GR4AIGet Ready For AI #GR4AI
For teachers

Two lessons about how AI works.

Two lessons of 45 minutes for a whole class and one screen. In the first, kids train a pretend AI with cards. In the second, they learn to check what an AI tells them. Kids need no devices and no accounts. Printable cards are included.

Made for ages 9 to 11, with an easier and a harder variant. Only one slot? Lesson 1 works on its own.

Start with lesson 1 See both lessons
The package

One idea per lesson.

Leave 2 to 7 days between the lessons, ideally the same weekday. Lesson 2 opens with the exit ticket questions from lesson 1. Do not wait more than two weeks.

How the lessons run

Same rhythm, both lessons.

Each lesson is 45 minutes in total, with settling the class and tidying the cards inside the times. Kids who like routine know what comes next.

Lesson 1 · How AI learns

  1. 6min

    Hook

    Apple or pear?

  2. 5min

    Explore

    Four steps on the projector.

  3. 22min

    Do it

    Train, test, fail, fix. Cards in groups.

  4. 6min

    Talk

    Who chose the cards?

  5. 6min

    Exit ticket

    Draw, tick or write.

Lesson 2 · Check the AI’s answer

  1. 6min

    Recall

    Three questions, one sure sounding answer.

  2. 6min

    Explore

    Four ways to check.

  3. 22min

    Do it

    Check six answers, then sort who does what.

  4. 6min

    Talk

    Good side, tricky side.

  5. 5min

    Exit ticket

    Draw, tick or write.

Short on time? Lesson 1 alone is a full first lesson. In lesson 2 you can skip “Who does what” and keep the checking part.

1
Lesson 1 of 2

How AI Actually Learns

  1. 6MIN

    Hook

    Hold up an apple and a pear, draw them, or show them on slide 2. Ask: “How do you know which is which? Who showed you?” Take three answers. Then say: “A computer program can be built to find patterns in examples too. It does not understand fruit. It finds patterns.”

    YouAsk, listen, point to the examples.
    KidsAnswer aloud, in pairs or by drawing.
  2. 5MIN

    Explore

    Project chapter 3 and read steps 1 to 4 aloud: collect data, label data, train, test. Say the key sentence: “An AI is a computer program. It does not understand things. It finds patterns in examples that people give it.” Leave neural networks and the three ways of learning for older groups.

    YouRead, point, say the key sentence.
    KidsFollow along. No devices needed.
    Chapter 3 in the guide →
  3. 22MIN

    Do it: train, test, fix

    Groups of 4 or 5 get cards with made up animals, Zibs and Zobs. Nobody tells them the rule. Set up and the three rounds add up to 22 minutes.

    • Set up (2 min): hand out the envelopes and the role cards. Say: “I will not tell you the rule.”
    • Round 1 (5 min): look at 12 labelled cards for 2 minutes and decide what makes a Zib and what makes a Zob. Then a Tester holds up 6 test cards and the group calls Zib or Zob. The Recorder scores.
    • Round 2 (5 min): new training cards, same test cards. Score again.
    • Round 3, fix it (6 min): the group draws 4 new cards on blank cards to add to the second set, so the AI can no longer be fooled. Test again and score.
    • Compare (4 min): which round scored best? What did the new cards change?
    YouHand out envelopes, keep time, never say the rule.
    KidsLook, discuss, decide, test, record. Roles are on the cards.
    Open the card kit →
  4. 6MIN

    Talk

    Pairs first, then three answers: “Who chose the cards?” and “What would you change to make round 2 fair?” The questions are on slide 11. Put sentence starters on the board.

    YouAsk, wait, accept different answers.
    KidsTalk in pairs, share, disagree politely.
  5. 6MIN

    Exit ticket

    Each child picks one: draw a Zib and a Zob, tick a face (got it, almost, not yet), or write “The AI got it wrong because …”. Collect the slips. Lesson 2 opens with two of the questions.

    YouCollect the slips.
    KidsChoose how to answer.

