Five AI Prompts That Make Differentiation Actually Manageable

Differentiation is one of those things every teacher knows they should do more of — and almost nobody has time for. Writing three versions of a task (support, core, extension) for every lesson, every week, just isn't realistic on top of everything else on your plate.

AI doesn't replace your judgement about what each student needs. But it's brilliant at the grunt work — generating the variations once you've decided what they should look like. Here are five prompts that turn differentiation from a Sunday-night chore into a five-minute job.

1. Three-tier task variation

Paste in your original task or worksheet and use:

"Here is a [subject] task for [year level] on [topic]. Create three versions: a support version with scaffolding and simpler language, a core version close to the original, and an extension version that adds challenge through application or open-ended thinking. Keep the learning objective the same across all three."

This is the workhorse prompt. Use it for worksheets, comprehension tasks, problem sets — anything with a clear structure.

2. Reading level adjustment

For text-heavy resources:

"Rewrite this passage at a [reading age/year level] reading level. Keep the key vocabulary and concepts intact, but simplify sentence structure and reduce length where needed. Bold any subject-specific terms students still need to learn."

Handy when you've got a great resource that's just pitched too high (or too low) for a chunk of your class.

3. Scaffolded vs. independent versions of the same question

For open-ended tasks where you want everyone working toward the same goal:

"Take this task: [paste task]. Create a scaffolded version with sentence starters, a word bank, and step-by-step prompts. Then create an independent version with no scaffolding but a clear success criteria checklist."

This keeps the cognitive demand consistent — nobody's doing "easier" thinking, just getting more or less support to get there.

4. Extension that isn't just "more of the same"

A common differentiation trap is giving your fast finishers extra questions instead of harder thinking. Try:

"A student has finished this task early and found it straightforward. Suggest three extension activities that go deeper into the same topic — through application, comparison, or a real-world problem — rather than just repeating the same skill at higher volume."

5. Differentiated success criteria

Once you've got your task variations sorted, this one ties it together:

"Write success criteria for this task at three levels: emerging, expected, and exceeding. Use student-friendly language I can put on a slide or share verbally."

Students at every level know what they're aiming for, and you've got a quick reference for marking later.

A few practical notes

Always read what the AI gives you before it reaches a student — it occasionally pitches the "support" version too far down, or the "extension" version too far up. A 60-second scan and tweak is still faster than building three versions from scratch.

And keep your best outputs. Once you've got a solid three-tier version of a recurring topic (fractions, persuasive writing, whatever comes up every year), save it. Next year's differentiation is a five-second copy-paste instead of a five-minute prompt.

Have a go — what's the worst that happens? You end up with a worksheet that needs a small edit, which is exactly where you'd have started anyway.

TeachSmarterAI helps New Zealand teachers use AI tools effectively. New posts every week.