56 game-changing AI prompts for teachers for 2026

In a perfect world, every educator would have their own assistant — or even a team. After all, teachers don’t just teach. You’re also a classroom manager, an instructional designer, a writer, and a coach, among other roles. While your institution probably doesn't have the budget to hire people to fill all those roles, you can fill them yourself with this robust list of AI prompts for teachers. 

AI prompts are questions or directives from a user to an AI tool specifying the type of information you want (specific answers, hypothetical situations, strategies, ideas, and more) and what you hope to accomplish. The right prompt can take work off your hands and transform your classroom.

This guide to prompt creation and detailed AI for education prompt library will set you and your students up for success, starting today.

Table of contents

1. Lesson planning prompts
2. Educational materials prompts
3. Student engagement prompts
4. Differentiated instruction prompts
5. Assessment prompts
6. Feedback and grading prompts
7. Classroom management prompts
8. Communication prompts

Lesson planning prompts

Lesson plans are the foundation of your job as an educator but factoring in the need for clear objectives, reasonable schedules, and unique plans to keep even the most reluctant students engaged can make your head spin. 

1. Build a lesson plan and schedule

Teachers and professors can use AI to help build a lesson plan and schedule when they’re stuck. Be specific about your desired topic and student expectations.

Prompt: Think like a [grade or university level] teacher and design a lesson plan to teach students about [topic]. Include at least [number] ideas and focus on [specific topics]. Include the ideal schedule to roll out the lesson plan.

2. Create learning objectives for your next unit

AI teaching prompts can also help you narrow down the exact objectives for your lesson plans — and bring your ideas across the finish line. This prompt hones in on these learning objectives; you can even customize it to your state’s or university’s educational guidelines.

Prompt: Please list detailed learning objectives for the [grade or university level] and how they should be measured for a unit on [topic]. 

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Provide specific objectives in line with [State’s or university’s] educational guidelines.

3. Draft instructions for assignments

Save time on creating assignments by putting some of the administrative burden on AI. This prompt can create robust assignment guidelines for your students. 

Prompt: Write detailed instructions for an assignment on [topic] for [grade or university level] students. Include the requirements, the exact steps to follow to complete the assignment, and any specific formatting or length expectations.

4. Plan a project-based activity

Plenty of students learn better by doing, so project-based activities can greatly impact your class. This prompt can even give you step-by-step instructions as well as assessment criteria.

Prompt: Develop a project-based activity to help [grade or university level] students learn about [topic]. Include the project details, required steps, goals and objectives, and resources needed.

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Provide instructions for assessing and grading the project.

5. Generate practice math problems

Have you exhausted your old math worksheets and need something to challenge your classroom? You don’t have to come up with math problems on the fly. Instead, simply throw it to your AI tool. Ask for an answer key so you don’t have to spend time solving each problem on your own.

Prompt: Generate practice math problems for [grade or university level] students, focusing on [math concept/lesson]. Provide problems with varying difficulty levels and include an answer key.

6. Create a list of vocab words

Coming up with a useful list of vocabulary words can feel arduous (great vocab word, right?). The good news is that it doesn’t have to. This AI prompt can create a list of vocabulary words for your grade level — you can even ask for the list to relate to a specific lesson plan. 

Prompt: Create a vocabulary list relevant to the [grade level] students. 

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Make the list of vocabulary words relevant to [topic].

7. Designate a word of the day

Select a word of the day to keep vocabulary knowledge fresh. Instead of wracking your brain or spending money on expensive word-of-the-day calendars, prompt AI to do it for you. You can even set yourself up for the whole school year with a word for every day.

Prompt: Designate a word of the day to be studied by [grade level] students. Include the definition and instructions for using the word in a sentence.

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Give me a word of the day for all [#] days of the school year. 

Educational materials prompts

Hoping to inject excitement and creativity into your classroom but feeling stuck relying on the same old textbooks, worksheets, and past project materials? Or are you feeling held back with a low budget that doesn't allow for new materials? Beyond implementing the best presentation tools, AI prompts can help teachers level up educational materials. 

