Lesson Planner Guide
Chapter 3: Customizing Your Schedule
The Planner makes it simple to get organized and reduce your classroom prep time. Accessible from anywhere, you can plan lessons, align to standards, and manage your schedule with ease. Best of all, it’s free for individual teachers.
This learning guide will help familiarize you with the features of the lesson planner. While this guide will cover many of the features available, please refer to our extensive support articles for specific questions or reach out to us at support@chalk.com or through our Live Chat service (available Monday through Friday, 8am-4pm EST).
The following chapter of our learning guide will go over how to:
- Schedule off-days for your semester
- Customize an individual day's schedule
- Realign your rotation day in the planner
- Copy, shift, and move lesson plans
How do I add off-days to my semester?
Off-Days block out a day in your planner so you can't create lessons that day. They can be used for holidays, PD days, personal days, or days where there might be a special event (e.g., track and field so no lessons). Continue reading to learn about how to add off-days to your semester.
Step 1:
Open the Lessons menu at the top of the page, then click Semesters.
Step 2:
Hover over the semester where you wish to add off-days and click the calendar icon.
Step 3:
You can now add off-days using the two options + Holidays and + Off-Day shown below.
Clicking + Holidays: Access holidays from various countries. When you add these, it will add everything that falls between the start and end date of the semester you're in.
Clicking + Off-Day: Allows you to create a custom off-day while you provide the cause, title, and date.
Editing Off-Days
Once an off-day has been added using either method you can always edit it by clicking on the title in the list. You can then change the reason or the start and end dates of the off-day.
Make sure you Save your changes!
Unfortunately, you can only set individual off-days on the mobile app. Click here to learn how to do so.
Unfortunately, you can only set individual off-days on the mobile app. Click here to learn how to do so.
How do I add unexpected off-days to my planner?
Off-days help you to organize your calendar by removing lesson plans on days on which you will not teach. This could be for various reasons, such as a school assembly or an unexpected snow day.
The planner will automatically push your lesson plans to the next day, so you don’t have to worry about moving your lesson plans.
Day Planner
Step 1:
Click on the options dropdown beside the date, then click Add Off-Day.
Step 2:
Enter a reason for the Off-Day in the pop-up window.
Week Planner:
Step 1:
Click on the options dropdown beside the date for which you wish to add an Off-Day, then click Add Off-Day.
Step 2:
Enter a reason for the Off-Day.
Note: Because this may change the layout of your schedule, check your advanced settings to make sure it's set-up the way you want it.
Step 1:
Tap the icon composed of three dots in the bottom right corner of your day-view.
Step 2:
Select Add Off-Day from the pop-up options.
Step 3:
On the pop-up screen, enter the name (or the reason) for your off day.
Step 4:
Tap Save!
Once you have selected Save, your off-day will now shift all of your lesson plans to the next possible instructional day as the off-day will then automatically take effect.
Step 1:
Tap the icon composed of three dots in the bottom right corner of your day-view.
Step 2:
Select Make Off-Day from the pop-up options.
Step 3:
On the pop-up screen, enter the name (or the reason) for your off day.
Step 4:
Tap Save!
Once you have selected Save, your off-day will now shift all of your lesson plans to the next possible instructional day as the off-day will then automatically take effect. Tap the icon composed of three dots in the top right corner of your day-view.
How do I customize an individual day's schedule?
Every once in a while, your schedule will need to change for just one day, such as for half days, field trips or exam schedules. This article will show you how to create a custom schedule for an individual day.
Step 1:
You may edit an individual day's schedule from both Day and Week Planners. From Day Planner, you will see the drop down menu about the day's lessons beside the date.
From the Week Planner, you'll also see the drop down menu at the top of the day, beside the date you're looking to edit.
Step 2:
Click Edit Schedule. This pop-up will appear.
Step 3:
You can edit the sections that already exist on this day. The two vertical white lines at the bottom of each section will allow you to drag the section to be longer or shorter.
The X will remove the section completely.
You may also click the center of the block to drag it to another time completely.
Step 4:
You may also insert a class that is not usually scheduled using the Insert feature.
You may use the drop down to select the Class or Block you are looking to insert.
If you need to quickly switch a scheduled class to a different class in your semester, you can click directly on the block on the timetable and select the class you would like to replace it with from the drop-down menu.
You can also insert a class by clicking and dragging a box on the timetable to select a class to add, as pictured below:
Step 5:
At the end of editing your schedule for the day, select the Save button.
You will now see the word "Custom" beside the date you've edited, rather than the regular rotation day.
You can remove the Custom schedule by opening the day's menu again and clicking Reset Schedule. If you have multiple rotation days, you will be prompted to select which rotation day should replace your custom schedule.
Step 1:
In the Planner, tap on the three dots in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Step 2:
Tap on Edit Schedule in the open menu.
Step 3:
You can edit the sections that already exist on this day. Tap on the blue plus button in the bottom-right corner to add new classes to the schedule. Tap on an existing class to edit its start and end times or remove it from the schedule.
Step 4:
When you have finished editing your schedule for the day, tap Save in the top-right corner to save your changes.
You will now see the word "Custom" in the bottom-left corner on the date you've edited, rather than the regular rotation day.
Step 1:
In the Planner, tap on the three dots in the top-right corner of the screen.
Step 2:
Tap on Edit Schedule in the open menu.
