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I will be looking in Quizz also. I do like Kahoot but as mentioned the fast format does not suit all children.
There are so many new tools out there it can be a bit daunting & getting time to try them out is an issue. This course has been a good way of taking a few education specific AI tools and trying them out. It is vital to keep up to date and not be afraid to try them In the long run they should make life easier without losing essential skills. It makes sense to use them alongside other methods and in line with school policy.
The Famine: Investigating Perspectives with AI
Class Level: 4th Class (Ages 9-10)
Subject: Social, Environmental, and Scientific Education (SESE) – History
Time Allocation: Approximately 3-4 hours (can be split over multiple sessions)
1. Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, children will be able to:Identify the main causes and impacts of the Great Irish Famine.
Describe the experiences of different groups during the Famine (Irish tenants, landlords, English gentry).
Utilise an AI tool to gather information from specific viewpoints.
Synthesise information from their AI research into key points.
Create a basic PowerPoint presentation to share their findings.
Present their research clearly to their peers.
Develop empathy for those affected by historical events.
2. Curriculum Links (Irish Primary Curriculum)
SESE – History:Myself and the Wider World: Life in the 19th Century, changes in Ireland, the Great Famine.
Developing Historical Skills: Working with evidence, understanding chronology, appreciating different perspectives, communicating historical findings.
Language (English):Oral Language: Discussing, presenting, asking and answering questions.
Reading: Comprehending information from AI output.
Writing: Note-taking, summarising information for presentation slides.
Digital Literacy/ICT:Using computers/tablets for research.
Navigating an AI interface.
Creating and editing a digital presentation (e.g., PowerPoint, Google Slides).
3. Materials
Computers or tablets with internet access (one per group, or shared).
Access to an AI chatbot (e.g., a simplified interface to a large language model like Gemini 2.0 Flash, supervised by the teacher).
Presentation software (e.g., Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, Keynote).
Large paper/whiteboard for brainstorming.
Markers/pens.
Worksheets for note-taking (optional, but recommended for structuring research).
Visual aids (maps of Ireland, images of Famine-era life – used carefully and sensitively).
4. Lesson Procedure
Session 1: Introduction & AI Investigation (Approx. 90 minutes)
A. Introduction (15 minutes)Hook: Begin by showing a simple image related to potatoes or a map of Ireland. Ask children what they know about potatoes and their importance in Ireland’s history.
Introduce The Famine: Briefly explain what the Great Irish Famine was (a period of mass starvation and disease in Ireland between 1845 and 1852, primarily caused by potato blight). Emphasise that it was a very difficult time for many people.
Different Perspectives: Explain that historical events affect different people in different ways. Introduce the three viewpoints they will investigate:Irish Tenants/Farmers: The majority of the population, often poor, relying heavily on potatoes.
Landlords: Owners of the land, many of whom were Anglo-Irish or British.
English Gentry/Government Officials: People in power in Britain who made decisions affecting Ireland.
Introduce AI: Explain that today they will use a special computer tool called “AI” (Artificial Intelligence) to help them research. Emphasise that AI is a tool to help them find information, but they still need to think critically about what it tells them.
B. Group Formation & AI Briefing (20 minutes)Divide into Groups: Divide the class into small groups (3-4 children per group). Assign each group one of the three viewpoints to focus on initially, or allow groups to choose.
AI Tool Demonstration:Show them the AI interface they will use.
Demonstrate how to type a question.
Explain that they need to ask questions as if they were that person.
Crucial: Provide clear example prompts for each viewpoint. Write these on the board.For Tenants: “As an Irish tenant farmer during the Famine, what was my daily life like?”, “What challenges did I face when the potatoes failed?”, “What did I eat?”, “Where did I live?”, “What happened to my family?”
For Landlords: “As a landlord in Ireland during the Famine, what were my biggest concerns?”, “How did the Famine affect my income?”, “What decisions did I have to make about my tenants?”, “How did I view the Famine?”
For English Gentry/Government: “As an English government official during the Famine, what were my responsibilities regarding Ireland?”, “What solutions did I propose or implement?”, “What were my beliefs about the Irish people and the Famine?”, “How did the Famine affect England?”
