How can I best utilize the “make a copy” feature in Projects & Activities?

• Differentiate assigned lesson content.
• Expand group project/activity possibilities.
• Set up Literature Circles with ease.
• Class projects and activities, jigsaw style.
• And so much more!

Become a “make a copy” superhero to your students!

NextLesson’s interactive platform allows teachers the flexibility to completely customize our lesson content to fit their exact needs. In addition to being able to edit text, insert your own images, questions and resources, delete content, etc, you are also able to make copies of lessons. I know, you’re thinking, “so what, big deal” right? However, this make a copy feature opens up endless lesson possibilities for teachers.

How to Make A Copy of a Lesson

• Download a Project or Activity you are excited to use with your students
• Go to My Lessons and click on the lesson you wish to make a copy of
• Once inside the lesson, click on the make a copy icon on the top right (two sheets of paper overlapping)
• In order to help keep copies straight, give you copy a new name when prompted
• You can choose to stay in the original lesson or go to the new copy and begin making edits there

Sharing Copied Lessons with Your Students

Once you have made copies of lessons, renamed, and edited them however you see fit, you are now ready to begin sharing them with the appropriate groups of students. Just like you would with all interactive lessons, you can share the copied lesson by

• Open the lesson copy you wish to share
• Click on the share icon on the right toolbar
• Share with the whole class by selecting a class from the list OR expand a class to share with individual students within the class
• Click the green share button at the bottom to complete the sharing process
• Continue the same process for each copy you wish to share
• Students will now have access to the lesson from their My Lessons

How We’ve Seen Our Teachers Using Lesson Copies

• Differentiation – make a copy of a lesson for various ability groups – ELL, GATE, struggling readers, advanced learners, etc. Each copy made, can be tailored to their unique needs – editing content, adjusting vocabulary, providing additional supports, extending the learning, inserting review/teaching opportunities, etc.
• Foreign Language Classes – teaching a foreign language or in a dual immersion program – rewrite the lesson content (or portions of it or keywords) in the language of choice.
• Group Projects – let’s say you’ve found an excellent resource around Ferdinand Magellan – make a copy of it for each additional explorer you are studying and tweak wording, details, etc to reflect each.
• Jigsaw Group Work – perhaps you want to do a project divide and conquer style – make a copy for each group, lock or unlock sections to show them only the section you want them to work on, and assign to each group. Each group works on their portion of the project and comes back to the whole class to reflect on and share their learning.
• Revisit Later – perhaps you have a lesson you may want to repeat, such as goal setting – make a copy of the lesson and adjust the wording for each time it will be given (beginning of the year, mid year, end of year). Students will be familiar with the lesson format, but instructions will be specific to the time of year they are completing the lesson (first time goal setting, reevaluating goals, reflecting on goals).

Do not worry! Sometimes you make changes to the original copy of a lesson and long for a way to get the original back. Have no fear, we’ve got you covered! Simply locate the lesson again via our search and download a new copy. You will receive the original, unedited, version again. Yay! What a lifesaver!

These ideas barely even scratch the surface of ways to use this powerful, yet simple feature. We’d love to have you share with us how you already have or would like to utilize this feature! Are you ready to take on the challenge? Become a “make a copy” superhero to your students by trying out the feature today!