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Assuming you have the coordinates of the planet in RA and Dec, you also need some star charts in front of you (either paper or electronic, either will do.) RA is celestial longitude, fixed with respect to the stars, and Dec is celestial latitude, running from the celestial equator to the poles. The coordinates for the planet should point to where it is on a particular night (or near during a particular week.) Hopefully once you have that location on the charts you can see which constellation it is in, and hopefully you can recognise that constellation in the sky. If you've already done some work in learning the shapes of the constellations you'll quickly be able to pick out the 'star' out of place. If not, take the star charts outside with you, spend some time working out which stars should be there and where the planet should be in relation to them.
Perhaps you can tell us which planet you are trying to find? The ancient five (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter & Saturn) are all relatively easy as they bright, but Uranus and Neptune require star charts and a bit of work starhopping to be sure you're in the right place.
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