Every TeachSpark Feature, Explained.

Unit & Lesson Plan Builder

Generate a full unit plan — 1 week to 1 month — for any subject and grade level, with real daily lesson plans, activity slots, and non-activity days (discussion, review, group work, assessment, flex). Choose a Schedule Style to control the mix of activity vs. non-activity days. No prompt engineering required.

Per-Day Lesson Plans

Each day in your unit plan gets a full, structured lesson plan with named, timed segments — objective, total time, warm-up, direct instruction, guided practice, independent practice, and closure. Generate, save, print, copy, or edit directly in TeachSpark.

Schedule Styles

Three Schedule Styles — Activity-Heavy, Balanced, or Light — let you control how many activity days vs. discussion, review, and flex days appear in your unit plan.

Lesson Pacing Guide (Valerie)

Ask Valerie for a multi-day pacing guide in chat — just say "plan out a week on photosynthesis for 8th grade." Valerie generates a full multi-day sequence with activity slots and non-activity days, saved to your My Units page. Each day can have a full lesson plan generated for it. You can optionally upload a document and ask Valerie to build the pacing guide "based on the attached document." Great for simple, non-critical pacing — for anything critical, use the full Unit Plan Builder. Triggered by the Lesson Pacing Guide quick-action pill in the chat widget.

Folders & Organization

Organize your unit plans with folders and drag-and-drop reordering on the Unit & Lesson Plans dashboard. Sort by newest, oldest, or manual order.

Syllabus → Semester Plan

Upload your syllabus and TeachSpark maps your entire semester into units, sequences, and activity objectives — in under 60 seconds. Review and edit before creating.

Interactive Activity Builder

Describe your lesson goal, pick a grade level and activity type, and TeachSpark builds a complete, original interactive activity in about 5–7 minutes. Students work through it on any device — no accounts needed. Choose from 20+ activity types across K-8, 9–12, Higher Ed, and Personal Learning modes.

Build with Valerie

A chat-based builder where you describe what you want to teach in plain language. Valerie asks a few clarifying questions and builds the activity for you — same quality as the standard builder, but conversation-style. Available from your Dashboard.

TeachSpark Freestyle

A mode in the Build with Valerie builder where you describe any activity you can imagine — games, surveys, choose-your-own-adventure, scavenger hunts, class contracts, brainstorm boards, goal-setting activities, trivia, and more. Valerie builds it with or without scoring based on what you ask for. If no scoring is requested, the activity ends with a warm Design-style completion screen.

TeachSpark Design Activities

Seven question-free activity types designed for engagement, not assessment: First Day of School, Icebreaker, Class Introduction, Gallery Walk, Exploration, Reflection Journal, and Project Kickoff. No scores, no right or wrong answers — just participation and reflection.

Template Library

528 pre-built, curriculum-aligned templates you can browse without signing up, including a new Frameworks category covering 45+ well-known teaching frameworks (Frayer Model, 5E, DBQ, CER, Bloom's Taxonomy, SWOT Analysis, Jigsaw, Socratic Seminar, and more). Click any template and the entire builder form is pre-filled — just adjust if needed and generate. Other categories include Common Core, California CTE, Texas CTE, Postsecondary CTE, K-8, and more.

Pedagogical Framework Dropdown

In the main activity builder, a standalone Pedagogical Framework dropdown lets you apply any of 45+ teaching frameworks — Frayer Model, 5E, CER, PBL, SWOT, Design Thinking, Bloom's Taxonomy, and more — to your own custom lesson goal without needing a pre-built template. The framework structure (Teach, Practice, Apply, Reflect) is injected into the AI prompt automatically. Your grade, subject, and activity type stay as-is.

Video-to-Activity

Attach any YouTube or Vimeo video, paste the transcript (or a summary of it), and TeachSpark builds a complete activity around the video content. Works with any activity type — not just video lessons — so a Debate Prep or Case Study can be built from a video too.

Source Document Upload

Upload a PDF or text file, and TeachSpark uses it as the primary content source for the activity. Questions, teaching content, and feedback are all generated from your document — not from general knowledge.

Slide Deck → Interactive Activity

Upload a PowerPoint (.pptx) file or paste a Google Slides link, and TeachSpark turns it into a fully interactive activity grounded in your slides' real content — not a generic activity on the same topic. You can also add a reference video link and a short summary alongside the deck, and TeachSpark pulls details from both sources into one cohesive activity. Perfect for breathing new life into a slide deck you already have — even an old one.

Lesson Plans

Generate a full class-period lesson plan from Valerie: tell her your topic, grade level, and class length. Each plan includes a hook, direct instruction, guided and independent practice, closure, exit ticket, and differentiation notes. Download as PDF, copy to clipboard, add to Google Calendar, or save to your Lesson Plans library.