8. Create a presentation for your next lesson

Bolster lesson presentations by asking AI to craft an engaging presentation. Just note the age group, topic, and the overall lesson you want to convey. To make it even stronger, ask for interactive elements.

Prompt: Create a presentation for a lesson on [topic] for [grade or university level] students. Include suggestions for slides, important points to cover, and multimedia elements to enhance the presentation. 

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Add interactive elements, questions, and activities to encourage student participation.

9. Build a study guide

Prompting an AI tool to design a study guide for your grade level, topic, and other details can help support your students’ study habits. You can also ask the chatbot practice questions.

Prompt: Create a study guide to help [grade level] students prepare for an exam on [topic]. Summarize key concepts, include important terms, and add a few practice questions and answers.

10. Brainstorm unique worksheet ideas

Worksheets don’t have to be boring! If you’re struggling to create an interesting worksheet about multiplication tables or diagramming sentences, ask AI for help. Chances are you’ll uncover some creative ideas.

Prompt: Create unique worksheet ideas for a [grade level] class learning about [topic]. 

11. Find ways to incorporate multimedia elements

There is no shortage of media and technology available to teachers, but how do you decide what to incorporate in your lessons? This AI prompt can help you develop ways to incorporate multimedia, like video or images, into your lesson plans.

Prompt: Suggest ways to incorporate multimedia elements (such as video or images) into a lesson on [topic] for [grade or university level]. 

12. Proofread materials for grammar, spelling, and punctuation

You teach your students to check their work, but sometimes, it’s easy to miss your own errors. When you don’t have someone else to proofread your work, use AI. You can even ask it to rewrite or improve your content. 

Prompt: Proofread the following text for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. Suggest improvements to improve the clarity and concision of the content. 

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Rewrite any incorrect or confusing sentences.

Student engagement prompts

A strong student engagement strategy considers how we can teach classrooms of diverse students who all learn in their own ways. That doesn’t mean it’s always easy! What engages one student might make another want to crawl under their desk, so you’ve got to be ready with unique prompts to increase participation. 

Using these engagement-related AI for education prompts will help you encourage students to actively participate in their learning. 

13. Come up with unique icebreaker ideas

A cohesive classroom requires everyone to get to know each other. Even in large lecture halls, helping a few students connect can help them create study groups later on. Asking AI to share unique icebreakers can save time and help come up with ideas tailored to your class size and age. These can be general icebreakers for a certain grade university level or more complex icebreakers related to a specific topic.

Prompt: Provide unique icebreaker activities to help a class of [grade or university level] students with a class size of [size] share about themselves and get to know each other.

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Provide icebreakers related to [specific topic].

14. Set up a role-playing activity

Even older students can still play pretend — and learn from it! Ask AI to come up with role-playing activities that relate to a topic. Request tips to keep even the shyest students engaged.

Prompt: Create a role-playing activity to help [grade or university level] students learn more about [topic]. Include the scenarios, roles, and objectives for the activity. 

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Suggest strategies to ensure each student is engaged and comfortable during the role-play.

15. Generate discussion questions

Get your students chatting about the latest seminar, unit, or lesson by gathering a list of discussion questions from AI. It’ll transform your run-of-the-mill recap into an engaging conversation. 

Prompt: Make a list of engaging discussion questions related to [topic] for students in [grade or university level]. Questions should encourage critical thinking and reflection.

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Add follow-up questions to deepen the discussion or consider new perspectives.

16. Ideate creative team assignments

They say teamwork makes the dream work, but creating strong team assignments is also a lot of work! This prompt makes AI a part of your team and helps you generate creative group assignments. 

Prompt: Suggest creative or unique team assignments on [topic] for [grade or university level], including how students should collaborate. Also, detail the expected outcomes of each assignment.

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Provide ways to assess individual and group contributions to ensure fair grading.

17. Generate scavenger hunt ideas

Don't waste time searching for unique scavenger hunt ideas. Ask AI instead! 

Prompt: Create a list of clues for a [topic]-related scavenger hunt for [grade or university level] students. 

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Include both physical and digital ideas.

