As I'm sure every education major is well aware, we all go through a process when it comes to writing lesson plans. We all know that one day when we are actually teachers we will never actually fill out one of these 20 page templates again, but for now in the context of college we must. Therefore, in honor of every education major I know who has had the joy of writing a lengthy lesson plan, I give you: the five stages of writing a lesson plan.

1. The End of Denial

This is the beginning of the lesson plan writing process. This is the point at which you say, "Well, I've got to teach this week. I should probably figure out what that will entail." Depending on when your supervising teacher actually tells you what your lesson will be on, this could come earlier or later.

2. Realization

This is the point in planning at which it actually hits you that you have to teach a lesson and write an entire plan detailing your teaching methods. At this stage, you are apt to shout, "Oh my goodness! I've got to teach this week. What am I going to do?!"

3. Stress

This is the point in planning your lesson where you try to type out everything you could possibly accomplish in the allotted time. You may begin to stress and say, "I have to fill out my entire lesson pan! This thing is going to be like 25 pages!" This is also the stage in planning at which you try to recall every education term you've ever learned in your entire life and at which you attempt to fit the words "pedagogy," "proficient," and "standards" into every section.

4. Overachieving

This is the point in your lesson at which you decide that you are going to be a super teacher. You may begin to say things like, "I want to include so many fun activities. I cannot lecture or have any reading, only engaging teaching methods." All teacher candidates reach this stage in their lesson planning, but must often accomodate these assumptions in order to add in some practical strategies.

5. Acceptance

This is the final and most important stage of writing a lesson plan, and it is one that I hope every education major reaches eventually. This is the stage at which you say, "I have accepted that my lesson will not be perfect. Not everything in my lesson plan will go according to plan, and it is okay that it is not finished. I cannot only do fun activities in my classroom; there will have to be some practical lesson strategies as well. However, overall, my lesson is going to be amazing. I love teaching, and I'm ready to start making a difference in students' lives with this lesson!"