12 ready-made prompts
Prompts for everyday teaching: planning lessons, creating exercises at different levels, building marking rubrics, adapting texts, writing to parents and organizing your week. AI helps you get past the blank page. Reading your class and making the teaching decisions stays with you.
To prepare a new lesson.
You are an experienced curriculum lead. Subject: [subject]. Class: [grade/age]. Length: [minutes]. Topic: [topic]. Goal: [what students should be able to do by the end]. Build a plan with an opening, main activity and wrap-up, timings for each, materials needed and a quick way to check learning. Language suitable for the age group.
To plan a whole unit.
Plan a sequence of 4 lessons on [topic] for [grade]. For each lesson: the goal, the main activity, optional homework and how it connects to the next one. End with an assessment idea for the unit.
To transform a lecture-style lesson.
I have this lecture-style lesson on [topic] for [grade]: [summary]. Suggest 3 ways to make it more participatory, with one pair activity, one group activity and one thought-provoking opening question. Consider [class size] students and [available resources].
For classes working at different paces.
Create exercises on [content] for [grade] at three levels: foundation, core and stretch, with 3 questions each and an explained answer key at the end. Clear language, everyday contexts.
To mark work with clear criteria.
Build a marking rubric for [type of work, e.g. a persuasive essay] for [grade], with 4 criteria and 4 performance levels, describing what each level looks like. Table format, in language students can understand too.
To comment on work without discouraging.
Based on the points below about a piece of work (no student name), write feedback of up to 6 lines: one specific strength, two clear suggestions for improvement and encouragement. [OBSERVATIONS]
General class announcements.
Write a note to parents of [grade] about [topic, e.g. a test, a trip, a project], with what needs doing, by when and who to contact with questions. Friendly and clear, up to 8 lines.
To prepare for a difficult meeting.
I'm meeting the family of a student about [general situation, no personal details]. Build a plan with: a welcoming opening, how to present what I've observed, questions to listen to the family and possible agreements. Respectful, collaborative tone.
At the start of the year or course.
Write an introduction to [subject] for [grade/class]: what we'll learn, how lessons and assessments will work and how students can do well. Motivating tone, up to 12 lines.
To adapt a text for your class.
Adapt the text below for students aged [age], keeping the main ideas, with shorter sentences and accessible vocabulary. Then write 5 comprehension questions. [TEXT]
A revision lesson before a test.
Create a 20-minute revision game on [content] for [grade], with simple rules, 12 questions of increasing difficulty and answers. It should work with [available resources].
To juggle several classes.
I have these classes and commitments this week: [list]. Organize a weekly plan with blocks for planning, marking and preparation, showing what's a priority and what can be reused across classes.
Yes, and it saves a lot of time. AI is great for getting started: suggesting lesson structures, activities, exercises and rubrics. Teachers still make the teaching decisions, adapt to their class and check the content, because AI can get facts and formulas wrong. Treat it as a planning assistant.
It's a reality, and many teachers are adapting their tasks: more work done in class, projects in stages, oral presentations and reflection on the process. You can also use AI with students, teaching them to check information and cite sources. The prompts on this page help create activities that reward thinking.
Avoid it. Names, grades and personal information about students, especially minors, shouldn't go into public AI tools, in line with the privacy rules that apply to schools (such as FERPA in the US or UK GDPR). Describe the class in general terms, like 'a class of 30 struggling with fractions', which is enough for AI to help.
These prompts work in ChatGPT, Claude and similar tools. Free versions work well for planning and materials. If your school provides a tool with a clear data policy, use that one. Most important of all, review what the AI gives you.
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