18. Plan a virtual field trip

A virtual field trip may not have quite the allure of an in-person one, but it can still be an exciting learning opportunity. Ask AI to plan all the details.

Prompt: Plan a virtual field trip to help [grade or university level] students learn about [topic]. Share links to resources, activities, and reflection questions.

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Suggest interactive elements to make the experience more engaging. 

19. Suggest ideas for gamification

Who doesn't love a game? Even better if it's educational! Ask your AI tool to find ways to gamify a particular lesson.  

Prompt: Suggest ways to gamify a lesson in [topic] for [grade or university level]students. Include activities, scoring systems, and incentives to encourage learning.

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Detail how each of these ideas furthers knowledge.

20. Brainstorm ways to incorporate technology

Whatever your subject, you probably want to incorporate technology in some way. But if you're stuck on how then this prompt can get you started.

Prompt: Suggest ideas to incorporate technology into a [grade or university level]lesson on [topic].

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Offer suggestions that are free or low-cost and easy for both students and educators to access.

Differentiated instruction

Every student learns differently, and as an educator, you want to meet each one where they are. But with limited time and budget, that's not always as simple as it should be.

There's no substitute for a strong relationship that helps you truly know each student, but leveraging AI can help you provide unique instruction for an inclusive classroom.

21. Create tiered activities for different student levels

Ask AI to list tiered activities so every student — those who excel, those who struggle, and everyone in between — gets work that challenges them and helps them succeed.

Prompt: Develop a list of tiered activities related to [topic] for [grade or university level] students of various skill levels. Add modifications for each level and detail how they align with learning objectives.

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Provide guidance on fair and effective assessment of each level.

22. Develop personalized learning plans

AI can help develop a personalized strategy based on a student’s needs. Simply share the basic details, and you'll get a great starting point.

Prompt: Design a personalized learning plan for a [grade or university level] student with [specific needs] student studying [topic]. Include specific strategies, resources, and support to enhance progress. 

23. Generate self-paced assignments

Some students work best on their own time and at their own pace. This is especially crucial at the college or university level. Offer self-paced assignments with this prompt to support those learners and help others develop self-motivation.

Prompt: Develop self-paced assignments for a [grade or university level] lesson about [topic]. Include instructions, goals, and assessment methods. 

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Provide best practices for tracking students' progress with self-paced work.

24. Create relatable examples to go with tough lessons

Sometimes, a lesson can only really be understood when it's applied to real life. Make your tough lessons more impactful by finding real-world examples your students can relate to.

Prompt: Create real-world, relatable examples to help [grade or university level] students better understand a lesson on [topic]. 

25. Brainstorm ways for parents to support students at home

Students benefit from a supportive family, but it’s not always second nature for parents and guardians to know how to best support their students. Help them out by using this prompt to identify opportunities. 

Prompt: Provide a list of ways parents can support their [grade level] children at home. Include specific activities, resources, or discussion topics to reinforce learning about [topic]. 

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Add suggestions that are tailored to parents with limited time or resources.

Assessment

Staying on top of students’ knowledge is a necessary but time-consuming part of teaching: you have to ensure assessments are objective, free from bias, and appropriate for various student needs. Skip assessment tools with these AI prompts that help you design and grade different types of assessments.

26. Generate quizzes that align with learning objectives

It’s not always easy to figure out the right quiz questions to test your students’ knowledge. Luckily, you don't have to quiz yourself to find the right ones! Just ask AI to brainstorm a quiz for you in whatever format you’d like.

Prompt: Create a quiz for [grade or university level] students on [topic] that aligns with [learning objectives]. Include multiple-choice, true or false, and short-answer questions. 

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Explain how each question aligns with the learning objectives.

27. Create a grading rubric

Create an objective rubric based on your specifications to make grading fair and equitable.

Prompt: Develop a rubric to grade a [grade or university level] assignment on [topic]. Include details of each section's criteria, weight, and performance level. 

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Offer ways to adapt the rubric to be more strict or lenient.

28. Generate writing prompts to test understanding

Writing is an important skill on its own, but it’s also a way for students to test their understanding of a given topic. Let AI produce writing prompts in minutes rather than spending hours writing prompts yourself.

