How to Answer: “Describe How You Plan Your Lessons”
A clear, systematic answer that shows hiring principals you plan backward from student outcomes — objectives, standards, assessment, and reflection — not just a list of activities.
How to answer this question in five steps
Understand the intent
Principals are checking whether you plan systematically — objectives, standards, assessment, activities, accommodations, and reflection — or just fill time with activities.
State your value
Open with a belief: planning starts with clear, higher-order learning outcomes and ends with honest reflection on whether students reached them.
Describe your approach
Walk your process backward: define the objective, align it to standards, design the assessment, then build activities and accommodations to get students there.
Explain the benefit
Backward design keeps every lesson purposeful, every student supported, and your teaching measurable against real outcomes.
Give a real example (optional)
A quick story of one lesson you planned, taught, and revised from the data shows the cycle is real, not theoretical.
Sample question: “Describe how you plan your lessons.”
“I plan backward. I start with a clear, higher-order objective — what students should be able to analyze or create, not just recall — align it to the standard, then design the assessment that proves they got there. Only then do I build the activities and the accommodations my ELL and IEP students need.”
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What they’re really evaluating
Hiring committees use this question to see whether you think like a designer or just an activity-picker. They want evidence that you start with measurable learning outcomes, align to standards, and let assessment drive instruction — and that you plan for the ELL and special-education students in every room. A planner who reflects and revises is a teacher who keeps getting better, and that is exactly what principals are listening for.
A strong answer sounds like this
“I plan backward, because I believe a lesson should start with what I want students to be able to do, not with an activity I like. So I begin with a clear objective built on higher-order thinking — analyzing, evaluating, creating — and align it to the relevant state standard so the lesson serves the bigger picture.
From there I design the assessment first: how will I actually know they got it? I use a mix — a quick formative check, a performance task, some student self-reflection — so I'm measuring learning, not just collecting points. Then I build the activities to reach that target, with accommodations baked in for my ELL and IEP students through learning stations, visuals, and structured collaboration.
After the lesson, I look at the assessment data and my own notes and ask what I'd change. That reflection is where the next lesson gets stronger, and it's how I make sure every student is actually moving toward the outcome.”
Common mistakes to avoid
Leading with activities
Don't open with the fun project or the cool app. Start with the objective and let the activity be the path to it — that's the difference between a designer and a Pinterest browser.
Skipping differentiation
If you never mention ELL and special-education students, you sound like you plan for an imaginary average class. Name how your plan reaches the real range of learners in the room.
Treating assessment as an afterthought
Avoid the impression that you test at the end just to assign grades. Show that assessment is designed up front and drives instruction, not the other way around.
“Dr. Hougan's passion and book directly contributed to my success landing contract after contract.”— Tessa Acay, Third-Year Teacher
Get interview-ready for every question
Lesson planning is one question. Road to Teaching covers the rest with the same framework and worked examples, plus behind-the-table perspectives from a principal and a career counselor — and the whole journey from student teaching through signing your first contract.