Substitute Teacher Plans

Generate a detailed sub plan that covers attendance, classroom rules, materials, step-by-step activity instructions, a timing guide, early finisher options, and end-of-period procedures. Download as PDF or save to your Lesson Plans library with folder organization.

Worksheets Built by Valerie

Tell Valerie the topic, grade level, and number of questions, and she builds a print-ready worksheet from scratch — with a header, name/date/period lines, a mix of question types, and a scoring section. Saved to your dashboard automatically.

Group Activities

Build collaborative group activities in the Activity Builder — select "Group Activity" as the activity type and get a complete interactive activity with group roles, shared tasks, and individual reflection built in. Students work through it collaboratively on any device, just like any other TeachSpark activity.

Blooket Question Sets

Ask Valerie for a Blooket question set on any topic. She generates the questions and hands you a ready-to-import .csv file formatted for Blooket's import tool — no copy-pasting required.

Syllabus Builder

Valerie walks you through five quick questions and generates a complete course syllabus — course title, description, prerequisites, materials, learning goals, assessment overview, week-by-week schedule, grading breakdown, and policies. Can be sent straight into the Unit builder.

Document Summarize (Valerie)

Attach any document (PDF, Word, PowerPoint, or text file) in Valerie's chat and click "Summarize" — Valerie condenses it to any length you specify, preserving all names, dates, quotes, statistics, and key concepts. Great for condensing long syllabi, textbook chapters, or curriculum documents before using them to build a unit plan. The condensed text can be copied or inserted directly into the Unit Plan builder.

Answer Key Generator

Generate a complete answer key for any activity with one click. Includes model answers, scoring rubrics, and grading guides — ready to print or save to your Answer Keys library.

Printable Worksheets from Any Activity

Every interactive activity can also be printed as a worksheet. One click generates a publication-quality, black-and-white printable with real writing lines, bubble questions, and a scoring section. Great for offline days or no-device classrooms.

Activity-to-Lesson Plan Builder

Turn any activity into a full class-period lesson plan with one click from the activity card. The lesson plan is built around your activity, available as a PDF or to copy into Google Docs.

Multiple Languages

Activities can be generated in 10 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Mandarin, Japanese, Arabic, Hindi, and Korean. All instructions, questions, and feedback are in the chosen language.

Difficulty Levels & Differentiation

Every standard activity can be generated at six difficulty levels: Standard, Challenging, Advanced, Below Grade Level, ELL (English Language Learner), and IEP/504. Generate the same activity at different levels to differentiate without rebuilding from scratch.

Common Core Standards Alignment

For K-8 and 9–12 activities, the full Common Core ELA and Math standards are now available in a searchable, three-level dropdown: pick the framework, choose a subject (ELA or Math), then search by code or keyword to find the exact standard (e.g., RL.4.2, K.CC.1). The AI aligns all content, questions, and assessments to that standard. Additional frameworks — NGSS Science, C3 Social Studies, ISTE Technology, National Core Arts, PE, and ACTFL World Languages — are also available.

Learning Path Versions

Generate alternative versions of any activity by learning style: Reading & Analysis, Visual & Spatial, and Scenario & Application. Each creates a new activity card on your dashboard so every student gets the format that works for them.

Point-Based Scoring

Set a total point value for an activity and TeachSpark distributes the points across all questions (roughly 60% short answer, 40% multiple choice). Students see their score as earned points out of the total, and teachers see the same breakdown on the Results page.

Valerie — AI Support & Teaching Colleague

Valerie is available in a chat widget on every page. She answers TeachSpark questions, walks you through features step by step, holds genuine teaching conversations about curriculum and pedagogy, and can build lesson plans, sub plans, worksheets, group activities, Blooket sets, and syllabi directly in the chat.

Voice Input with Valerie

Talk to Valerie instead of typing. Voice input works across all of her tools — describe a lesson plan, build a worksheet, or ask a question hands-free.

Guide & Button Reference

The in-app Guide page shows every button on an activity card and what it does — from printing worksheets to posting to Google Classroom. Includes a replayable product tour for new users.

How-To Videos

The TeachSpark YouTube channel (youtube.com/@mrcolemanteachspark) has 30+ step-by-step videos covering every major feature. Linked from the Dashboard, Guide, and Home page.

Help Center

A searchable help center with categorized articles covering getting started, lesson ideas, classroom management, and product updates. Accessible from the in-app navigation.

Resources

A growing library of articles on academic integrity, getting started, lesson ideas, and classroom management — written for teachers, by teachers.

