Lesson Builder & Lesson Blocks
Use the Lesson Builder and lesson blocks to create structured lessons with consistent quality.
Speakly.PRO includes a Lesson Builder that uses lesson blocks to define structured lessons. Instead of building every lesson from scratch in the editor, you can use the Lesson Builder to quickly create complete lessons with consistent structure and quality.
What Is the Lesson Builder?
The Lesson Builder is a configuration-driven tool that defines the structure, flow, and exercise types of a lesson. Think of it as a blueprint system: you select a lesson structure, configure the parameters, and the system generates a fully structured lesson ready for the Lex Editor.
Why Use the Lesson Builder?
- Speed: Build lessons in minutes instead of hours
- Consistency: Every lesson follows a proven pedagogical structure
- Quality: Built-in structures are designed by experienced educators
- Flexibility: Customize any section after generation
- Scalability: Build an entire course from a consistent set of lesson structures
The Lesson Builder does not replace your creativity -- it gives you a head start. You can always modify, extend, or completely rework any generated lesson.
Built-in Lesson Structures
The Lesson Builder can also show lesson theme presets and topic presets for supported course languages and CEFR levels. Presets give you a ready-made starting point instead of a blank configuration: choose the theme or topic that matches the lesson goal, then adjust the sections before generating.
Presets are available for English, German, Polish, and French across A1-C2 levels. If no preset appears for a language or level, continue with a custom Lesson Builder configuration.
Grammar Lesson
A structured lesson focused on teaching a specific grammar point.
Sections:
- Introduction -- Real-world context showing why this grammar matters
- Rule Presentation -- Clear explanation with visual aids
- Example Sentences -- 5-10 graded examples
- Common Mistakes -- Typical errors and how to avoid them
- Guided Practice -- Fill-in-blank and multiple choice exercises
- Free Practice -- Writing or speaking prompts applying the grammar
- Summary -- Quick-reference card of the rule
Vocabulary Lesson
Build a thematic vocabulary lesson with images, audio, and practice activities.
Sections:
- Theme Introduction -- Context for the vocabulary set
- Word Presentation -- New words with definitions, images, and pronunciation
- Contextual Sentences -- Each word used in a sentence
- Matching Activity -- Pair words with definitions
- Fill-in-Blank Practice -- Use new words in sentences
- Production Task -- Write or speak using the new vocabulary
- Review Game -- Interactive flashcard-style review
Conversation Practice
A lesson designed around dialogue and spoken interaction.
Sections:
- Situation Setup -- Describe the real-world scenario
- Model Dialogue -- Sample conversation with audio
- Key Phrases -- Essential expressions for the situation
- Comprehension Check -- Questions about the model dialogue
- Guided Role-Play -- Structured practice with prompts
- Free Role-Play -- Open conversation activity
- Reflection -- Self-assessment and vocabulary log
Assessment
A structure for quizzes and tests with multiple exercise types.
Sections:
- Instructions -- Clear directions and time limits
- Section A: Multiple Choice -- Grammar and vocabulary recognition
- Section B: Fill-in-Blank -- Application of rules
- Section C: Matching -- Vocabulary or concept pairing
- Section D: Writing -- Short essay or paragraph
- Answer Key -- Hidden answers for teacher reference
B1 NAWA Exam Preparation
When exam mode is enabled for your school, the Lesson Builder can also generate Polish B1 NAWA-style sections. These are not general-purpose lesson structures; they are exam-task presets.
| Part | Available section examples |
|---|---|
| Listening | short utterances, dialogues, interview, true/false, speaker matching |
| Speaking | picture description, role-play, opinion statement |
| Writing | short form plus longer form with automated writing feedback |
| Reading | short texts, true/false, gap fragments, title matching, vocabulary in context |
| Grammar | declension, connectors, comparison, conjugation, questions, paraphrases, aspect/mood, prepositions |
Use a topic override when you want the generated task to stay close to a theme, such as travel, health, family, or work. Leave it blank when you want the preset to choose from its exam topic bank.
These presets may create exam-only blocks such as grey exam notes, generated image placeholders, sentence-gap reading widgets, compact audio with limited plays, assessed speech recorders, Live Examiner role-play, and writing exam widgets.
