Best Practices to Get the Most Out of ClassKite

ClassKite works best once a few habits become routine. Its tools (PDF annotation, the Smart Board, AI-drafted practice and the live grid) are only as good as the teaching around them. Below are eight habits, each with the practical "how" and a short example. None of them costs extra hours, and most save time.

1. Prepare clean, focused materials

Cluttered slides scatter attention. ClassKite shows your uploads exactly as printed, so what you prepare is what students see. How: upload a PDF trimmed to the pages you need, and let continuous scroll carry the class from page to page rather than cramming everything onto one. Keep one idea per page so your live annotations have space.

Example: instead of a dense ten-page worksheet, upload the three pages covering today's grammar point and annotate those live.

See PDF annotation and our guide to turning a PDF into digital practice.

2. Set short, focused practice

Short sets get finished, marked and acted on within the lesson; long ones drift into homework and the teaching moment passes. How: give the AI question generator a topic, a count and a difficulty. It drafts multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank questions (word or number, with LaTeX for maths), and you review and edit every one before it goes out. Nothing is assigned automatically. Aim for a handful of questions on a single objective.

Example: after teaching equivalent fractions, assign six targeted questions rather than a 30-item mixed review.

3. Review student answers regularly

Frequent, low-stakes checking tells you what landed while you can still reteach it. How: run live practice on students' own devices. They get instant right/wrong feedback and points; you watch responses come in. Make a habit of a quick check at a natural break rather than waiting until the end.

Example: a two-minute exit check after a worked example confirms whether to move on or revisit it.

4. Use reports weekly

A weekly look at reports (Teacher Plus and School plans) turns scattered impressions into evidence. How: check completion, the average score and the First try figure, then read each student's row to see who needs another go. Those students are your reteaching targets. The sessions log and score trend show whether things are improving; export to CSV if you keep records elsewhere, or open the Gradebook for each student's overall grade.

Example: the vocabulary practice has the lowest First try figure of the week, so you open the next lesson with it.

More in how to reduce marking time.

5. Organise your classes clearly

Tidy classes make everything else faster to find. How: name classes consistently, keep each group's materials and practice together, and share join codes so students join free. For schools, the admin console adds bulk Excel import, role-based access and one subscription for the whole school, billed in blocks of 15 seats.

Example: naming classes "Y8 Set 2 Science" rather than "Science 2" makes the right group obvious at a glance.

See ClassKite for schools and pricing.

6. Use annotations purposefully

Annotation is there to make thinking visible. How: use the highlighter to mark the key step in a method, the pen or calligraphy ink (which looks handwritten) to model working, and sticky notes or text to flag a common error. Shapes help you box a structure or connect ideas. On the Smart Board, present full screen and annotate live while follow-me paging keeps every student on your page. Resist colouring everything in: the important mark only stands out when there are few others.

Example: highlight only the line where a quadratic was factorised, so attention lands on the move that matters.

7. Combine live teaching with independent practice

Good lessons alternate between you modelling and students doing. How: teach a concept on the Smart Board, then push a question or short practice mid-lesson without leaving the board. Switch between teacher-paced and self-paced practice depending on whether you want the class together or working at their own speed. Your pen strokes appear on students' screens as you write, so they see your working as it happens.

Example: model one problem, push two similar questions for students to try, then resume teaching with the answers in front of you.

See how teachers use ClassKite step by step.

8. Catch weak students early

The earlier you spot a struggling student, the smaller the intervention. How: use the Live Student Grid (Plus and School plans) to watch status, progress and score in real time. It shows a "struggling" signal when a student gets the same question wrong three times, along with help flags (one tap for the student) and presence, and you can open a student's attempt history to see where they went wrong.

Example: a help flag and three wrong attempts on one question tell you exactly whose shoulder to look over next.

More in tracking student progress in live practice.

In the classroom

Here's how the habits combine in one lesson. You upload three clean pages of a reading passage (habit 1) and teach the main idea on the smart board, highlighting only the sentences that carry the argument (habit 6). After modelling one question, you push a short five-item practice mid-lesson (habits 2 and 7). As answers arrive, the Live Student Grid flags two students struggling on inference, and you check in with them straight away (habit 8). At week's end, you open the report, see that the inference practice had the week's lowest First try figure, and plan a follow-up (habit 4), all inside one clearly named class (habit 5).

Frequently asked questions

How often should I look at reports?

Weekly suits most teachers: often enough to act on patterns while they're fresh, rarely enough to avoid reacting to noise. Check the headline figures first, then read the per-student rows to find who needs reteaching. Reports come with Teacher Plus and the School plan.

How long should a practice be?

Short enough to finish and review inside the lesson. A handful of questions on one objective beats a long mixed set, because you can act on the results immediately rather than carrying them into the next day.

How do I spot struggling students early?

Use the Live Student Grid during practice. Watch for the "struggling" signal, help flags and stalled progress, then open a student's attempt history to see where they came unstuck. The grid is part of Teacher Plus and the School plan.

Get started

Pick two habits from this list and try them in your next lesson. Sign in to ClassKite to set up your first class; students join free with a join code. If you have questions, see ClassKite for teachers, our approach to trust and privacy, or get in touch.

Written by the ClassKite team and reviewed by a practising teacher.