Class Agenda Board

To make class agenda slides with the class agenda board above, type each activity on its own line with its minutes at the end, project the board and click Next as the period moves on. At Chalkbox, we build free classroom tools, and this one runs in your browser with no account and nothing to install. The highlighted line shows the class what they are doing right now, and that item gets its own countdown.

How to Put Today's Agenda on the Board

Putting today's agenda on the projector takes six steps, and the default agenda that loads the first time you open the class agenda board works as a practice run.

1. Name the board. Type a title in "Board title". It starts as "Today in Class" and holds up to 60 characters, enough for a label like "Period 3 Biology".
2. Type the agenda items. Put one activity per line in "Agenda items" and end each line with its minutes, such as "Warm-up 5".
3. Check the total. The line under the box counts the items and adds up their minutes. The default agenda reads "4 items · 40 minutes planned".
4. Press Fullscreen. The title, today's date, the numbered list, the current item, the countdown and the buttons fill the screen for the projector.
5. Start the item timer. Click "Start item timer" when the class begins the highlighted activity.
6. Click Next › when the activity ends. The highlight moves down one line. "‹ Back" moves it up, and the → and ← keys do the same.

The default agenda shows how a full period plays out on the board:

When class starts, item 1 is highlighted and the line under the list reads "Now: Do Now: journal prompt". Start its 5-minute countdown while students write. When you click Next, item 1 turns grey with a line through it, and "Mini-lesson" takes the highlight with a fresh 15-minute countdown.

By "Exit ticket", the first three lines are greyed and struck through, so a student walking in late can read where the class is. The date at the top shows the weekday, month and day from your own device. After the bell, click "Start from the top" to put the highlight back on item 1 for the next group.

The arrow keys move the highlight only when the cursor is outside a text box. After you finish typing, click anywhere outside "Agenda items" so a press of → moves the board instead of the cursor.

Writing Lines for Class Agenda Slides

A good agenda line names one activity in a few words, opens with what students will do, and ends with its minutes. The class agenda board reads the number at the end of each line as that item's minutes, and it accepts three ways of writing it:

• Warm-up 5
• Mini-lesson - 15 min
• Mini-lesson: 15m

Minutes can run from 1 to 180. A line with no number at the end appears with no minutes, and it has no countdown when it becomes the current item. That suits an open-ended step like "Pack up".

Watch for a number that belongs to the activity itself. "Read chapter 4" ends in a number, so the board treats it as a 4-minute item. Add the real minutes after it, as in "Read chapter 4 - 10 min", and the board reads 10.

Three habits make the list easier to read from the back row:

• Start with a verb. "Annotate the poem 10" tells students what to do. "Poetry 10" only names the subject.
• One activity per line. If a line needs the word "and", split it into two lines with their own minutes. Each line then gets its own highlight and countdown.
• Keep it to one screen. Plan only as many items as fit on one projected screen, so students see the whole period at once.

You can fold routines into the lines. If the period opens with a circle, pick a prompt from the morning meeting ideas and type it into the first line. To set expectations for noise, add the level to the line, as in "Partner practice, level 2 voices 15", and post the voice level chart beside the screen.

Timing the Period with the Item Countdown

The item countdown times only the highlighted activity, and it runs only after you click "Start item timer". Click "Pause item timer" to hold it while you answer a question or settle the room. At zero the board shows "Time's up" in red, and the button changes to "Reset item timer".

The class agenda board never moves to the next item on its own. A discussion that runs long stays highlighted until you click Next, so you decide whether to cut it or let it run. The board has no sound, so glance at the countdown or ask a student to tell you when it turns red.

The countdown resets every time the highlight moves. Clicking Next early drops the seconds left on the current item, and the next item starts with its full time. Clicking Back to revisit an item also gives it its full minutes again, so start the timer there only if you want the whole block.

Checking the Plan Against Your Period

The total-minutes line under the box adds up every item's minutes, so you can see whether the plan fits before students arrive. The default agenda totals 5 + 15 + 15 + 5 = 40 minutes. In a 50-minute period, that leaves 10 minutes for attendance, transitions and questions.

If you add a 15-minute "Partner quiz" to the default, the line shows 55 minutes planned, which is more than a 50-minute period holds. Trim one item or move one to tomorrow before you start. A line without a number adds nothing to the total, so give every timed activity its minutes.

If you only need one countdown and no list, open the classroom timer instead.

Printing the Agenda for the Door or a Substitute

"Print agenda" prints only the agenda: the board title at the top, a line that reads "Agenda for" followed by the date, and the numbered items in large type with their minutes, one per row. The site header, page text and buttons stay off the paper. You get a clean sheet to tape to the classroom door or leave in a substitute folder.

The board takes today's date from your device, so the printout carries the date of the day you print it. If you print a sub plan the night before, write the correct day on the sheet or print it that morning.

A substitute who uses a different computer or browser will see the default agenda there, because your agenda is saved only in your browser. Hand over the printout, or leave the agenda lines in a document the substitute can paste into "Agenda items".

When Class Agenda Slides Are the Wrong Screen

Class agenda slides fit a period where the whole class moves through the same activities in order. Two other Chalkbox pages cover periods that run differently:

• Several tools at once. The classroom dashboard puts a timer, a name picker, a noise meter and instructions on one saved screen. Pick it when you need to call on students or watch the noise level during the same activity.
• Groups moving between centers. The station rotation timer is built for centers, where groups rotate through different activities.

If your period mixes both, such as a whole-class mini-lesson followed by centers, run the class agenda board for the lesson and switch to the station rotation timer when groups split up. The class agenda board shows text only, so it does not replace a picture-card schedule for students who rely on pictures to follow the day. For more on the routines around each block, read classroom management strategies.

What the Class Agenda Board Does Not Do

The class agenda board shows one text agenda per browser and moves only when you click. Each gap has a workaround:

• No pictures or icons. Every line is text. Use short, plain words that the youngest readers in the room can read.
• No saved templates. The board keeps one agenda at a time, so a teacher with several classes types over it each period. Keep each class's agenda lines in a document, then copy and paste them into "Agenda items" when that class arrives. Click "Start from the top" after pasting so the highlight sits on item 1.
• Saved on one device. The agenda stays in this browser on this device, and nothing goes to a server. A different computer or browser opens with the default agenda, so type the agenda on the computer you project from, or paste it in from your document.
• No sound. Nothing chimes at zero. "Time's up" appears in red, so keep the board where you can see it from where you teach.
• No automatic advance. You click Next for every item. If you want a helper running the board, make it a student job and seat that student at the computer.

To start, replace the four default lines with today's activities, press Fullscreen and run your class agenda slides from the first item to the last.