Talk about it

  • Who chooses what goes on the cards?
  • If the cards show only one kind of Zib, what does the AI learn?
  • How could we check an AI’s answers? (This is lesson 2.)

Need more support?

  • Mixed groups with clear roles.
  • The cards use pictures, not words.
  • Answers in the home language, or by drawing.
  • Read aloud on the word cards in the guide.

Younger or older

  • 7 to 8: whole class on the slides, rounds 1 and 2 only.
  • 11 to 12: in round 3 they must also say how many cards they need and why. Or they invent their own animals and a hidden rule.

Printable kit: Zibs and Zobs

Black and white, A4. Cards, blank cards for round 3, test cards, score sheet, roles, exit tickets and an answer key.

Open the kit
Teacher notes and answers

The rule

Zibs have pointy ears. Zobs have round ears. Spots and tails vary on purpose to distract.

The two sets

  • Set A is fair: spots and tails are mixed in both kinds, so ears are the only reliable clue.
  • Set B is one sided: every Zib has spots and no Zob has spots, so spots look like a clue too.

Test cards

Card123456
AnswerZibZobZibZobZibZob
If a group follows spotsZibZobZobZibZobZob

A group that follows the spots in round 2 scores 3 of 6 (cards 3, 4 and 5 go wrong). Some groups will still use ears and score 6 of 6. Ask them: “How could you be sure it was the ears and not the spots?”

Round 3: fix it

Good new cards break the link between spots and kind: a Zob with spots and a Zib without spots. With those added, a group that follows spots gets mixed results, and ears become the only reliable clue. If the group only adds more spotted Zibs, the test score does not improve: “More cards are not enough. They must be different cards.”

What to say

  • After round 2: “The AI did not misbehave. It found a pattern in the examples we gave it, just not the one we meant.”
  • If a group finds the rule in 10 seconds, ask them to prove it with three cards. If nobody finds it, ask what is the same about all the Zibs.
  • If a child asks “Is it alive?”: “No. It is a program. People build it and choose the examples.”
  • Watch for “the AI wanted” and “the AI knows”. Gently say “the program found”.

Check what they learned

I can …Not yetAlmostYes
say what a label is
explain why set B gave more wrong answers
say who chooses the examples an AI learns from
2
Lesson 2 of 2

Check the AI’s answer

  1. 6MIN

    Recall and hook

    Show three questions from lesson 1 (slide 2): “What is a label?”, “Who chooses the examples an AI learns from?”, “Why did the AI get more wrong with the one sided cards?” Take one answer each. Then show this (slide 3): “How many legs does an insect have?” and the answer “Insects have eight legs.” Ask: “It sounds very sure. Is it right? How could we find out?”

    YouAsk, take answers, do not correct yet.
    KidsAnswer aloud or in pairs. Guess how to find out.
  2. 6MIN

    Explore: four ways to check

    Reveal that insects have six legs. Say the key sentence: “An AI can sound sure and still be wrong. It finds patterns. It does not check if something is true. So a person checks.” Then show four ways to check:

    • Look in a book
    • Ask a person who knows
    • Find a second source
    • Try it or count it yourself
    YouShow the four ways. Say the key sentence.
    KidsName one more way. Say which way they would use for the insect.
  3. 22MIN

    Do it: check, then sort

    Groups of 4 or 5 work in two parts. Each group gets 6 answer cards, a check book, 8 task cards and a mat.

    • Set up (1 min): hand out the kits. Say: “These answers are written to look like AI answers. Some are right. Some are wrong.”
    • Part A, check the answers (13 min): read each card, use the check book, and sort the cards into Right, Wrong and Can’t tell. For each card, choose one way to check. Then you read out the answers and groups compare.
    • Part B, who does what? (8 min): sort 8 task cards into People, AI can help and Both. Two groups share one card they argued about.
    YouHand out kits, keep time, reveal the answers after part A.
    KidsRead, check, sort, argue politely. Roles are on the cards.
    Open the card kit →
  4. 6MIN

    Talk

    Pairs first, then three answers: “When should a person check what an AI says?” and “Name one good thing AI can help with, and one thing to be careful about.” If a child is worried, say: “AI is a tool that people build and people check. You can always ask a person.”

