Ontario Lesson Plan Template, Worked Example & AI Planner (K–8)

An Ontario lesson plan starts from a curriculum expectation and turns it into a learning goal, success criteria, a lesson (often built in three parts: Minds On, Action, Consolidation), assessment and differentiation. Milo drafts a lesson from the expectations you pick: learning goals, success criteria, a learning sequence, materials, assessment checks and Access & UDL options. You review and edit every part.

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Watch: Milo plans a unit from Ontario expectations, in 90 seconds

Read the transcript

Two grades. One room. Milo sorts your expectations by grade and subject, then plans one unit for both. Set up your class once. Pick both grades, then the subjects you teach in each. Add your students in one table. Then add a few lines on their strengths, needs and interests. Build a unit of five lessons, then tick expectations from both grades. No prompt writing needed. Milo builds the prompt from your class, grades and expectations. Add exit tickets and accommodations, then create. Generate the introduction, the overview, then each lesson. Each lesson has learning goals and success criteria, written to follow Growing Success. Both grades share one focus, with tiered activities for each grade. Each activity comes with UDL variations: choices, representations and supports. Make a student text, or a worksheet with an answer key. Rubrics follow the Achievement Chart, levels one to four. Adapt a saved item for one student. Add a word bank. Milo drafts it from their profile. Add a planning note before, and a reflection after. Regenerate, and your notes steer that same lesson. Download any of it as Word. Student names are never sent to the AI. Try Milo free for a month.

The anatomy

What does an Ontario lesson plan need?

Six pieces, in this order. The three-part lesson is common practice in Ontario classrooms, not a required format. Each one is written from the one before it, which is what keeps a lesson tied to the curriculum instead of to an activity. Your board or school may ask for a specific format, so treat this as a structure, not a mandate.

The six parts of an Ontario lesson plan
Part	What goes in it
1. Curriculum expectation	The specific expectation (or part of one) this lesson serves, from the 2020 Mathematics or 2023 Language curriculum, or another subject's curriculum document.
2. Learning goal	One sentence in student-friendly language: what students are learning, not what they are doing.
3. Success criteria	Two to four observable steps, written so a student can check their own work against them.
4. Three parts	Minds On (activate and set the goal), Action (the main learning task), Consolidation (share, reflect, check the criteria), with a time for each.
5. Assessment	Assessment for learning (feedback while students work), as learning (students self-assess), and of learning (evidence of achievement over time). Say what you will actually look at.
6. Differentiation	How the same goal stays reachable for students with an IEP, English language learners, and the rest of the class: UDL options first, individual adaptations second.

See it worked

What does a Grade 6 Math lesson plan on data look like?

Starting point

Grade 6, Math, Data strand. Students have already collected class survey data. One 60-minute lesson on choosing and explaining a graph.

Example lesson plan

Grade 6 Math, Data: Which graph tells the story?
One 60-minute lesson
Curriculum expectation (paraphrased)
Students collect and organize data to answer a question, choose a graph that suits the data, and describe what the graph shows.
Learning goal
We are learning to choose a graph that shows our data clearly and to explain what it tells us.
Success criteria
I can organize my survey results in a table.
I can pick a graph type and explain why it fits my data.
I can write one sentence that says what my graph shows and one question it makes me ask.
Minds On (10 min)
Show the same small data set as a bar graph and as a circle graph. Pairs talk: which one makes it easier to compare, and which hides something? Share the learning goal and success criteria and ask students to restate the goal in their own words.
Action (35 min)
In groups of three, students use a class survey question they already collected data for (for example, how students travel to school). They organize the results in a table, choose one graph type, draw it, and write their sentence and question. While they work, circulate with a checklist of the three success criteria and ask each group why they chose their graph.
Consolidation (15 min)
Gallery walk: groups leave their graph up and visit two others, leaving a sticky note with one thing that is clear and one question. Back together, students rate themselves against each success criterion (got it, getting there, not yet) in their math journal.
Assessment
For learning: checklist observations and the questions you ask while groups work. As learning: the self-rating against the success criteria. Of learning: not collected in this lesson; the graphs go in the portfolio and feed a later task.
Differentiation (two moves)
Offer a partly completed table and a sentence starter for students who need more structure, including some English language learners and students whose IEP calls for scaffolded written output.
Let students show the explanation orally or with a labelled sketch instead of a written sentence, and offer an extension where a group compares two graphs of the same data.

