The Complete Lesson Planning Workflow

From year-long pacing to tomorrow's lesson — in minutes, not weeks.

5 tools2 free3 Pro

Most teachers plan lessons one day at a time. The best teachers start with the big picture and zoom in. This workflow shows you how to use LessonDraft's tools together to build a complete, standards-aligned curriculum — from year-long scope and sequence down to individual student handouts.

1

Map the year

Pro

Start with a scope and sequence to lay out your entire year, semester, or quarter. Define which standards and topics you'll cover each week, and where assessments fall. This becomes your roadmap for everything else.

Try Scope & Sequence
2

Design each unit

Pro

Take each block from your scope and sequence and expand it into a full unit plan — daily lessons, activities, assessments, and pacing. Unit plans bridge the gap between your year-long vision and daily teaching.

Try Unit Planner
3

Build daily lessons

Free

Generate detailed daily lesson plans with objectives, warm-ups, instruction, practice, and closure. Each plan aligns to your standards and includes timing, materials, and differentiation strategies.

Try Lesson Plans
4

Create student materials

Free

Turn your lesson into student-facing materials: guided notes, graphic organizers, worksheets, and exit tickets. Students get structured practice while you stay organized.

Try Student Handouts
5

Differentiate for every learner

Pro

Take any lesson and adapt it for below grade level, above grade level, ELL, and IEP students. One lesson becomes four versions — each one targeted and standards-aligned.

Try Differentiation

Ready to try this workflow?

Start with Scope & Sequence — it takes about a minute.

Start step 1 →

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to follow all five steps?
No. Each tool works independently. But using them together gives you a coherent, top-down curriculum. Start with step 3 (daily lessons) if you need something fast, then add scope/sequence and unit plans when you're ready to plan ahead.
Which tools in this workflow are free?
Lesson Plans and Student Handouts are free (15 generations/month). Scope & Sequence, Unit Planner, and Differentiation require Pro ($7/month).
How long does the full workflow take?
A full year scope & sequence takes about 60 seconds. Each unit plan takes 45 seconds. Daily lessons take 15-30 seconds each. You could map an entire semester in under an hour.