Status Page

A public status page (teachspark.app/status) where you can check platform status during outages and see any known issues.

Dashboard

Your home base for all activities. Search across activities, units, and folders. Sort by newest, oldest, or manual order. Filter by subject. See stats on completions and activity counts. Drag-and-drop to reorder cards.

Folders

Organize activities into folders with a sidebar on desktop and a dropdown on mobile. Create folders, drag activities between them, and search across everything in one place.

Curriculum Units

Build sequential units of activities that build forward through your curriculum. Each activity in a unit is aware of what came before — it does not repeat content. Add activities to units, reorder them, and mark the unit complete when done.

Syllabus Upload & Semester Planning

Upload a PDF or paste your syllabus text, and TeachSpark reads it and maps your entire semester into units, sequences, and activity objectives — in under 60 seconds. Review and edit before creating. You can also browse AI-generated syllabus templates for any subject.

Syllabus Template Library

AI-generated course syllabus templates for every subject across K-8, K-12 Core Academic, CTE, and Higher Ed. Each covers a full school year with two semesters of units, weekly topics, grading breakdowns, and a plain-text syllabus you can copy into your LMS.

Summative Exam Generator

From any unit, generate a final exam that pulls from all activity objectives in the unit. The exam includes multiple choice, short answer, and an extended response — and can be printed as a paper exam.

Lesson Plans Library

All your saved lesson plans and sub plans in one place, with folder organization, search, and type filtering. Download as PDF, view inline, move to folders, or delete.

Answer Keys Library

Saved answer keys with folders, search, and subject filtering. Open and print any key, move to a folder, or delete. Every answer key you generate is saved here automatically.

Worksheets Library

Saved worksheets with folders, search, and filtering. Open and print any worksheet, move to a folder, or delete. Worksheets generated by Valerie or printed from activities are saved here.

Version History

Every time you regenerate an activity, the previous version is saved (up to 10 versions). Preview any past version, restore it, or get a separate link to share a specific earlier version while you keep improving the current one.

Community Library

Publish your activities to a public community library where other teachers can browse, preview, and import them. Browse activities built by educators across every subject and grade level — free, no account required to view.

Activity Sharing (Teacher-to-Teacher)

Share any activity with any TeachSpark teacher via a link. The recipient imports it fully editable into their own dashboard — complete with all content, settings, and structure.

Google Calendar Integration

Sync any activity or unit to your Google Calendar for lesson planning. One click opens Google Calendar with the activity title, date, and student link pre-filled.

Google Classroom Integration

Post any activity directly to your Google Classroom as a published assignment with one click. Students open it right from Classroom — no extra links, no separate logins. Connect your Google account once and TeachSpark remembers it.

No Student Accounts — Ever

Share a link, a QR code, or a 6-character class code. Students click and start — nothing to install, nothing to sign up for. Their name and last initial is all that is collected.

Student Results

See every submission for an activity in an expandable table — student name, completion status, time spent, and score. Click any row to see individual responses, AI scores, and your overrides. In-progress submissions auto-refresh every 30 seconds.

AI Scoring & Teacher Overrides

Short-answer questions are scored by AI using a transparent rubric (Full Credit / Partial Credit / No Credit) shown above each question. You can override any AI score and leave your own written feedback. The Results page recalculates the total in real time as you override.

Academic Integrity Monitoring

TeachSpark tracks paste events and typing patterns in short-answer fields and flags a submission if a student pasted a large block of text rather than typing. A separate flag marks submissions completed much faster than expected. These are signals for a second look — not proof of anything, and TeachSpark never accuses a student directly.

Teacher Feedback

Leave written feedback on any student submission, plus an optional audio recording. Students receive your feedback via a secure link — no account required to view it.

Analytics Dashboard

See activity creation, submission counts, average scores, and completion rates over time. Charts show submissions over time and score distribution. Identify top-performing activities and activities that need attention (average below 70%). Export everything as CSV.

Student Unit Progress Page

Every unit has a shareable link (/u/:unitId) where students see all activities in sequence with a visual progress bar and activity checklist. Great for flipped classrooms or homework packets — no student accounts required.

Resume Where You Left Off

Students can leave an activity and return where they left off on the same device and browser. Progress auto-saves to the student's browser every time they advance — no account or login required. Works for every activity type.

Anonymous Student IDs

Turn on anonymous student IDs for any activity, and students enter an ID or nickname instead of their real name on the entry screen. This changes only the label and prompt text — storage and Results page display are unchanged. TeachSpark never validates or stores any code-to-identity mapping.

Export to CSV

Export all student scores and responses from any activity or from the Analytics page as a CSV file. Includes student name, score, completion status, and individual responses — ready for your gradebook.