Maximum Depth + Quick Reference Editions Organized by Skill Category within Each Grade Band
These lessons develop critical, responsible, and strategic AI use across the Passion Pathways framework.
Students will build foundational understanding of what AI is, distinguishing it from magic, robots, and humans, and describe one way AI helps and one way it can be wrong.
SHOW: Type 'Draw a happy dog' into an AI image generator on the projector. Display the result.
ASK: "How did the computer know how to draw that? Did it have eyes? Did it practice?"
SAY: "That is called Artificial Intelligence — or AI. Today we're going to learn what it really is."
TEACH 3 things AI IS:
TEACH 3 things AI IS NOT:
MODEL: Ask AI a simple question. Show the answer.
SAY: "That seems right! But let me check —" Then show an example of AI getting something silly wrong.
SAY: "That's why WE always check what AI tells us."
Students sort picture cards: 'AI Helper or Human Helper?' (e.g., spell-check vs. a teacher, GPS vs. a tour guide, AI art vs. a student painting). Discuss: for which tasks would you trust AI? For which do you need a human?
Students will build foundational understanding of what AI is, distinguishing it from magic, robots, and humans, and describe one way AI helps and one way it can be wrong.
Sort picture cards into 'AI helper' vs. 'Human helper.' Discuss: when would you trust AI vs. a human?
Point to one sorted card and explain to a partner why it belongs in that category.
Point to one card in the sort. Tell a partner: 'This is [AI/human] because ___.'
Students will discover that AI can state false information confidently, and apply a 3-step verification process to check AI-generated claims.
SAY: "AI has a strange problem: it can say something completely wrong in the same confident voice it uses when it's totally right. It doesn't know the difference."
SAY: "Researchers call this 'hallucination.' Today we're going to become AI fact-checkers."
MODEL: Ask AI: 'What year was [a slightly obscure historical event]?' Display the answer. Step 2: Search the encyclopedia. Find a different year. SAY: "AI said [X]. The encyclopedia says [Y]. Which do we trust? Why?"
Students ask AI 3 questions related to their passion project topic. For each answer, they apply the 3-step verification process. Record: AI Answer / What I Found / Match or Mismatch / Which to trust.
Students will discover that AI can state false information confidently, and apply a 3-step verification process to check AI-generated claims.
Ask AI 3 project-related questions. Apply 3-step verification to each. Record: AI answer / found / match or mismatch.
Write one AI answer you checked. Did it match? Which will you use and why?
Write one AI answer you checked. Did it match? What will you use in your project — AI's answer or the verified source? Why?
Students will learn and practice 5 prompting strategies to get more useful, specific, and usable responses from AI tools for their passion projects.
SAY: "AI is only as useful as the question you ask it. A vague prompt gives you a vague answer. A precise, structured prompt gives you something you can actually USE."
SHOW: Two prompts and their outputs. 'Tell me about sharks.' vs. 'Explain the hunting behavior of great white sharks in the Pacific Ocean in a way a 7th grader could understand, in 5 bullet points.'
ASK: "Which output would you rather put in your research notes?"
Tell AI who to be. 'Act as a marine biologist explaining to a middle schooler...'
Tell AI how to respond. 'In 5 bullet points.' 'In a table.' 'As a list of pros and cons.'
Tell AI the difficulty. 'At an 8th grade reading level.' 'In language a 10-year-old would understand.'
Tell AI what NOT to do. 'Don't include general background. Focus only on...'
Tell AI to revise. 'That's too long. Give me a 3-sentence version.' 'Add one example for each point.'
MODEL: Start with a bad prompt about the class project topic. Show the output. Apply each strategy one at a time. Show how the output improves with each addition.
SAY: "You are the director. AI is the crew. You don't accept a bad take — you give direction and run it again."
Students choose a task from their passion project where AI could help. Write a basic prompt first, then apply all 5 strategies to write an advanced version. Run both. Compare outputs. Write: which was more useful and why.
Students will learn and practice 5 prompting strategies to get more useful, specific, and usable responses from AI tools for their passion projects.
Write a basic and advanced version of one project-relevant prompt. Run both. Compare outputs.
Write your best advanced prompt and name which strategy made the biggest improvement.
Write your best advanced prompt and explain which strategy made the biggest difference in output quality.
Students will apply a 4-criterion ethical decision framework to 10 real research scenarios and develop personal AI use guidelines for their passion projects.
SAY: "Using AI isn't an on/off switch. It's a judgment call you make dozens of times during a project. Some uses make your work stronger. Others undermine the whole point of doing the work."
ASK: "If AI writes your reflection for you, what have you actually learned?"
🟢 GREEN (appropriate): Brainstorming, formatting, summarizing complex texts you still read, feedback on drafts you wrote
🟡 YELLOW (use carefully): Generating outlines, suggesting evidence sources, writing introductions you significantly rewrite
🔴 RED (not appropriate): Writing reflections, creating research findings, generating final essays, fabricating citations
MODEL: Take scenario card #1. Apply each criterion out loud. Determine: green, yellow, or red? Why?
SAY: "Notice — it's not always obvious. That's why you need a framework, not just a feeling."
Groups of 3 receive 10 scenario cards. Apply the 4-criterion matrix to each. Rate: green, yellow, red. Groups with different ratings debate their reasoning. Class synthesizes: where were the hardest cases?
Students will apply a 4-criterion ethical decision framework to 10 real research scenarios and develop personal AI use guidelines for their passion projects.
Groups apply ethics matrix to 10 scenarios. Rate each green/yellow/red. Debate disagreements.
Write personal AI Use Guidelines: 3 green uses, 1 yellow with conditions, 1 red line.
Students write their personal AI Use Guidelines for their passion project: 3 green uses, 1 yellow use with conditions, 1 red line they won't cross.
Students will draft a complete AI Use Statement for their capstone project that meets professional and academic transparency standards.
SAY: "In 2024, the New York Times required reporters to disclose any AI use in their work. Academic journals began requiring AI statements in all submissions. Colleges added AI disclosure to application requirements. This is the professional standard you're entering."
SAY: "Your AI Use Statement isn't a confession. It's a demonstration of intellectual honesty and sophisticated AI literacy."
Which AI tools were used and when?
What task did AI assist with in each case?
How did you use, evaluate, and revise the AI output?
How did you check AI-generated information?
Where did you deliberately choose NOT to use AI, and why?
MODEL: Analyze 3 example AI Use Statements — strong, adequate, inadequate. ANNOTATE together: Where does the strong statement show all 5 components? What is missing from the inadequate version?
SAY: "The difference between adequate and strong is specificity. 'I used AI for research' tells me nothing. 'I used Claude to identify potential interview subjects for my survey on [topic], verified each suggestion through LinkedIn and organizational websites, and added 3 names AI didn't surface through my own network' tells me everything."
Students draft their own AI Use Statement using their AI logs. Apply the 5-component framework. Trade with a partner: identify which components are present, which are vague, which are missing. Revise based on feedback.
Students will draft a complete AI Use Statement for their capstone project that meets professional and academic transparency standards.
Draft full AI Use Statement using 5-component framework. Partner review. Revise based on feedback.
Highlight the sentence that best demonstrates responsible AI use. Write one sentence explaining your choice.
Students highlight the one sentence in their statement that they believe most powerfully demonstrates responsible AI use, and write one sentence explaining their choice.
PASSION PATHWAYS