Begin with something that describes the origin of the lesson. For example: This lesson was developed as part of the San Diego Unified School District's Triton Project, a federally funded Technology Innovation Challenge Grant.
In this second paragraph of the introduction, describe briefly what the lesson is about. Remember, the audience for this document is other teachers, not students.
Describe the subjects and grade level that the lesson is designed to cover. For example: "This lesson is anchored in seventh grade language arts and involves social studies and math to a lesser extent." If the lesson can easily be extended to additional grades and subjects, mention that briefly here as well.
What will students learn as a result of this lesson? Describe the outcomes succinctly. At the global level, use the language of the existing standards from the California, San Diego, and other frameworks. For example:
Social Studies Standards Addressed
Most lessons don't just teach a block of content; they also implicitly teach one or more types of thinking. In addition to describing learning outcomes within traditional subject areas, describe what kind of thinking and communications skills were encouraged by this lesson. Inference-making? Critical thinking? Creative production? Creative problem-solving? Observation and categorization? Comparison? Teamwork? Compromise? San Diego teachers may wish to use the language of the District's Applied Learning Standards which were drawn from the the National New Standards Project.
Describe briefly how the lesson is organized. Does it involve more than one class? Is it all taught in one period per day, or is it part of several periods? How many days or weeks will it take? Is it single disciplinary, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary or what?
Describe what's needed to implement this lesson. Some of the possibilities:
If the lesson makes extensive use of specific websites, it would be appropriate to list and link them here. Otherwise, do this in the more narrowly focused lesson or activity pages.
Describe also the human resources needed. how many teachers are needed to implement the lesson. Is one enough? Is there a role for aides or parents in the room? Do you need to coordinate with a teacher at another school? With a partner in industry or a museum or other entity? Is a field trip designed in as part of the lesson?
Describe what the learners will need to know prior to beginning this lesson. Limit this description to the most critical skills that could not be picked up on the fly as the lesson is given.
What skills does a teacher need in order to pull this lesson off? Is it easy enough for a novice teacher? Does it require some experience with directing debates or role plays, for example?
How will you know that this lesson was successful? Describe what student products or performances you'll be looking at and how they'll be evaluated. This, of course, should be tightly related to the standards and objectives you cited above.
If you can think of ways to vary the content and process of the lesson, describe them here. If not, you can eliminate this section altogether.
Make some kind of summary statement here about the worthiness of this lesson and the importance of what it will teach.