WTF??? Lesson PLans????

Sooooo, this is my first semester taking core classes for Elementary Ed, with the exception of Children's Lit. last semester.  I have been working in a school for almost 7 years and have never really seen anyone use a lesson plan.  Not in the true sense, anyway.  Not only that, when I talk to teachers about them, they say "jump through the hoops, do them, and know that you will probably never use them again".  I have many friends that are teachers in different schools...high school, junior high and elementary, and they all say the same thing!  So, for one of my final projects, I have to do a Unit of Study with at least 5 lesson plans.  Interestingly enough, I have never done a lesson plan before, and until now, I really hadn't even seen one before!  And putting standards on them?  It's almost like being given a math story problem, one that needs to be set up like a fraction multiplication problem to solve it.  Only you have never been shown how to do a fraction before.  That's how I felt.  It's a little better, now...thank god I work with a teacher that just went through the Secondary Ed. program.  I also took a sick day yesterday (pre-planned with my awesome boss) and spent 12 hours on homework.  They say that the harder things are for you to learn, the better they will stick with you.  I will NEVER forget lesson plans, I guess.