Lesson Plan

• Describe the purpose and advantages of using books of prime entry.
• Identify which book of prime entry is appropriate for cash, credit sales, credit purchases, returns and other transactions.
• Record transactions accurately in the cash book, petty cash book, sales journal, purchases journal, sales returns journal, purchases returns journal and the general journal.
• Calculate running balances where required and post the debit and credit amounts to the correct ledger accounts.
• Verify that total debits equal total credits by preparing a trial balance after posting.

• Projector and screen
• Whiteboard and markers
• Printed worksheets with sample source documents (receipts, invoices, credit notes)
• Blank journal templates for each book of prime entry
• Calculators
• Accounting textbook chapter on books of prime entry

Begin with a quick question: “Where does a business first record a cash sale?” Use the responses to link prior knowledge of the ledger to the need for a first point of entry. Explain that today’s success criteria are to correctly choose and complete the appropriate book of prime entry and to post those entries to the ledger with a balanced trial balance.

1. Do‑Now (5') – short quiz on the purpose of journals; collect answers.
2. Mini‑lecture (10') – overview of each book of prime entry, key columns, and why separation matters.
3. Guided practice (15') – in pairs, students record a set of mixed transactions into the correct journals using the worksheets.
4. Posting exercise (10') – students transfer the recorded entries to ledger accounts, calculate running balances, and complete a trial balance.
5. Check for understanding (5') – whole‑class review of common errors (omissions, wrong ledger folio, reversed debits/credits).
6. Exit ticket (5') – each student writes which journal they would use for a given scenario and one key step to avoid errors.

Summarise the flow from source documents → books of prime entry → ledger → trial balance, highlighting the importance of accuracy at each stage. Collect the exit tickets as a quick retrieval check. For homework, assign a worksheet requiring students to process ten new transactions through the appropriate books and post them to the ledger.