25 AI Prompts Every Teacher Should Know in 2026
If you've heard colleagues talking about using AI but haven't quite figured out where to start — or you've tried it once and gotten a generic, unusable response — this post is for you.
The secret isn't the AI tool itself. It's knowing how to ask. A well-written prompt gives you a lesson plan, a rubric, a parent email, or a set of differentiated tasks in under a minute. A poorly written one gives you something you'll spend longer fixing than if you'd done it yourself.
Here are 25 prompts, across five areas, that actually work. Copy them, adapt the parts in brackets, and start saving time today.
1. Lesson Planning Prompts
These prompts give you a complete, usable lesson plan in the format you actually need.
Prompt 1: "Write a 60-minute lesson plan for Year [9] students studying [the causes of World War One]. Include a learning objective, a warm-up activity, main instruction, a group task, and an exit ticket. Use NZ curriculum language."
Prompt 2: "I need to teach [fractions] to a Year [5] class that has a wide range of abilities. Give me three differentiated tasks — one for students working below, one at, and one above the expected level."
Prompt 3: "Create a week-long unit plan (5 lessons) for Year [10] English on [the novel 'The Kite Runner']. Include lesson topics, key skills, and one assessment task."
Prompt 4: "Give me five creative warm-up activities for a Year [8] Science class that will get them thinking about [energy transfer] before the main lesson."
Prompt 5: "Write a lesson on [probability] that uses real-world examples relevant to New Zealand students. Include discussion questions and a hands-on activity."
2. Marking and Feedback Prompts
Marking doesn't have to take your whole Sunday. These prompts turn rough notes into polished, student-ready feedback.
Prompt 6: "Here is a student's essay on [the Treaty of Waitangi]. Write formative feedback that highlights two strengths and two areas for improvement. Use a warm, encouraging tone appropriate for a Year [9] student: [paste essay here]"
Prompt 7: "Create a marking rubric for a [science report] for Year [11] students. Include criteria for structure, use of evidence, scientific language, and conclusions. Use a 4-point scale."
Prompt 8: "Turn these rough bullet-point notes into polished written comments for a student report: [paste your notes]. The student is in Year [7], working at the expected level in Maths."
Prompt 9: "I need to write reports for 28 students. Give me 10 different sentence starters for positive comments about effort and progress that I can adapt for each student."
Prompt 10: "Write three examples of next-step feedback for a student whose writing is technically correct but lacks voice and personal style. Keep each example under 30 words."
3. Parent Communication Prompts
Parent emails that used to take 20 minutes now take two.
Prompt 11: "Write a professional but warm email to a parent explaining that their child [name removed] is struggling to stay on task in class. Suggest a meeting and avoid sounding accusatory. The student is in Year [6]."
Prompt 12: "Draft a newsletter paragraph (100 words) letting parents know about our upcoming [science fair] on [date]. Include what students will be doing and how parents can support at home."
Prompt 13: "Write an email to parents explaining the new [homework] policy. Keep it under 150 words, positive in tone, and end with an invitation for questions."
Prompt 14: "I need to respond to a frustrated parent who emailed saying their child feels left out in class. Write a response that acknowledges their concern, explains our approach, and proposes next steps."
Prompt 15: "Write a celebration email to parents of students who achieved Excellence in their recent assessment. Keep it brief, warm, and specific about what the achievement means."
4. Differentiation and Inclusion Prompts
Every class has students working at different levels. These prompts help you reach all of them without tripling your workload.
Prompt 16: "I have a student with dyslexia in my Year [8] class. Rewrite these [instructions for the group task] so they are clearer, broken into smaller steps, and use plainer language: [paste instructions]"
Prompt 17: "Create an extension task for Year [10] students who finish early during a lesson on [algebraic equations]. It should challenge their thinking, not just give them more of the same work."
Prompt 18: "Give me five sentence frames to help English language learners participate in a class discussion about [climate change] in a Year [9] class."
Prompt 19: "A student in my class has an IEP goal around [building independence in written tasks]. Suggest three classroom strategies I can embed into my normal teaching without singling the student out."
Prompt 20: "Rewrite this assessment task so it offers students three different ways to demonstrate their understanding — written, visual, and oral: [paste task]"
5. Professional and Administrative Prompts
The paperwork that eats your afternoons.
Prompt 21: "Write a professional development reflection (200 words) based on what I learned at a recent [restorative practice workshop]. Key takeaways: [list your notes]. Use first person and reflective language."
Prompt 22: "Help me write a brief for my department meeting about why we should adopt [a new reading programme]. Include the problem it solves, how it works, and what we'd need to implement it."
Prompt 23: "Draft a self-appraisal section about my teaching practice for our performance review cycle. My focus area this year was [improving student engagement in writing]. Key evidence: [list examples]."
Prompt 24: "Write a risk assessment for a school trip to [a local river] with Year [7] students. Include potential hazards, likelihood, and mitigation strategies."
Prompt 25: "Create an agenda for a 45-minute team meeting focused on analysing our Year [9] reading data and deciding on next steps. Include time allocations for each item."
How to Get Even Better Results
A few quick tips that make a real difference:
Add context. The more specific you are, the better the output. Include the year level, subject, and what you're trying to achieve.
Iterate. If the first result isn't quite right, tell the AI what to change: "Make it shorter", "Use simpler language", "Add more NZ-specific examples."
Use your voice. AI drafts are starting points. Read it through, edit anything that doesn't sound like you, and it'll feel authentic.
Save your best prompts. Keep a document or note with the prompts that work best for your teaching context. You've already done the hard work once — don't redo it.
Ready for a Full Toolkit?
If you found these prompts useful, the Secondary Teacher AI Toolkit gives you 25 more prompts built specifically for Years 7–13 — covering lesson planning, marking, parent communication, and behaviour management. Instant download, NZ$10.
Or if you teach Years 1–6, the Primary Teachers AI Toolkit is built for you.
Use code WELCOME40 for 40% off your first order.