Who is doing the work

Gradual Release Lesson Plan Template

Four tall rows — focused instruction, guided instruction, collaborative learning, independent learning — each with time, what the teacher does, what students do, and a check column for how you will know it is safe to release further.

I do, we do, you do together, you do alone

Gradual release lesson plan template

Portrait gradual release lesson plan with four tall phase rows labelled I do, we do, you do together and you do alone, and columns for time, teacher, students and check

Word Google Docs

Gradual Release Lesson Plan — Word & Google Docs

Focused, guided, collaborative and independent as four tall rows, each with time, teacher, students and a check column.

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PDF

Gradual Release Lesson Plan — fillable PDF

One page, portrait. Type into the fields or print it blank and handwrite.

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Specifications: US Letter, 8.5 × 11 inches. Word files are editable .docx that open in Word 2007 through Microsoft 365, including Word for Mac; the Google Docs link makes a copy in your own Drive; the PDF has real form fields and prints as plain hairline boxes when blank. Free to use in as many classes as you like, no account, no watermark.

Why it is laid out this way

About the gradual release template

The gradual release of responsibility organizes a lesson by one question: who is carrying the cognitive load right now? Focused instruction is the teacher; guided instruction is the teacher with students; collaborative learning is students with each other; independent learning is the student alone. The check column after each row is the part people skip and should not — release happens because of evidence, not because of the clock.

The four phases follow Fisher and Frey; the phrase comes from Pearson and Gallagher (1983). Fisher and Frey are explicit that there is no required sequence, and the sheet does not impose one: start a lesson with collaborative work and move to focused instruction when the need shows, if that is what the content wants.

Questions teachers ask

Gradual Release lesson plans, answered

Do the four phases have to be in that order?

No, and the authors say so. The rows are in the order most people learn them, but a lesson can begin with students working together and bring in focused instruction when the collaborative work exposes what is needed. Number the rows if your order differs.

How long should each phase be?

Shorter than you think for the first one. Focused instruction that runs past ten or fifteen minutes usually means the release has been delayed; the check column exists to prompt the move.

How is this different from Madeline Hunter's format?

Hunter sequences teacher moves — set, input, modeling, checks, practice. Gradual release sequences responsibility. They overlap heavily; many teachers plan in Hunter's terms and think in release terms. Both templates are here so you can use the one your school speaks.