Lesson Plan Resources

Lesson planning is a central skill in outdoor instruction and learning to do it well can make the difference in a student’s learning experience as well as an instructor’s ability to teach a lesson.

Below are some resources and templates that can guide you in the process! Additionally, fully formed lesson plans for different activities are included at the bottom of the page.

Sample Lesson Plan (technical skill)

Instructor: Morgan

Planning and Preparation
1. Lesson Plan Title: Learning to Belay
2. Educational Goals: Students will learn how to belay
3. Educational Objectives: Students will be able to…
  1. Maintain appropriate slack in the climbing system to keep their climber protected from ground fall
  2. Maintain control of the brake strand at all times
  3. Confidently lower a climber
4. Student Preparation:
  1. Background knowledge:
    1. None needed, someone who has never climbed before can be taught to belay
  2. Materials Needed:
    1. Belay device
    2. Locking carabiner
    3. Climbing harness
    4. Climber
5. Instructor Materials Needed:
  1. Climbing wall
  2. Rope
  3. Climbing harness
  4. Belay device
  5. Locking carabiner
  6. Climber
6. Duration:
  1. 10-30 minutes
7. Location:
  1. Rock climbing gym
Lesson Content and Methods
1. Opening Hook:
  1. Have you ever seen Free Solo? Today I’m going to teach you how to avoid doing that!
2. Body of Instruction: Lesson Outline
  1. Orientation to gear
    1. Harnesses, belay device, carabiner
  2. Orientation to system
    1. climber, belayer, anchor, ground anchors (if applicable)
  3. Overview of job as belayer
  4. Communication while belaying
  5. Practice
3. Lesson Strategies:
  1. Use Explain-Demonstrate-Practice, Evaluate-Correct-Practice
    1. Explain the components of belaying, (Pull/Punch, Brake, Under, Slide (or PBUS))
    2. Demonstrate active belaying and lowering with one climber in the air, or with one person on the ground holding the climber side of the rope to add tension
    3. Allow students to Practice with a back up belay or with someone holding the climber side of the rope to add tension
    4. Evaluate, correct and continue to practice until students are proficient
  2. Use Physical Manipulation if necessary
    1. New belayers often take their hands off the brake strand or fail to hold the rope in brake position when resetting. This is when I will often pull the rope into the proper position or tap/move their hand to remind them to keep it in the proper position.
4. Closure:
  1. A short debrief about what students learned or where they see themselves improving
Evaluation
1. Evidence of Student Learning:
  1. Give a belay test to assess students abilities to communicate and effectively and safely belay

Different age participants will have different needs and tolerances. Games are a helpful tool for teaching younger participants while longer trips may not be an option. Adults tend to want to go on longer trips and are not as enthusiastic about playing a lot of games.

Often outdoor education scenarios have groups with a wide range of ability levels. Make sure to have plans that accommodate all of them. Remember to spend time on safety basics like how to fall while bouldering and how to handle ski poles or a paddle with any beginner participants.

In a lot of outdoor spaces, specifically in the backcountry, check the rules and guidelines for the area you wish to teach. It can also be difficult to keep track of participants in outdoor spaces so be conscious about the instructor to student ratios and ensure the group you are working with is manageable for you.

Look at the participants’ medical forms. If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to the participant. You may have to change your lesson plan for the safety and/or inclusion of one of your participants.

Many factors go into how you plan out your time. For multi day trips, down time is important as outdoor recreation can be mentally and physically draining. Give people time to take care of themselves and to enjoy the place they are in.

Before you make your lesson plan, write out your goals for the program. These goals need to match the group’s goals. I like to ask participants at the start of a course what their goals are. If mine don’t match up, I change them. You are there not only to teach technical skills but to help your participants grow and improve.

Especially for full-day or multi-day trips, you may need to have a pre-trip meeting with the participants. If not an in-person meeting then an email with information may be helpful. During the pre-trip meeting you can ensure that participants are prepared for the conditions both mentally and physically. Often, your participants may be nervous about the course and pre-trip meetings are a time you can talk through their fears. It also gives you a chance to get to know the participants before you finalize your plans.

