How much detail does a plan need? What are the criteria for whether it is a good plan or not? I think there's one key test as to whether your plan is OK or not: could someone else, who has not talked with you about the lesson, pick up your plan and say 'Ah yes - I see exactly what the teacher intended' and be able to go in a teach your lesson herself? To achieve this, you need a plan that simply and clearly outlines the intended stages - in enough detail to be 'imaginable' by someone else.Jim Scrivener in Learning Teaching