12 prompting exercises for kids, by age

One person describes a picture; the other draws only what they hear. Vague words like 'a thing' make funny drawings. Kids learn that the listener, human or computer, can only work with what you tell it.

1. Parent hides a simple picture.
2. Child gives drawing directions without showing it.
3. Compare the drawing with the picture.
4. Swap roles and try again with better details.

Build a request out of three parts: who it is for, what you want, and where or how. 'A story' becomes 'A short bedtime story for my little brother about a sleepy dragon in a library.' Parent types; kid builds.

1. Write who, what and where on three cards.
2. Fill each card out loud.
3. Parent types the full request into a chatbot on their account.
4. Read the answer and decide which card made the biggest difference.

A prompt-writing game: you see a picture and write a description to get an image generator to make something close to it. It rewards specific words about color, style and setting, which is the core skill of prompting.

Watch for: Do it together; the generated images are not always what you expect.

Parent writes three weak requests, like 'help with math'. The child rewrites each to be clearer, then you try both versions and compare. Seeing the better answer come back is the lesson.

1. Parent writes three vague prompts.
2. Child adds who, what, and how long.
3. Run both versions side by side.
4. Vote on which answer is more useful.

Ask the same question twice: once plainly, once with 'explain it for a 9-year-old who likes soccer.' Kids learn that context about the reader changes the answer, and that they can ask for what they need.

1. Pick a question from school.
2. Ask it plainly, then with age and interests added.
3. Ask the child which one they understood and why.

Add 'Before you answer, ask me three questions about what I need.' The chatbot's questions show kids what context they forgot. It flips them from passive asker to someone in charge of the conversation.

Show the chatbot one example of the kind of thing you want, like a sample riddle, and ask for five more like it. Kids learn that examples often say more than long instructions, a trick that also works on people.

Practice adding rules: word count, format, reading level, what to leave out. 'Three bullet points, no more than 10 words each.' Then check whether the chatbot actually followed them. It often slips, which is worth noticing.

After any answer, practice three follow-ups: How sure are you? What would change your answer? Where could I check this? Then really check one claim elsewhere. This is the habit that matters most.

1. Ask a factual question.
2. Ask the three follow-ups.
3. Look up one claim in a book or trusted site.
4. Note whether the chatbot's confidence matched reality.

Ask two different assistants the same carefully worded question and compare. Where they disagree is where to dig. Teens learn no single AI is the final word.

Watch for: Use accounts that fit each product's age terms, or a parent's account.

For a big task, like planning a science project, ask for a plan first, then work through one step at a time, checking each. Teens learn that splitting a problem gives better results than one giant ask.

Ask about a book, person or place that does not exist, or a very local topic. See whether the chatbot invents details. It is the clearest demonstration of why checking matters, and it sticks.

1. Invent a fake book title and author.
2. Ask the chatbot to summarize it.
3. Talk about why it might make something up instead of saying it does not know.