“Duffle shuffles” are where participants bring what they are packing for the course are common at pre-trip meetings to check that everyone has all the necessary things. This is especially important for courses with beginners.
Participants may not have equipment or clothing necessary for the course. For example, a beginner participant in a cross country ski clinic may not own snow pants so the instructor is able to lend them an extra pair.

The place you are in will most likely be a large part of your lesson planning. Knowing the terrain is important, so is having plans for traveling between locations. Whenever possible use the place you are in as a teaching tool. Instead of using boards that you place in a parking lot or field to teach riding over raised objects while mountain biking, go to a trail with lots of rocks and roots.
Recreational areas such as state and national parks often have specific rules for use. Research these rules before you arrive. There may be specific rules for large groups, rules about where you can camp, trails may be closed, etc. For example, Baxter State Park has a 12 person limit per group as well as rules about campfires and specific food storage guidelines due to the presence of bears.

Outdoor Education Teaching Strategies by Christian Bisson and Julie Gabert Bisson (book)
The Importance of Lesson Planning for Student Success Link to a Blog Post on the William and Mary School of Education Website
Strategies for effective Lesson Planning Link to an article on the University of Michigan website
Learning a new skill can be hard. Here’s how to set yourself up for success. Link to an NPR article that provides some good reminders for both students and teachers

Link to printable Day Hike Lesson Plan

Lesson Topic: Planning a Day Hike Duration of Lesson: 30-45 minutes

Name: ______________________________ Date: ____________________

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this lesson, learners will be able to…

-Estimate how long a hike will take

-Estimate how much water they will need to bring

-Make an informed decision about a turn around time

-Pack a day pack for a moderate hike

Equipment & Materials Needed:

-Day Pack(s)

-Water bottles

-Jacket

-Hat

-Gloves

-First Aid kit

-Healthy snacks/lunch

-Map

-Compass

-Head lamp

-Hiking boots or sneakers

-Anything else you would recommend your students bring on a day hike!

-Optional: other random things they should not bring, so they have to make some choices.

Lesson Details:

Give your students a scenario for a hiking trip (time of year, location, expected weather, trip size, trip difficulty, milage, etc.) and have them plan for the trip and pack a day pack.

Start by planning the trip together on the chalkboard, then have them pack the day the pack.

Things to talk about:

-How much water should you drink/bring

-How to estimate how long the hike will take

-Staying on the trail (for personal safety and plant and wildlife protection)

-Staying with your group (red light, green light system?)

-Figuring out a turn around time (halfway between start time and sunset)

Student Reflection:

-Why did they choose the gear they chose to pack?

-What are some things that could go wrong on a hike?

-How would the things you brought help you in those situations?

-Are there any hikes you want to go on?

Reflection:

How did it go? What went well? What could be better next time?

Link to Printable Climbing Safety Lesson Plan

Basics of Climbing Safety

Educational Goals: Students will learn the basics of climbing safety, applicable to climbing outdoors or in a climbing gym

Learning Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

● Understand the risks associated with climbing

● Tie a figure-eight follow-through knot with a 6-12 inch tail

● Perform a BARCK check without missing any items

Background Knowledge: Students don’t need any background knowledge; there should be a few people present who are certified to belay (e.g. gym staff, other instructors, etc.)

Materials/Resources Needed: Belay device, harness, rope, tri-locking carabiner, climbing shoes (not necessary, but helpful)

Instructor Materials: Climbing wall, belay device, harness, rope, tri-locking carabiner, BARCK check sheet

Duration: 60 minutes

Location: Any climbing gym with access to the above equipment.

