The Ultimate Guide to Using a Lesson Plan Template (Plus Bonus Google Sheets & Excel Tips)

Whether you’re an educator, student teacher, or professional trainer, having a well-structured lesson plan template is essential. It not only improves the flow of your teaching but also helps ensure that learning objectives are met effectively. But a lesson plan is just the beginning. In today’s digital-first world, tools like Google Sheets calendar templates, Excel formulas, and shift notes management are just as important for staying productive and organized.

In this comprehensive post, we’ll show you how to use a lesson plan template, incorporate essential tech tools, and explore bonus templates like brag sheets and parent functions explanations—all within one streamlined educational workflow.

📚 What is a Lesson Plan Template?

A lesson plan template is a preformatted structure that outlines how a class session will be delivered. It typically includes:

• Lesson title and objective
• Materials needed
• Instructional steps
• Assessment methods
• Follow-up activities

Using a lesson plan template saves time and brings consistency to your teaching, making it easier to evaluate both student understanding and your teaching effectiveness.

Why Use a Lesson Plan Template?

Educators often juggle multiple subjects, grade levels, or learning styles. A lesson plan template can help by:

• Providing a clear structure to each lesson
• Making substitute teaching easier
• Aligning instruction with curriculum standards
• Supporting remote or digital learning

Whether you’re using paper or going digital, a consistent format improves delivery and boosts student engagement.

🧠 Boost Learning with Parent Functions

When teaching math or algebra, understanding parent functions is fundamental. Parent functions are the most basic form of functions, such as:

• Linear: f(x) = x
• Quadratic: f(x) = x²
• Exponential: f(x) = a^x
• Absolute value: f(x) = |x|

In your lesson plan template, dedicate a section to explaining parent functions visually with graphs. Tools like Desmos or GeoGebra, or even simple Excel charts, can help students grasp how changes in equations cause shifts and transformations.

📝 Managing Shift Notes for Classrooms or Teams

In addition to lesson planning, managing your time and your team’s activities is crucial. Shift notes are used to track:

• Daily tasks
• Attendance or incidents
• Important announcements
• Handovers between teachers or support staff

Educators can benefit from using digital shift notes in Google Docs or Sheets. These make collaboration easier across shifts, substitute teachers, or co-instructors.

A section in your lesson plan template can include space for shift notes to record changes, suggestions, or follow-ups for the next session.

📆 Organize Your School Year with a Google Sheets Calendar Template

One of the best ways to plan your academic year is with a Google Sheets calendar template. This tool allows you to:

• Block out class sessions
• Set deadlines for grading
• Mark holidays and breaks
• Organize staff meetings and training sessions

Many educators pair their lesson plan template with a Google Sheets calendar template so they can sync daily lesson plans with long-term schedules. You can even color-code lessons by subject or class.

Here’s how to make the most of a Google Sheets calendar template:

1. Download a free template or use Google’s built-in ones.
2. Customize it for the semester, month, or year.
3. Add hyperlinks to lesson plan documents or folders.
4. Share it with team members or co-teachers.

Using this along with your lesson plan will streamline both your micro- and macro-level teaching strategies.

📊 Excel Tips for Educators: From Summing Columns to Subtraction

If you’re tracking grades, attendance, or progress reports, you’re probably using Excel. Here are some essential Excel functions to include in your workflow:

✅ How to Sum a Column in Excel

To sum a column in Excel, simply use the formula:

=SUM(A1:A10)

Replace A1:A10 with your actual range. This is useful for:

• Calculating total scores
• Summing attendance
• Adding monthly training hours

➖ How to Do Subtraction in Excel

For basic subtraction, use:

=A2-B2

This comes in handy when:

• Subtracting missed days from total attendance
• Calculating score differences
• Budget tracking for classroom supplies

📦 How to Move a Column in Excel

If your spreadsheet isn’t organized, knowing how to move a column in Excel is essential:

1. Select the column.
2. Right-click > Cut.
3. Right-click where you want it > Insert Cut Cells.

Rearranging data for clarity helps in reporting, lesson organization, or administrative documentation.

✨ Enhance Your Portfolio with a Brag Sheet Template

A brag sheet template is not just for students—it’s also great for teachers, especially when applying for promotions or preparing annual performance reviews.

A typical brag sheet includes:

• Key achievements
• Certifications
• Awards and honors
• Student feedback
• Special projects or initiatives

Students can use brag sheets, too, for college applications, recommendation letters, or internships. Add a brag sheet section to your lesson plan template or digital teaching portfolio.

🎯 Productivity Boost: How to Highlight Duplicates in Google Sheets

Ever track student submissions, grades, or attendance and notice duplicate entries? You can easily highlight duplicates in Google Sheets using conditional formatting:

1. Select the column.
2. Go to Format > Conditional formatting.
3. Under “Custom formula,” enter:

=COUNTIF(A:A, A1)>1

1. Choose a color to highlight.

This is great for:

• Spotting repeated grades or entries
• Identifying duplicate names in rosters
• Validating data when multiple people are editing

Integrate this with your Google Sheets calendar template or grade tracker for cleaner records.

 

 

📚 Quick Recap: Tools and Templates for Smarter Teaching

Here’s a summary of how to use all these resources effectively:

Tool/Template	Usage
Lesson plan template	Organize daily teaching plans and objectives.
Parent functions	Teach algebra and transformations in math lessons.
Shift notes	Document class activities, absences, and follow-ups
Google Sheets calendar template	Map out semester plans, holidays, and due dates.
How to sum a column in Excel	Track attendance, grades, and finances
How to remove someone from a group text	For parent-teacher communication cleanup
How to move a column in Excel	Reorganize lesson data and class information
How to do subtraction in Excel	Calculate score differences or attendance.
Brag sheet template	Showcase achievements and career milestones
How to highlight duplicates in Google Sheets	Clean up records and avoid data errors

✅ Final Thoughts: Elevate Your Teaching With the Right Tools

From building a powerful lesson plan template to mastering Google Sheets and Excel tips, today’s educator needs to be both organized and tech-savvy. Whether you’re crafting algebra lessons on parent functions, managing shift notes, or preparing student portfolios with a brag sheet template, these tools make the job easier—and more impactful.

Combining analog planning techniques with modern tools like Google Sheets calendar templates and Excel skills (like how to move a column in Excel or how to sum a column in Excel) helps you focus less on logistics and more on what truly matters—your students.

 

 

🌟 Ready to Upgrade Your Workflow?

🎁 Download our free lesson plan template bundle today, complete with:

• Editable Word and PDF versions
• Integrated Google Sheets calendar
• Bonus: Excel grade tracker + brag sheet template

Streamline your planning, simplify your reporting, and elevate your teaching—starting now.