How to write effective prompts for teaching with chatbots

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Origami image of a teacher building a good prompt recipe

Prompts are the instructions we give to a digital assistant or chatbot to get a useful response. In other words, they are how we tell the technology what we need.

As a teacher, learning to write strong prompts can transform how you prepare lessons, design activities, and personalize learning for your students.

In this article, you’ll find:

  • A clear “recipe” for writing effective prompts.
  • Examples you can adapt to your subject and grade level.
  • A ready-to-use prompt you can test in your own classroom.

The recipe for a good prompt

Just like a cooking recipe, a good prompt needs the right ingredients. Here are the key elements you should include in your prompts as a teacher:

1. Role

Decide who the AI should act as. A subject expert? A teaching assistant? An examiner? A Historic character? This helps guide the kind of answer you’ll get.

Example: “You are a high school science teacher with experience in explaining biology in simple terms.”

2. Context

Explain the teaching situation and your students. How old are they? What’s their level? Do they have specific needs?

Example: “You are teaching a class of 12-year-olds with mixed reading comprehension levels.”

3. Learning objectives

Be clear about what you want students to learn or achieve with the activity.

Example: “The goal is for students to understand the water cycle and explain it in their own words.”

4. Instructions

Tell the AI exactly what you want it to do. Think in clear, step-by-step actions.

👉 Example: “Suggest three hands-on activities to help students learn the water cycle.”

5. Response format

Specify how you’d like the answer presented: in a list, a table, or step by step. This makes it easier to use.

👉 Example: “Organize the information in a table with three columns: activity, materials, and duration.”

6. Language and tone

Indicate the type of language: formal, simple, motivational, or age-appropriate.

👉 Example: “Use a friendly, simple tone as if you were speaking directly to 12-year-old students.”

Example of a complete prompt

Here’s one you can copy, adapt, and try out with your class:

Sample prompt

“You are a high school literature teacher with experience in creative writing. You are preparing an activity for 14-year-old students with mixed writing skills. The goal is for them to learn how to create coherent characters for their stories. Suggest five short writing exercises (each no longer than 15 minutes) that help students imagine and bring characters to life. Present the suggestions in a table with the following columns: a short description of the exercise, how the teacher should introduce it in class, and one reflection question for students to answer at the end. Use simple and encouraging language appropriate for teenagers.”

Final tips

  1. Start small: you don’t need long prompts at first. Clarity and context are enough.
  2. Experiment and adjust: if the response isn’t helpful, tweak one element of the “recipe” (role, goal, format, etc.).
  3. Save your best prompts: create a document to reuse the ones that work best for you.
  4. Always adapt to your group: what works with 3rd graders won’t work the same way with 11th graders.

Your next step: choose one upcoming lesson and write a prompt using this recipe. Test it and see how it changes your preparation and your students’ engagement.