planned activities by time block or learning center, the materials needed for each day, and space for observation notes. Many programs also add a column mapping each activity to the developmental domain or state standard it supports.
Do preschool lesson plans have to follow state learning standards?
Preschool learning standards vary from state to state, and licensed programs are generally expected to align their curriculum with their own state’s early learning standards. Check your state’s early learning guidelines and your licensing or quality rating requirements, then map each lesson objective to the standard it supports so the alignment is documented.
Final thoughts
Preschool lesson plans require a great deal of preparation and creativity. A solid lesson plan will incorporate key elements such as learning objectives, relevant materials, developmentally appropriate activities, and assessment methods.
Incorporate themes to teach children fundamental skills or see what emerges from their interests. Allow space for flexibility and reflection, ensuring that your children are making progress towards their learning goals.
