How I am Teaching My Elementary School Students About AI and Why You Should Too

As a classroom teacher, I have seen firsthand how AI can spark student curiosity. Students are hearing about AI and are excited about the future of technology. But with that flame of curiosity comes a spark of concern. “How can I tell if an image is AI?” “Why do I need to learn how to do this if AI can just do it for me?” These are valid questions that educators need to address with their students. Twenty-first-century students need a space where they can learn and explore proper AI use safely.  Although it can be intimidating and overwhelming to learn a new technology and then teach it to kids, it can also be exciting to explore something new and share it with your students. 

Although AI has been around for years, it continues to become increasingly advanced. When Alexa was introduced to the world 10 years ago, the public was both intrigued and unsure. This is the same reaction many generative AI applications have received lately. Although AI can be used for malicious purposes, it can also be greatly beneficial. Throughout this article, I will analyze research on current AI usage with students, explore potential applications of AI in the classroom, and examine how to effectively and age-appropriately utilize AI with students.

Advancements Met With Scrutiny

Every year, when I teach long division, I have to remind my students to refrain from using their calculators to solve the problems. I teach them that by using that technology, they are limiting themselves from learning how to do the math themselves. Of course, there are always the few who try to use it on their assignments and then realize they know absolutely nothing when the test rolls around. However, overall, the students realize that the calculator is a tool to support their learning and that they need to be capable of solving problems on their own. I can imagine that when calculators first came out, there was an outcry about how these new devices would stop people from learning math and that the next generation would be lazy.

History is repeating itself, as it often does, with the emergence of new generative AI technologies. I have found myself thinking, “Kids these days are not going to learn how to write with ChatGPT at their fingertips!” I’m sure some students will use it to do all their work, as I can imagine that some students may overuse their calculators at first. But once we teach how to properly use AI and the importance of learning these skills ourselves, it will hopefully become a tool to support our students (and teachers), rather than something to be feared and banned. 

What is AI?

AI is by definition “a set of technologies that allow computers to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence,” according to Google’s AI Gemini¹. The tasks that typically require human intelligence are the things that cause fear. But fear not, for new technologies replacing humans have been around for longer than most of us have been alive: sewing machines, tractors, cameras, and so on.

Many forms of AI have been around for years, starting with low-level chatbots in the 60s and computer-simulated games in the 80s. More recently, we see Siri, Alexa, and other voice-activated assistants, such as Google Assistant and Cortana. In 2024, generative AI, such as ChatGPT, is a hot topic. Generative AI is only as intelligent as the information it is given. It needs humans to guide and program it. Because AI is so heavily reliant on humans, it is essential to educate future generations on how to do so. A study from the University of Cambridge found that people are more likely to take on the opinions and perceptions the media portrays of AI, rather than forming their own opinions (Cave, 2018)². Students need to be able to explore and interact with AI, creating their conclusions about the technology. 

How can I use AI in my classroom?

Recently, my students and I explored the Google Experiment: Odd One Out³ as a morning meeting activity, and I found that they were significantly better at identifying the AI-generated image than I was. This online experiment aims to demonstrate to students the realism of AI-generated images, encouraging them not to trust everything they see online. There are four images shown, one of which is AI-generated. You get 3 chances to guess the correct AI-generated one.

After completing the activity, I allowed them to try it on their own devices, and some of my students provided hints, such as “The AI image is too colorful” or “It looks too perfect,” to help them identify the AI image out of the four choices. I was impressed with how much easier they could spot those images than I could. However, I was more impressed with how quickly they have adapted to identifying those differences. This illustrates how people consistently adapt to their surroundings. Students today are learning to be critical thinkers in many areas beyond AI. 

In my school, we do a whole-class phonics intervention daily. As we work through the curriculum-prepared slides, we notice many errors and confusing sentences. My class and I have concluded that AI makes these slides, and no human is proofreading them. We discuss how AI can be a great help in various aspects, but it is only as intelligent as it is programmed to be. It cannot do the complex, higher-order thinking that people can do. If someone had proofread the slides, they would have caught the mistakes and corrected them.

This was a perfect learning moment for my students about how AI is not a perfect content generator. How could this be applied in the classroom? Have an AI generator generate content about a subject students are working on, and then they can review and edit the AI’s creation. Students can improve it by correcting mistakes, adding more voice, and removing unnecessary details. This is a real-world example of how students can utilize AI to hone their critical thinking skills, particularly in identifying and correcting errors. 

Say What You See Experiment

Another recent Google Experiment I conducted with my students is the ‘Say What You See’ experiment⁴. An AI image is shown to you, and you have to enter a prompt for the AI to make something close to that original image. As my students worked on this, I noticed how detailed they had to be with their responses. Typing “a blue bowl” is not going to generate the same image as “a glass bowl with ombre light blue on the top and dark blue on the bottom. Vertical lines on the side of the bowl. The bowl is on a white, shiny surface.”

The detail AI needs to create the image is something that I was able to tie into other areas of our day as well. I have been teaching students about adding details to their writing for weeks, and they have been practicing this by providing specific information to the AI generator. The AI would also make mistakes on this by either using the wrong color or not following the prompt exactly. This allows for more teachable moments where we discuss how AI makes mistakes and how you can refine your prompt to achieve the desired outcome. I believe that AI prompting will soon become a highly desirable skill in the job market, and it starts with students practicing it now. 

Some other ideas for AI use in the classroom:

• Use a chatbot to pretend to be a book character. Students can ask questions to it as if they are interviewing the character.
• Use a generative AI website, such as ChatGPT, to generate sentences about a topic, and then students can organize the information into a logical order. 
• Have an image AI create an image about a specific topic, and then students can analyze the various elements of the art, such as lines, shapes, colors, and materials. 
• Common Sense Education offers lessons specifically on how to utilize AI in the classroom.

“Why is all of this so important? Can’t I just pretend AI doesn’t exist?”

You could, but it does exist, and as educators, it is our responsibility to prepare our students for future success. AI is the future, and as daunting as it may be, the adults of tomorrow must be given space to explore and learn about the technology they will encounter in their lives. A study from the University of Cambridge found that, out of 102 children surveyed worldwide, those in the US were the most exposed to AI in toys but had the least ability to think critically about how they operated (Druga, 2019)⁵. This highlights the importance of not only exposing children to AI but also explicitly teaching them about how AI works and its role in the world. 

Going Forward

AI can also benefit you as a teacher! Websites with AI features, such as MagicSchool and Eduaide, offer specific tools for teachers, including writing emails, creating easy worksheets, and more. Although it can seem scary or even unprofessional to use AI for your work, it actually has a lot of benefits. A study from Wayne State University in Michigan found that AI can have a significant impact on differentiating lessons (Zhang, 2021)⁶.

Teachers can input their lesson objectives into an AI website, which provides ideas and examples on how to adapt them to meet the needs of their students better. There are numerous ways to utilize AI within your classroom, both independently and with your students. Start small and don’t be afraid to try new things. Using and teaching about AI can be scary and overwhelming, but remember that the children are resilient learners, and so are you. 

My name is Alaina Larson, and I am a 4th-grade teacher in Minnesota. I love to read, go on walks with my dog, and explore the Twin Cities metro area. I graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education (K-6) and a minor in STEM Education. I am currently in a Master’s program focused on educational technology. I am passionate about using the new technology tools to help students learn and be better equipped for the future!