Polish B1-B2 telc Exam Preparation
When exam mode includes Polish B1-B2 telc, the Lesson Builder can generate exam-style sections for:
| Part | What it helps students practice |
|---|---|
| Listening | Dialogues, interviews, true/false listening, and opinion-matching tasks. |
| Reading | Email, forum, and text comprehension tasks. |
| Language Elements | Dialogue completion, email cloze, vocabulary, and grammar in context. |
| Writing | Email-style writing with rubric feedback. |
| Speaking | Picture, presentation, and discussion tasks, including Live Examiner practice when available. |
Use these presets for exam-focused lessons rather than general course material. Review all generated tasks before assigning them to students.
Understanding Lesson Blocks
Lesson blocks let you define lesson structure through a visual set of sections. Each section can contain widgets such as text, images, exercises, tables, and media.
You do not need to write lesson block syntax to use the Lesson Builder. The configuration panel handles the structure visually, and the generated lesson opens in the Lex Editor for review and editing.
Using the Lesson Builder
Creating a Lesson with the Lesson Builder
Open the Lesson Builder
Navigate to Courses -> your course -> open a lesson in the editor. The Lesson Builder panel is available in the editor toolbar.
Choose a Lesson Structure
Pick the structure that matches your lesson goal: Grammar, Vocabulary, Conversation Practice, Assessment, or a visible lesson theme preset.
Configure the Parameters
Fill in the fields:
- Topic: e.g., "Spanish present tense -AR verbs"
- Target Language: e.g., Spanish
- CEFR Level: e.g., A1
- Number of Exercises: e.g., 8
When presets are visible, you can browse lesson theme presets or topic presets first. The selected preset fills in a structured starting point that you can still edit before generation.
Preview the Structure
The system shows you the generated lesson outline with all sections and placeholder widgets. Review the structure before proceeding.
Generate the Lesson
Click "Generate". The system creates the full lesson in the Lex Editor with all sections, exercises, and formatting in place.
Customize and Refine
Replace placeholder text with your content, adjust exercise difficulty, add your own images and audio, personalize the tone and examples.
Reusing Course Content
Instead of rebuilding lesson structures from scratch, you can reuse existing courses:
- Copy a course to duplicate it within your organization and modify the copy
- Browse public courses shared by other organizations to find ready-made structures
- Instantiate a public course to create your own editable copy with all its lessons
See Publish and Share Courses for details on public course sharing.
Best Practices
Start with Built-in Structures:
For your first few lessons, use the built-in lesson structures to learn the system. Once you are comfortable, experiment with custom configurations.
Customize, Do Not Over-Customize:
The Lesson Builder works best when you keep the overall structure and focus on swapping content. Rearranging entire sections defeats the purpose of consistency.
Match Structure to Lesson Type:
- Class lessons -> Grammar or Vocabulary structure
- Exercise Sets -> Assessment structure (without the essay section)
- Homework -> Assessment or Vocabulary review structure
Use AI with the Lesson Builder:
Combine the Lesson Builder with AI Lesson Generation for maximum efficiency. Select a structure for layout, then let AI fill in the content.
Troubleshooting
Lesson Not Generating
Check:
- All required fields filled in
- Valid CEFR level selected
- Sufficient tokens (if AI-powered generation is used)
- Stable internet connection
Generated Content Looks Wrong
Solutions:
- Re-check the configuration parameters (wrong level or language can produce poor results)
- Try a different lesson structure
- Edit manually in the Lex Editor after generation
- Regenerate specific sections rather than the whole lesson
Next Steps
- Lex Editor Guide - Learn the editor where lessons come to life
- Exercises & Activities - Deep dive into exercise widget types
- AI Lesson Generation - Combine AI with the Lesson Builder for speed
- Creating Courses - Organize lessons into courses
Q&A
Do I need to know lesson block format to use the Lesson Builder?
No. The Lesson Builder provides a visual interface for selecting and configuring lesson structures. You can review and adjust the generated result directly in the Lex Editor.
How does the Lesson Builder differ from AI generation?
The Lesson Builder defines the structure of a lesson (which sections, what exercise types, in what order). AI generation fills in the content (the actual text, questions, and examples). You can use them independently or together.
Can I share my courses with teachers at other schools?
Yes. An organization admin can mark a course as public, making it visible to teachers from other organizations. They can browse and copy it into their own school. See Publish and Share Courses.
Are the built-in structures language-specific?
No. The built-in structures are language-agnostic -- they define layout, not content. When you configure a lesson, you specify the target language, and the content is generated accordingly.