30 Claude prompts every teacher should steal

Lesson plans, IEP drafts, parent emails, marking, differentiation, assessment — 30 copy-paste prompts that took me from "AI is interesting" to "AI saves me 6 hours a week."

Bookmark this page. All 30 prompts are written for Claude but work in any modern AI. Replace the bracketed bits with your own context.

Lesson planning (1–6)

1. Quick lesson outline: "Outline a 45-minute lesson for [grade level] on [topic]. Include hook, main activity, check for understanding, and exit ticket. UK curriculum / Norwegian Kunnskapsløftet alignment if possible."
2. Differentiation: "Take this lesson plan [paste] and give me a version differentiated for three levels: support, core, stretch. Keep the core activity the same."
3. Cross-curricular hook: "I'm teaching [topic] this week. Suggest 5 cross-curricular tie-ins (literacy, numeracy, art, music, PE) that I could use as a starter activity."
4. Vocabulary list: "Generate a 10-word academic vocabulary list for [topic / age]. For each word: definition, example sentence, common student mistake."
5. Misconception map: "What are the 7 most common misconceptions students have about [topic]? For each one, a 1-sentence diagnostic question I can ask to spot it."
6. Re-teach plan: "My class scored 60% on [topic]. Give me a 20-minute re-teach plan that uses a different approach than direct instruction."

Differentiation & SEN (7–11)

7. SEN adaptation: "Adapt this worksheet [paste] for a student with dyslexia. Keep the cognitive demand, change the access."
8. Visual support: "Convert this set of instructions [paste] into a visual sequence with 6 steps and simple language for a student with autism."
9. Scaffolded sentence starters: "Give me 10 sentence starters for a student writing an opinion paragraph on [topic]. Pitch at year 6 level."
10. EAL simplification: "Simplify this text [paste] to A2 English level without losing the key information. Highlight any words I should pre-teach."
11. Emotional regulation script: "Write a calm, neutral 4-step script I can use with a 9-year-old who is starting to escalate during a maths lesson."

IEPs and reports (12–16)

12. IEP target draft: "Draft 3 SMART IEP targets for a year 5 pupil with working memory difficulties in maths. Targets should be achievable in one term."
13. Strengths-first phrasing: "Rewrite this teacher comment [paste] so it leads with strengths, then the area for development, then the next step. Keep it under 60 words."
14. Parent-friendly translation: "Translate this professional report extract [paste] into language a parent without an education background can understand. Same content, plain English."
15. Provision map: "Help me draft a provision map row for: [need]. Include intervention, frequency, who delivers, expected outcome, review date."
16. End-of-term comment bank: "Generate 10 end-of-term comments for a hard-working but academically struggling year 7 student in maths. Vary the phrasing. Avoid clichés."

Parent communication (17–21)

17. Difficult email: "Draft a polite but firm email to a parent whose child has been late 4 times this week. Tone: warm, professional, no blame. 5 sentences max."
18. Good news call script: "Give me a 90-second phone script for calling a parent with positive news about their child's behaviour. Specific, sincere, no fluff."
19. Parent's evening prep: "I have parent's evening tomorrow. Help me draft 3 talking points for [student name]: one celebration, one development area, one practical next step."
20. Difficult feedback: "Help me phrase this concern [topic] for a parent meeting in a way that is honest but doesn't put them on the defensive."
21. Class newsletter: "Write a 200-word weekly class newsletter covering: what we learnt, what's coming, one thing parents can do at home. Friendly, not corporate."

Marking and feedback (22–26)

22. Comment + next step: "Read this student paragraph [paste]. Give me a 2-sentence comment: one specific strength, one specific next step. Year 8 English."
23. Rubric to feedback: "Using this rubric [paste], score this work [paste] and give me 3 bullet points of feedback at the level the student can act on next lesson."
24. Self-assessment prompts: "Generate 8 student self-assessment questions for [topic]. Mix specific ("can I do X") and reflective ("how would I explain X to a friend")."
25. Peer assessment script: "Give me a 1-page peer assessment script for year 9 students reviewing each other's persuasive writing. Include 3 things to look for and 2 things to comment on."
26. Whole-class feedback sheet: "From these 5 student samples [paste], identify the 3 most common errors. Generate a single whole-class feedback sheet I can project tomorrow."

Admin and your own sanity (27–30)

27. Meeting prep: "I have a 30-minute meeting with [role] about [topic]. Give me 3 questions I should ask, 2 outcomes I should aim for, and one risk to flag."
28. Email triage: "Here are 8 emails [paste]. Tell me which need a reply today, which can wait, and which I can ignore. One sentence each."
29. Policy summary: "Summarise this 12-page policy [paste] in 200 words for a teacher. What's new, what's the same, what do I actually need to do differently?"
30. End-of-day reflection: "Ask me 3 questions about my teaching day. Then summarise back what I told you in a way I'd want to read tomorrow morning."

What's next

Curious how Claude compares to ChatGPT for teaching work? I tested both for a term →