Instructional Strategies in a Lesson Plan: How to Choose Them

Choose the Strategy by the Learning Goal

An instructional strategy is not effective in isolation. It is effective when it fits the learning goal, the students, and the evidence you need to collect.

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 comparison or observation will you use 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?

The following criteria explain 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-group 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 and then reorganizes groups so the parts are shared:

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 produced 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 are a quick assessment tool:

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 specific item, misconception, or missing prerequisite that needs another model or practice. An exit ticket is a sample of the stated evidence, not a complete measure of 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 allow students to:

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, an observation or written alternative, and clear boundaries; do not use it 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. Require claims tied to the text or source and teach 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 effectively use these strategies:

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.

Choosing the Right Strategies

When selecting instructional strategies for your lesson plans, consider:

1. The subject matter and content
2. The learners' prerequisite evidence, required accommodations, language demands, communication routes, and safety needs
3. Available resources and time constraints
4. Your teaching style and strengths

It's beneficial to have a diverse set of strategies to draw from, as different topics and learning objectives may require different approaches.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Your Strategies

To review a chosen strategy:

1. Regularly collect student feedback
2. Monitor student performance and engagement
3. Reflect on your own observations and experiences
4. Be open to adjusting your approach based on what you learn

Because strategy effects vary by group and task, review student work and participation during implementation and adjust the strategy when the evidence or access conditions warrant.

Incorporating Technology

Technology may support some strategies when it serves a defined function and meets school approval, privacy, security, and accessibility requirements:

• Use a school-approved, accessible collaboration tool; minimize student data, configure permissions, supervise participation, and provide an equivalent non-digital route
• Use school-approved digital exit tickets only when data-handling and accessibility requirements are met, with a paper or oral alternative
• Use school-approved, accessible diagramming software, with an equivalent paper, tactile, or text-outline route
• Use a school-approved game or app only when it meets privacy, advertising, accessibility, and supervision requirements, with an equivalent non-digital route

Use technology only when it reduces a defined implementation barrier or enables the intended student action. Check access and the resulting evidence rather than assuming engagement or ease, especially in remote or hybrid settings.

Professional Development and Continuous Learning

To expand your range of instructional strategies:

1. Attend workshops and conferences
2. Participate in online courses or webinars
3. Join professional learning communities
4. Read educational journals and blogs
5. Collaborate with colleagues to share ideas and experiences

Use professional learning to identify a specific practice to test, the evidence to collect, and the limits of the source; attendance or reading alone does not establish improvement.

Choose and review an instructional strategy

These strategies are options, not a checklist. Select one from the objective, prerequisite evidence, student action, access needs, safety, time, and evidence criteria; review the resulting work before keeping or revising it.

As a strategy is implemented, collect the planned student work, participation information, and access barriers. Revise the strategy when that evidence shows a mismatch; do not infer teacher effectiveness from responsiveness language alone.

Choose a strategy from the objective, prerequisite knowledge, model, practice, evidence, access needs, and classroom conditions. Review the resulting student work and participation before keeping or revising it; no collection of strategies ensures inspiration, engagement, empowerment, or potential.

Close the plan by recording the strategy, student action, evidence, required supports, and decision rule for the next lesson. Flexibility and responsiveness are planning requirements, not evidence that knowledge, critical thinking, collaboration, or real-world transfer occurred.

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

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