Written for this page as a model lesson; it is not Milo output. Milo drafts are starting points you edit.

Copy and use

Is there a blank Ontario lesson plan template I can copy?

Select and copy the fields below into your own planner, a doc or your board's template. Adjust the headings to match what your school expects.

Blank Ontario lesson plan template
Field	What to write
Grade / subject / strand	Grade 6, Math, Data
Curriculum expectation	Paste or paraphrase the expectation(s) from the curriculum document.
Learning goal	We are learning to …
Success criteria	I can … (2 to 4 items, observable)
Prior knowledge	What students already know or can do that this lesson builds on.
Minds On (__ min)	Hook, prior-knowledge activation, learning goal shared.
Action (__ min)	Main task, grouping, teacher moves while circulating.
Consolidation (__ min)	Share, reflect, compare against the success criteria.
Assessment: for / as / of	What evidence you will collect and how you will give feedback.
Differentiation and supports	UDL options, IEP accommodations or modifications, ELL supports.
Materials and prep	What you need ready before the lesson starts.
Next steps	What the evidence will change about tomorrow's lesson.

Download the blank template (Word) — no account needed

Prefer a head start? Milo drafts the plan from the expectations you pick. See the unit planner

Four steps

How does Milo draft an Ontario lesson plan?

Pick the expectations.
Choose your class and the Ontario expectations the lesson or unit serves. That choice drives the draft.
Set the basics.
How many lessons, how long, and any accommodations. Split grade? Pick from both grades and the activities are tiered for each.
Milo drafts.
Learning goals, success criteria, a learning sequence, materials, assessment checks and Access & UDL options.
Add materials and adapt.
Make a student text, worksheet or rubric, adapt any of them for one student, and download it as Word.

Teaching two grades? See how Milo can plan a split-grade unit from both grades' expectations, then put lessons on your teaching timetable and draft one for any period.

Milo Professional is $10 CAD per month, with the first month free and cancel anytime. See everything that is live today on the features page, or start your free month.

Quick answers

Frequently asked questions

What should an Ontario lesson plan include?

Start from the curriculum expectation, then write a learning goal, success criteria, the three parts of the lesson (Minds On, Action, Consolidation), how you will assess for, as and of learning, and the supports or adaptations some students need. Timing and materials round it out.

What is the three-part lesson in Ontario?

It is a lesson structure used widely in Ontario classrooms. Minds On activates prior knowledge and sets the learning goal. Action is where students do the main learning task. Consolidation brings the class back together to share, reflect and check the success criteria. It is common practice rather than a mandated format, so boards and schools may use their own variation.

What is the difference between a learning goal and success criteria?

The learning goal says what students are learning, in student-friendly language. Success criteria say how students and teacher will know they are getting there: specific, observable steps students can check themselves against. One goal usually has two to four criteria.

Can AI write an Ontario lesson plan?

AI can draft one, and a draft is only a starting point. In Milo you pick your class and the curriculum expectations first, and they drive the draft: learning goals, success criteria, a learning sequence, materials, assessment checks and Access & UDL options. You edit every part.

How do I differentiate an Ontario lesson plan for IEP, ELL and UDL?

Keep the learning goal the same and change the way in: reading demand, scaffolds, examples, response mode and extensions. Build in options up front using Universal Design for Learning, then add individual accommodations or modifications from a student's IEP, and language supports for English language learners. In Milo, planner lessons include Access & UDL options, and any student text, worksheet or rubric can be rewritten for one student from the strengths, needs and interests you recorded. You review each version before saving it.

Can Milo plan a split-grade or cross-curricular unit?

Yes. Pick expectations from both grades and from more than one subject. Milo groups them by grade and subject, plans a shared focus with tiered activities for each grade, and drafts the texts, worksheets and rubrics to go with it.

Can Milo use what happened in class?

Yes, for the lesson you are working on. Add a planning note before class and a reflection after it. When you regenerate or refine that lesson, Milo reads your notes first.

How much does Milo cost?

Milo Professional is $10 CAD per month. The first month is free and you can cancel anytime. The lesson planning described on this page is part of that one plan.

You review and edit every plan before it's used
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