Step 3:
You can edit the sections that already exist on this day. Tap on the blue plus button in the bottom-right corner to add new classes to the schedule. Tap on an existing class to edit its start and end times or remove it from the schedule.
Step 4:
When you have finished editing your schedule for the day, tap the checkmark in the top-right corner to save your changes.
You will now see the word "Custom" beside the date you've edited, rather than the regular rotation day.
How do I realign my rotation schedule?
Sometimes there are cases that cause the wrong day's schedule to show up. Sometimes this happens with unexpected off-days, custom individual day schedules, or holidays.
This article will help you re-align your schedule to make sure that your Planboard is showing the correct schedule.
Step 1:
You can realign your rotation from the Day and Week Planners. On the Day Planner, click the rotation icon in the top-left corner.
From the Week Planner, open the drop-down menu next to the date you want to realign the rotation for, then click Realign Rotation.
Step 2:
A pop-up will appear that allows you to adjust that day's rotation day.
Note: This will change the following days moving forward as well. Keep this in mind when adjusting your schedule.
And you're done! Your planner should now show the correct timetable schedule!
Step 1:
Tap on the rotation for the day in the toolbar.
Step 2:
Select the proper rotation for that day.
Note: on iOS, you will need to tap Change Rotation after selecting your day for your changes to be saved.
Step 1:
Tap on the rotation for the day in the toolbar.
Step 2:
Select the proper rotation for that day.
How do I copy or reuse a single lesson plan?
Copy lesson is a feature that can help save time when lesson planning if you're teaching multiple classes the same content. This article will help you copy a lesson with easy to follow steps!
Step 1:
Start by viewing the lesson you would like to copy in either the Day, Week, or Unit view. Select these views in the top right corner of the lesson planner.
Note: Lessons cannot be copied from the Month view.
Step 2:
Select Copy. From the Day or Unit views, you can find this in the Options drop down on the same line as the title of your lesson.
Within Week view you'll find it in the drop down menu in the same line as the lesson title.
Step 3:
Select the day to copy the lesson to.
Step 4:
Choose which classes on that date to copy the lesson to.
Step 5:
Repeat for as many days and classes as you like.
Note: Copying lessons will overwrite anything that was already written on days being copied to. Ensure you're not copying over any dates with lesson content you don't want to lose.
And you're done. Happy Planning!
Step 1:
Tap the three dot menu on the lesson you wish to copy.
Step 2:
Tap on Copy Lesson.
Step 3:
Use the calendar date selector to navigate to the date you wish to copy the lesson to.
Step 4:
Tap on the class you want to copy to, then tap Copy in the top-right corner.
Step 1:
Tap the three dot menu on the lesson you wish to copy.
Step 2:
Tap on Copy Lesson.
Step 3:
Use the calendar date selector to navigate to the date you wish to copy the lesson to.
Step 4:
Tap on the class you want to copy to, then tap Copy in the top-right corner.
How do I move a lesson to a different day?
Sometimes plans change and you'll need to teach a lesson on a different day than originally scheduled. This article will help you move the lesson from the original date it was planned on, to a different date.
Step 1:
In the lesson you'd like to move, select the Options drop down menu.
Step 2:
In the Options dropdown menu, select Move Lesson.
Step 3:
Select the date that you would like to move the lesson to.
Step 4:
Select the section that you would like to move the lesson to.
Note: Please keep in mind that this will overwrite any content that is planned in this class's date and time.
Step 5:
Finish by selecting the Move button.
And you're done! Your lesson has been moved to the new date.
Step 1:
Tap the three dot menu on the lesson you wish to move.
Step 2:
Tap on Move Lesson.
Step 3:
Use the calendar date selector to navigate to the date you wish to move the lesson to.
Step 4:
Tap on the class you want to copy to, then tap Move in the top-right corner.
Step 1:
Tap the three dot menu on the lesson you wish to move.
Step 2:
Tap on Move Lesson.
Step 3:
Use the calendar date selector to navigate to the date you wish to move the lesson to.
Step 4:
Tap on the class you want to copy to, then tap Move in the top-right corner.
How do I shift a lesson backwards or forwards?
At some point you may need to shift a lesson backward or forward to the last or previous rotation day that the section was scheduled on. This may occur for any number of reasons, whether a lesson ran too long, too short, or an unexpected change in your lessons.
This article will provide quick and easy steps to help you shift your lessons backwards and forwards in order to accommodate your needs!
Step 1:
On the lesson you're wanting to shift, select the Options drop-down menu.
Step 2:
Select either Shift Lesson Back or Forward.
Note: Shifting a lesson backward will overwrite the lesson before it. If it is empty, this won't be an issue, but if there is content in that slot the content will be lost. Keep in mind that shifting forward will shift all future lessons in that section forward one lesson as well.
And you're done! Depending on what you choose, your lesson will now be one slot before or after the original date.
Step 1:
Tap the options button (three dots) on the lesson you wish to shift.
Step 2:
Tap on Shift Forward or Shift Backward depending on where you want to shift the lesson.
Note: Shifting a lesson backwards will overwrite the previous lesson with this lesson, replacing all content and deleting any attachments it contains. This cannot be reversed.
Step 1:
Tap the options button (three dots) on the lesson you wish to shift.
Step 2:
Tap on Shift Forward or Shift Backward depending on where you want to shift the lesson.
Note: Shifting a lesson backwards will overwrite the previous lesson with this lesson, replacing all content and deleting any attachments it contains. This cannot be reversed.