    YouAsk, wait, accept different answers.
    KidsTalk in pairs, share, disagree politely.
  5. 5MIN

    Exit ticket

    Each child picks one: draw a “checked” stamp on an answer, tick a face (got it, almost, not yet), or write “Before I trust an answer, I will …”. For home: the quiz at the end of the guide, if they want. It is not homework.

    YouCollect the slips.
    KidsChoose how to answer.

Talk about it

  • The AI sounded sure. Does that make it right?
  • Which way of checking was quickest? Which was safest?
  • Who decides what to do with an answer?

Need more support?

  • Mixed groups with clear roles.
  • Three piles with pictures on the mat.
  • Answers in the home language, or by pointing.
  • Part B can be done as a whole class on slide 9.

Younger or older

  • 7 to 8: do cards 1 to 4 only, and skip the task cards.
  • 11 to 12: each group writes one answer that sounds sure and is wrong, and the next group checks it.

Printable kit: check the answer

Black and white, A4. Six answer cards, a check book, a sorting mat, task cards, exit tickets and an answer key.

Open the kit
Teacher notes and answers

The six answer cards

CardAnswerWhy
1 Spider legsRightSpiders have eight legs. Insects have six.
2 Capital of AustraliaWrongIt is Canberra. Sydney is the biggest city.
3 Goldfish memoryWrongA common myth. Goldfish can remember things for weeks or months.
4 Biggest planetRightJupiter.
5 Rain next SaturdayCan’t tellNobody can know. A forecast gives a chance, not a fact.
6 Best petCan’t tellIt is an opinion. People like different pets.

Cards 2 and 3 sound the most sure, on purpose. If a group says card 5 is “wrong”, ask: “Could anyone know that today?”

Who does what? (for discussion)

There is no single right pile. Accept an answer if the group gives a reason. Our suggestion:

  • People: choose the examples an AI learns from, decide if a result is fair, say sorry and mean it, decide what to do with an answer.
  • AI can help: find patterns in a million photos quickly, suggest a song you might like.
  • Both: translate a sentence (AI drafts, a person checks), look at an X-ray (AI marks, the doctor decides).

What to say

  • “The program gave the most likely sounding answer. It does not know if it is true.”
  • Avoid “the AI lied”. A lie needs someone who wants to trick. Say “the answer was wrong”.
  • If a child says “then AI is useless”: “No. It helps with many things. We just check the important ones.”
  • Keep the tricky side calm. End on what kids can do: check and ask.

Check what they learned

I can …Not yetAlmostYes
say that an AI can sound sure and be wrong
name two ways to check an answer
say who decides what to do with an answer
For your school

Questions your school will ask.

  • No accounts

    Kids open the page and start. Nothing to install and nothing to sign up for.

  • What stays on the device

    Language, collected words, read chapters and the green ticks for finished sections are saved in the browser on that device. They are not sent anywhere.

  • What is counted

    The guide counts visits with a privacy friendly counter. Details are on our privacy page. The optional gallery loads a third party service only after you click it.

  • Shared devices

    Saved progress stays in the browser, so the next class sees it. Use a private window or clear site data between classes. Or open the chapter menu and tap “Clear my progress” at the bottom (the language setting stays).

  • Technology

    Works in current browsers on phones, tablets, laptops and projectors. We have not tested offline use yet: open the page once before class. Read aloud uses your browser’s own voices, and we have not checked how every device handles them.

  • Accessibility

    Animations stop if the device is set to reduce motion. Words can be read aloud. The printables are black and white.

  • Who is behind GR4AI

    A non profit project. The team works unpaid, and no company pays for it or has a say in the content. See the team.

  • Tested with teachers?

    Not yet. This is a first version: the two lessons were written from teacher feedback and have not been tried in a real classroom yet. Please tell us how it went.

Are you a teacher?

Tell us what to change.

Your grade, how long your lessons are, which language, and whether you would run one lesson or both. Your answers shape the next version.

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