Free teaching kit · PDF
CBC Lesson Planning Templates
Competency-aligned lesson plans, rubrics, an evidence tracker and parent-report language.
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What's inside
- What a CBC lesson plan must show, field by field
- A lesson plan template with examples in every field
- Turning core competencies into observable success criteria
- A four-level rubric template
- An evidence tracker for a class of forty
- Parent-report comment starters
Who it's for: CBC and CBE teachers across pre-primary, primary, junior and senior school, plus headteachers, heads of department and quality assurance officers.
The full kit, readable on this page
1. What a CBC lesson plan must show
A CBC plan is read by a supervisor looking for one thing: is the learning observable and assessable? Every field below exists to answer that question.
- The strand and sub-strand, not just the learning area.
- Specific learning outcomes written as what the learner will do.
- A key inquiry question the lesson actually answers.
- Core competencies and values engaged, named — not the whole list copied.
- Pertinent and contemporary issues only where they genuinely arise.
- Organisation of learning: the learner activities, in sequence.
- Assessment: how you will know, this lesson, who met the outcome.
- Reflection: written after the lesson, about your teaching, not the learners' behaviour.
If the plan lists six competencies and the lesson engages none of them visibly, the plan is decoration. Name one, teach it, evidence it.
2. Lesson plan template
Copy this across and fill it in. The example column shows the level of specificity that survives a supervision visit.
| Field | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Grade and learning area | Exact grade, learning area | Grade 7 — Integrated Science |
| Strand / sub-strand | From the curriculum design | Mixtures — Separating mixtures |
| Specific learning outcomes | By the end, the learner can… | …separate a four-component mixture and justify the order of separation |
| Key inquiry question | One question, answerable this lesson | Which property does each separation method rely on? |
| Core competencies | One or two, named | Critical thinking and problem solving; learning to learn |
| Values and PCIs | Only what arises naturally | Responsibility; environmental awareness through waste separation |
| Resources | What you and learners will handle | Sand, iron filings, salt, water, magnets, filter funnels |
| Introduction | Hook plus prior-knowledge check, five minutes | Sealed jar challenge: how many components can you see? |
| Development | Learner activities in sequence, with grouping | Group investigation, then whole-class method comparison |
| Conclusion and assessment | How every learner shows the outcome | Each learner writes the sequence and the property used |
| Reflection | Written after the lesson | Groups chose methods by memory, not property — reteach the link in the next lesson |
3. Turning competencies into observable criteria
A competency is only assessable when you can see it. Convert each one into an "I can see it when…" statement you will actually observe this week.
| Core competency | "I can see it when…" |
|---|---|
| Communication and collaboration | The learner presents the group's method and responds to one challenge from another group |
| Critical thinking and problem solving | The learner justifies the order of separation using properties, not memory |
| Creativity and imagination | The learner proposes an alternative method and states one limitation of it |
| Learning to learn | The learner names the error in their first attempt and corrects it unprompted |
| Citizenship | The learner applies the lesson's idea to a school or community waste problem |
| Digital literacy | The learner uses a simulation to test a method before attempting it physically |
4. Rubric template
Four levels, one observable difference between each. If two levels could describe the same script, rewrite one of them.
| Level | Descriptor | Evidence required |
|---|---|---|
| 4 — Exceeding | Applies the outcome to a new context and justifies the choice with evidence | Unfamiliar task plus written justification |
| 3 — Meeting | Performs the outcome accurately and independently in a familiar context | Completed task with no prompting |
| 2 — Approaching | Performs part of the outcome with support or with one significant error | Guided task with teacher prompt noted |
| 1 — Below | Needs the outcome re-taught; cannot yet perform it even with support | Recorded re-teaching and re-check date |
- Write the descriptor in learner-facing language and share it before the task.
- Record the level with a date. A level without evidence and a date is an opinion.
- Level 2 is the most useful signal in the room: it tells you exactly what to reteach.
5. Evidence tracker for a class of forty
One row per learner, one column per outcome. Keep it on one page so it actually gets used; move to an exercise book only for detail.
| Learner | Outcome | Evidence (task / date) | Level | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Mwangi | Separate a mixture and justify the order | Investigation report, 12 Mar | 3 | Apply to water treatment |
| J. Otieno | Separate a mixture and justify the order | Guided task, 12 Mar | 2 | Reteach property–method link |
| S. Wanjiru | Separate a mixture and justify the order | Extended task, 12 Mar | 4 | Peer-tutor for level 2 group |
Three learners per row, three rows: if you cannot fill the evidence column with a date, that outcome has not been assessed — no matter how many lessons it appeared in.
6. Reporting to parents
Parents do not need the rubric. They need the outcome, the evidence, and one thing to do at home. Use these as starters and finish them with your own evidence.
- "[Name] can now separate a mixture and explain the property used. We saw this on 12 March when they justified the order of separation in their own words."
- "[Name] is approaching this outcome: they can carry out the method but cannot yet explain why it works. In the next three weeks we will practise stating the reason before the step."
- "[Name] has exceeded the outcome and applied it to water treatment. At home, ask them to explain how a water filter works — teaching it back is the best revision."
7. Term checklist
Before the term starts, and again before the file is inspected.
- Schemes of work aligned to strands and sub-strands, with the outcomes named.
- One rubric per strand, in learner-facing language.
- Evidence tracker printed and started with real dates.
- One learner-centred lesson per week with a named competency.
- Reflection written weekly, about teaching decisions rather than behaviour.
- Parent communication schedule agreed with the class teacher.
- Inclusion notes: which learners need adapted tasks, and how.
- Digital or practical resources checked before the lesson, not during it.
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