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Free Lesson Plan Templates and Classroom Resources

Planning great lessons takes time. Between teaching, grading, meetings, and classroom management, it can be hard to find time to build every lesson from scratch. Whether you're looking for a lesson plan template or a sample lesson plan for inspiration, Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) offers resources that can make planning much easier. 

At RIF, we know teachers need more than a blank template. They need high-quality books, activities, and teaching tools that fit into their lessons. That's why RIF’s Literacy Central offers hundreds of free literacy resources that help educators create engaging reading experiences for students. 

What Should a Lesson Plan Include? 

Every teacher plans a little differently, but most lesson plans include the same basic parts: 

  • Learning objective 
  • Materials 
  • Lesson introduction 
  • Reading or instruction 
  • Student practice 
  • Assessment or reflection 
  • Extension activity 

The best lesson plan format is one that works for you and your students. Once you have a simple structure, it's easy to adapt to different books, skills, and grade levels. 

A Sample Read Aloud Lesson Plan 

If you're looking for a sample lesson plan, here's a simple read-aloud format inspired by RIF's Read-Aloud Planning Template. 

  1. Choose Your Book  
  2. Select a text that matches your learning objective and students' grade level.  
  3. Set Your Learning Goal  
  4. Decide what you want students to learn, such as identifying the main idea, building vocabulary, making predictions, or practicing a comprehension strategy.  
  5. Plan Before Reading  
  6. Activate background knowledge, introduce key vocabulary, and ask a question to spark curiosity before opening the book.  
  7. Plan During Reading  
  8. Identify places to pause and ask questions, model your thinking aloud, and encourage students to make predictions or connections as they listen.  
  9. Plan After Reading  
  10. Lead a discussion, complete a graphic organizer or writing activity, and revisit the lesson objective to check for understanding.  
  11. Extend the Learning  
  12. Reinforce the lesson with a printable activity, phonics practice, vocabulary work, or another book on a related topic.  

This lesson plan format can be adapted for almost any elementary literacy lesson.  

Fill Your Lesson Plan with Free Literacy Resources 

A lesson plan template is a helpful starting point, but the resources you use inside that template are what makes learning memorable. 

Literacy Central makes it easy to find free materials that fit into almost any reading lesson. 

Book Collections 

Need a book for your lesson? 

Literacy Central includes hundreds of expertly curated book collections organized by:  

  • Grade level 
  • Lexile level 
  • Genre 
  • Theme 
  • Reading interest 

Whether you're teaching a read-aloud, small group, or independent reading lesson, you'll find a story that matches your goals. 

Read-Aloud Guides 

Many books on Literacy Central include discussion questions and educator guides to help students think more deeply about what they're reading. 

These guides can easily fit into your existing lesson plan and support comprehension, conversation, and critical thinking. 

Graphic Organizers 

Graphic organizers help students organize their thinking while they read. 

Literacy Central offers free printables that support skills such as: 

  • Story elements 
  • Main idea 
  • Compare and contrast 
  • Sequencing 
  • Reading response 

They're easy to add to any literacy lesson. 

Vocabulary Activities  

Building vocabulary is a significant part of learning to read. 

Literacy Central includes free vocabulary resources like Frayer Models and vocabulary guides that help students understand and use new words with confidence. 

Extension Activities  

Keep learning going after students finish the book. 

Many Literacy Central resources include extension activities that encourage students to: 

  • Write about what they read 
  • Make real-world connections 
  • Complete hands-on projects 
  • Practice critical thinking 

These activities work well for enrichment, homework, or early finishers. 

Make Lesson Planning Easier 

A good lesson plan template helps you stay organized. A clear lesson plan format keeps learning on track. And a sample lesson plan can give you ideas when you're planning your next unit. 

With free books, printable activities, educator guides, graphic organizers, vocabulary resources, and phonics games, Literacy Central gives teachers the tools they need to create meaningful literacy lessons without starting from scratch. 

Explore free lesson planning resources and more on Literacy Central.