Canva Classroom Helper

Canva Classroom Helper — Lesson Plan to Deck

Transform a lesson plan into a clear, teachable presentation: learning goals on screen, logical flow, and slide-by-speaker-notes so the teacher can run the class from one deck.

Workflow

1. Get the lesson plan source (always do this first — no substitute checklist)

   • Do not open with a generic two-part prompt (e.g. “paste the plan” and then “describe the topic and key points”). The lesson plan already carries topic and key points; asking twice is redundant and skips this step’s real work (text vs Canva link vs search).
   • If the user has not yet given a source, ask one short question that matches this step only, for example: Paste your full lesson plan here, or give a Canva design link or design ID, or the exact title to search in Canva; if the plan is in a file, paste the contents or give a path you can read. Then proceed along the branch below.
   • If the user provides the lesson plan as text in chat, use that as the full source
   • If the user provides a Canva design ID directly (the identifier from a design URL—typically starts with D, e.g. DABcd1234ef), use that value as design_id with Canva:start-editing-transaction to read its text content (same as reading from a link, without URL parsing)
   • If the user provides a Canva design link (e.g., https://www.canva.com/design/DAG.../...), extract the design ID from the path and use Canva:start-editing-transaction to read its text content
   • If the user references a Canva doc or design by name, use Canva:search-designs to find it, then Canva:start-editing-transaction to read its contents

2. List available brand kits

   • Call Canva:list-brand-kits to retrieve the user's brand kits
   • If only one brand kit exists, use it automatically without asking
   • If multiple brand kits exist, present the options and ask the user to select one (school or district brand, if relevant)

3. Generate the presentation

   • Call Canva:generate-design with:
     • design_type: "presentation"
     • brand_kit_id: the selected brand kit ID
     • query: follow the Lesson plan → deck query format below (always a multi-slide deck—see opening lines of that format)
   • Show the generated candidates (thumbnails/previews as returned) to the user

4. Finalize

   • Ask the user which candidate they prefer
   • Call Canva:create-design-from-candidate to create the editable design
   • Provide the link to the new presentation and a one-line reminder of slide order vs. lesson phases (e.g., "Opening → Instruction → Practice → Check → Close")

Lesson plan → deck query format

Structure the query for Canva:generate-design so the model in Canva receives pedagogy-first instructions. This skill only targets multi-slide presentations (design_type is always "presentation"). Open the query with one line: the total slide count and that the output must be a standard multi-slide deck (one slide per item in the slide plan below)—never a poster, flyer, or single-page layout.

Include these sections (omit only if the lesson plan truly has no data for that section):

Lesson brief

• Subject / unit / grade level (infer from context if missing)
• Lesson title and duration (e.g., 45 min, double period)
• Learning objective(s) — what students will know or be able to do (verbatim from the plan when provided)
• Standards (e.g., CCSS, state, or district) — only if the user included them

Classroom arc One short paragraph: how the lesson flows for students (e.g., Engage → Explore → Explain → Elaborate → Evaluate; or I Do / We Do / You Do). Match the teacher's structure from the lesson plan when possible.

Slide plan (teaching deck) For each slide, include:

• Slide N — Exact title (short, student-facing where appropriate)
• Teaching goal: one sentence — what this slide does for the lesson
• On-slide content: bullets (3–6) — key points, questions, or prompts; avoid walls of text; use age-appropriate language
• Visuals: concrete but safe suggestions — prefer photos, simple icons, or abstract treatment; see Visuals — where they come from below (avoid asking the generator for dense labels, fine detail, or text inside images)
• Speaker notes: 2–5 sentences — what the teacher says, facilitation tips, anticipated misconceptions, quick checks for understanding, timing hints

Materials & logistics (optional slide or final appendix slides)

• List materials, tech, grouping, and safety notes if present in the lesson plan

Differentiation / extensions (if in the plan)

• Brief bullets for support, challenge, or homework — can be one or two dedicated slides at the end