Hello! Step back into the virtual classroom and make yourself comfortable because we’re about to go deeper on outlining.
Quick Recap: The One-Page Lesson Plan
In the last lesson, I showed you a simple template designed to help you set a clear direction for each lesson before you dive into content creation.
Parts one and two of the template asked you to think about your lesson’s outcome and relevance, and acted as a kind of North Star for your content creation efforts.
The third part asked you to build a high level outline for your lesson containing the 3-7 main points. And it’s this part that deserves more discussion.
Outlining is not particularly complicated, but if you do a good job, creating your lesson content will run a lot smoother.
Do You Really Need to Build an Outline?
So let’s start by asking: why build an outline at all? Why not hit the ground running and just start creating your content?
After all, you may be perfectly happy to open up Microsoft Word or PowerPoint and start writing your video script or creating a slide deck.
And if that works for you, awesome. As the saying goes “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
But I find it can be tricky because you’re trying to do two things at the same time: put good content on the page and slot everything into an effective structure.
It’s a bit like being asked to give an off-the-cuff wedding speech for a long-time friend. You know what the outcome should be – a warm and well-received speech. You have all the content to hand – many years of shared memories.
But standing up and saying all the right things in the right order and giving the whole thing a recognisable beginning, middle and end – well, that’s a tall order.
In both cases it’s tough to juggle the bigger picture and the finer detail at the same time.
Creating an outline encourages you to think about the big picture first.
Why Building an Outline is Like Building a Case
Remember that the job of each lesson is taking students on a learning journey, with each step leading them closer to the outcome described in your lesson plan.
It’s reminiscent of the scene you’ll have seen in countless films and TV shows, where the lawyer sums up the key points of their case.
Each point they include in their closing argument is carefully chosen to lead the jury to a specific conclusion: the defendant’s guilt or innocence.
If they forget to include a crucial point – like the fact that the defendant has no alibi for the time of the murder – the jury won’t have everything they need to reach the right outcome.
On the other hand, if they include too many points or present them in the wrong order the jury may lose the thread of the argument and fail to reach a verdict.
Building a lesson based on your knowledge and experience is like building a closing argument based on the details of the case.
The 3–7 points in your outline are the points you believe the student must understand to achieve the outcome. I call these the “pillar” points because each one is necessary to support the lesson outcome.
What’s the Basic Process?
But what’s the actual process for arriving at those pillar points?
Here’s an overview:
- Remind yourself of the lesson outcome – make sure it’s clear in your mind
- Brainstorm a list of points – concepts, insights, steps, reasons, and so on – that your students need to understand to successfully achieve that outcome
- Identify the “pillar” points – the major ideas without which the lesson would collapse
- Put the pillar points in the best order to lead students on a logical journey
Quick side note: keep all of the points you brainstormed to hand, because they’ll be invaluable when fleshing out your lesson.
Using Lesson “Archetypes” to Jumpstart Your Outline
While you can build each of your lesson outlines from scratch using the process above, certain familiar patterns tend to reappear time and time again.
I’ve called them archetypes, which is just a fancy way of saying they’re like mini templates for structuring certain types of lessons.
In fact, when you see them you’ll realise that these structures go beyond just lessons. They’re models for communicating ideas.
For instance, one such archetype is the Problem/Solution archetype. It introduces a common problem students might face and then presents a proposed solution.
Here’s the basic 4-part structure:
- 📍 Context – present the context for the problem
- 🌩️ Problem – describe the problem and the pain it causes
- 🌤️ Solution – explain the solution and how it works
- 💪 Application – show how students can apply the solution
Here’s an example outline using the Problem/Solution archetype, which makes an argument for replacing your New Year’s resolutions with an alternative practice:
- 📍 Every year countless people make New Year’s resolutions
- 🌩️ Most resolutions don’t even last to the end of January
- 🌤️ Instead, try celebrating the positives from the past year
- 💪 Here’s exactly how you can do that…
Of course, this is just one example. I have several other archetypes you can use to inspire your lesson outlines. Check out the Resources section to discover them all.
Naturally, not every lesson will be based on these models, but having them up your sleeve will give you a headstart when suitable lessons come along. Also, glancing over the list can give you some inspiration if you’re struggling to know where to start on a particular lesson.
Ready to Move On?
Okay, you now have a simple process for creating an outline and a collection of templates to jumpstart your efforts.
In the next lesson we’ll look at how to fill in the gaps. See you there!