AI Lesson Generator

An AI-powered tool for generating comprehensive educational lesson plans using Anthropic's Claude API. This open-source project helps educators create structured, engaging lesson plans quickly and efficiently.

🚀 Live Demo

Try it now: Live Demo

Note: The live demo uses shared API keys and may have rate limits. For unlimited usage, deploy your own instance with your own API key.

Features

• 🤖 AI-Powered Generation: Generate detailed lesson plans using advanced AI
• 📚 Comprehensive Content: Create structured lessons with objectives, activities, and assessments
• 🎯 Customizable: Tailor lessons to specific topics, grade levels, and learning objectives
• 📦 Optional Archive System: Store and moderate generated lesson plans
• 🚀 Easy Deployment: Deploy to Vercel, Netlify, or other serverless platforms

Quick Start

New to Coding?

👉 Start here: GETTING_STARTED.md - Step-by-step guide for beginners

Already Familiar with Development?

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/Cartooli/ai-lesson-plan-generator.git
   cd ai-lesson-plan-generator

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Set up environment variables

   cp .env.example .env

   Edit .env and add your Anthropic API key:

   ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-api03-YOUR_KEY_HERE

4. Run locally

   npm run dev

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or higher) - Download here
• npm or yarn (comes with Node.js)
• Anthropic API key - Get one here

For detailed setup instructions, see SETUP.md.

Configuration

Required Environment Variables

• ANTHROPIC_API_KEY - Your Anthropic API key (required)
  • Get your key from https://console.anthropic.com/
  • Required for lesson generation functionality

Optional Environment Variables

• ENABLE_ARCHIVE - Enable lesson archiving system (default: false)
• ADMIN_PASSWORD - Admin password for moderation panel (required if ENABLE_ARCHIVE=true)
• NODE_ENV - Environment mode: development or production (default: production)

See .env.example for a complete template with descriptions.

Deployment

Vercel (Recommended)

1. Install Vercel CLI (optional):

   npm i -g vercel

2. Deploy:

   vercel

3. Set environment variables in Vercel dashboard:

   • Go to Settings → Environment Variables
   • Add all variables from your .env file

4. Redeploy after adding environment variables

Other Platforms

• Netlify: Connect GitHub repo, set build settings, add environment variables
• Railway: Connect GitHub repo, add environment variables, deploy
• Other serverless platforms: Follow platform-specific deployment guides

See SETUP.md for detailed deployment instructions.

Documentation

For Beginners

• GETTING_STARTED.md - ⭐ Start here! Step-by-step guide for non-developers
• FAQ.md - Frequently asked questions
• TROUBLESHOOTING.md - Common issues and solutions

For Developers

• SETUP.md - Detailed setup and installation guide
• VERCEL_SETUP.md - ⚡ Quick Vercel deployment guide
• DEPLOYMENT_GUIDE.md - Deploy to Vercel, Netlify, etc.
• ARCHITECTURE.md - System architecture documentation
• CONTRIBUTING.md - Guidelines for contributing
• SECURITY.md - Security policy and best practices

Features in Detail

Lesson Generation

Generate comprehensive lesson plans by providing:

• Topic or subject
• Grade level
• Learning objectives
• Duration

The AI creates structured lesson plans with:

• Learning objectives
• Materials needed
• Step-by-step activities
• Assessment methods
• Extension activities

Archive System (Optional)

When enabled, the archive system allows you to:

• Store generated lesson plans
• Moderate content through admin panel
• Organize lessons by topic or date

Security Note: Use a strong password for the admin panel if enabling this feature.

Development

Project Structure

ai-lesson-generator/
├── .github/          # GitHub workflows and templates
├── api/              # Serverless API functions
├── js/               # Frontend JavaScript
├── blog/             # Blog content
├── lessons-archive/  # Generated content (gitignored)
├── *.html            # Frontend pages
└── [config files]    # Configuration files

Running Locally

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Set up environment
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your API key

# Run development server
npm run dev

Testing

• Test lesson generation with valid API key
• Verify error handling with missing/invalid keys
• Test archive system (if enabled)

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add: amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Security

• Never commit .env files - They contain sensitive API keys
• Use strong passwords - Especially for admin panels
• Rotate API keys regularly - If compromised
• Monitor API usage - Check for unexpected activity

See SECURITY.md for our security policy and best practices.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Built with Anthropic Claude API
• Deployed on serverless platforms (Vercel, Netlify, etc.)

Support

• 📖 Check the documentation
• 🐛 Report bugs
• 💬 Ask questions
• 🔒 Security issues - Please report privately

Roadmap

• Enhanced lesson plan templates
• Multi-language support
• Export to PDF/DOCX
• Integration with LMS platforms
• User authentication system
• Lesson plan sharing

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Made with ❤️ for educators worldwide