AI for Teachers

3 Helpful Ways Teachers Can Use AI to Save Time (Without Losing the Heart of Teaching) and PERSONALIZE Your Classroom

As teachers, we’re no strangers to long hours, full plates, and the never-ending to-do list. Between lesson planning, grading, parent communication, and trying to squeeze in a moment to breathe, it can feel like there’s never enough time in the day. That’s where AI can step in—not to replace us, but to support us.

Here are 3 helpful (and realistic!) ways you can use AI to save time and bring a little ease to your day:

1. Lesson Planning Support in Seconds

AI tools like ChatGPT can help you brainstorm and outline lesson plans in minutes. Just share your topic, grade level, and standards or goals, and you’ll get a structured outline to build from. Want a lesson on figurative language with an engaging warm-up, group activity, and exit ticket? Done. Need to differentiate it for varied learning needs? Ask, and it can help with that too. I use Chat to help me refresh and revitalize old lessons and materials that were dull and needed an engagement reboot,

💡 Bonus Tip: Ask AI to generate multiple-choice questions, writing prompts, or discussion starters related to your lesson. You can edit and personalize them as needed! You know your learners the best.

2. Quick Feedback & Rubrics

Tired of rewriting the same feedback or reinventing rubrics for every assignment? AI can help you craft clear, standards-based rubrics and even sample feedback based on student work. This doesn’t mean replacing your professional judgment—it just gives you a strong starting point so you’re not starting from scratch every time. I create Chat prompts with very specific information and include the learning objective. This helps me quickly create reflective tools for learners’ metacognition in a variety ways.

💬 Try this: Upload a writing prompt and ask for a rubric with 3–4 categories. You’ll get a draft you can adjust to fit your grading style.

3. Parent Communication Templates

We all know how much time it takes to write emails home, especially when you’re trying to strike the right tone. With AI, you can quickly draft clear, respectful communication in seconds. Just tell it the situation (such as start of a new unit, missing assignments, behavior concerns, or a student doing great work), and it will give you a polished draft you can personalize.

📬 Think of it as a time-saving assistant that helps you focus on connection, not composition.

Final Thought

Using AI doesn’t mean giving up your creativity or care—it means taking back some of your time so you can focus on what really matters: your students. Whether you’re streamlining a task or jumpstarting your planning, AI can be a powerful tool in your teacher toolkit.

Want to give it a try but not sure where to start? Just pick one small task this week and let AI lend a hand. You deserve it.