Prompt: Design multiple writing prompts to test [grade or university level] students' understanding of [topic].

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Provide suggestions or starters to help students organize their thoughts.

29. Ideate performance-based assessments

For a more engaging way to assess students’ knowledge, just ask AI for performance-based assessments on your chosen topic.

Prompt: Design a performance-based assessment for [topic] in [grade or university level]. Outline the steps, goals, and evaluation criteria.

30. Come up with alternative assessments

It can be tricky to find the right alternatives when you need to pivot to meet students’ needs. If you want to create an alternative to a traditional test or quiz, prompt AI to generate some ideas. 

Prompt: Suggest alternatives to traditional tests or quizzes to assess [grade level] students' knowledge of [topic]. 

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Provide guidelines for fair assessment of these alternative assignments.

31. Generate self-reflection prompts for students

Give students a list of prompts that help them reflect on their own knowledge and areas of improvement. This prompt will generate self-reflection prompts so students can think through their knowledge and progress.

Prompt: Provide prompts to help [grade or university level] students reflect on their knowledge, progress, and challenges with [topic]. 

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Add tips to help students set future goals based on their self-reflections.

32. Create fun group check-in games

Classroom games can be a great way to keep everyone engaged and having fun. And if you want to use games to test your students’ knowledge of a recent lesson, this prompt can help. 

Prompt: Suggest fun group check-in games to enhance community in the classroom and gauge students' knowledge of [topic or lesson]. Make sure they are appropriate for students in [grade or university level] 

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Provide a rubric to track students' knowledge of [topic].

Feedback and grading

Sharing feedback with students helps them know what they’re doing well, where they can improve, and how they’re progressing against learning objectives. Doing it right means taking the time to provide specific and individualized feedback for each student. To do this well and save time, try the following AI prompts.

33. Provide personalized feedback

While you should still review students’ work yourself, AI can provide a second set of eyes and make sure your feedback is specific and personalized to each student.

Prompt: Draft specific feedback for a [grade or university level] student on their [topic] project, highlighting their strengths, including [strengths], and their areas for improvement, including [areas for improvement]. 

34. Automate grading for multiple-choice assignments

Tired of spending hours grading multiple-choice tests that you know a machine could grade? That’s great because a machine can indeed help! This prompt will get you started.

Prompt: Develop an automated grading system for a multiple-choice assignment where each question has one correct answer. Include a rubric assigning points for each correct answer and calculate the total score

35. Identify patterns in student responses and errors

Glean insight into patterns across student answers and mistakes. Ask AI to assess the information and provide the patterns, then ask for suggestions to address any major issues.

Prompt: Assess this set of student responses to an assignment and identify common patterns and errors. Provide insight into areas where students struggled the most and suggest strategies to address these challenges.

36. Improve constructive feedback for students

Make your feedback shine by running it through your AI tool. Copy your feedback and request suggestions to make it more helpful and impactful.

Prompt: Review the below feedback and provide suggestions to make it more constructive and beneficial. [Insert feedback] 

37. Create guidelines and questions for peer review

Engage students by having them review each other’s work and offer feedback. Make it easier by using this prompt to generate guidelines and ideas for effective peer review.

Prompt: Develop guidelines and questions for a peer review process to help [grade or university level] students constructively evaluate each other's work. 

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Include examples of strong peer feedback. 

Classroom management

Teaching isn’t just standing in the front of the class lecturing. A big part of your job is actually managing your classroom, from designating rules about noise and behavior to organizing a seating chart to overseeing supply inventory. Although you may not need many guidelines at the university level, establishing clear late assignment and grading policies can help establish expectations early on.  Luckily, you can leverage AI as an assistant to help with these organizational duties.

38. Create a list of rules for your classroom

Some may say rules are meant to be broken, but even if that’s true, no one can break a rule without knowing it first. Using this prompt, create grade-appropriate classroom rules and grow a classroom of good citizens. 

Prompt: Generate a list of classroom rules for a [grade or university level] class. Focus on rules that create a positive, respectful, and productive learning environment and include consequences for breaking them. 

