---
url: /courses/lessons-and-topics.md
description: >-
  Find, filter, add and delete lessons and topics across every course in
  RootWright LMS from Teaching → Courses → Lessons and Topics.
---

# The Lessons and Topics screens in RootWright LMS

RootWright LMS keeps every lesson in one library, so the same lesson can be used in more than one course. To see all lessons across your courses, go to **Teaching → Courses → Lessons**. To see the topics that group them, go to **Teaching → Courses → Topics**.

A topic is a group of lessons inside one course, the way chapters group a book. The course builder calls the same thing a **module**. See [Course builder](/courses/course-builder).

## The Lessons screen

![The Lessons screen with a search for wash](/images/courses/lessons-01-list.jpg)

*Teaching → Courses → Lessons. The search matches lesson titles and content.*

| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Search lessons** | Finds lessons by title or content. Click the **×** to clear it. |
| **New lesson** | Opens an empty lesson in the lesson builder. |
| Type tabs | **All**, **Text and Media**, **Video**, **Quiz**, **Question** and **Assignment** show only lessons of that type. |
| **Sorted: Date added** | Sorts newest first or oldest first. |
| **Access** | Shows **All lessons**, only **Public** lessons, or only **Locked** lessons. When a filter is on, the button shows its name. |
| **Edit** | Opens the lesson in the lesson builder. |
| Bin icon | Deletes the lesson, after you confirm. |

Each row shows the lesson's **Type** and its **Access**: **Locked** lessons need enrolment. **Public** lessons can be seen by visitors before they enrol. You set both in the lesson builder. See [Lessons](/learning/lessons).

When nothing matches, the screen says "No lessons match". Click **Clear filters** to show every lesson again.

## The Topics screen

![The Topics screen with a search for Module](/images/courses/topics-01-list.jpg)

*Teaching → Courses → Topics. Each row shows the course the topic belongs to and how many lessons it holds.*

| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Search topics** | Finds topics by title. |
| **All courses** | Shows only the topics of one course. |
| **New topic** | Opens the **New topic** dialog. |
| **Edit** | Changes the topic's title, course or description. |
| Bin icon | Deletes the topic, after you confirm. |

### Add a topic

::: steps

1. Go to **Teaching → Courses → Topics** and click **New topic**.
2. Enter a **Title**.
3. Under **Add to course**, search for and pick the course. A topic lives inside one course.
4. Optional: add a **Description** of up to 255 characters.
5. Click **Create topic**.
   :::

![The New topic dialog](/images/courses/topics-02-new-topic.jpg)

*The New topic dialog.*

The topic appears in the course's **Curriculum** in the course builder, ready to hold lessons.

### Delete a topic

Click the bin icon on the topic's row, then **Delete topic**. The lessons in it are not deleted. They stay in the lesson library but are detached from the course, and every student's lesson total for that course is recalculated.

## Related

* [Course builder](/courses/course-builder)
* [Lessons](/learning/lessons)
* [The Assessments screen](/quizzes/assessments)