---
title: "Describe your classroom once so AI lesson plans fit your standards and students"
description: "Write your grade, standards, curriculum map, student support needs, and resources into one file so Claude drafts lessons and parent emails that fit."
canonical: "https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/ai-for-teachers"
date: "2026-01-28"
modified: "2026-10-02"
---
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# Describe your classroom once so AI lesson plans fit your standards and students.

You teach 4th grade. You have twenty-three students. Six have IEPs. Three are English language learners. The pacing guide says you should finish fractions this week, but half the class still does not understand equivalent fractions.

You ask ChatGPT for a lesson plan on fractions. It gives you pizza slices, pie charts, and visual models. Nothing targets equivalent fractions. Nothing supports your English learners. Nothing cites your state standards. Nothing uses the manipulatives in your room.

You would have to adapt all of it. You can write the lesson yourself in less time. The model does not know your grade, your students, or your standards, and it forgets whatever you tell it when the chat ends.

## Why a generic model fails teachers

Teaching is several jobs: lesson planning, differentiation, assessment, parent communication, behavior support, and curriculum alignment. Every classroom differs on each of them:

- grade level, from K to 12, with different standards per grade;
- subject: math, reading, science, or social studies;
- student needs: IEPs, 504 plans, gifted learners, English learners, behavior plans;
- resources: textbooks, manipulatives, and technology access;
- school requirements: pacing guides, grade-level expectations, and district mandates.

A generic model answers for a classroom that does not exist. Your lesson is not about "fractions." It is about equivalent fractions for 4th graders under North Carolina's Standard Course of Study. Your students need three levels of support.

Each time you ask for help, you explain all of that again. By the time you finish, you could have written the plan.

## What the model should know

You do not need AI to teach. You need it to take on the planning and paperwork that keep you at school until 6 p.m. For that, the model needs six facts about your room:

- your grade level, subjects, and the standards that apply;
- your curriculum: the current unit, what you covered, and what comes next;
- your students' support needs: IEP and 504 accommodations, reading levels, and behavior plans, without names;
- your classroom resources: manipulatives and technology;
- your school's requirements: lesson plan format, grading policy, and parent communication expectations;
- your pacing guide: where you should be and where you are.

With those facts, "Create a lesson plan for comparing fractions" produces a plan with the right grade and standard codes. It includes modified materials for the students who need them and manipulatives you own. "Draft an email to parents about the field trip" produces the right class, trip, permission forms, and school tone.

## Write the classroom file

Claude Code reads a file named `CLAUDE.md` from the folder where you start it. For a teacher, the file has six sections.

Classroom profile. Grade, subjects, number of students, and daily schedule. For example: 4th grade math and science, first and second period, 23 students.

Standards reference. The state standards you follow, with the codes copied from your state's current standards document. The example below uses North Carolina's grade 4 codes for equivalent fractions (NC.4.NF.1) and for comparing fractions (NC.4.NF.2). Check each code against your current standards document. Do not let the model supply a code from its own knowledge.

Student needs. Profiles, not names. For example: "6 students with IEPs (4 reading support, 2 math support). 3 English learners (2 intermediate, 1 beginner). 2 students with behavior plans." Claude then differentiates materials without a reminder.

Curriculum map. What you taught, what you teach now, and what comes next. A review game then covers the right topics, and an assessment covers the right content.

Resources inventory. Fraction tiles, base-ten blocks, Chromebooks, and the quiz and whiteboard tools your school licenses today. List only tools that still exist in your school. Google, for example, shut down the Jamboard app on December 31, 2024.

School requirements. Lesson plan template, grading scale, homework policy, and parent communication expectations. Claude formats plans to your template and writes parent email in your school's tone.

A synthetic file:

```text
## Classroom
grade:: 4; math and science; periods 1 and 2; 23 students
## Standards
source:: state standards document, downloaded 2026.08.15
fractions:: NC.4.NF.1 (equivalent fractions), NC.4.NF.2 (compare fractions)
## Support profile (no names)
IEP:: 6 (4 reading support, 2 math support)
English learners:: 3 (2 intermediate, 1 beginner)
behavior plans:: 2
advanced:: 3 students ready for extension work
## Curriculum
done:: place value, multi-digit multiplication
now:: fractions, week 3 of 5
next:: decimals
## Resources
fraction tiles (2 class sets), base-ten blocks, Chromebooks (1:1), Kahoot
## School
lesson_plan_template:: templates/lesson-plan.md
parent_email:: warm, short, one clear action per email
parent_contact_record:: district rule: record all contact in email or Seesaw; verify current policy
```

## A lesson plan, before and after

Before the file, you ask, "Create a lesson plan for teaching fractions." The model returns a basic introduction: circles, crayons, and shaded parts. Its exit ticket asks students to name a fraction. It is too basic, has no standard, and does not match where your students are.

