Effective lesson planning promotes good teaching and the implementation of curriculum policy. Lesson planning enables teachers to determine appropriate lesson objectives, teaching and learning activities, and teaching methods. Effective lesson planning stimulates teachers to evaluate their instructional strategies and to reflect on how to improve their teaching. Action research was conducted in this study to improve the ways in which participating third-year pre-service teachers planned their lessons. Deficiencies were identified and corrected using the Kemmis Action Research model: plan, act, observe, and reflect. The study revealed that pre-service teachers find it difficult to grasp what influences them to select teaching methods and outline teaching and learning activities. It also emphasised that pre-service teachers should first comprehend the content to be taught prior to selecting the teaching and learning activities, as well as the instructional strategies to be used. As a result of the action research described here, the third-year pre-service students were able to prepare appropriate lesson plans.