Assignments, Courses, & Subjects

Spark gives you several ways to organize learning, plan curriculum, and assign work to students. Understanding how Subjects, Courses, and Assignments work together will help you choose the right tool for your school's workflow.

How Subjects, Courses, and Assignments Work Together

Each feature has a different job:

• Subjects help you organize learning by subject area.
• Courses give you a plan for what students will learn.
• Assignments are the individual work students complete.

For example:

Subject: Math
Course Plan: Algebra 1
Course Schedule: Algebra I for 9th Grade — Fall 2026
Assignment: Algebra 1 Lesson 3

You can use these features together or use only the ones that fit your needs.

For example, you can:

• Create assignments without creating a Course.
• Use Subjects to organize assignments without creating a Course.
• Create a Course Plan with a collection of assignments and then schedule that course for a classroom.

Think of it this way: Subjects provide the organization, Courses provide the plan, and Assignments provide the actual work.

Subjects

A Subject is a general category or label used to organize assignments, courses, classrooms, or gradebooks based on the type of material they cover. Assigning subjects to these areas helps keep information organized and labeled properly on the student planner, student portals, and grade reports.

Examples of Subjects:

• Math
• Science
• Language
• History
• Art
• Music
• Physical Education

Creating a Subject

• Go to Learning → Subjects, click + Add New Subject, fill out the form, and click Create.
• Determine if your subject should be used across your entire Spark platform, or whether you want it to be assigned to a specific classroom.

Tip: If subjects are intended to be used across your entire school, do NOT assign it to a specific classroom, and keep the label as general as possible (ie, "Language Arts" instead of "Spelling" or "Grammar").

Using Subjects

Label the following with a subject to enhance organization and clarity:

• Assignments: Labeling assignments with a subject allows you to organize them by subject on the student planner and student portals.
• Grade Records: Assigning a subject to a grade record in the gradebook provides clarity when generating grade reports.
• Classrooms: Assigning a subject to a classroom helps identify what is being studied within that classroom.
• Courses: Designating a course with a subject clarifies the type of material being taught.

Courses

A Course is a focused plan of study in a specific subject. It includes all the needed assignments, lesson plans, and attachments. Once created, a course plan can be saved and scheduled for any date, student, or classroom as many times as needed. It can also be used by the teacher as a lesson plan guide.

Examples of Courses:

• Biology
• Algebra I
• 7th Grade American History
• World Geography
• Greek Literature

Creating a Course Plan

• To create a course: go to Learning → Courses section (or your Classroom’s Courses tab), click “+ Add New Course Plan”, enter a name, then click Create Course.
• From there, you can add assignments, lesson plans, attachments and other course materials.

Learn more about creating course plans here.

Using Course Plans

• Once your Course Plan is ready, you turn it into an actionable schedule by creating a Course Schedule — specifying dates, students or classroom, and term, which then applies the course plan to real assignments.
• When scheduled, the assignments from the course automatically appear on the Assignment Calendar and in student portals, just like any other assignment.
• You can reuse a Course Plan multiple times across different terms or groups, and adjust scheduling details (dates, included students, etc.) as needed without recreating the plan from scratch.

Learn more about scheduling courses here.

Assignments

An Assignment is a specific task or activity that a student is expected to complete. Spark offers several types of assignments, including Assignments, Sets, and Goals, each designed for a different type of student work.

Examples include:

• Read Chapter 3
• Complete Worksheet 5
• Write a one-page essay
• Complete Lesson 12
• Take a quiz
• Practice multiplication facts

Courses are not needed to create assignments. You can create individual assignments whenever you need them without creating a Course.

This is useful when:

• You're creating work as you go.
• You need a one-time assignment.
• You're supplementing a curriculum.
• Students are working at different paces.
• You don't need to reuse a complete curriculum.

You can create assignments from the Class Stream, Student Planner, or Assignments page.

Learn more about assignments here.

Which Should I Use?

Not sure which feature to use? Start with what you're trying to accomplish.

Use an Assignment when you want to give students a specific task to complete. You don't need a Course to create an assignment. Assignments work well for one-time tasks, work you're creating as you go, or supplemental work.

Use a Course Plan when you want to create a reusable plan of study. A Course Plan can contain a sequence of assignments, lesson plans, attachments, and other materials that you may want to use again.

Use a Course Schedule when you're ready to use a Course Plan with actual students. A Course Schedule applies the Course Plan to specific students or a classroom and sets the dates and other scheduling details.

Use a Subject when you want to organize your assignments and courses by subject area. Subjects can be used to label assignments, courses, classrooms, and grade records.