After the file, you ask, "Create a lesson plan for comparing fractions." Claude drafts:

```text
Lesson: Compare fractions with unlike denominators
Standard: NC.4.NF.2 (compare two fractions with different numerators
and different denominators)
Objective: Students compare fractions with visual models and reasoning
about size.
Materials: fraction tiles (two class sets), whiteboards, notebooks
Differentiation:
- 4 students with reading support: sentence frames and visual guides
- 3 advanced students: compare and order three fractions
- English learners: pre-teach numerator, denominator, greater than,
  less than with picture cards
Assessment: exit ticket with 3 problems (2 with models, 1 abstract).
Students with math IEPs keep the fraction tile reference sheet.
```

The plan cites your standard, fits your students, and uses resources you have. You still check the math and adjust the pacing.

## Station rotation and a choice-board check

The following lesson is synthetic. For a 45-minute multiplication block, ask for the station rotation in your classroom file:

- Support station: fact-fluency games with visual supports.
- On-level station: multi-digit multiplication with base-ten blocks and partner practice.
- Advanced station: multi-step multiplication and division problems.
- Teacher station: targeted instruction for the group needing direct support.

Check the standard against the state document, assign timings that total 45 minutes, and confirm that groups can share the available materials. A station label alone does not show that a task meets a student's accommodation.

For an ecosystems unit, suppose your district requires three formative checks. You already used a vocabulary quiz and an observation checklist during a terrarium project. Ask for a third check as a choice board: a labeled diagram, a short video explanation, or a written paragraph. All three must address the same food-chain and food-web objective.

Write one rubric for the knowledge being assessed. Review whether each format lets students show that knowledge, including English learners who need an alternative to a text-heavy response. Confirm the district requirement in the file before calling the board the third required assessment.

## A parent email, before and after

You ask, "Draft an email to parents about the science fair." Claude drafts:

```text
Subject: Science fair projects, due March 15

Dear families,

Students start their science fair projects this week. Each student
chooses a question and tests it with the scientific method we practice
in class.

Due dates:
- Hypothesis and experiment plan: March 1
- Experiment and data: March 8
- Poster presentation: March 15

We will spend 30 minutes each week in science class on research and
planning. The school provides all required materials.

The science fair is on March 22, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., in the
cafeteria. We hope to see you there.

Email me with any questions.

[your name]
4th grade science
```

Claude knows your grade, your subject, and your school's parent email style. You fill in anything the file does not hold.

## Protect student information

Student records are protected under FERPA, and many districts have their own rules for AI tools. The files stay on your computer, but Claude Code sends the text it reads to Anthropic's servers during a session.

Three rules keep the classroom file safe:

- Keep student names, ID numbers, and individual IEP documents out of the folder.
- Describe needs as counts and profiles, as in the example above.
- Before you start, check your district's list of approved AI tools and any data privacy agreement.

If your district has approved a different AI tool, the same file structure works there. The [minimum-necessary test for personal data](/articles/client-data-in-ai-agent-memory) helps you decide what each draft needs.

## Check the file with next week's lesson

Before you rely on the file, ask for a lesson you already planned by hand for next week. Compare the two versions. Check the standard code, the grouping for each support profile, the materials, and the time for each part.

If the draft picks a resource you no longer have, or skips an accommodation, add the missing line to the file. Ask again. When the draft and your own plan agree on those four points, the file is ready for lessons you have not planned yet.

In a fresh session, ask where parent contact must be recorded. Pass: it cites the current district policy and says email or Seesaw in this synthetic example. Fail: it invents a channel or treats a draft as a sent message.

## Set up the file in an afternoon

You write a text file, not a database.

1. Install Obsidian, which is free to download.
2. Set up Claude Code, which needs a paid Claude plan or an Anthropic API account, or use the AI tool your district approves.
3. Create a folder and a `CLAUDE.md` file.
4. Add your classroom profile: grade, subjects, schedule, and student count.
5. Add your standards, copied from the current state document.
6. Add the support profile, with no names.
7. Add your resources and your school's requirements.

Two hours of setup gives you an assistant that knows your room. Update the file when a unit ends or new students arrive. [What context an agent should read](/articles/what-context-should-an-agent-read) explains how to keep the file short enough to stay current.

## What stays with you

The file does not teach your students. It does not replace your professional judgment, assign grades, or write report cards. It saves time on lesson plans, parent communication, differentiation, and paperwork.

You still design the learning, assess understanding, and build relationships with students and families. When a draft gets something wrong, such as a code or a school rule, fix the file. The [correction then reaches every later draft](/articles/corrections-become-system-memory).

The setup fits elementary teachers with several subjects and middle school teachers with 150 or more students across five periods. It also fits high school teachers with several courses and levels.

----

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```