Note-Taking: Provide a simple worksheet or guide for them to record key facts and interesting details they find from the AI. Encourage bullet points and short phrases.
C. AI Investigation (45-60 minutes)Supervised Research: Each group goes to their assigned computer/tablet.
Engage with AI: Children type their questions into the AI tool from their assigned perspective.
Record Findings: As the AI provides answers, children discuss and record the most important points on their worksheets.
Teacher Role: Circulate among groups.Provide support with using the AI tool.
Help children formulate effective questions.
Guide them to extract relevant information.
Monitor the AI’s responses and address any inappropriate or confusing information.
Remind them to focus on the viewpoint.
Rotate (Optional): If time allows and resources permit, groups can rotate to investigate a second or third viewpoint, adding to their overall understanding.
Session 2: PowerPoint Preparation & Presentation (Approx. 90-120 minutes)
A. Synthesising Information (30 minutes)Review AI Findings: Bring the class back together. Each group briefly shares 1-2 interesting facts they discovered from their AI research.
PowerPoint Introduction: Explain that they will now turn their research into a presentation to teach the rest of the class. Discuss what makes a good presentation (clear title, simple points, maybe an image, not too much text on each slide).
Planning Slides: Guide groups to plan their PowerPoint:Slide 1: Title Slide (e.g., “The Famine: A Tenant’s Story” or “How Landlords Faced the Famine”).
Slide 2/3: Key aspects of their viewpoint’s experience (e.g., daily life, challenges, feelings, actions).
Slide 4 (Optional): A “Did you know?” or “Most surprising fact” slide.
Images: Encourage them to find simple, appropriate images (e.g., from a pre-approved bank of images or simple clip art) to illustrate their points.
B. Creating the PowerPoint (60-90 minutes)Software Use: Groups open the presentation software.
Slide Creation: Children work collaboratively to create their slides, typing in their summarised points and adding images.
Teacher Support: Provide technical assistance with the software and guidance on summarising text. Encourage them to use their own words.
Session 3: Presentations & Conclusion (Approx. 60 minutes)
A. Presentations (30-45 minutes)Set Up: Arrange the classroom for presentations.
Group Presentations: Each group presents their PowerPoint to the class.
Audience Engagement: Encourage the audience to listen carefully and prepare questions for the presenting group.
Facilitate Discussion: After each presentation, facilitate a brief Q&A session. Highlight how the different viewpoints experienced the Famine uniquely.
B. Conclusion & Plenary (15 minutes)Recap: Lead a class discussion on what they learned about the Famine and the different perspectives.
“What was the biggest challenge for the tenants?”
“How did the landlords’ experiences differ?”
“What was the role of the English government?”
Reflect on AI Use: Discuss how using AI helped them with their research.“Was it easy to use?”
“Did it give you good information?”
“What did you learn about using AI for research?”
Empathy: Reinforce the importance of understanding history from different viewpoints to develop empathy for people in the past.
5. Differentiation
For Support:Provide pre-written, simpler prompts for the AI.
Offer sentence starters for note-taking.
Pair with a stronger peer.
Provide more direct guidance during PowerPoint creation (e.g., pre-formatted templates).
For Challenge:Encourage deeper questioning of the AI (e.g., “Why did the government make that decision?”).
Ask them to consider the feelings of the people from their viewpoint.
Challenge them to find a historical image and explain its relevance.
Encourage more detailed explanations in their presentations.
6. Assessment
Observation: Observe children’s engagement with the AI tool, their collaboration within groups, and their note-taking skills.
Worksheets/Notes: Review the notes taken during the AI investigation to assess comprehension.
PowerPoint Presentation: Assess the clarity, accuracy, and organisation of their slides.
Oral Presentation: Assess their ability to articulate their findings and answer questions.
Peer Feedback: Encourage children to give constructive feedback on each other’s presentations.
7. AI Safety & Ethical Use
Teacher Supervision is Paramount: The teacher must actively supervise all AI interactions.
