7 AI Prompts for Educators: Transform Teaching with ChatGPT, NotebookLM, Suno AI, and More
9 minutes
As teachers, we’re always looking for ways to make our lessons more engaging and meaningful. We want to support every student, especially those falling behind or having unique challenges, but there never seems to be enough time to do it all.
At least that’s how I felt until I discovered Generative AI. It’s helped me design engaging lessons with students on a deeper level, provide tailored support, and reclaim valuable time for myself.
Curious about how it works? In this guide, I’ll share practical AI prompts and tools that can empower educators to:
- Brainstorm lesson hooks that captivate students from the start.
- Generate quizzes from teaching materials in seconds.
- Create customized activities to support struggling students or challenge advanced learners.
- Illustrate concepts with relatable examples that resonate with your class.
- Find top learning resources quickly and effortlessly.
- Engage students with creative tools, like custom podcasts and revision songs.
Tools You Can Use
| Tool | Use Case | Why It’s Useful |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT/Claude | Brainstorming lesson hooks, creating quizzes, generating activities, and crafting relatable examples. | Quickly produces creative, polished ideas, saving time while inspiring engaging lessons. |
| Perplexity/ChatGPT Search | Finding top-rated free online resources for specific topics or levels. | Compares and analyzes multiple sources to deliver reliable, curated recommendations. |
| Google NotebookLM | Turning teaching materials into engaging podcasts featuring AI-generated discussions. | Offers a dynamic, accessible alternative to traditional study formats. |
| Suno AI | Creating custom revision songs with high-quality lyrics and music in various styles. | Makes learning fun and memorable while encouraging students to revisit material. |
Now, let's discuss 7 AI prompts that can make a big difference.
1. Brainstorm Engaging Lesson Hooks
Capturing learners’ curiosity from the very start makes all the difference. I’m inspired by educators like Dr. Tatiana Erukhimova, whose physics demos, like this one showing inertia with a potato, a knife and a hammer, leaves a lasting impact.
Feeling stuck for ideas? Let AI spark your creativity and help you brainstorm!
Prompt Template
Act as an experienced and creative [subject] teacher known for designing innovative and engaging lessons.
Brainstorm 5 unique lesson hooks for a [level] class on the topic of [topic] that will captivate students’ attention and spark their curiosity.
Use a variety of approaches, such as interactive demonstrations, hands-on experiments, compelling storytelling, relatable real-world scenarios, or thought-provoking questions.
Example
Prompt
Act as an experienced and creative physics teacher known for designing innovative and engaging lessons.
Brainstorm 5 unique lesson hooks for a Grade 6 class on the topic of inertia that will captivate students’ attention and spark their curiosity.
Use a variety of approaches, such as interactive demonstrations, hands-on experiments, compelling storytelling, relatable real-world scenarios, or thought-provoking questions.
Why it works
Teachers often have limited time to plan lessons, and it may be difficult to come up with creative ideas under that time pressure. GenAI generates multiple creative and polished ideas in seconds, saving educators time while still inspiring high-quality lessons.
2. Generate A Content-Based Quiz
Tired of creating quizzes from scratch? Let GenAI handle it for you! Simply upload your teaching material, and watch as a tailored, content-based quiz is generated in seconds.
Prompt Template
Act as an experienced learning designer and create an engaging, well-structured quiz based on the content of the document I provide.
The quiz should have [multiple choice/true or false/short answer] questions and focus on assessing key concepts from the document in a clear and accessible way.
Example
Prompt
Act as an experienced learning designer and create an engaging, well-structured quiz based on the content of the document I provide.
The quiz should have multiple-choice questions and focus on assessing key concepts from the document in a clear and accessible way.
Why it works
By uploading your teaching material, the LLM gains direct access to the specific content and context that you want to focus on. This ensures that the quiz is targeted and aligned with learning objectives.
Quizziz has built-in AI quiz generation. Simply upload your documents, and it will create a gamified quiz for your students in seconds.
3. Create Material To Support Struggling Students or Challenge Quick Learners
Finding supplementary material to support struggling students or quick learners used to be a time-consuming task. Often, the material also introduces additional concepts, which further confuses the students.
This prompt addresses both those issues: the additional exercises should be aligned with your teaching material, in a fraction of the time.
Prompt Template
Act as an experienced learning designer who specializes in creating tailored activities for diverse learners.
Using the attached document as a reference, please create additional exercises that:
- [Ease struggling students into the topic/provide additional challenges for quick learners]
- Align towards the learning outcome: [learning outcome], just 1-2 steps [easier/harder]
- (Optional) Focus on the area of [subtopic]. This is what students typically struggle with and would need extra support.
Example
Prompt
Act as an experienced learning designer who specializes in creating tailored activities for diverse learners.
Using the attached document as a reference, please create additional exercises that:
- Ease struggling students into the topic
- Align towards the learning outcome: Students will be able to write a clear and cohesive paragraph describing their favorite hobby, just 1-2 steps easier
- Focus on the area of organising ideas into a logical order. This is what students typically struggle with and would need extra support
Why it works
Creating additional material tailored to your original resource ensures better alignment with your learning objectives, reducing potential confusion. You can fully customize the content using follow-up prompts to match your specific needs.
