These are 18 AI prompts for teachers that I would actually keep in a doc and reuse every week: lesson plans, quizzes, accommodations, feedback, parent emails and sub plans. Each one comes with when to use it and the text ready to copy. Replace what is in [BRACKETS] with your details. Three of them include the real output, so you can see what to expect before you try.
The formula behind every prompt here
Every prompt that works for a teacher has the same four parts. Once you see them, you can write your own:
- Role: who the AI is pretending to be ("an experienced 8th-grade science teacher").
- Context: grade, standard, time, what your class already knows and what usually goes wrong.
- Format: exactly what you want back (a table, five questions with answers, four sentences).
- Limits: what it must not do ("do not invent standard codes", "solve every problem").
The fourth part is the one most teachers skip, and it is the one that saves you from wrong answer keys and invented sources.
Before class: planning
1. Lesson plan aligned to a state standard
When to use it: any new lesson. Paste the standard text, not just the code, if your state does not use Common Core numbering.
You are an experienced [GRADE] [SUBJECT] teacher in a US public school. Write a [LENGTH]-minute lesson plan for this standard: [STANDARD CODE AND FULL TEXT].
Class context: [NUMBER] students; they already know [PRIOR KNOWLEDGE]; the most common mistake is [MISCONCEPTION].
Include: learning target in student language ("I can..."), a 5-minute Do Now with answers, direct instruction with one worked example, partner practice with answers, a 2-question exit ticket that reveals the misconception, and notes for early finishers and students who need support.
Do not invent any other standard codes. Solve every problem and show the answer.
2. Unit plan for a grading period
When to use it: at the start of a quarter or a new unit, to see the whole thing before planning day by day.
Plan a [NUMBER]-week unit on [TOPIC] for [GRADE] [SUBJECT], covering these standards: [LIST WITH FULL TEXT]. Return a table with one row per week: focus, key vocabulary, main activity, formative check, and what to reteach if the check goes badly. End with one summative assessment idea that is not a multiple-choice test. Assume [NUMBER] class periods of [LENGTH] minutes per week.
3. Bell ringer that is not busywork
When to use it: when your Do Nows have turned into copying the date.
Write 5 bell ringers for [GRADE] [SUBJECT] for this week's topic: [TOPIC]. Each one must take under 4 minutes, review something from last week ([LAST WEEK'S TOPIC]) and connect to today. Mix the format: one image or data question, one "which one doesn't belong", one error analysis, one quick write, one estimation. Include answers.
4. Real-world problem from your students' lives
When to use it: when the textbook word problems are about trains and nobody cares.
My students are [GRADE] in [TYPE OF COMMUNITY: rural town, big city, suburb] and care about [INTERESTS: sneakers, gaming, sports, part-time jobs]. Write 3 word problems for [SKILL] that use situations from their lives. Each one must have realistic numbers, one correct answer, and one common wrong answer with the mistake that produces it.
I ran it for 7th grade, percent change, suburban students who care about sneakers and part-time jobs. One of the three problems, as it came:
Problem 2. Jordan works at a smoothie shop and earns US$ 13.50 an hour. In January his manager gives him a raise to US$ 14.85 an hour. By what percent did his hourly pay increase?
Correct answer: 10%. (14.85 minus 13.50 is 1.35; 1.35 divided by 13.50 is 0.10.)
Common wrong answer: about 9.1%. The student divides the increase by the new wage (1.35 divided by 14.85) instead of the original wage.
I checked the arithmetic: correct. The wrong answer is the exact one I see every year, which makes it great for a "which answer is right and why" discussion.
5. Slide outline that does not read like a textbook
When to use it: before building slides, so the deck has a story and not 25 bullet lists.
Create an outline for a [NUMBER]-slide deck on [TOPIC] for [GRADE]. Max 12 words of text per slide. For each slide give: the title, the on-screen text, a suggested image or diagram, and one question I can ask the class. Slide 1 must open with a question or a surprising fact, not the definition.
Quizzes and tests
6. Multiple-choice quiz with distractors that teach
When to use it: any quiz where you want wrong answers to tell you something.
Write [NUMBER] multiple-choice questions on [TOPIC] for [GRADE]. Every wrong option must come from a real misconception, and next to each wrong option tell me which misconception it reveals. Mix the difficulty: 40% recall, 40% application, 20% analysis. Give the answer key at the end. Solve each question yourself before giving the answer.
7. Two versions of the same test
When to use it: when students sit close together, or for a makeup test.
