Instructional Strategies in a Lesson Plan: How to Choose Them

Choose the Strategy by the Learning Goal

Short answer: Choose the strategy that gives students a supported way to practice the exact action in the objective and gives you evidence you can review. Grade, subject, time, grouping, materials, language demands, and access needs determine the version you use.

Instructional strategies work best as part of a sequence: check the starting point, model or explain what matters, provide guided practice, and collect an individual or otherwise interpretable piece of evidence. A busy activity is not evidence of learning by itself.

On a small screen, scroll this table horizontally to see all columns.

Choose the Strategy by the Learning Goal table

Learning goal	Strategy that often fits	Evidence to collect
Remember key facts or vocabulary	Retrieval practice, examples/nonexamples, quick checks	Short response, matching, explanation
Learn a procedure	Explicit modeling, worked examples, guided practice	Student completes steps and explains why
Discuss a text or issue	Structured discussion, sentence stems, evidence tracking	Comment tied to text or source
Transfer learning	Problem variation, comparison tasks, reflection	Application to a new example

Planning question: What student action will produce evidence of the objective, and what will you compare or observe without assuming the strategy caused the result?

Useful references: IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guides, Vanderbilt IRIS module on explicit instruction, and CAST UDL Guidelines.

What Are Instructional Strategies?

Instructional strategies are planned teaching and student actions selected to produce evidence for a specific objective. Examples include modeling, guided practice, retrieval, structured discussion, comparison, and feedback. Name the expected student evidence and review it; using a strategy does not by itself establish engagement, independence, critical thinking, or transfer.

Why Are Instructional Strategies Important?

These criteria show why instructional-strategy selection matters:

1. They structure participation: Different formats can change who responds, when, and through which accessible route; observe participation rather than assuming interest or motivation.
2. They can elicit different evidence: Select an activity that requires students to retrieve, explain, compare, or apply the target, and assess that response directly.
3. They can provide access options: Learning-style matching is not supported by strong evidence. Use multiple representations, explicit models, guided practice, and required accommodations without assigning a strategy by presumed learning style or diagnostic label.
4. They practice named reasoning actions: Define the comparison, inference, evidence check, or problem-solving step and assess it directly.
5. They may use authentic or simulated contexts: Teach the relevant principle explicitly and test application in a new case; context alone does not establish transfer.

15 Instructional Strategies

1. Think-Pair-Share

Think-Pair-Share provides private think time, optional partner rehearsal, and a whole-class sharing stage. Define the target response and provide a private or non-speaking participation route:

1. Think: Students individually consider a question or problem.
2. Pair: They discuss their thoughts with a partner.
3. Share: Pairs share their ideas with the larger group.

This approach gives students time to form their ideas and practice expressing them before speaking to the whole class.

2. Jigsaw Classroom

The jigsaw technique assigns each student one part of the material, then reorganizes groups so each student shares a part:

1. Divide students into groups.
2. Assign each group member a different part of the material to learn.
3. Regroup students so that each new group has one expert on each part.
4. Have students teach their part to their new group.

Use a common check after regrouping to verify each part rather than assuming peer teaching resulted in listening or learning. Provide the source material and an individual way to ask for clarification if a peer explanation is incomplete.

3. Flipped Classroom

In a flipped classroom:

1. Students receive new content through an accessible, school-approved video, reading, or equivalent in-class route; do not assume home time, connectivity, or completion.
2. Class time is used for discussions, projects, and problem-solving.

Use class time for the modeling, guided practice, discussion, or problem solving the objective requires. Pre-class materials do not guarantee additional class time or self-paced learning, so begin with a no-penalty readiness check and a route to acquire missing content.

4. Case Studies

Case studies bring real scenarios into the classroom:

1. Present students with a complex real-life situation.
2. Have them analyze the problem and propose solutions.
3. Discuss different approaches and their potential outcomes.

Define the case-specific action—such as comparing options, identifying constraints, or supporting a recommendation—and assess it directly. Completing a case does not establish broad critical thinking, problem solving, or real-world transfer.

5. Exit Tickets

Exit tickets provide a quick assessment:

1. At the end of class, give students a brief task or question.
2. Have them complete it before leaving.
3. Use the responses to gauge understanding and plan future lessons.

Review responses after class to identify the item, misconception, or missing prerequisite that needs another model or practice. An exit ticket samples the stated evidence; it does not completely measure comprehension or individual need.

6. Graphic Organizers

Use a concept map, flowchart, or Venn diagram only when its structure matches the intended evidence, such as:

• Organize information
• See relationships between ideas
• Summarize key points

Graphic organizers can make selected relationships explicit when the layout is accessible and matches the task. Offer an equivalent linear, tactile, or verbal representation as needed; do not assign the tool by a presumed visual learning style.

7. Role Play

Role-playing activities can include:

1. Step into different perspectives
2. Apply knowledge in simulated real-world situations
3. Analyze how a documented perspective changes the available choices or evidence; do not require personal disclosure or claim that performance produces empathy

Use role play only when the objective requires rehearsal or analysis that a simulation can represent safely. Provide advance notice, voluntary role choices, and an observation or written alternative. Set clear boundaries, and do not use role play to diagnose or treat social skills.

