The ChatGPT prompts for teachers below cover the planning and marking work that eats evenings: lesson plans, unit plans, rubrics, quizzes, differentiated versions of the same task, and feedback. None of them needs a student's name or any personal data, because you describe the class and its needs in general terms.
How to use these prompts
Each prompt is ready to copy into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. Replace the blanks in double braces, or keep the default after the colon: {{grade:Grade 7}} means Grade 7 unless you change it.
Three habits matter more than the exact wording:
- Give the real material. Paste the objective or standard text, the reading passage, your existing rubric. A model that has to guess your curriculum will guess confidently and sometimes wrongly.
- Describe the class, not the students. "Six students reading about two years below grade level" is useful. Names, diagnoses and behaviour notes are not, and they should not go into a chatbot.
- Ask for one thing at a time. OpenAI's ChatGPT prompting guide puts it plainly: "Tight scope usually beats a 'do everything' prompt." Plan the lesson in one prompt, then write the quiz in the next.
What should teachers never paste into an AI tool?
Personal data about students. The UK Department for Education's guidance on generative AI in education says: "It is recommended that personal data is not used in generative AI tools." In the US, student education records fall under FERPA, and your district may have rules on which AI tools are approved.
In practice:
- Remove names, ID numbers and anything identifying before you paste a piece of student work.
- Describe needs as group characteristics ("two English learners at an early stage"), not as individual profiles.
- Never paste IEP or 504 documents, health information, safeguarding notes or grades tied to a name.
- Use the account and tool your school has approved, and check its data settings.
Which prompts help plan lessons?
1. Lesson plan from an objective
The everyday planning prompt. The timing column is what turns ideas into a lesson you can actually run.
Write a lesson plan for {{grade:Grade 7}} {{subject:science}}.
Learning objective (exact text): {{objective}}
Lesson length: {{length:50 minutes}}
Class context: {{class_context:28 students, mixed attainment, 3 English learners}}
Resources available: {{resources:projector, mini whiteboards, no lab}}
Format as a table with columns: time, teacher does, students do, check for
understanding. Include a starter, direct instruction, guided practice,
independent practice and an exit check. Name two misconceptions students
often have about this topic and where in the lesson each gets addressed.
Do not invent standard codes. If something I gave you is unclear, list your
assumptions at the end.
2. Unit plan built backward from the assessment
Start from what students must show at the end, then plan the lessons that get them there.
Plan a {{weeks:3}}-week unit on {{topic}} for {{grade:Grade 9}}
{{subject:history}}, with {{lessons_per_week:4}} lessons a week.
The end-of-unit assessment is: {{assessment}}
1. List the knowledge and skills the assessment requires.
2. Order them into a lesson sequence, one line per lesson: focus, key
activity, and how I'll know students got it.
3. Mark two points in the unit for a short formative check.
4. Flag any lesson that is overloaded.
3. Explain a concept three ways
For a concept that half the class always misses. Different explanations reach different students.
Explain {{concept:equivalent fractions}} for {{grade:Grade 4}} students in
three different ways:
1. A concrete example or analogy from everyday life.
2. A visual I can draw on the board, described step by step.
3. A worked example with each step explained.
Then list the three most common misconceptions about this concept and a
quick question that would reveal each one.
4. Discussion questions that go beyond recall
Use it before a seminar, a novel study or a debate.
Write discussion questions for {{grade:Grade 10}} students about
{{text_or_topic}}.
Give 3 questions at each level: recall, interpretation, evaluation, and
connection to students' own world. Mark two that work as an opening question
for the whole class. For each evaluation question, suggest one follow-up
prompt to push a student who gives a one-line answer.
Which prompts help with rubrics and assessment?
5. Analytic rubric for an assignment
Paste the task itself so the criteria match what you actually asked for.
Write an analytic rubric for this {{grade:Grade 8}} assignment:
{{assignment}}
Criteria: {{criteria:argument, use of evidence, organisation, language}}
Levels: {{levels:4 (beginning, developing, secure, exceeding)}}
For each cell, describe observable features of the work, not vague words
like "good" or "excellent". Keep each cell under 30 words. Then write a
student-friendly version of the rubric in "I can" statements.
6. Quiz with misconception-based distractors
Wrong options built from real misconceptions tell you why a student got it wrong, not just that they did.
Write a {{count:10}}-question multiple-choice quiz on {{topic}} for
{{grade:Grade 6}}, based only on this content:
{{content}}
Each question has four options. Every wrong option should reflect a specific
misconception, and the answer key should name that misconception. Mix recall
and application questions. Avoid "all of the above" and trick wording.
