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How to Use ChatGPT for Lesson Planning (Step-by-Step for NZ Teachers)

Let's be honest: most teachers have tried ChatGPT once, gotten something vague and generic, and gone back to doing it themselves.

That's not a ChatGPT problem. That's a prompting problem.

When you give ChatGPT the right context — the year level, the subject, the curriculum objective, and the format you need — it produces lesson plans that are actually useful. Not perfect, but genuinely good starting points that take five minutes to polish instead of an hour to write from scratch.

Here's the exact process I use.

Step 1: Open ChatGPT (Free Version is Fine)

Go to chat.openai.com and sign in. The free version (GPT-4o mini) works for lesson planning. You don't need a paid subscription to follow this guide.

If you prefer, you can do exactly the same thing in Claude (claude.ai) or Gemini (gemini.google.com) — the prompts work the same way.

Step 2: Start a New Chat

Click New chat in the top left. Starting fresh means ChatGPT isn't carrying over context from a previous conversation that might confuse things.

Step 3: Write a Specific Prompt

This is where most teachers go wrong. A vague prompt like "Write a lesson plan for Year 9 English" gives you a generic, unusable result.

Here's the template to use instead:

"Write a [duration] lesson plan for Year [level] [subject] on [specific topic]. Include: a learning intention, success criteria, a warm-up activity ([time]), direct instruction ([time]), a student task ([time]), and an exit ticket ([time]). Align it with the New Zealand curriculum."

Example:

"Write a 60-minute lesson plan for Year 9 English on analysing the language features of a persuasive text. Include: a learning intention, success criteria, a warm-up activity (10 min), direct instruction with examples (15 min), a group annotation task (25 min), and an exit ticket (10 min). Align it with the NZ English curriculum."

Step 4: Review the Output

ChatGPT will produce a structured lesson plan within a few seconds. Read it through and ask:

  • Does the learning intention match what you actually want students to achieve?
  • Is the timing realistic for your class?
  • Does the student task match the level?
  • Does anything feel too generic or un-NZ?

You'll almost always want to adjust something. That's normal and expected.

Step 5: Refine With a Follow-Up Prompt

You don't need to start over. Just tell ChatGPT what to change.

Examples:

  • "Make the warm-up activity more hands-on and interactive."
  • "The student task is too easy for a Year 9 class — make it more challenging."
  • "Add a differentiation note: what would this task look like for a student working below the expected level?"
  • "Rewrite the learning intention using 'I can...' language."
  • "Add a list of resources I might need for this lesson."

Each refinement takes seconds. Three or four follow-ups and you'll have something solid.

Step 6: Copy Into Your Planning Template

Once you're happy with the output, copy it into your school's planning template or your own document. You might adjust the formatting, add your own teaching notes, or insert specific text or context for your class.

The AI gives you the structure and content. You add the professional judgement and classroom knowledge that only you have.

Step 7: Repeat the Process for the Week

The real power-up happens when you use this as a weekly workflow.

On a Sunday evening (or whenever you plan):

  1. Open a new chat
  2. Start with: "I'm planning a week of lessons for Year [level] [subject]. This week we're covering [topic]. Let me share each lesson one at a time and you help me build them out."
  3. Work through each lesson systematically

Instead of five separate chats, you're in one conversation where ChatGPT understands your class context. It gets better as you give it more information.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Accepting the first output without reviewing it. AI makes mistakes. It might get the curriculum level wrong, suggest an activity that doesn't work for your context, or produce something that sounds like it was written for a UK classroom. Always read it through.

Using it as a substitute for professional judgement. AI doesn't know your students. You do. It can produce a technically correct lesson plan that would fall flat with your specific class. You're the expert — use AI as a tool, not a replacement.

Being too vague. The more specific your prompt, the better the result. "Year 9 English" is vague. "Year 9 English, analysing persuasive texts, for a mixed-ability class that includes several English language learners" is specific.

Not saving your good prompts. Once you find a prompt that works well for your context, save it. Build a personal library of prompts you can reuse each term.

What About Privacy?

Don't paste personally identifiable student information (names, identifying details) into any AI tool. For lesson planning, this isn't a concern — you're just describing a year level and a topic. For marking or feedback tasks, use generic placeholders or summarise the content without naming students.

Try It This Week

Pick one lesson you have to plan this week. Use the template from Step 3. Give it five minutes.

You don't have to change your whole planning practice overnight. Start with one lesson, see how much time you save, and build from there.

Want 25 Ready-Made Prompts?

If you want to skip the trial-and-error phase and start with prompts that are already tested and refined for NZ and Australian teachers, the Secondary Teacher AI Toolkit has 25 copy-paste prompts for lesson planning, marking, parent emails, and more.

Teaching Years 1–6? The Primary Teachers AI Toolkit is built specifically for your classroom.

Both are NZ$10. Use code WELCOME40 for 40% off your first order.