8. Reciprocal Teaching

In reciprocal teaching:

1. Students take turns leading small group discussions.
2. The student leader summarizes, asks questions, clarifies, and predicts.
3. The teacher gradually releases control to the students.

Assess the specific summarizing, questioning, clarifying, or predicting action and provide the source text for verification. Leading a discussion does not establish broad comprehension or autonomy.

9. Socratic Seminar

A Socratic seminar involves:

1. Posing open-ended questions about a text or topic
2. Encouraging students to engage in thoughtful dialogue
3. Requiring claims tied to the text or source and teaching the discussion routine explicitly, with non-speaking and private-response routes

Assess the stated action—such as citing evidence, comparing interpretations, or responding to a counterclaim—rather than inferring broad analytical skill or verbal clarity.

10. Gallery Walk

In a gallery walk:

1. Post different problems or questions around the room.
2. Have students move from station to station in small groups.
3. Encourage them to discuss and respond to each prompt.

A gallery walk changes where groups encounter prompts; it does not ensure collaboration or perspective taking. Keep routes accessible, avoid required movement, and offer a seated or digital-equivalent route using a school-approved accessible tool.

11. Think Aloud

When using the think aloud strategy:

1. The teacher verbalizes their thought process while solving a problem or analyzing a text.
2. Students identify the modeled decision, evidence, or self-check and then apply it to a similar item.
3. Students practice metacognition by reflecting on their own thought processes.

A think-aloud makes selected decision points visible; ask students to identify or apply the modeled step, and do not infer broad critical-thinking or problem-solving growth.

12. Peer Instruction

Peer instruction involves:

1. Presenting students with a conceptual question
2. Having them answer individually
3. Discussing their answers with peers
4. Revoting on the question

Compare the first and second responses and ask students to explain any change with evidence. Peer discussion is a source of ideas to evaluate, not proof that learning occurred.

13. Scaffolded Instruction

Scaffolding involves:

1. Breaking complex tasks into manageable steps
2. Providing support that gradually decreases as students gain proficiency
3. Tailoring instruction to individual student needs

Use current student work to decide which prompt, model, or scaffold is still needed, and fade it only when the student can perform the target action; do not infer confidence or mastery from scaffold removal alone.

14. Project-Based Learning

Project-based learning (PBL) involves:

1. Presenting students with a complex real-world problem or question
2. Having them work collaboratively to investigate and solve it
3. Creating a final product or presentation

Assess each content objective and the final product with separate criteria. Completing a project does not establish deep learning, creativity, collaboration, or cross-disciplinary transfer.

15. Gamification

Gamification involves applying game-design elements to learning activities:

1. Use points, badges, or leaderboards only when school policy permits, participation is equitable, and public rankings or personal data are not exposed. Do not treat rewards as evidence of motivation or learning.
2. Create challenges or quests related to course content.
3. Use a narrative frame only when it clarifies the task, and keep a plain-language, non-game route available.

Game-design elements may change participation, but they do not establish motivation, enjoyment, or learning. Compare performance on the objective and watch for access barriers, coercive competition, or public ranking.

Implementing Instructional Strategies in Your Lesson Plans

To use these strategies effectively:

1. Align them with your learning objectives.
2. Consider prerequisite evidence, required accommodations, language and communication demands, safety, and access barriers.
3. Sequence only the strategies needed for the objective, prerequisite instruction, practice, and evidence; variety alone does not establish engagement.
4. Reflect on their effectiveness and adjust as needed.

Choose the strategy that produces interpretable evidence for the objective under current classroom conditions. Pilot one change at a time when feasible, then use student work and access information to keep, revise, or stop it.

A 15-minute strategy-planning routine

Use this short planning pass for one lesson segment when the objective is already known. It helps keep the strategy proportional to the evidence you need rather than turning the lesson into a collection of activities.

1. Minutes 0–2 — Name the student action: Write what students will retrieve, explain, compare, model, discuss, or apply. Choose one check that would show that action.
2. Minutes 2–5 — Check the starting point: Use one prompt, worked example, or short response to identify a prerequisite or misconception. Do not choose a discussion or group structure before you know what students need to do.
3. Minutes 5–9 — Map model to practice: Decide what the teacher will model, what students will practice with a partner or small group, and what they will complete individually. List only the materials needed for those steps.
4. Minutes 9–12 — Add access routes: Plan readable directions, vocabulary or sentence support, a visual or tactile representation, captions or read-aloud support when appropriate, and a non-speaking or seated response route. Continue any required accommodations and services.
5. Minutes 12–15 — Set the decision rule: Record what you will reteach, prompt, extend, or refer for additional support when the evidence is secure, partial, or absent. A participation count alone is not enough.

Three classroom planning examples

The same selection routine looks different by grade, subject, and evidence. These examples show how timing, grouping, materials, access, and the review decision fit together.

