A lesson is a structured period of time where learning

Learning

Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning...

 is intended to occur. It involves one or more student

Student

A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...

s (also called pupils or learners in some circumstances) being taught by a teacher

Teacher

A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

 or instructor. A lesson may be either one section of a textbook

Textbook

A textbook or coursebook is a manual of instruction in any branch of study. Textbooks are produced according to the demands of educational institutions...

 (which, apart from the printed page, can also include multimedia

Multimedia

Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...

) or, more frequently, a short period of time during which learners are taught about a particular subject or taught how to perform a particular activity. Lessons are generally taught in a classroom

Classroom

A classroom is a room in which teaching or learning activities can take place. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, including public and private schools, corporations, and religious and humanitarian organizations...

 but may instead take place in a situated learning

Situated learning

Situated learning was first proposed by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger as a model of learning in a Community of practice. At its simplest, situated learning is learning that takes place in the same context in which it is applied...

 environment

Social environment

The social environment of an individual, also called social context or milieu, is the culture that s/he was educated or lives in, and the people and institutions with whom the person interacts....

.

In a wider sense, a lesson is an insight gained by a learner into previously unfamiliar subject-matter. Such a lesson can be either planned or accidental, enjoyable or painful. The colloquial phrase "to teach someone a lesson", means to punish or scold a person for a mistake they have made in order to ensure that they do not make the same mistake again.

Lessons can also be made entertaining. When the term education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

is combined with entertainment

Entertainment

Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...

, the term edutainment

Edutainment

Edutainment is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse.-Overview:...

is coined.

Types of lesson

The potential format and structure of a lesson is dependent upon factors such as culture, learning objectives and the style of the individual teacher

Teacher

A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

. Perhaps the most universal lesson presentation is when one person speaks to one or more people in the same room or space. This may be supplemented with gestures and tools. A lesson may range from a lecture, to a demonstration, to a discussion or a blend of some of these common presentation methods.

Some lessons may involve work by the student. Traditionally this might include reading and writing or creating something, perhaps when the instructor is not present. The student may work independently or collaborate with others.

More recent technologies have expanded the way a lesson can be delivered. For example: film strips, pre-recorded audio and video tapes, television programs and podcasts are some ways to deliver or add to a lesson. Distance education

Distance education

Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...

 techniques such as video conferencing, or electronic learning in a virtual learning environment

Virtual learning environment

Defined largely by usage, the term virtual learning environment has most, if not all, of the following salient properties:* It is Web-based* It uses Web 2.0 tools for rich 2-way interaction* It includes a content management system...

 have allowed interactive lessons to be presented to students who may not be in the same physical location. These tools offer new synchronous, asynchronous and blended ways to deliver lessons.

Lesson plan

Teachers and instructors usually have a lesson plan

Lesson plan

A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction for one class. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class instruction. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teacher, subject being covered, and the need and/or curiosity of children...

 which dictates the structure of the teaching. A group of lessons may be linked together in a unit plan, scheme, or work. The detail of the plan may vary with some being a simple list of what is going to be taught in a lesson with others working including much more detail, such as a time plan and the learning aims and objectives. Student teachers and beginning teachers are usually advised to put a great amount of detail into the written plan. This ensures that the plan will be cohesive, that all the components of a successful lesson are taken care of, and that one has a checklist to ensure that practicalities are taken care of (e.g., resources, scheduling, and classroom management

Classroom management

Classroom management is a term used by teachers to describe the process of ensuring that classroom lessons run smoothly despite disruptive behavior by students. The term also implies the prevention of disruptive behavior. It is possibly the most difficult aspect of teaching for many teachers;...

 considerations). Furthermore, beginning teachers are often advised to script some sections for themselves, such as questions they might ask the students in order to get a discussion going at the beginning of the lesson. The expectation is that the teachers can and should depart from the script when appropriate; improvisation is definitely encouraged and the fact of having written it out in advance ensures that an adequate amount of thought has been put into it ahead of time. Another reason for including a great amount of detail is that student teachers are often required to submit lesson plans in advance to their mentor teachers or professors in order to receive feedback on their ideas. When creating the lesson plan it is usual to look at the following:

• The aims (the broader goals of the lesson, what it is reaching towards)
• The objectives (the specific, measurable outcomes of the lesson – the particular skills or knowledge students should have acquired by its conclusion)
• The number of attendees and the student-teacher ratio
• The previous knowledge of the learners (which may or may not be the same for all) and how this will be activated at the start of the lesson
• The motivation of the learners (school students, for example, have no choice but to attend so the teacher must build some kind of motivation into the lesson)
• The time required for each section of teaching and learning
• The resources required and available
• Catering for the different needs (cultural differences, learning styles, special needs) of the individuals
• How the lesson is to be evaluated

Etymology

The word lesson comes from Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 lectio "the action of reading (out)". From there, the word was also used for the text itself, very often a passage from the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 read out during a religious service ("first lesson", "second lesson"). Finally, any portion of a book to be studied was referred to as a lesson.

See also

• Cognitive Acceleration
  Cognitive acceleration
  Cognitive acceleration describes a lesson style originally developed by Michael Shayer and Philip Adey at King's College London which is designed to promote student's thinking from "concrete" to "formal", abstract thinking....
  
  
• Frontal instruction
  Frontal instruction
  Frontal instruction commonly refers to a school lesson held in the manner of a lecture, possibly including discussion directed by the teacher. Alternate forms for lessons are group work, solitary work or open learning.- See also :*Active learning...
  
  
• Learning by teaching
  Learning by teaching
  In professional education, learning by teaching designates currently the method by Jean-Pol Martin that allows pupils and students to prepare and to teach lessons, or parts of lessons...
  
   (LdL)
• Music lesson
  Music lesson
  Music lessons are a type of formal instruction in playing a musical instrument or singing. Typically, a student taking music lessons meets a music teacher for one-on-one training sessions ranging from 30 minutes to one hour in length over a period of weeks or years...