Lesson 1: What is Artificial Intelligence?
Comprehensive Teacher Guide
This document contains answer keys and teaching notes for Lesson 1. Please keep this document for your reference only - do not distribute to students. Many questions in this lesson have multiple acceptable answers depending on reasoning, so use professional judgment when assessing student responses.
The "Human vs. AI" sorting activity is designed to help students think critically about the strengths and limitations of both human and artificial intelligence. There are often multiple valid categorizations depending on context and reasoning.
Focus on the quality of student reasoning rather than whether they chose the "correct" category. A well-reasoned explanation for an unexpected categorization may demonstrate deeper understanding than simply choosing the expected answer.
| Task | Suggested Category | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| 👤 HUMANS DO BEST | ||
| Showing empathy to someone who is sad | Humans Do Best | Requires genuine emotional understanding and connection; AI can simulate empathy but cannot truly feel emotions |
| Creating art that expresses feelings | Humans Do Best | While AI can create art, human creativity is driven by genuine emotion, life experience, and intentionality |
| Making an ethical decision | Humans Do Best | Requires moral reasoning, consideration of context, cultural values, and consequences that AI cannot fully grasp |
| Teaching a child to read | Humans Do Best | Requires patience, emotional support, adaptability to individual needs, and building relationship with the child |
| Coming up with a new invention idea | Humans Do Best | Requires creative thinking, understanding human needs, and innovative problem-solving; AI can assist but humans lead innovation |
| Making a fair legal judgment | Humans Do Best | Requires understanding of nuance, context, fairness, and human values; too important to delegate to AI |
| Acting in a movie | Humans Do Best | Requires genuine emotion, interpretation of character, creativity, and human connection with audience |
| Caring for a baby | Humans Do Best | Requires love, emotional connection, adaptability, and intuitive understanding of needs |
| Composing an emotional piece of music | Humans Do Best | AI can compose music, but human composers draw from genuine emotional experiences and artistic vision |
| 🤖 AI HELPS | ||
| Calculating 1,847 × 563 | AI Helps | Computers excel at rapid, accurate mathematical calculations |
| Finding patterns in weather data | AI Helps | AI can process vast amounts of data quickly and identify patterns humans might miss |
| Searching through 1 million documents | AI Helps | AI can quickly search, sort, and retrieve information from massive datasets |
| Spotting trends in sales data | AI Helps | Pattern recognition across large datasets is a key strength of AI |
| Sorting 10,000 items by size | AI Helps | Repetitive tasks that follow clear rules are ideal for AI |
| Filtering spam email | AI Helps | AI learns patterns in spam messages and can filter them efficiently |
| Being an opponent in a video game | AI Helps | AI can provide challenging gameplay by learning player strategies |
| Converting speech to text | AI Helps | AI has become very good at recognizing spoken words and transcribing them |
| Adjusting home temperature based on preferences | AI Helps | AI learns usage patterns and optimizes settings automatically |
| Recommending products you might like | AI Helps | AI analyzes purchase history and patterns to make personalized suggestions |
| Recognizing your face to unlock a phone | AI Helps | Image recognition is a strength of AI; can identify faces quickly and accurately |
| Checking spelling and grammar | AI Helps | AI can quickly identify errors based on language rules and patterns |
| 🤝 BOTH WORK TOGETHER | ||
| Recognizing a friend's face in a crowd | Both Work Together | Humans are naturally excellent at this, but AI facial recognition can assist in certain contexts; humans verify results |
| Playing chess | Both Work Together | AI is extremely strong at chess, but humans study AI games to improve, and can still provide creative strategies; both learn from each other |
| Translating text from English to Spanish | Both Work Together | AI provides quick translation, but humans check for accuracy, cultural nuances, and context |
| Diagnosing a medical condition | Both Work Together | AI can analyze medical images and data to spot patterns, but doctors make final diagnosis considering patient history and context |
| Driving a car safely | Both Work Together | Self-driving technology uses AI, but humans currently monitor and can take control; full autonomy is still developing |
| Writing a creative story | Both Work Together | AI can suggest ideas or help with structure, but human creativity provides originality, emotion, and artistic vision |
| Identifying objects in photographs | Both Work Together | AI is very accurate at object recognition, but humans verify results and provide context or interpretation |
| Analyzing DNA sequences | Both Work Together | AI quickly identifies patterns in genetic data, but scientists interpret findings and make discoveries |
| Answering simple questions about the weather | Both Work Together | AI provides data and predictions, but meteorologists interpret complex patterns and communicate to public |
Students are asked to identify three examples of AI in their daily lives. Accept any accurate examples with appropriate explanations.
