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Madeline Hunter Lesson Plan Template

The seven-step Madeline Hunter plan, ready to fill in. Download it as Word, PDF or Google Docs, or print a blank copy.

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The standards the lesson addresses: Common Core or state standard codes, with a short description.

One clear, measurable objective: "Students will be able to…"

Why this matters. Tell students what they will learn and why it is useful.

Everything you need to prepare: texts, slides, manipulatives, handouts, tech.

A short activity that focuses attention and links to what students already know.

The new information, vocabulary or steps you will teach.

Show exactly what success looks like: think aloud through an example.

Quick checks while you teach: whiteboards, thumbs, targeted questions.

Students practice with your support and feedback.

Students sum up the learning in their own words.

Practice on their own, in class or as homework, once they are ready.

Support, extension, English learners, IEP/504 accommodations. Describe groups and needs, not named students.

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    What is the Madeline Hunter lesson plan?

    The Madeline Hunter lesson plan is a direct instruction model with seven steps: objectives, standards, anticipatory set, teaching (input, modeling and checking for understanding), guided practice, closure and independent practice. It moves students from watching, to practicing with support, to working alone.

    Madeline Hunter, an educator at UCLA, set out the model in the 1970s and 1980s as part of her "Instructional Theory Into Practice" work and her book Mastery Teaching. It became one of the most widely used lesson structures in the US, and many district lesson plan templates still follow it.

    The seven steps

    1. Objectives. One measurable statement of what students will be able to do. Share the purpose with students too.
    2. Standards. The standard(s) the objective comes from.
    3. Anticipatory set. A brief opener that focuses attention and links to prior learning.
    4. Teaching. Input (the information and steps), modeling (showing a worked example, thinking aloud) and checking for understanding (quick checks before moving on).
    5. Guided practice. Students practice while you watch and give immediate feedback.
    6. Closure. Students sum up the learning in their own words.
    7. Independent practice. Students practice alone, in class or as homework, once they are ready.

    Tips

    • Decide in advance what you'll do if the check for understanding goes badly: a re-teach with a different representation is better than pushing on.
    • Only move to independent practice when most students are succeeding in guided practice. Hunter warned against sending students off to practice mistakes.
    • Closure is not "any questions?" Ask students to explain, write or show the key idea.

    Worked example: Madeline Hunter lesson plan

    Here is a complete example made with the maker above. Use it as a model, or load it into the form and change it to suit your class.

    Madeline Hunter lesson plan

    Adding fractions with unlike denominators

    SubjectMathGrade5
    DateLength50 minutes

    Standards

    CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NF.A.1 (add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators by replacing them with equivalent fractions).

    Objective

    Students will be able to add two fractions with unlike denominators by finding a common denominator, with 4 of 5 problems correct.

    Purpose

    Recipes, measurements and sports stats often mix halves, thirds and quarters. Today you'll learn how to add them.

    Materials and resources

    Fraction strips, mini whiteboards, practice sheet (10 problems), slide with recipe problem

    Anticipatory set (5 min)

    Recipe problem: "A smoothie needs 1/2 cup of yogurt and 1/3 cup of milk. How much liquid is that?" Students estimate: more or less than 1 cup?

    Input (8 min)

    Review equivalent fractions. Show why 1/2 + 1/3 is not 2/5 using fraction strips. Introduce the steps: find a common denominator, rename, add numerators, simplify.

    Modeling (7 min)

    Think aloud through 1/2 + 1/3 and 3/4 + 1/6 using strips, then the number line, then numbers only.

    Check for understanding

    Whiteboards: "What common denominator would you use for 2/3 + 1/4?" Hold up on the count of three. Re-teach with strips if fewer than 80% are correct.

    Guided practice (12 min)

    Pairs solve three problems; one partner explains each step out loud. Teacher circulates and gives feedback.

    Closure (5 min)

    Students write the steps in their own words on a sticky note and add one example.

    Independent practice (13 min)

    Practice sheet problems 1–10 (in class; finish for homework).

    Differentiation and accommodations

    Support: fraction strips available throughout; problems where one denominator is a multiple of the other. Extension: add three fractions; write a word problem for a partner.

    Planned time: 50 minutes of 50

    Common Core State Standards codes are cited for reference only; see the official Common Core site for the full standards. © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.

    Frequently asked questions

    What are the 7 steps of the Madeline Hunter lesson plan?

    Objectives, standards, anticipatory set, teaching (input, modeling and checking for understanding), guided practice, closure and independent practice.

    What is an anticipatory set?

    A short opening activity that grabs attention and connects the lesson to what students already know, such as a question, a quick problem or an image. It usually lasts a few minutes.

    What is the difference between guided and independent practice?

    In guided practice students work with the teacher's support and feedback. In independent practice they work alone, once they have shown they can do the skill correctly.

    Is the Madeline Hunter model still used?

    Yes. Its steps underpin many district templates and the "I do, We do, You do" gradual release structure. Critics say it can be too teacher-led for inquiry lessons, which is where models like 5E fit better.

    Other lesson plan models

    5E modelEngage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate. The inquiry model for science.UDLUniversal Design for Learning: plan for every learner from the start.SIOPContent and language objectives for teaching English learners.edTPACentral focus, academic language and planned supports for student teachers.UbD / backward designBackward design: results, then evidence, then the learning plan.DanielsonMapped to Domain 1 of the Framework for Teaching for observations.ASCA (school counselor)Mindsets & Behaviors standards with a plan for participation and outcome data.Daily lesson plan templateOne plan per lesson, saved by date, with a week view.