From a PDF to Auto-Marked Practice: A Prep Workflow

Every teacher already has a folder of PDFs (worksheets, past papers, slide decks), and most of us still print them, mark them by hand and start again the next year. A steadier lesson prep workflow turns those same files into something you teach from and reuse. In ClassKite you upload a PDF and teach straight from it on the board with live pen annotation and follow-me page sync, then build auto-marked practice from the same document. This post covers the routine around that, and how it fits into normal weekly prep, rather than the click-by-click mechanics.

Why build the prep around the PDFs you already have

The gain is reuse. Upload a worksheet once, teach from it with annotation and present mode, and the same file becomes the basis for practice you can run again with the next class or next year. Questions go in three ways: type them by hand, bulk-import the Question Bank spreadsheet template, or have AI draft questions that you review and approve before anything goes live. The AI only drafts questions. It does not read your PDF or write a lesson plan, so the teaching judgement stays with you. Organise everything into topics, then sections, then named practices, and each term's prep adds to the last instead of starting again.

A weekly prep routine

The aim is to do the thinking once, ahead of the lesson, so the live session is calm. A night-before routine:

1. Pick the PDF you're teaching from this week and upload it: a worksheet, a past paper or slides exported as PDF.
2. Skim it on the board in present mode so you know where you'll annotate live.
3. Decide which few points are worth checking and add questions on them: multiple choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank (word or number), matching or jumbled sentence. Maths goes in as LaTeX and you can attach images.
4. Save them into a named practice under the right topic and section so it's easy to find again.
5. Choose how you'll run it (live with the class or self-paced) and note the join code students will use.

For the exact step-by-step of building that practice, follow the guide on creating digital practice from a PDF; this routine is about when and how often you do it.

Reuse is the whole point

Objective answers auto-mark the moment a student submits, so the marking that used to eat your evening happens during the lesson. Afterwards you get completion, average score, right first time, solved and a per-student breakdown you can export as CSV (and the Gradebook adds each practice up into a grade, so there is nothing to copy across). Because each practice lives in your reusable Question Bank, next year's prep starts from a finished resource, not a blank page. Run it again live or self-paced with a new class and the same upload serves another year.

Open ClassKite and turn this week's PDF into practice you'll reuse next term.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to rebuild practice every year?

No. Questions sit in named practices under topics and sections, so once a practice exists you reopen it and run it again with another class.

Which plan do I need for AI drafting and bulk import?

AI question generation and unlimited bulk spreadsheet import are on the paid Teacher Plus and School plans, which also allow larger PDFs and unlimited topics. Teacher Basic is free: you teach with annotation, write questions by hand and run practice with instant feedback, and students join free. Basic has limits on PDF size and on topics per class. A side-by-side of the tiers is on the pricing page, and departments buying together can read about per-seat school plans.

Does the AI read my PDF and write the lesson?

No. The AI only drafts questions for you to review and approve. It does not read your PDF and does not produce lesson plans or worksheets.

Related reading: how to create digital practice from a PDF, how ClassKite saves teachers time, and the live practice feature.