Here is my test: [PASTE TEST]. Create a Version B that tests the same skills at the same difficulty. Change the numbers, names and contexts, and shuffle the order of questions and answer choices. Give me both answer keys side by side in a table so I can check them fast.
8. Accommodated version for an IEP or 504 plan
When to use it: when a student's plan calls for modified materials. Describe the accommodation, never the student.
Here is a quiz: [PASTE QUIZ]. Create an accommodated version with these accommodations: [LIST FROM THE PLAN, e.g. reduced number of answer choices to 3, word bank, simplified sentence structure, one question per section, extra space to show work]. Keep the same skill and standard in every question. Do not make the content easier than the standard requires. Mark which original question each new one replaces.
Real output for two questions from an 8th-grade science quiz on density, with "3 answer choices, simplified wording, word bank":
Word bank: mass, volume, density, float, sink
Question 3 (replaces original 3). A block has a mass of 40 grams and a volume of 20 cubic centimeters. What is its density? (a) 2 g/cm³ (b) 20 g/cm³ (c) 800 g/cm³
Question 4 (replaces original 4). Water has a density of 1 g/cm³. The block in Question 3 has a higher density than water. What will the block do in water? (a) float (b) sink (c) stay in the middle
Same skill (calculate density, compare it to water), less reading, fewer choices. The original question 4 had a three-sentence lab scenario; the AI kept the idea and dropped the noise. I would still check that the plan's accommodations are all there before printing.
9. Reteach activity after a bad quiz
When to use it: when half the class missed the same question.
On my quiz on [TOPIC], [PERCENT]% of students chose [WRONG ANSWER] for this question: [QUESTION]. Explain the likely misconception in 2 sentences. Then write a 15-minute reteach activity that attacks that misconception directly, with a new example, a partner task and 3 check questions with answers.
Feedback and grading
10. Rubric from scratch
When to use it: any project or writing task that does not have a rubric yet.
Write a rubric for [ASSIGNMENT] for [GRADE], aligned to [STANDARD WITH FULL TEXT]. Use [NUMBER] rows and a 1-4 scale. For each cell, describe what the student work looks like with an observable example, not adjectives like "good" or "excellent". Add a student-friendly version of each row in one sentence.
11. First read of an essay against your rubric
When to use it: to start from a draft instead of a blank margin. Remove the student's name first.
Score this essay with the rubric below. For each row, quote the lines that justify the score, give a confidence level (high, medium, low), and choose the lower level when you are in doubt. Mark any statistic or quote you cannot match to these sources: [SOURCES] as "unverified". Rubric: [PASTE RUBRIC] Essay: [PASTE ESSAY]
If you grade more than 40 essays a month, this prompt works better as a small automated flow. The full setup is in the post on ChatGPT for teachers as a grading assistant.
12. Short comment the student will actually read
When to use it: when your comments are long and nobody reads them.
Based on these notes about a student's work: [YOUR NOTES], write a comment of at most 3 sentences for a [GRADE] student. One specific thing that works, with a quote from their work. One change that would raise the score most, phrased as a next step. Warm but not gushing. No "great job!".
Real output from my notes on a 6th-grade lab report ("good hypothesis, data table messy, conclusion repeats the results without explaining"):
Your hypothesis, "if the water is warmer, the sugar will dissolve faster because the molecules move more", is clear and gives a reason, which is exactly what a scientist does. Next time, make your conclusion explain why the results happened, not just repeat the numbers from your table. Try starting it with "This happened because..."
That took four seconds to generate and about twenty to adjust. Across 30 lab reports, the time adds up.
13. Whole-class feedback instead of 30 identical comments
When to use it: when you see the same three problems in every paper.
These are my notes on a set of [NUMBER] [ASSIGNMENT TYPE]: [NOTES]. Write whole-class feedback I can show on the board: the 3 most common strengths, the 3 most common problems with an anonymous example of each (rewrite it so no student is recognizable), and a 10-minute revision task the class can do right away.
Families and school
14. Reply to a parent upset about a grade
When to use it: the email you have been avoiding since Thursday.
A parent sent this email: [PASTE EMAIL, WITHOUT THE STUDENT'S NAME]. Facts: [GRADE, ASSIGNMENT, RUBRIC SCORES, MISSING WORK, WHAT THE POLICY SAYS]. Write a reply that is calm and specific: acknowledge the concern in one sentence, explain the grade with facts from the rubric, offer one concrete next step (a meeting, a revision opportunity if policy allows), and do not apologize for the grade itself. Under 150 words. No jargon.