Explain AI Limitations: Emphasise that AI is a tool, not a human, and can sometimes give incorrect or biased information. Children should be encouraged to question what they read.
No Personal Information: Strictly instruct children never to input any personal information into the AI tool.
Focus on the Task: Remind children to stay on topic and use the AI only for the research task.
Critical Thinking: Encourage children to think about why the AI might give certain answers and to compare information if possible (even if just by discussing with other groups).
Model Responsible Use: The teacher should model appropriate and safe AI interaction.There need to be clear guidelines in place for a schools. This is the future of education and we need to be ahead of it. Instead of negativity towards AI positive advice and supports should be promoted. If used properly it could save so much time and make teaching more effective. Even in my limited use of Chat GPT and Gemini this much is evident.
I like the idea of checking bias on text. This could be done on football teams, players, pop stars actors etc to see what type of bias can be traced and identified. It is so important the children ae taught to question information and not take everything thy read as fact. Teachable Machine looks very interesting and could link up well with STEAM project work. Schools will need to have a comprehensive set policies in place before children are using AI . Lots of teachers ( myself included!) need time to do some upskilling too.
Claire, I agree Gamma looks very useful too. Any new ways of doing comprehension is always good so I will be looking into Twee for sure. They are sure to engage children especially as they can be differentiated more readily and children can work at their own level. I like the sound of the self assessment aspect of the reading coach which could really help encourage reluctant readers. They love anything with a ‘streak’ aspect which creates a challenge for them. Sorry my first post went up twice – site went down.
I will definitely be using Diffit – it should save loads of time. It could be great to do topic work in history or geography. The presentation and speaker tools could also be used here. Fact checking AI could be used to verify and edit work. It is also important to encourage checking information and questioning it where applicable.
I really like the look of Magic school Maths story. A simple step like using the children’s names will make the problems more meaningful and fun. I could envisage using this for multiplication , division, data as well as time/ money topics. It could be applied in all sorts of ways to improve engagement.
I have set up some of these accounts so I’m ready to go in September and can experiment with them before then.
I will definitely be using Diffit – it should save loads of time. It could be great to do topic work in history or geography. The presentation and speaker tools could also be used here. Fact checking AI could be used to verify and edit work. It is also important to encourage checking information and questioning it where applicable.
I really like the look of Magic school Maths story. A simple step like using the children’s names will make the problems more meaningful and fun. I could envisage using this for multiplication , division, data as well as time/ money topics. It could be applied in all sorts of ways to improve engagement.
I have set up some of these accounts so I’m ready to go in September and can experiment with them before then.
I will be looking into the Dreamspace project too which looks great. A good structured approach with lots of support would be great. As always these new initiatives look great but we need to make time for them in the school day. The possibilities for Special Ed are huge and hopefully children will enjoy it. I’m looking forward to using some of the tools recommended on here which I wasn’t aware of before.
A good place to start is with Immersive reader in Word which a lot of us use already. This app is widely available and I was not aware of all these functions which could really help struggling readers. I like the suggestion of MS forms and Google forms to create quizzes and assessments. Most classes love a quiz but they can be time consuming to create. With the right prompts this could be a game changer. I think the Minecraft Education Edition would be very popular and will definitely be giving it a try. Up until now I have mostly used Chat GPT and Gemini so its great to hear about all these other tools specifically for education. Those poor children in China looked so stressed and sad I hope we will not go down that route.
I agree Claire, AI is going to be as commonplace as Google in a very short time. It can be daunting to get started, I have used it in a few instances and was surprised at how fast and accurate it is. I’m hoping this course gives the the know how and confidence to apply it more often in school life.
It is important to embrace developments in AI in Education and develop skills to use it effectively. The narrative focusing on AI being used to cheat or as a short cut has changed and rightly so. It is up to us to use AI where appropriate to engage the children and use the technology which will be such a big part of their lives. Once you try it out and experiment with different tools it is evident that it is the way forward and will help with teaching and learning. It certainly shortens the time needed to create assessments and quizzes. A lot of the tools are free which is great for schools too. It is great to see some courses available to try to keep up to date with AI in education.