Look for: Student recognition that AI is more prevalent than they realized
Example responses:
Look for: Understanding that AI learns from examples, patterns, or training data
Example responses:
Look for: Creative thinking about AI applications; accept any reasonable idea
Example responses:
Look for: Recognition of human capabilities related to emotion, creativity, or judgment
Example responses:
Exceeds Expectations:
Meets Expectations:
Needs Support:
Strong Responses (specific and accurate):
Acceptable but Less Specific:
Incorrect/Needs Clarification:
Use these questions to plan future lessons or provide immediate clarification:
Common Questions:
| Activity | Time | Key Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Hook & Engagement | 5 min | Generate excitement, activate prior knowledge |
| Direct Instruction | 10 min | Define AI, explain learning, show examples |
| Sorting Activity | 15 min | Critical thinking, collaboration, application |
| Demonstration | 10 min | Concrete experience of AI learning |
| Closure & Exit Ticket | 5 min | Reflection, assessment, consolidation |
Scenario 1: Student finishes sorting activity in 5 minutes
Response: "Great work! Now create 3 new task cards that would challenge other groups. Make them tricky to categorize!"
Scenario 2: Student struggles to understand AI learning concept
Response: Use concrete analogy: "Remember learning to ride a bike? You fell, adjusted, tried again. AI learns the same way - it tries, makes mistakes, and gets better with practice."
Scenario 3: English Language Learner is hesitant to participate
Response: Provide picture-based sorting cards, allow drawing instead of writing on worksheet, pair with bilingual buddy, allow responses in native language.
Problem: Teachable Machine won't load or internet is down
Solution: Use pre-recorded video demonstration, or manually demonstrate "teaching" concept with physical objects (showing multiple examples, testing recognition)
Problem: Students think everything a computer does is AI
Solution: Clarify with comparison: "Calculator follows exact rules you program (not AI). Voice assistant learns from millions of conversations and improves (AI)."
Problem: Advanced students want to discuss complex AI concepts beyond scope
Solution: Validate interest, provide simplified answer, suggest resources for independent research, stay focused on grade-level objectives
| Term | Student-Friendly Definition | Real-World Example |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial Intelligence (AI) | When computers learn to do things that usually need human thinking | Siri answering questions, Netflix recommendations |
| Pattern | Something that happens in a similar way over and over | It rains after cloudy skies, your favorite songs sound similar |
| Learn/Learning | Getting better at something through practice and examples | AI learns to recognize cats by seeing thousands of cat pictures |
| Algorithm | Step-by-step instructions for solving a problem | Recipe for cookies, directions to school |
| Data | Information that computers use to learn | Pictures, numbers, words that AI studies |
| Training | Teaching AI by showing it many examples | Training AI to recognize dogs by showing it dog pictures |
Lesson 1 establishes core understanding. Future lessons should:
Reference today's concepts in every future lesson to reinforce learning.
Dear Families,
Today we began our unit on Artificial Intelligence! Students learned what AI is, explored
how AI learns from examples, and identified AI in their daily lives. We discussed the
important idea that humans and AI work together, each bringing unique strengths.
At home, you can:
• Ask your child to teach you what AI is
• Find examples of AI in your home together (voice assistants, smart devices, recommendations)
• Discuss: "What can humans do that AI cannot?"
This unit helps students become informed digital citizens who understand the technology
shaping their world.
Questions? Email me at [your email]
Thank you for supporting your child's learning!