The Low-Cognitive Load Lesson Planning Toolkit

❌ Does lesson planning feel heavier than it should?
You sit down to plan with good intentions…
but lessons keep getting more complicated.
Too many activities.
Too many slides.
Too many things for students to juggle at once.
You’re not lazy.
You’re not doing it wrong.
You’re planning in a system that often rewards busyness over clarity.
And the result?
Students look busy but don’t always understand
Lessons feel rushed and overloaded
Planning takes far longer than it should
✅ What if planning felt calmer — and lessons worked better?
The Low-Cognitive Load Lesson Planning Toolkit helps you design lessons that are:
clearer for students
calmer in pace
more inclusive
quicker to plan
easier to sustain
This toolkit is not about adding strategies.
It’s about removing what doesn’t need to be there.
🧠 What is “low cognitive load” (in plain English)?
Cognitive load is the mental effort students are using at any one time.
When lessons are overloaded, students spend their energy on:
instructions
formatting
task switching
presentation
Low-cognitive-load lessons deliberately reduce these distractions so students can focus on the learning itself.
This toolkit shows you how to do that — practically, realistically, and without guilt.
📦 What’s included in the toolkit
You’ll get a complete, editable planning system, including:
✔ Clear lesson planning templates
A reusable low-load lesson structure
KS3, exam, and practical lesson versions
Planning prompts that reduce decision fatigue
✔ Thinking-first planning tools
Planning for thinking (not tasks)
Key explanation planners
Worked example templates
✔ Simplification & slide audits
Identify and remove unnecessary overload
Cut without compromising learning
✔ Checking for understanding (done properly)
Low-load AFL planning grids
Question sequencing planners
Exit task builders
✔ Sustainability & workload tools
Weekly planning (lite)
Stop / keep / change reflections
Busy-week fallback planning
✔ Leadership & inspection-safe bonuses
Ofsted-safe planning rationale
Department lesson skeleton for consistency
All templates are:
editable
print-friendly
designed for secondary classrooms
calm, minimal, and accessible
👩‍🏫 Who this toolkit is for
This toolkit is ideal if you are:
a secondary teacher feeling overwhelmed by planning
an ECT who wants a clear lesson structure
an experienced teacher tired of overcomplicating lessons
an HoD looking for consistency without micromanagement
a teacher who wants lessons that work, not just look good
💬 What teachers often say after using this approach
“I realised I was planning for paperwork, not learning.”
“I stopped trying to impress and started focusing on clarity.”
“My lessons feel calmer — and students get it quicker.”
✨ The promise
You will not plan more after buying this toolkit.
You will:
make clearer planning decisions
remove unnecessary overload
reuse lesson structures confidently
spend less time planning
teach with more clarity and confidence
👉 Get the Low-Cognitive Load Lesson Planning Toolkit
If you want:
simpler planning
clearer lessons
better learning
less overwhelm
this toolkit is for you.
Plan less. Teach better. Reduce overwhelm.