Duration	Activity Description	Applications/ Assessments	Notes
5 min	Introduction of climbing space:Begin by showing students around the area, indicating where you will beclimbing.	None	As students arrive,have them setdown theirbelongings andchange intoclimbing shoes.This should bedone before thebeginning of thelesson.
5 min	Risk management discussion: Havestudents sit down and describe theways that we manage risk andsafety while climbing. Introduce and demonstrate tying the figure-eight follow through.	Ask questions tocheck forunderstanding	Link to figure-eight follow-through instructions
15 min	Divide students into pairs, giving eachpair a rope to practice tying the figure-eight follow-through.Walk around the area, giving feedback when necessary. Whenstudents are able to correctly tie therope without assistance, have them go and help other groups if theyare struggling.	Observe whether students are able to properly tie the knot. Make sure the tail of the knot is between 6-12 inches	Ropes should be long enough that a student can be tied in at each end with comfortable amount of slack left in the rope
10 min	Have the students untie themselves from their ropes and sit back down. Explain BARCK checks and their importance for safety. Using your own harness, describe each element of the check and what to look for.	After explaining how to do BARCK checks, as the group what each letter stands for and what to look for under each letter.	BARCK Check Sheet
15 min	Divide the students into groups again in accordance with the number of belayers present. Each group will forma line with their belayer at a spot on the climbing wall, taking turns tying the figure-8 follow-through, going through a BARCK check with the belayer, and then climbing for a short period.	Have the belayers observe and give feedback on the quality of the knots and whether the students properly checked all the items on the BARCK check.
10 min	Rose Bud Thorn Debrief Activity: Have students sit back down and ask each student to describe their rose, bud, and thorn for the lesson. After every student has spoken, have them return their harnesses and climbing shoes to gym staff.		Rose: Something the student enjoyed from the lesson. Bud: Something the student looks forward to in the future regarding the activity. Thorn: Something the student struggled with or didn’t enjoy in the lesson.

Link to printable compass navigation basics lesson plan.

Compass Navigation Basics/Scavenger Hunt

Educational Goals: Teach students the basics of using a compass to locate points of interest.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

● Shoot an azimuth on a compass

● Cooperate with classmates to solve the set of navigation problems

● Follow a compass bearing and pacing instructions to locate points of interest

Background Knowledge: No background knowledge needed

Materials/Resources Needed: Compasses

Instructor Materials: Compasses, notecards with directions on angle and number of paces for each object, small objects/tokens for students to find

Duration: 60 minutes

Location: Can be done anywhere, but flat, wooded areas work best

Age Group: This lesson will work best with high school or college students, and also works better with a smaller class size.

Duration	Activity Description	Applications/ Assessments	Notes
Pre-Lesson	Prep: Once you’ve located a suitable area for the lesson, determine a starting point for the scavenger hunt. From that starting point, determine 5 points to hide a token, along with instructions to find the next one. You should also have a notecard with instructions from the starting point to the first token. Create one of these “paths” for every 2 students in the class.	None	Instructions should look like this: Set your compass bearing to 95 degrees, walk for 50 paces.
5 min	Into Activity: Ask students about whether they’ve had previous experience with a compass like the direction of travel and orienting arrows.	Check for understanding: Point to various parts of the compass and have students say what they are called.	Give students compasses to look at and practice with. Make sure you have at least one for every two students. Link to navigation information
10 min	Azimuth Practice: Show students how to shoot an azimuth with their compasses. Call out different directions and have them practice setting the bearing.	Look at the students’ compasses to make sure they are properly setting a bearing and facing the direction you asked.	Make sure every student gets a chance to practice at least once. If you have a compass for every student, they can each practice with a few different directions
30 min	Scavenger Hunt: Divide students into pairs, making sure each pair has at least one compass. Have everyone go to the starting point and give each pair the notecard with directions to their first token. Students should take turns being the navigator and the walker.		Move around the area, checking in with each group to see how they are doing and correct them if needed.
5 min	Wrap-Up: Have students return their tokens to you and help any groups that may still be searching.	If students fully completed the activity they should have five tokens per group.
10 min	Think-Pair-Share Debrief: In the pairs that the students were assigned, have them discuss what they learned from this activity. If something was particularly challenging, they can talk about that too. After a few minutes of discussion with their partner, they share with the whole group.

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