Every Filipino teacher meets these three acronyms, and the difference between DLL and DLP — plus the new ILAW format — confuses even experienced mentors. This guide gives you the clear version: what each one is, how they’re structured, who’s expected to use which, and a simple decision rule so you never prepare the wrong format again.
The 10-second answer: DLL = a weekly grid. DLP = one fully-scripted lesson. ILAW = the new MATATAG four-part lesson arc. Which you submit depends on your school head, your years of service, and whether your grade level has moved to MATATAG.
The side-by-side comparison
| DLL (Daily Lesson Log) | DLP (Detailed Lesson Plan) | ILAW Lesson Plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basis | DO 42, s. 2016 | DO 42, s. 2016 | DO 3, s. 2026 (MATATAG, Appendix A) |
| Covers | One week (Mon–Fri grid) | One class period | One lesson arc — 1 or more sessions |
| Detail level | Outline per day | Fully scripted procedures | Narrative of the learning experience |
| Typical user | Teachers with ≥1 year service | New teachers, demo teaching | MATATAG classrooms, esp. high school |
| Core structure | Objectives → Content → Resources → 10-step procedures × 5 days | Objectives → Content → detailed procedures | Intentions → Learning Experience → Assessment → Ways Forward |
| Strength | Fast weekly planning | Thorough, observation-ready | Designed for deep, contextualized teaching |
DLL — the weekly log
The Daily Lesson Log is a week-at-a-glance grid: one column per day, with the standard procedure rows (reviewing previous lesson, establishing a purpose, presenting examples, discussion, developing mastery, application, generalization, evaluation, remediation). Under DO 42, s. 2016, teachers with at least one year of service generally prepare a DLL rather than fully detailed plans — it’s efficient and assumes you can expand each outline in your head as you teach.
Strengths: fast, covers a whole week, good for routine lessons.
Weakness: the repeated grid can encourage box-filling, and it doesn’t naturally capture who your class is or why this lesson matters.
Choose the DLL when: you plan by the week and your school follows the classic DepEd format.
DLP — the detailed plan
The Detailed Lesson Plan covers a single period in full script: objectives broken into knowledge, skills, and attitudes; complete subject matter; and step-by-step procedures often written down to the actual questions you’ll ask. It’s the standard for newly hired teachers (below one year), demonstration teaching, and observed classes — anywhere someone else needs to follow your thinking on paper.
Strengths: leaves nothing to chance, ideal when you’re being evaluated.
Weakness: time-consuming to write for every lesson.
Choose the DLP when: you’re a new teacher, being observed, doing a demo, or teaching a one-off lesson that needs careful sequencing.
ILAW — the MATATAG newcomer
ILAW (Intentions, Learning Experience, Assessment, Ways Forward) reorganizes planning around the arc of a lesson rather than a daily grid, and it can span several sessions. It adds two things the older formats never had: a Learner Context field (how is this class actually doing?) and a required Declaration of AI use if AI helped draft the plan.
Strengths: matches the MATATAG philosophy of deep, decongested teaching; forces you to contextualize.
Weakness: newer, so expectations vary by division and there’s a learning curve.
We’ve written a complete field-by-field walkthrough here: The ILAW Lesson Plan, Explained.
Choose ILAW when: your division has adopted the MATATAG lesson-planning guidelines, or your school head asks for it.
The decision guide
Work down this list and stop at the first match:
- Are you being observed, doing a demo, or in your first year? → DLP
- Has your grade level moved to MATATAG and does your school require the new format? → ILAW
- Are you a regular teacher planning a normal week under the classic policy? → DLL
- Still unsure? → ask your department head, not a Facebook group. Format policy is set locally.
A note on the transition
We’re in a transition period. Until a grade level’s cohort fully shifts to MATATAG, many schools run DLL/DLP and ILAW side by side — DLL for grades still on the old curriculum, ILAW for those that have moved. Don’t assume one format replaced the others overnight; confirm per grade level.
Frequently asked questions
Can I submit a DLP instead of a DLL?
Usually yes — a DLP is more detailed, not less. The reverse (a DLL when a DLP is required) is what gets returned.
Does ILAW replace the DLL everywhere?
Not yet. Adoption is gradual and varies by division; many schools use all three during the transition.
Do all three need an AI-use declaration?
The explicit declaration field exists in the ILAW template (DO 3, s. 2026, Annex A). If you used AI for a DLL or DLP, noting it in the remarks is good practice even without a dedicated field.
Which is fastest to prepare?
The DLL for routine weeks; ILAW takes more thought but pays off in lesson quality; the DLP is the most labor-intensive per lesson.
I teach multiple subjects — do I need a separate plan for each?
Yes. Each learning area has its own competencies, so each needs its own plan, whichever format your school uses.
Generate any of the three in about a minute
Skoolari’s lesson plan generator produces a complete, editable DLL, DLP, or ILAW — pick the format from a dropdown, enter subject, grade, and topic, and download it as Word or Excel in the official layout (AI-use declaration included for ILAW).