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Three classroom planning examples table

Context and objective	Timing, grouping, and materials	Access route	Evidence and caution
Grade 2 reading: identify the central idea of a short informational paragraph and name two supporting details.	25 minutes: 3-minute picture-and-vocabulary preview, 6-minute teacher think-aloud, 8 minutes in pairs with a detail-sort card set, and 8-minute individual response. Materials: one short text, enlarged copy, and detail cards.	Read the paragraph aloud and provide a readable copy, vocabulary pronunciation, pointing or speech-to-text response options, and a sentence frame: “The central idea is ___; a detail is ___.”	Collect the individual central-idea statement and two details. Do not count pair talk as proof that each student can identify the relationship independently; reteach with a shorter paragraph when the details are copied without a main idea.
Grade 6 science: use a particle model to explain why a puddle becomes smaller.	35 minutes: 5-minute prerequisite check, 8-minute teacher think-aloud with a particle diagram, 10 minutes of partner modeling, and 12-minute individual labeled model. Materials: diagram, word bank, and two model examples.	Use consistent symbols, a word bank for evaporation and particle motion, verbal and written directions, a pre-drawn model option, and a quiet individual response route.	Review the labeled model and a two-sentence explanation. A polished diagram can still show a misconception; check whether the arrows and explanation represent movement rather than disappearance before extending the task.
Grade 9 history: compare two primary-source excerpts and support one claim with evidence.	45 minutes: 7-minute source-context mini-lesson, 12 minutes of paired annotation, 10-minute evidence sort in groups of three, and 16-minute individual claim-evidence paragraph. Materials: two excerpted sources, context notes, and an evidence organizer.	Chunk the excerpts, define disciplinary vocabulary, provide an audio or read-aloud route where permitted, allow typed or handwritten annotation, and teach a private alternative to whole-class reporting.	Score the individual claim, selected evidence, and explanation with separate criteria. A lively seminar or completed organizer does not by itself show source comparison; check the reasoning in the final response.

Before you keep a strategy

• Ask whether the strategy made the intended student action easier to observe, not merely whether the room was busy.
• Check who could participate and who had to guess, wait, speak publicly, move, use a device, or rely on a peer to access the task.
• Compare the planned evidence with the objective. If the activity produces only completion, enjoyment, or attendance data, choose a better-matched check.
• Keep the change, revise it, or stop it based on the student work and access information. A single lesson is a local check, not proof that a strategy works for every class.

Adjust the plan when evidence is weak

Use the first student work and access notes to change the smallest part of the lesson that could explain the mismatch. Do not label a student disengaged or a strategy ineffective before checking the task, directions, prerequisite knowledge, and available access routes.

• Students cannot start: Recheck the prerequisite, shorten the directions, model one example, and offer a readable, spoken, visual, tactile, or otherwise appropriate route into the task.
• Group work looks successful but individual evidence is weak: Keep the rehearsal only if it helps the objective, then add a short individual check and reteach the specific step that is missing.
• Students are accurate but cannot explain: Model the reasoning with a worked example, provide a sentence frame or vocabulary support, and collect a second explanation rather than inferring understanding from a correct answer alone.
• The activity takes too long: Reduce the number of examples or prompts before removing the evidence check, access supports, or required accommodations. Record the timing change for the next plan.

Record the strategy, target student action, evidence, grouping, materials, required supports, and next decision. This makes the plan easier to revise without treating one lesson or one class as proof that a strategy works everywhere.

Use technology only when it solves a defined problem

A digital tool is useful only when it makes the intended student action more accessible, observable, or manageable. Check school approval, privacy, accessibility, device and connectivity assumptions, and the non-digital equivalent before assigning it.

• Use a school-approved collaboration or response tool only when its permissions, data handling, and accessibility meet local requirements.
• Provide a paper, oral, offline, or other equivalent route when the objective does not depend on the technology itself.
• Check the student work produced by the tool; a submitted response, game score, or completed organizer is not automatically evidence of the target learning.

For a first implementation, test the task with the actual time, grouping, materials, and access routes you expect to use. Keep, revise, or stop the strategy based on objective-aligned evidence and documented barriers.

Worked example: choose a strategy for explaining evaporation

Inputs: The objective is “Use particle motion to explain why a puddle becomes smaller.” The opening check shows 11 of 26 students say water “disappears,” and the required evidence is an individual labeled model plus a two-sentence explanation.

Steps: Compare think-pair-share, a teacher think-aloud, and a gallery walk against the need to make invisible particle motion explicit and collect evidence from every student.

Decision: Select a brief think-aloud with a particle diagram followed by individual modeling; do not lead with a gallery walk because students do not yet have accurate models to compare.

Response: Model one diagram, guide a parallel example, and collect all 26 explanations. If “disappears” remains in the model, reteach the movement of water particles; if the science is accurate but the explanation is incomplete, give a sentence-level revision prompt.

Related guides

• What Is a Lesson Plan? Parts, Template, and Example
• How to Write an Effective Lesson Plan: Objective, Model, Practice, and Assessment
• How to Write a Lesson Plan Rationale: Step-by-Step Guide, Template, and Example
• Copyable Lesson-Plan Template

Next action: Write the objective and evidence first, then select the strategy whose student action directly produces that evidence.