Instructors work hard at preparation prior to class and this effort pays off with enhanced student engagement and learning.  Often though in the process of this planning instructors focus more on the delivery and less on the content.  This can happen for several reasons, one of which is that they are teaching a standardized course using content from a corporate source.  They can see how the course is broken down into sessions so they follow those session recommendations.  This process works in general but sometimes students don't see how the sessions fit together to create the total learning experience.  This is where lesson planning comes into play.  Lesson planning needs to be seen as an opportunity to take specific content and put it into segments of learning in relation to certain class sessions. 

When doing lesson planning think through the process from the students perspective.  They need to see the value of the content in relation to the total course.  They need to have a feeling of accomplishement when the lesson is completed.  At the end of the lesson they will have specific "takeaways" such as new content, skills or awareness that will expand their knowledge base.  When you review these statements you will see emerging a method whereby you can select the content and/or skills that need to be covered that session.  Select the content and then plan your instructional delivery around how you can share that content in a dynamic and informative way.  By conbining content selection with instructional delivery you will have a lesson planned that will engage and inform your students whcih should be your goal each time you teach.