I’m excited to be starting a new semester this week, like millions of other teachers. As a resource for my fellow educators, I’m updating a piece I wrote for The 74, the nonprofit education news site.
The average K-12 teacher works 49 hours a week. About a quarter of that time is uncompensated. In higher ed, adjuncts make up about 40% of the faculty workforce. At many institutions, time spent on course prep and administrative tasks is unpaid. Most teachers I know didn’t become educators to spend evenings generating quiz questions, rewriting instructions, or filling out administrative paperwork.
AI assistants like Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini won’t change these realities. But when you’re overwhelmed, they can help streamline tedious tasks. They can free up energy for what only a human teacher can do. When used thoughtfully, these tools can actually push us to be more creative. They can help us overcome teaching ruts, nudging us to revitalize how we show up in the classroom.
A 60-second guide to prompting
The first step to making the most of AI is understanding how to use prompts. A prompt is a natural-language instruction to an AI assistant. It doesn’t have to include technical or formal language. You don’t even have to use full sentences.
Prompts work with any AI assistant. Use free private AI chatbots, like Proton’s Lumo or Duck AI. Or download AI apps that run on your laptop without touching the Internet, like Jan, which I tested and recommend. Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT also work well. Whatever you have access to will work.
As the teacher, you guide an AI assistant with relevant context. Prompts work best when they include specifics. Generic prompts yield generic responses.
It helps to iterate on AI output with follow-up prompts. Ask for more specificity or detail. Adapt the response for your students. Don’t use it as is. Part of retaining your agency in the process is making sure you build on whatever outputs an assistant generates. You’re the director. It’s much like adopting an open educational resource. The advantage, though, is that this material will be more tailored to your students and teaching approach.
Knowing how to use prompts effectively can mean the difference between AI that’s actually helpful and AI that’s gimmicky. The prompts below offer a creative boost. Each illustrates a practical way to use AI in support of thoughtful, pedagogically sound teaching. You don’t need any special technical skills. You don’t need paid AI subscriptions. Customize them to suit your subject matter and your approach to teaching.
Try my new free Teaching Prompt Assistant. Give it your goal and it’ll guide you quickly to a draft prompt.
Start with a project
If you want to use prompts more efficiently, first create a project in Claude or ChatGPT, or a Gemini Notebook. Think of this as a folder where you provide context about your class that an AI assistant can reference when you ask for support. You can upload past materials, syllabi, lesson plans, curriculum guidelines, Common Core State Standards, or whatever else is relevant for your teaching.
You can also add detailed instructions to the project explaining how you’d like the AI to assist you. You’re teaching it your preferences. Once you set up a project, you won’t have to repeatedly type in the same context.
The Prompt Collection
1. The Bell Ringer
Start class with a spark
The first five minutes of class set the tone for everything that follows. A short, well-designed opening activity can draw students in. Engaging openers are especially valuable on Mondays, after vacations, or when you’re pivoting to a new topic. The challenge is coming up with fresh ones regularly.
Goal: Generate five quick options for activities you can use at the start of a class session, adapted for your subject and your students.
Prompt: “I teach [subject x] to students in [grade level x]. We’re studying [specific topic xyz]. Generate five activities I can adapt to start a [xx] minute class. Each should take no more than [x] minutes, require no materials, and either activate prior knowledge or help students reflect on what they’ve just learned. Include one that’s discussion-based, one that’s written and one that’s a game or visual/creative task. [Or adapt these examples to reflect your subject matter. For example, one of the options could be a logic puzzle or an artistic challenge].”
Tip: Be as detailed as possible about your preferences. Include a sentence about your teaching style and context about your students. No need to make it formal.
See an example of a Bell Ringer Prompt
2. The Real-World Hook
Answer “Why does this matter?” before students even ask
When you’re overwhelmed by administrative meetings, multiple preps, and paperwork, it can be hard to give extra attention to helping students relate to a new unit. This prompt helps you brainstorm connections to contemporary music, art, film, TV, cultural trends or other subjects of interest to students.
Goal: Generate five ways to show your students how the topic you’re teaching is relevant to their lives, each with a two-sentence hook you can use to open discussion.
Prompt: “I’m about to begin a unit on [x topic] with [grade level x] students. [Provide a sentence of additional context and a few additional details about your students’ interests]. Generate five ways to connect this material to something students are likely to relate to. This can include sports, the arts, social media trends, pop culture, music or other contemporary issues. For each connection, suggest a two-sentence hook I can adapt to help jumpstart a class discussion.”
See an example of a Real-World Hook Prompt
3. The Bad Example Generator
Turn common mistakes into learning opportunities
Showing students examples of mistakes can help them avoid those pitfalls. But you can’t embarrass students by showing examples of their weakest work. Fortunately, AI assistants are excellent example generators. They can come up with nearly any kind of error you specify. No need to spend hours creating intentionally bad work.
Adapt this prompt to include any kind of error you want your students to avoid. These can include experimental design mishaps in science or mangled math formulas. If you’re teaching essay writing, showcase logical fallacies or ad hominem arguments.
Here’s an example of a table of common writing traps I generated.
Goal: Produce five realistic examples of a specific error type, unlabeled, so students can identify, discuss and learn from the flaws.
Prompt: “I’m teaching [x subject/topic] to [grade level x] students. [Provide an additional sentence of specific context about your class, the learning goals you’re focusing on, and/or the lesson you’re preparing.] Generate five examples of paragraphs with [ad hominem arguments / circular reasoning / weak thesis statements / misleading use of statistics / or pick any other weakness] related to [x topic]. Make sure each example is realistic. These should be the kinds of errors students at this grade level might actually make. Don’t label what’s wrong. I’ll use these for a class activity where students identify and explain the flaws themselves.”
Tip: You can also task the AI with annotating or explaining these errors to help you walk students methodically through these common flaws.
* See how a specific teacher might use the Bad Example Generator
* Try my free “Wrong On Purpose” tool to generate examples of what to avoid that you can tailor for your class. (Requires a free Claude account)
4. The Scaffolding Prompt
Make instructions clear for every student
Complex instructions often trip up students. Simplifying language can help, along with breaking guidance into smaller steps. This prompt helps you clarify instructions for an existing assignment, handout, or any other activity. It’s particularly useful if you have students with learning differences or if your class has a wide range of readiness levels.
Goal: Reframe a handout or assignment so it’s clearer and more accessible, especially for stu…
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wondertools.substack.com/subscribe
More episodes from "Wonder Tools"
Don't miss an episode of “Wonder Tools” and subscribe to it in the GetPodcast app.