7. Exit tickets for a lesson
A two-minute check at the end of class shapes tomorrow's lesson.
Write three different exit tickets for a lesson on {{topic}} for
{{grade:Grade 5}}. Objective: {{objective}}
Each ticket has 2 or 3 questions and takes under 3 minutes. For each, tell
me what answers would mean "ready to move on", "needs a quick reteach" and
"needs a different approach", so I can sort responses fast.
Which prompts help differentiate?
8. One text at three reading levels
The same content at different levels lets everyone join the same discussion.
Rewrite this text at three reading levels for a {{grade:Grade 7}} class:
1. Accessible: shorter sentences, key vocabulary defined in context.
2. On grade level.
3. Stretch: richer vocabulary and one extra idea to think about.
Keep the same key facts and ideas in all three, so students can discuss them
together. After each version, list the five key vocabulary words.
Text:
{{text}}
9. Scaffolds for one task
Built around the three groups in CAST's Universal Design for Learning Guidelines: multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression.
Here is a task for {{grade:Grade 8}} {{subject:English}}:
{{task}}
The class includes {{needs:students who struggle to start writing, two early-stage English learners, and several who finish fast}}.
Suggest scaffolds in three groups:
1. Ways to make the task engaging and relevant.
2. Different ways to present the information (visual, worked example,
glossary, sentence starters).
3. Different ways students could show what they learned.
Keep the learning objective the same for everyone. Mark which scaffolds take
under 10 minutes to prepare.
10. Extension tasks for fast finishers
Better than "read a book quietly", and it keeps them on the same topic.
Write three extension tasks for students who finish early on a lesson about
{{topic}} for {{grade:Grade 6}}. Each should deepen the same objective, not
add new content, take 10 to 15 minutes, and need no extra help from me.
Include a one-line instruction students can read on their own.
Which prompts help with feedback?
11. Draft feedback on anonymized work
Remove the student's name and any identifying details before pasting. The grade stays your call.
Here is a rubric and an anonymized piece of {{grade:Grade 9}} student work.
Draft feedback I can edit.
Rubric:
{{rubric}}
Work:
{{work}}
Give: two specific strengths with a quote from the work for each, one or two
next steps written as actions the student can take, and one question that
pushes their thinking. Do not assign a grade. Write in a warm, direct tone a
{{grade:Grade 9}} student will understand.
12. Comment bank for common issues
For a stack of essays with the same five problems.
I'm marking {{count:30}} {{assignment_type:persuasive essays}} for
{{grade:Grade 8}}. The most common issues are:
{{issues}}
For each issue, write three feedback comments of increasing detail: a short
nudge, a fuller explanation, and one with a mini example of how to fix it.
Each comment should name a next step, not just the problem.
13. Critique my lesson plan
Use the model as a second pair of eyes before you teach.
Review this lesson plan as an experienced {{subject:maths}} teacher would.
{{lesson_plan}}
Check: does every activity serve the objective, is the timing realistic for
{{length:50 minutes}}, where will students likely get stuck, and is there a
point where I check understanding before moving on? List the three changes
that would help most, in order. Don't rewrite the whole plan.
14. Family newsletter with no personal details
Class-level news only, no individual students.
Write a short newsletter to families of my {{grade:Grade 3}} class about
{{topics:what we learned this month and what's coming next}}.
Under 250 words, plain language, friendly but not cute. Include one thing
families could ask their child about at home. Do not mention any individual
student. Reading level suitable for families who may be reading in a second
language.
How do you check what the AI gives you?
Read everything before it reaches students. The same DfE guidance states that "Any content produced requires critical judgement to check for appropriateness and accuracy." Models can state wrong facts fluently, invent standard codes, and misjudge how long an activity takes.
A quick check list:
- Verify every fact, date, formula and quotation against a source you trust.
- Do every quiz question yourself and confirm the answer key.
- Check reading levels by reading the text aloud, not by trusting a label.
- Make sure examples and names in generated content are inclusive and culturally appropriate for your class.
For wider context on AI in classrooms, UNESCO's guidance for generative AI in education and research covers policy questions like protecting data privacy and setting an age limit for independent conversations with generative AI platforms.
Keep the prompts that work
Once a lesson plan prompt fits your style, save it with your grade and subject as defaults so you only fill in the objective each time. If you plan in Claude Code or Codex, the SKILL.md generator turns a prompt into a skill. For slides that go with your lessons, see the presentation prompts.
Kipt keeps prompts like these as Markdown files in a private GitHub repo you own. Blanks like {{grade}} stay fillable, tags group them by subject, and ⌘K finds the rubric prompt when you need it.