Create or edit a custom lesson
userXello Admin Xello productXello 6-12 & Xello 3-5 Time5 minutes

Users with administrator access can create or edit a custom lesson that will show in the Lessons section accessed from the student's dashboard. Custom lessons can easily be tracked so you can see how many students have completed the work assigned.

noteNote: Only those with administrator access can create or make these changes. To learn more about educator access and permissions, read the article on Educator permissions.
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Custom lessons can be used to track any kind of work that you want all students in a particular year to complete. This is especially helpful if you have a state or local requirement that isn't met with one of Xello's existing lessons. To fulfill a custom lesson, students will fill out the text box or attach one or more files and submit their lesson.

Additionally, these lessons can be set as a Core lesson, ensuring that it gets top priority on the student's dashboard.

Create a custom lesson

To create a custom lesson for students:

  1. From your educator account, click Features and select Lessons.
    Features menu open with cursor hovering over Lessons
    Click to enlarge
    Features menu open with cursor hovering over Lessons
  2. From the top of the page, ensure the correct grade range is selected: Grades 6-12 or Grades 3-5.
  3. Click Create lesson.
    Lessons page in Educator Account with Create Lesson button highlighted
    Click to enlarge
    Lessons page in Educator Account with Create Lesson button highlighted
  4. Fill in the necessary information and any files.
    • Lessons can be assigned to multiple grades, but will only need to be completed by the student once.
    • If you want to specify that this lesson is to be completed by the end of the school year, toggle Core lesson to YES.
    • If you want to include prerequisites that students must complete before beginning the lesson, click Add prerequisites and select up to 5 activities you'd like to include.
  5. Click Save.
    • The new custom lesson will be located in all the grades you chose with a New icon above it.
How to create a custom lesson
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Edit a custom lesson

Custom lessons can be edited at any point by those with administrator access. The changes will appear immediately for your students. Edits cannot be made if any students have already submitted their work.

To edit a custom lesson:

  1. From your educator account, click Features and select Lessons.
    Features menu open with cursor hovering over Lessons
    Click to enlarge
    Features menu open with cursor hovering over Lessons
  2. From the top of the page, ensure the correct grade range is selected: Grades 6-12 or Grades 3-5.
  3. Find the lesson you plan to edit and click on the title.
    • A dialog box with a summary of the lesson opens.
  4. From the bottom right, click Edit.
  5. Click Save.
How to edit a custom lesson

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Activate or deactivate a custom lesson

To control whether students can see and access a custom lesson on their end, you have the option to toggle the lesson on or off.

To deactivate or activate a custom lesson:

  1. From your educator account, click Features and select Lessons.
    Features menu open with cursor hovering over Lessons
    Click to enlarge
    Features menu open with cursor hovering over Lessons
  2. From the top of the page, ensure the correct grade range is selected: Grades 6-12 or Grades 3-5.
  3. Find the lesson you plan to activate or deactivate and click on the title.
    • A dialog box with a summary of the lesson opens.
  4. From the bottom right, click Edit.
  5. From the top right of the lesson's page, switch the Status active toggle to either YES or NO.
    • Toggling to NO will mean students cannot see or access that custom lesson.
  6. Click Save.
How to deactivate or activate a custom lesson

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Additional resources

  • xello resourceXello Resource
    Xello ResourceXello activity lesson plan resourcesUse these resources to help introduce Xello activities to your students. Use the discussion prompts, reflection activities, and teaching strategies to help successfully roll out Xello with your students.
    Xello 6-12
    Xello 3-5
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