Lesson planning with AI: from three hours to twenty minutes
Not by asking it to "plan me a lesson", which gives you a generic lesson unlike your class. The whole difference is what you tell it before you ask.
The first mistake nearly every teacher makes: typing "plan me a lesson on fractions" and receiving a generic lesson that matches neither their class, nor their students' level, nor the time available.
Then concluding the tool does not work. The problem is not the tool. The description was incomplete.
What it needs to know
A real lesson needs six things, and writing them takes under two minutes:
The grade and the actual level. Not the assumed level. "Year seven, but a third read at year five" changes everything.
The time. Forty-five minutes is a different lesson from ninety.
What they covered before. So it builds rather than repeats.
What they should be able to do afterwards. As an observable verb: solve, explain, compare. Not "understand".
Where they usually get stuck. This is the most valuable thing you know and nobody else does.
Your constraints. No internet, no printer, thirty students, fixed seating.
Point six is what teachers ask me about after their first attempt. Every lesson runs late, and knowing what to drop first saves the end of the period.
What to always check
Facts and figures. Especially in science and history. Never walk into a room with something you have not verified.
Local examples. Generated examples often carry a Western context. Swap them for what your students know.
Language level. Arabic output tends toward a register above the class. Simplify it.
Timing. Generated plans are always optimistic. Subtract twenty percent.
Three hours to twenty minutes, itemised
| Stage | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Lesson structure | 45 min | 5 min |
| Examples and exercises | 60 min | 5 min |
| Tiered tasks | 60 min | 5 min |
| Review and adjust | 15 min | 5 min |
The last row does not fall, and that is deliberate. Review is your work, and it is what makes the lesson yours.
In closing
The tool does not plan your lesson. It does the mechanical part. What stays with you is knowing your students, which is what made the difference in the first place.
Try this today: take tomorrow's lesson and use the full prompt above. If it takes more than twenty minutes, you probably left out the line about where they usually struggle.
Common questions
- Why does the tool give me a generic lesson?
- Because the description was incomplete. A real lesson needs the grade and actual level, the time, prior learning, an observable objective, the usual sticking point, and your room constraints.
- What should I check before class?
- Facts and figures, examples that may carry a Western context, the Arabic register which tends to run high, and the timing, which is always optimistic. Subtract twenty percent.
- Should I include student names in the prompt?
- No. Write "a student struggles with division" instead of a name. The same information arrives and the name stays with you, because this is data about minors.
- Where is the biggest real time saving?
- Tiered tasks. Preparing the same skill at three levels used to take over an hour by itself, and it is what any mixed-ability classroom needs.
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