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Prompt your lesson (planning), why don’t you?











AI, prompting, iterating, cocreating….

All these are not easy skills to master, but done right can help you be more efficient and still think independently.

The picture above shows a selection of ‘critical thinking prompts’ (I am afraid I don’t know the source, a colleague just resent it for me) that I took the liberty of expanding into prompts that promote  critical thinking and help us plan for lessons and teach them:) 

Hope you like them! 


First-Principles Thinking

"Break down a target grammar or vocabulary topic to its core elements. Suggest activities that build from the absolute basics upward, reconstructing knowledge step by step for clarity."

Assumption Audit

"List assumptions I might have about students’ prior knowledge or skills regarding this curriculum point. For each, explain how to check if my assumption is true and suggest backup activities for weaker students."

Socratic Deep Dive

"Simulate a Socratic dialogue that explores the deeper reasons behind a language feature or cultural insight. Model questions I can use to guide students from surface understanding to deeper meaning."

Steelman Challenge

"Reframe a student’s common error or misconception in the strongest possible light. Then, design an activity that addresses and respects this viewpoint before guiding students to the standard form."

Devil’s Proof Test

"Show me how to stress-test students’ understanding of this topic. Suggest activities that deliberately introduce tricky exceptions, contradictory rules, or ambiguous examples."

Counterfactual Mirror

"Imagine how a lesson might have gone if I had used a different activity or approach. Suggest alternative strategies and what results or misunderstandings they might have produced."

Bayesian Mindset

"Help me make decisions under uncertainty about my class’s needs. Present likely scenarios for a new topic rollout, and provide activity options for each possibility."

Bias & Logic Checker

"Identify where my beliefs about student learning or motivation might cloud my lesson planning. Suggest ways to check for bias and recommend activities that promote objective observation of student progress."

Comparative Lens

"Compare at least three distinct teaching methods or activity types for this skill—e.g., drills, communicative tasks, tech integration. Summarize the strengths and weaknesses in context."

Inversion Strategy

"Flip the purpose of a standard activity. How can I use error correction for fluency training, or drill-based repetition for creative language use?"

Problem Refiner

"Take a vague lesson goal (e.g., ‘improve spoken accuracy’). Help me turn it into clear, observable subgoals with matching activity ideas."

Pre-Mortem Scan

"Predict why a planned lesson or activity might fail. Identify points of risk and suggest preventative tweaks to maximize success."

Causal Mapping

"Map out how the components of a lesson (warm-up, input, practice, assessment) affect each other. Identify possible bottlenecks or reinforcement paths."

Evidence Hierarchy

"List the direct and indirect evidence from past lessons that supports my belief about what works for this skill. Rank these forms of evidence and suggest ways to collect stronger proof."

Ethical Compass

"Analyze the ethical or cultural implications of a reading text or speaking topic. Suggest strategies to introduce sensitivity and encourage critical reflection among students."

Role Rotation

"Describe how different classroom roles (student, teacher, peer-assessor, game leader) could help me assess understanding or run an activity. Recommend rotation formats."

Contrarian Filter

"Argue against my favorite activity or teaching method for a particular topic. Highlight possible downsides and propose contexts where alternatives might work better."

Ladder of Abstraction

"Translate an abstract curriculum goal (like ‘critical thinking’) into increasingly concrete classroom activities, each layer building off the previous."

Dual Debate

"Construct a mini-debate script between two teaching approaches to this topic or skill. Suggest ways to let students experience and evaluate both perspectives in class."

Meta-Reflections

"Ask meta-level reflection questions: 'Why do I keep choosing this type of activity? What larger beliefs or habits are driving my lesson planning?'. Suggest reflective journaling prompts or peer discussion formats."

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