If you have a clear idea of what you’re after, consider using few-shot prompting. By providing examples to guide the model, you can generate content that’s much closer to your expectations.
4. Brainstorm Relatable Examples To Illustrate A Learning Point
Creating relatable examples is a powerful way to help students grasp challenging concepts. By connecting the learning point to their interests and everyday experiences, we make lessons not only more engaging but also more memorable.
This prompt is designed to help you come up with examples that resonate with your students while clearly illustrating the topic at hand.
Prompt Template
Act as an experienced [subject] teacher. Brainstorm examples for [Grade] students to illustrate [learning point].
In your answer:
- Use examples that would be relatable and interesting to the students
- Ensure the examples clearly illustrate the learning point
- (Optional) The class interests include [interests]
Example
Prompt
Act as an experienced science teacher. Brainstorm examples for Grade 9 students to illustrate Newton’s Third Law.
In your answer:
- Use examples that would be relatable and interesting to the students
- Ensure the examples clearly illustrate the learning point
- The class interests include cars, dogs and sports
Why it works
Complex ideas can be challenging to grasp in isolation. Relatable examples provide a bridge, turning abstract concepts into tangible scenarios that students can visualize and understand.
5. Discover the Best Learning Resources
With tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT Search, finding top-rated online resources has never been easier. Start exploring today!
Prompt Template
What are the most recommended free online resources for [level] [subject] students to learn about [topic]?
Example
Prompt
What are the most recommended free online resources for Grade 12 Maths students to learn about calculus?
Why it works
Perplexity and ChatGPT Search streamline the search process by analyzing and comparing multiple courses, reading reviews, and summarising user feedback.
They provide an at-a-glance breakdown of the best resources, detailing what makes each one unique. This not only saves you hours of manual searching but helps you get recommendations that you can trust.
Run your students through this prompt, and you’ll empower them to find resources for themselves.
6. Create A Podcast With Google NotebookLM
Google NotebookLM is an incredible tool that transforms the material you upload into an engaging podcast with two hosts chatting about the topic.
For those of us who are juggling busy schedules, this is a fantastic way to keep learning on the go, whether you’re commuting, working out, or simply multitasking.
Share the podcast with your students to make learning more dynamic and enjoyable.
Curious how it unfolded when I fed it The Prompt Report, our CEO Sander’s research paper on prompting techniques? Listen to the resulting podcast here.
Why it works
Podcasts offer a refreshing alternative to traditional homework. Instead of assigning yet another reading, why not try a podcast instead? It’s a change they’re likely to appreciate!
7. Engage Students Through Music With Suno AI
Instead of creating a revision guide, wow your students with a revision song instead! Suno AI lets you effortlessly create high-quality music with your own custom lyrics, making learning more fun and engaging for the students.
While Suno AI can generate lyrics, I recommend using Claude or ChatGPT for this. These models offer greater flexibility, allowing you to refine your lyrics with follow-up prompts and tailor them perfectly to your needs.
Prompt Template
Act as an experienced songwriter and lyricist. Create a set of song lyrics about [topic], capturing the emotions and themes associated with it. Write in the musical style of [style], incorporating its characteristic tone, rhythm, and vocabulary.
In your song, I'd like you to incorporate these ideas:
- [List ideas here]
Example
Step 1: Write the lyrics on Claude/ChatGPT with this prompt
Prompt
Act as an experienced songwriter and lyricist. Create a set of song lyrics about Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, capturing the emotions and themes associated with it. Write in the musical style of Hip Hop, incorporating its characteristic tone, rhythm, and vocabulary.
In your song, I'd like you to incorporate these ideas:
- Darwin’s theory of evolution states that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors.
- Evolution occurs through natural selection, where individuals with traits better suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce.
- Over generations, favorable traits become more common, leading to gradual changes in species.
- Variation within populations arises from random genetic mutations, some of which confer survival advantages.
- This process explains the diversity of life on Earth and the adaptation of organisms to their environments.
Step 2: Bring the lyrics to life with Suno AI
Take the generated lyrics, input the style of music you’re after, and let Suno AI work its magic.
Wondering how the song from the example prompt turned out? Take a listen here!
Why it works
Creating a custom song transforms the learning experience into something dynamic and memorable. A lively, catchy tune energizes students and breaks the monotony of standard revision.
The sense of novelty can rekindle their interest in a subject they might find challenging or dull, making them more likely to revisit the material on their own.
Final Thoughts
Generative AI is perfect for educators looking to make a bigger impact without sacrificing their well-being. By integrating these prompts and tools into your teaching, you can save time, better support your students, and focus on what truly matters: igniting a love of learning.
Excited to start using AI in your classroom or curious about crafting your own prompts? Explore our free Prompt Engineering Guide and unlock the full potential of your teaching!