15. Weekly family newsletter
When to use it: Friday afternoon, when you have nothing left.
Write a short family newsletter for my [GRADE] [SUBJECT] class. This week we did: [LIST]. Next week: [LIST]. Dates: [TESTS, FIELD TRIPS, EVENTS]. One way families can help at home in 5 minutes. Under 200 words, friendly, readable on a phone. Then give me a Spanish version for families who prefer it.
16. Report card comments from your own notes
When to use it: end of term, with your notes in a spreadsheet. Use student initials or numbers, never full names.
For each student below, write a report card comment of 2 to 3 sentences based only on my notes. Start with a real strength, mention one specific goal for next term, and keep a professional, warm tone. Do not add anything that is not in my notes. Vary the sentence openings so the comments do not sound copied. [STUDENT NUMBER: NOTES] [STUDENT NUMBER: NOTES]
17. Sub plans you can leave in 15 minutes
When to use it: the night before you are out sick, which is never planned.
I will be out tomorrow. Write sub plans for [GRADE] [SUBJECT], [NUMBER] periods of [LENGTH] minutes. Today we finished [TOPIC]; tomorrow students should [GOAL]. Materials available: [TEXTBOOK PAGES, WORKSHEETS, CHROMEBOOKS OR NOT]. Include: minute-by-minute plan, exact instructions to read aloud, what to collect, what to do if students finish early, and a note on [CLASSROOM ROUTINES AND STUDENTS WHO NEED SUPPORT, WITHOUT NAMES]. Assume the sub does not know the subject.
For you
18. Study plan for a certification exam or PD
When to use it: Praxis, a state certification exam, National Board, or a new course you have to teach next year.
I need to prepare for [EXAM OR NEW COURSE] in [NUMBER] weeks, with [HOURS] hours a week. Here are the official content areas: [PASTE FROM THE OFFICIAL SITE]. Build a weekly study plan, tell me which areas usually take longest, and for each week give me 5 practice questions with answers. If you are not sure about a fact about the exam itself (format, passing score), tell me to check the official site instead of guessing.
Common mistakes with AI prompts for teachers
- Trusting the answer key. Every quiz, every time. The AI makes arithmetic mistakes with total confidence.
- Asking for "aligned to state standards" without the text. You will get a code that looks real and may not exist in your state.
- Pasting names, IEP pages or grades into a personal account. FERPA applies. Use initials or numbers, and use your district-approved tool for anything with student data.
- Accepting the first version. "Make it shorter", "less formal", "for a struggling reader" usually gets you a much better second version.
- Sending AI text home without reading it. One wrong date in a newsletter costs you more than the time saved.
Where to paste these prompts: ChatGPT, Gemini or a teacher tool?
All 18 work in ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. If your district gives you one of them through a school account, use that one, because it usually comes with a data agreement. Teacher tools like MagicSchool and Brisk have many of these as buttons, which is faster but less flexible: you cannot add the misconception or the context that makes the output good. My suggestion is to start with the prompts in a general chatbot, see which ones you use every week, and then decide whether a teacher tool saves you clicks. The full comparison of tools and prices is in the guide on AI for educators.
And if you notice you run prompts 11 and 12 on every essay, that is the sign to set up the grading assistant instead of pasting by hand.
Want to skip this part?
Ready-made AI agents for teachers: nothing to build, no prompts to write, they already work for you.
- A first read of your students' essays with your rubric, waiting for your approval
- Next week's lesson plans drafted from a four-field form
- Accommodated quizzes and activities with the answer key solved
Frequently asked questions
What are good AI prompts for teachers?
Prompts that include grade, standard, time, what your class already knows, the common misconception and the exact format you want. Adding limits such as 'solve every problem' is what prevents wrong answer keys.
Can I use these prompts in Gemini or Claude?
Yes. All 18 work in ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Use the one your district provides through a school account when student work is involved.
Can AI write lesson plans aligned to state standards?
It can draft a solid plan if you paste the full text of the standard. If you only ask for alignment, it may give you a standard code that does not exist in your state.
Is it safe to paste student work into ChatGPT?
Only without names or identifiers, and ideally in a district-approved tool. Grades, IEP details and anything linked to a student are protected by FERPA.
How do I write my own teacher prompts?
Use four parts: role, context, format and limits. Save the ones that work in a document and reuse them every week.
