A study investigated whether a course in pedagogical content in English would have an impact on the lesson plans of 11 student teachers. Students were directed to write lesson plans for the short story "To Build a Fire" by Jack London, both at the beginning of the course and at the conclusion. Student teachers' perceptions of their lesson plan differences were compared to those of the investigators. Two students, Helen and Marv, were selected for closer study. Helen's lesson plans evidenced the greatest amount of change. Marv's lesson plans evidenced the least amount of change. Although Helen's and Marv's academic backgrounds and levels of achievement were similar, Marv's expressed reasons for wanting to teach were more detailed. On the other hand, Helen's class standing in the pedagogical content course was significantly higher than Marv's. Helen's lesson plans evidenced more sensitivity to the objectives of the pedagogical content course than did Marv's. She gave significant attention to preparing the students for reading the text, guiding them through the text, and then providing them with opportunities to respond to the text in sequenced speaking and writing activities. Findings suggest that the pedagogical content course can have a differential effect on changing the lesson planning strategies of student teachers. (Two tables of data are included.) (RS)