39. Generate a seating chart

Designing and updating classroom seating charts is like playing a never-ending game of Tetris. Whether you keep your classroom in the same seats year-round or switch it up, use this AI prompt to generate seating charts.

Prompt: Generate a seating chart for a classroom of [#] [grade or university level] students. Ensure accessibility, teacher visibility, and student collaboration. 

40. Create a class schedule

Save time running your classroom by asking AI to create a class schedule. Simply input the hours in the day, required breaks, and how much time you need for each subject.

Prompt: Design a detailed class schedule for [grade or university level]. Base it upon an [X]-hour [day or class time], with breaks for [recess/lunch/etc.]. Include dedicated time for subjects such as [math/English/social studies/etc.]. 

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Create an amended schedule for early-release days ([X hours]). 

41. Create a rewards system for your class

Reward your students for a job well done or recognize them for good behavior with this prompt. 

Prompt: Design a rewards system for [grade or university level] students, including suggested rewards, how to earn them, and how to ensure fairness.

42. Develop ideas to transition between activities

Moving from one task to the next can distract even the most engaged students. Ask AI to provide suggestions for easier transitions.

Prompt: List ideas to effectively transition between [grade or university level] classroom activities, minimizing downtime and keeping students engaged and focused.

43. Build a system for managing classroom supplies

Inventory management is one of the many jobs on a teacher’s plate. While AI can’t help you with the physical procurement or organization of supplies, it can design a system to help things run smoothly.

Prompt: Build a process for classroom supply management that ensures supplies are available, well-maintained, and distributed efficiently. Include a plan for inventory management, restocking, organization, and budget.

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Make a list of the required supplies and an expected maintenance/resupply cadence. 

44. Create a late assignment policy

No teacher wants to spend time frantically grading late assignments. Nip that in the bud with a comprehensive late assignment policy. Ask AI to draft an age-appropriate policy to share with your class.

Prompt: Create a policy regarding consequences for late assignments, including what constitutes lateness, how the student’s grade will be impacted, and overall expectations. Make sure it is a reasonable policy for [grade or university level].

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Write a message introducing this policy to students and parents and explaining its purpose.

45. Generate a behavior improvement plan for a student

Use this AI prompt to get a start on a behavior improvement plan to support a struggling student.

Prompt: Create a behavior improvement plan for a student in [grade level] struggling with behavior such as [behaviors]. Include goals, strategies, resources, and evaluation criteria. 

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Draft a message to the student and parents explaining the plan.

Communication

Teachers must effectively communicate with students, other teachers, administrators, parents, and more — sometimes all in a single day! For professors, there is often even more communication required, including alumni, industry professionals speaking in class, and to any boards or committees they sit on. Streamline your communication with AI prompts to respond to questions, create progress reports, share feedback, and disseminate information. 

46. Draft responses to parent questions

Reply to parent questions quickly and efficiently by sharing their questions with AI and requesting a draft response.

Prompt: A parent has reached out with a question about [topic]. Draft a response to answer their question.

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Provide additional resources that may assist the parent.

47. Generate student progress reports

Use this prompt to provide detailed reports on students’ progress. 

Prompt: Generate a progress report to share insight into students’ academic achievements, knowledge, and grades.

48. Share feedback with parents

You want parents to actively participate in their children’s education, so you need to keep them informed about their students. Ask AI to take a first pass at drafting parent feedback. 

Prompt: Draft an update to parents about their child’s learning progress, achievements, and classroom behavior.

49. Communicate upcoming events to parents and students

Keep parents and students informed about upcoming events like field trips or parent-teacher conferences. Prompt AI with the relevant details and let it draft your messaging.

Prompt: Draft an update to parents and students describing [upcoming event], including day and time, expectations, requirements, and objectives.

50. Create agendas for parent-teacher conferences

Parent-teacher conference season is critical, but structuring the meetings isn’t always easy. Ask AI to create a basic agenda for the specific meeting length and include any crucial topics.

Prompt: Create an agenda for [grade level] parent-teacher conferences, allowing 30 minutes of discussion time. Include topics like [insert topics].

