Is Your Lesson Plan Generator Creating Lessons That Actually Fit Your Classroom?
AI Can't Read Minds—But It Can Follow a Good Lead
When we think about AI, we imagine a magical, futuristic robot that can do everything better than we can. As someone who works with AI daily, I can assure you that though impressive, it is far from the magical wand we want it to be.
Why does it matter? Because our unrealistic expectations of AI lead us to be lazy when we work with AI tools. We put minimal effort into explaining what we want but expect high-quality results that fit our needs.
The reality is that without explaining our context and needs to your lesson plan generator, its chances of delivering what we want are as high as our chances of winning the lottery. But there's an upside to all of this. When we put in the additional effort to explain what we are looking for, we can get really great results that fit our curriculum, teaching styles, and the unique characteristics of our students.
What Do You Actually Need? (AI Won't Decide for You)
When you come to design a lesson with your chosen AI lesson plan generator, take a minute to think about what you need. Start from the obvious things, such as - grade, lesson duration, standards, and, of course, your lesson objectives. Remember that AI doesn't know your context, so try to think beyond the obvious and consider the following:
Unique Classroom Characteristics - What should the AI know about your students to deliver a more tailored lesson? For example, you might have ELL students, students with learning disabilities, or fast-paced readers. Mentioning the above will help AI be more accurate in its lesson design.
Student Interests - Enhance the creativity of your lessons by asking your lesson plan generator to design one that relates to topics your students are interested in. For instance, you could request a lesson that connects to an Olivia Rodrigo song or, for younger students, link it to the new Moana movie.
Connect to Previous Lessons - Include a short description of your previous lesson in your Prompt to help AI connect the new content to insights and content your students already learned.
Relate Lesson to Your Local Community - Lesson plan generators can help connect your lesson to your local community. For example, let's say you teach a geography lesson about the water cycle. Include in your Prompt that you want it to provide local examples of water conservation. That way, your lesson becomes localized.
Instructional Strategies & Teaching Methodologies - Do you like incorporating Think-Pair-Share into your lessons? Do you want the lesson to structure your classes according to the 5E model? Include it in your Prompt so your lesson plan generator can tailor its output to your teaching preferences.
Needless to say, you don't need to include all of this information in every lesson you generate. However, if you sprinkle some of these ideas in lesson prompts, you will get high-quality ones that are far better suited to your and your student's needs.
Turning a Generic Prompt into a Personalized Lesson
Now that you know the details that can make your AI-generated lessons more relevant let’s discuss how to apply them effectively. The trick is to provide AI with just enough context—not too little or too much. Below are practical ways to incorporate these elements into your prompts, ensuring your lesson plan generator delivers lessons that genuinely fit your classroom.
Use Refrences to Fine-Tune Results - AI works best when it has references from which to build. Instead of just asking for a generic lesson, ask it to modify or enhance an existing lesson plan style.
Example Prompt: Create a 5E model science lesson on Newton’s Laws. The lesson should have an Engage section with a real-world phenomenon.
Indicate How You Want The Lesson Topic to Be Approached - Even when indicating the lesson objectives and topic, there are still a million ways to approach the same issue. Try to be specific about what you are looking for.
Example Prompt: Generate a real-world problem-based math lesson on fractions. Include a scenario (e.g., dividing a cake at a party), student-driven exploration, and a guided discussion on fraction operations.
Use Role-Based Prompting - AI responds better when you give it a specific role to play. This role helps it structure its response more effectively, ensuring that the lesson aligns with expert-level teaching methods rather than general knowledge.
Example Prompt: Act as an experienced 8th-grade history teacher designing a lesson on the American Revolution.
Frame the Prompt as a Step-by-Step Instruction - AI performs best when given a precise sequence. Instead of asking for everything immediately, break the lesson into logical steps so AI can structure the response more effectively.
Example Prompt: Design a 7th-grade science lesson on photosynthesis. Follow these steps:
1. Write an engaging lesson introduction with a real-world example.
2. Include a hands-on experiment using household items.
3. Provide discussion questions to check and understand.
4. Suggest a short assessment to measure comprehension.
The tips above are a good way to help you get better results quickly. Remember that Prompting isn’t just about what you ask but how you ask it—and that’s a skill worth developing. Minor tweaks in wording, structure, and clarity can completely change the quality of your AI-generated lessons.
Lesson Plan Generators That Make it Easy
Writing effective prompts is a skill, but that doesn’t mean you have to figure out everything on your own. Some lesson plan generators, like Radius, are designed to make the process much easier. While it’s still important to include key information about your lesson, tools like Radius have a built-in layer of expert prompting that provides AI with the proper context to generate well-structured, high-quality lessons. Instead of starting from a blank page, Radius helps you:
Automatically align lessons with standards – Easily select the standards you need without manually typing them in.
Set the grade level and lesson duration effortlessly – No need to specify this in your prompt every time; the system ensures the lesson is designed appropriately.
Use structured prompt starters – Instead of wondering what details to include, Radius provides innovative prompt templates to help you quickly add essential information.
This extra layer of support eliminates guesswork and helps you get customized, well-structured lessons faster. Whether you’re an expert prompter or just starting out, it ensures that your AI-generated lessons are built on best practices without requiring you to master prompting from scratch.
Wrapping It Up: A Little Effort Now, Big Time Savings Later
Getting better results from your lesson plan generator isn’t about working harder—it’s about prompting smarter. Yes, it takes a little effort to think through what AI needs to know, but once you do, you’ll spend less time fixing generic lessons and more time getting exactly what you need. The better your prompts, the better your lessons—and the faster AI becomes a real-time-saver instead of just another tool to tweak.
FAQ
How do I make my lesson plan generator create more personalized lessons?
To get a lesson that genuinely fits your students, be specific in your prompts. Instead of just asking for a "5th-grade math lesson on fractions," include details like learning styles, student challenges, or engagement strategies. For example, try: "Create a 5th-grade fractions lesson using hands-on manipulatives for visual learners and real-world examples related to cooking." The more context you provide, the better the AI can tailor the lesson to your classroom.
Why do lesson plan generators sometimes give generic or irrelevant lessons?
Can lesson plan generators replace teacher-designed lesson plans?