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Guide for teachers · 5 jobs

AI for teachers: prepare faster, keep students' data safe

You do not need AI to write your lessons. It pays off in the work around them: versions for different readers, feedback against a rubric you trust, quizzes that tell you what to reteach. Each job below leaves the judgement with you.

  1. 01

    One text at three reading levels, one class discussion

    "Make it simpler" quietly drops the hard ideas. Fix the facts and terms every version must keep, and ask for the same questions across all levels, so the whole class discusses one text.

    Example

    A 600-word article on volcanoes for a mixed class. The fixed list is magma, tectonic plates, the 1980 eruption of Mount St Helens, and why some volcanoes explode while others flow. All three versions keep all four, and the same five questions work for every student.

    How to do it

    1. 1List the facts and terms every student must meet before you ask for anything.
    2. 2Ask for three versions with the prompt on this page. Give sentence lengths instead of grade labels.
    3. 3Check each version against your list and put back anything missing.
    4. 4In class, everyone answers the same questions from their own version.

    Prompt to copy

    Here is a text and the facts and terms every version must keep: [list].
Write three versions with about 8, 14 and 20 words per sentence. Keep every listed fact and term in all three; in the simplest version, explain each term in plain words the first time it appears.
Then write 5 questions that can be answered from any of the three versions, with the answers.

    Where it goes wrong

    • Simpler versions drop numbers and conditions first, such as "usually" or "in most cases". Check those.
    • Read the simplest version yourself. If it sounds childish, ask for an adult tone with short sentences.
  2. 02

    Test the rubric first, then draft feedback for the class

    AI feedback is only as consistent as the rubric behind it. Try the rubric on three pieces you have already marked; where the AI's marks differ from yours, fix the rubric, not the prompt.

    Example

    A persuasive-writing rubric with four bands. On three essays you already marked, the AI gives band 3 where you gave band 2 for evidence. The descriptor said "uses evidence"; rewritten as "uses at least two sourced facts that support the claim", its marks match yours.

    How to do it

    1. 1Write the rubric with a short example of work at each band.
    2. 2Give it three pieces you have already marked, without your marks, and compare its bands with yours.
    3. 3Where it differs by more than one band, rewrite that criterion until it agrees. Keep the rubric in a Claude Project so every feedback chat uses the same version.
    4. 4Remove names and anything that identifies a student before you paste work in. Edit every comment before it goes back.

    Built in

    Prompt to copy

    Use the rubric in this project. For the work below:
1. For each criterion: the band, one sentence from the work as evidence, and one concrete next step.
2. One thing the student did well, in words a student understands.
Keep the comment under 120 words. If there is no evidence for a criterion, write "no evidence" instead of guessing a band.

    Where it goes wrong

    • Marks drift to the middle band. If every piece scores the same, the rubric is too vague.
    • Praise like "great work!" teaches nothing. Every comment should point at a sentence.
  3. 03

    A quiz whose wrong answers tell you what to reteach

    The value of a multiple-choice question is in its wrong options. Make each one a specific misconception, and a student's choice tells you what to reteach, not only that they got it wrong.

    Example

    A question on why we have seasons. The wrong options are "the Earth is closer to the Sun in summer", "the Sun is hotter in summer" and "there are more clouds in winter". If a third of the class picks the first, you know how the next lesson starts.

    How to do it

    1. 1Give it the lesson and ask for questions with the prompt on this page.
    2. 2Check that every wrong option is something a student would really believe, and replace the silly ones.
    3. 3Run the quiz in the quiz tool your school uses.
    4. 4Paste back the results without names and ask which misconceptions came up most. Open the next lesson with those.

    Prompt to copy

    From this lesson, write 8 multiple-choice questions.
For each: the correct answer, and three wrong options that are each a common misconception about this topic. Name the misconception behind each wrong option.
Then one sentence of explanation that a student sees after answering.

    Where it goes wrong

    • Wrong options that are obviously wrong make the quiz easy and tell you nothing.
    • Check every answer key yourself. One wrong key undoes the lesson.
  4. 04

    Give students the lesson as audio or video to revise from

    You do not have to record yourself. Gemini Notebook turns your own lesson materials into a short audio or video recap, built only from the sources you add, so it stays on your syllabus.

    Example

    A lesson on the causes of the First World War: 25 slides and a two-page handout. The Brief turns them into a short audio recap students can play on the bus. You listen once before sharing, and regenerate it if a host adds a cause you did not teach.

    How to do it

    1. 1Create a notebook and add the lesson slides, handouts and your notes as sources.
    2. 2In the Studio panel, choose Audio Overview with the format The Brief for a short recap, or Video Overview for a narrated explainer.
    3. 3Listen or watch to the end before you share it, and note anything wrong or off-topic.
    4. 4Share it as revision next to the slides, not instead of the lesson.

    Built in

    Prompt to copy

    Using only these sources, write a one-page revision sheet for [class]: the 5 key ideas in the order of the lesson, one example for each, and 3 questions students should be able to answer after revising.

    Where it goes wrong

    • The AI hosts sometimes add examples or claims that are not in your sources. Check before you share.
    • Check your school's rules and the tool's age limits before students use it themselves.
  5. 05

    Plan a unit backwards from the assessment

    Lessons planned one at a time drift away from what you will assess. Start from the final task and what a good answer must show, and have AI build the lessons backwards, each with a quick check for understanding.

    Example

    A six-lesson unit that ends in a debate on renewable energy, judged on claim, evidence and rebuttal. Worked backwards, lesson 5 is a practice rebuttal, lesson 3 is finding evidence, and lesson 1 ends with every student writing one claim.

    How to do it

    1. 1Write the final assessment task and what a good answer must show.
    2. 2Ask for the sequence with the prompt on this page.
    3. 3Cut it to your real number of lessons and remove anything you would not teach.
    4. 4Keep the plan, the rubric and the texts for the unit in one Project, so later chats about the unit start from them.

    Prompt to copy

    Final assessment for this unit: [task]. A good answer must show: [criteria]. I have [n] lessons of [minutes] minutes.
Plan the unit backwards. For each lesson: the one thing students can do by the end, the activity that gets them there, and a 3-minute check for understanding. Name the criterion each lesson builds toward.

    Where it goes wrong

    • AI plans assume every lesson goes to plan. Keep one lesson free to catch up.
    • It does not know your class, room or timetable. Check that each activity fits them.

Rules for teachers

  • Use the tool your school approves when there is one; it may come with a contract that protects student data.
  • Remove names and anything that identifies a student before you paste their work.
  • Check every fact in AI-made material before it reaches students.
  • Tell students when material was made with AI, the same way you expect them to tell you.

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