Lesson Plan Template for Self-Contained Classrooms

How it works

This lesson plan template for self-contained classrooms is for a class that works in groups at several levels. The week prints sideways on Letter or A4. Where a form lists students, it asks for initials, not names.

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Five groups, a goal and an activity each day

Each group has two rows. On the goal row, write what the group works toward that day; on the activity row, what they do. For one day in detail, the day plan has a task column for each of three levels and one for the whole group.

Lesson plan templates for resource teachers

A resource teacher's day is a run of groups, so the resource room sheet gives each one a row: Time, Students (initials), Comes from, Skill, Activity and Notes. The list of students keeps the days, time and place for everyone you see.

With assistants in the room, one sheet gives the teacher and each assistant a column, block by block.
For an elementary resource room, one sheet names its rows from Reading group 1 to Math group 2.
Working with one student? The individual plan runs from a goal for the session to a note for the classroom teacher.

Questions and answers

What is a self-contained classroom?

It is a separate classroom, inside a school that also provides general education, dedicated to students with special needs. It usually has a specially trained teacher who gives individualized instruction to individuals and small groups.

Is there a resource room lesson plan template?

Yes. A resource room is where students leave their general education class for targeted support, alone or in a small group. One sheet plans a day of groups, one an elementary week and one a single student.

What does the sample self contained lesson plan template show?

A made-up math week for three groups: one counts to 10, one adds within 20, one skip counts and draws equal groups. Every day box has a goal and an activity, and Friday is a quick check.

Does it tell me how to group students or write goals?

No. Group, goal and level are blanks for your own. The page prints forms to plan on and gives no advice on a student's plan, placement or support.

All 8 sheets

A week by group 1

Week by group, goal and activity A sideways page with Teacher, Subject and Week of lines. Five groups run down the side, each with a goal row and an activity row, and Monday to Friday run across, so every day box has room for both.

One day in a self-contained class 2

Adults in the room: where the teacher and each assistant work Six blank rows by time with a column for the teacher and one for each of two classroom assistants: write the group and the task each adult has. Working alone is for students who work on their own in that block.
Self-contained classroom day plan, three levels in each block One day on a sideways page, six blank rows: Time, Subject, a task for each of three levels, and a Whole group column for what the class does together.

Show all 8 sheets (5 more)

Resource room and resource teachers 4

Elementary resource room lesson plan, reading, writing and math Five rows named Reading group 1, Reading group 2, Writing group, Math group 1 and Math group 2, with Students (initials), Skill, Activity and What I record columns.
Individual resource room lesson plan, one student For a session with one student: Initials, Date and Minutes lines, then ruled lines under Goal for this session, Review, Teach, Practice with help, Practice alone, What I record, and Note for the classroom teacher.
Resource room lesson plan for one day, a row for each group For a resource teacher who sees several groups in a day: six blank rows with Time, Students (initials), Comes from, Skill, Activity and Notes. Comes from is for the grade or the classroom teacher.
Resource teacher list of students: days, time and place, 10 rows Ten rows for the students a resource teacher sees: Initials, Grade, Days, Time, Where and Working on. Where is for the resource room or the student's own classroom.

Filled-in sample 1

Sample: a math week with a goal and an activity each day, filled in Sample. The week by group filled in for three made-up math groups: a goal and an activity in every day box, with a quick check on Friday.

How this list was compiled: Our own layout, made for this page on October 9, 2026. Every sheet is a plain form; the headings are everyday planning words, and no school district's, publisher's or program's form is copied. The sheets ask for initials, not names, and the sample groups are made up. What a self-contained classroom and a resource room are, in two of the page's answers, follows Wikipedia's articles Special education and Resource room, read on October 9, 2026. Licence: own work