/lesson-plan

name: lesson-plan
description: One-shot standards-aligned lesson plans — Common Core, NGSS, TEKS, IB, Cambridge, state frameworks. Takes a topic, grade, and duration; returns a fully formatted plan with objectives, standards, materials, Gradual Release pedagogy (I do / we do / you do), 13 sections, and ELL/SPED/Gifted differentiation. Covers K-12, college, and homeschool. USE THIS SKILL when the user says "write a lesson plan," "I need a lesson on X for Y grade," "plan a lesson," "45-minute lesson on," "Common Core lesson," "NGSS lesson," "emergency sub plan," "homeschool lesson," "multi-day unit," "IB MYP lesson," "first-year-teacher SOS," "TEKS-aligned lesson," or any phrase combining a topic + a grade + a duration. Output: markdown with YAML footer for sibling-skill handoff; optional PDF.
license: MIT

Lesson Plan Skill

Generate standards-aligned, pedagogy-grounded lesson plans ready to print or drop into a planner.

When to use this skill

Trigger on any phrase combining topic + grade + duration, or any of these concrete cues:

• "Write me a lesson plan on [topic] for [grade]."
• "I need a [duration] lesson on [topic] by tomorrow."
• "Plan a [grade] NGSS lesson on [topic]."
• "Build a Common Core ELA lesson on [topic] for [grade]."
• "Make a homeschool lesson on [topic] for my [grade]er."
• "Give me a [duration] high school [subject] lesson on [topic]."
• "Draft a kindergarten lesson on [topic]."
• "I need an emergency sub plan for [grade] [subject]."
• "Plan a multi-day unit on [topic] for [grade]."
• "Create an IB MYP lesson on [topic]."
• "Cambridge / IGCSE / A Level lesson on [topic]."
• "TEKS-aligned lesson on [topic] for [grade]."
• "First-year-teacher SOS — [duration] lesson on [topic]."

Inputs

Required:

• **Topic** — free-text.
• **Grade** — K, 1, 2, … 12, college, grad, or homeschool-equivalent.
• **Duration** — minutes (or days × minutes for units).

Optional (reasonable defaults applied if absent):

• Standards framework — defaults by subject (CCSS for ELA/Math, NGSS for Science, general best practice otherwise).
• Pedagogy — default **Gradual Release** (Fisher & Frey "I do / we do / you do"), with **UDL** as the lens for differentiation. Auto-overrides to **5E** for Science lessons unless user specifies otherwise.
• Class size, prior knowledge level, accommodations (ELL/SPED/Gifted).

Output

• **Markdown** lesson plan (default). 13 sections — see `references/templates/lesson-plan.md` for the skeleton.
• **YAML footer** — machine-readable handoff block for sibling skills (`worksheet`, `quiz-generator`, `rubric`). Spec in `references/output-contract.md`.
• **Optional PDF** — via `shared/scripts/pdf_render.py` if the user asks for a printable version.

Inferring grade from phrasing (before asking)

Ask about grade ONLY if you cannot confidently infer it. Use these cues first:

| Cue in user's phrasing | Likely grade band | |---|---| | "my kindergartener," "my 5yo," "circle time," "calendar math" | K | | "my 3rd grader," "multiplication tables," "book report" | 3-5 | | "middle school," "pre-algebra," "ratios," "5 paragraph essay" | 6-8 | | "AP ___," "PSAT," "thesis statement," "MLA works cited" | 9-12 | | "syllabus," "semester," "lecture," "TA," "office hours" | College | | "dissertation," "my students' IRB," "cohort" | Grad | | "my ELL/EB student," "newcomer," "WIDA" | pair with grade + add ELL strategies | | "homeschool," "my own kid" | use grade number; add home-friendly mods |

If confidence is still low, ask ONE clarifying question in this exact shape:

> Quick check so I can calibrate this — which grade is this for? (e.g. **K · 3rd · 7th · 10th · college**)

Do not stack questions. Do not ask for framework, duration, class size, etc. unless the user explicitly wants tight customization.

Workflow (summary — full details in `references/workflow.md`)

1. **Parse request** — extract topic, grade, duration, framework, flags (sub-plan, multi-day, mini-lesson, block). 2. **Infer, then clarify** — attempt grade inference from the table above first. Only ask one question if grade is still unclear. Duration defaults to 45 min if unspecified. 3. **Infer defaults** — framework by subject, pedagogy = Gradual Release (or 5E for science). 4. **Select template** — default / sub-plan / multi-day unit / mini-lesson trim / block-schedule expansion. 5. **Load standards reference** — read only the file(s) matching the framework. 6. **Load pedagogy reference** — Gradual Release by default; 5E / Madeline Hunter if user-specified. 7. **Load differentiation catalog** — plus learner-category file(s) as needed. 8. **Load grade-calibration rules** — tone, vocabulary, session structure. 9. **Fill template** — measurable objectives, cited standards, topic-specific hook, concrete differentiation. 10. **Self-check** — all sections present, standards cited, YAML valid, timing sums to duration. 11. **Format + offer follow-ups** — suggest sibling skills (worksheet / quiz-generator / rubric) but do NOT auto-invoke.

Progressive disclosure — reference files

Load on demand based on the request. Do NOT read all references for every request.

Standards (load one matching the user's framework)

• `references/standards/common-core-ela.md` — CCSS ELA strands (RL, RI, W, SL, L, RH, RST, WHST) K-12.
• `references/standards/common-core-math.md` — CCSS Math domains + Mathematical Practices K-12.
• `references/standards/ngss.md` — NGSS Performance Expectations, DCIs, SEPs, CCCs.
• `references/standards/state-frameworks.md` — TEKS, NY NGLS, CA, FL B.E.S.T., VA SOL (+ pointers to other states).
• `references/standards/ib.md` — PYP, MYP, DP.
• `references/standards/cambridge.md` — Primary, Lower Secondary, IGCSE, A Level.

Pedagogy

• `references/pedagogy/gradual-release.md` — **default** — Fisher & Frey.
• `references/pedagogy/udl.md` — **always apply** — Universal Design for Learning lens.
• `references/pedagogy/5e.md` — auto-override for Science.
• `references/pedagogy/madelin