Create a Custom, Standards-Based Lesson Planning Assistant

Creating a Reusable Template to Automate Lesson Planning

Summary

• You can use ChatGPT+ features to create a reusable database/template to automate your lesson planning

• All you need to do is create a PDF and share the link using one the PDF-Related Plugins

• Please note that you need the paid features of ChatGPT for this to work

Why Go To The Trouble?

One of the more frustrating limitations of ChatGPT at the moment is its inability to store long-term information. As things stand now, you have to re-teach ChatGPT your preferences for any task you want it to complete. The new Plugins feature can help reduce some of the frustration on this front by allowing ChatGPT to access PDFs which can serve as your template.

How Do You Do It?

Like most aspects of ChatGPT, creating a template and referencing is actually pretty straightforward. Once you’ve signed up for the paid version of ChatGPT you should have access to the Plugins in any new chat you start.

The Plugin I find most reliable is ChatwithPDF, though it’s worth noting that it will somewhat randomly decide that it cannot access PDFs. If you see any error messages about access, you can try creating a new file in GoogleDrive and sharing a link to your PDF with viewing/editing permissions.

The template I created simply contains some guidelines about how I plan lessons and the questions I want ChatGPT to ask during the planning process. I also included a PDF with all of the ELA Common Core Standards for high school. If you’d like to access the template and all the other files I’ve mentioned on Substack, you can subscribe for free and you’ll receive a link in your email.

Below is a screenshot showing what I asked ChatGPT after sharing a GoogleDrive link to my PDF.

I won’t screenshot the entire conversation, but I told ChatGPT I wanted it to build a lesson around literary analysis. This is what it responded with:

Content Standard: "Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research."

• For Grades 9-10: Apply grades 9–10 Reading standards to literature (e.g., "Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work [e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare]").

I clarified that I wanted a lesson based on To Kill A Mockingbird with a step by step plan including suggestions for differentiation. ChatGPT created a detailed plan for both in class discussion and writing prompts regarding themes in the novel and their connection to modern day events. What stands out to me is that the AI was able to ask me about potential roadblocks student might face and then provide solutions/resources to address them. Together we decided that the biggest impediment students might face is keeping track of relevant themes and text-based evidence. So ChatGPT created a list of themes and potential quotes.

Conclusion

• If you have access to ChatGPT Plus, I’d highly recommend using the PDF plugin features to create a facsimle of “permanent” memory.

• This works with almost any PDF and could even answer questions about bargaining agreements or other longer technical documents.