51. Generate a parent newsletter

If you want to stay in touch with parents but don’t have time to compose a detailed newsletter each month, ask AI to provide a list of topics, create newsletter templates, or fill templates with your chosen information. 

Prompt: Draft a parent newsletter that provides updates and information for the upcoming [time period]. Include the following information:

[Insert information to include]

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Provide a list of topics to include in future newsletters.

52. Draft unit or project explanations for students and parents

Have AI create an explanation of an upcoming unit or project that can be shared with students and parents to keep everyone on the same page.

Prompt: Write a unit or project explanation for students and parents detailing the topic and a summary of what students will learn, how the project will be conducted, how students will be assessed, and timelines.

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Suggest ideas for parents to support their child.

53. Draft recommendation letters for students

Recommendation letters should be individualized and personal, you can use the below prompt to get started. Even better, consider asking AI to create a recommendation letter template you can fill in for future requests.

Prompt: Write a [length] recommendation letter for a student for [purpose]. Include [relevant information].

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Create a template recommendation letter that can be modified for each student.

54. Translate communication

If you work with a diverse population, you may need translation or interpretation. If you don’t have superhuman language powers, use this prompt to translate between languages. 

Prompt: Translate the below message from [language] to [language].

55. Create email templates to respond to admin or colleagues

Share an email to which you’d like to respond and have AI draft a reply or request reusable templates for frequent email types.

Prompt: Draft an email in response to the below message. Include [relevant information].

[Copy initial email here]

Follow-up prompt (only included if relevant): Provide a generic template for this type of email for future use.

56. Create agendas for committee meetings

Create clear agendas to ensure everyone has a chance to share their thoughts while also dedicating enough time to cover each topic.

Prompt: Create an agenda for [committee focus] advisory meeting that lasts [#] minutes. Include enough time to cover the following topics [insert topics].

Benefits of using efficient AI prompts

The best AI prompts for teachers have several benefits. They can take work off your plate, which will save you time, and help you improve class engagement, personalize lesson plans, and improve communication. Take a look at some of the ways AI benefits educators:

Saves time: Using high-quality prompts lets you avoid repeatedly generating information and prompting AI over and over.

• Helps create better lesson plans: Get more creative lesson plans that encourage better participation and engagement.
• Tailors learning to students: Let AI customize lesson plans and curricula to individual student needs. 
• Improves communication: Straightforward prompts help AI draft communication and correspondence that help you get your point across.

How to create great AI prompts for education

Knowing the benefits of quality AI prompts is half the battle, but to be successful you also need to know how to create them. As AI continues to evolve, best practices for prompt creation may change, too. For now, here are some things to keep in mind: 

• Be clear on the objective and context: AI can only work with what you give it, so clearly state what you want it to do and give it any context it may need.
• Iterate as needed: Make changes based on the outputs you receive. Modifying prompts over time can also be helpful to keep ideas fresh.
• Try role-based prompts: Consider telling your AI tool to think like a [grade level] teacher or another relevant persona.
• Input important details: Do you need a response in a specific format? Do you want to limit your request to real-life examples? Let AI know.
• Give it a once-over: AI isn’t perfect, and it can make mistakes or provide incorrect information. It’s important to review the outputs for your prompt and update them if you get misinformation. 
• Stay up to date: As AI is constantly evolving, so too should your knowledge. Keep abreast of trends and changes. 
• Get to know your platform’s security: Whichever platform you choose, familiarize yourself with its data use and privacy policies to make sure you don’t accidentally provide more information than you’re comfortable with. 

Engage students and elevate learning with Mentimeter

There’s plenty to learn about crafting high-quality AI prompts as AI continues to improve. To create the best ChatGPT prompts for teachers (or prompts for your classroom-focused AI tool of choice), focus on providing objective, specific information and detailed context. Remember to check for errors and iterate as needed. 

The stronger your prompt, the better information you’ll receive — and the more time you’ll save from your busy teaching schedule. And the more specific your prompt, the more personalized instruction and feedback you can offer your students. 

If you’re ready to dive into using AI prompts, check out Mentimeter’s education tools today.