# Child's First AI Conversation — Lesson Plan

Companion to [a child's first AI conversation: a facilitator's script](/articles/child-first-ai-conversation).
Print this, or keep it open on a second screen while you run the session.

## Before you start

- [ ] Using an adult's own account, not a new account created for the child.
- [ ] No school name, address, photo, or other identifying detail will be typed in.
- [ ] 15-20 minutes set aside, with the session ending on the closing reflection, not fizzling out.

## Step-by-step facilitator card

### 1. Name the tool (2 min)

Say, adjusted to age: "This guesses the next word from patterns in text it read before. It doesn't
know things the way you or I know things." Have them repeat it back before continuing.

### 2. Ask something real together (3 min)

Use the child's own genuine question. Type it, read the answer aloud, ask: "does this match what you
already know?"

### 3. The false-answer test (5 min)

Prefer a question you can check from a book beside you, or turn off web/code tools for this step.
Do not rely only on "word count this paste" or "news from yesterday" — tools often solve those.
If the model is right, say so and try a second trick rather than pretending it failed. Compare a
wrong answer to the true one. Say plainly: "It got that wrong, and it didn't sound any less sure
than when it was right."

*Question you used:* ____________________________________________

*What it got wrong:* ____________________________________________

### 4. The source check (4 min)

Ask: "how could we find out if it's actually right?" Do the check together — a book, a trusted site,
or asking a knowledgeable adult.

*How you checked it:* ____________________________________________

### 5. The privacy pause (3 min)

Ask: "if you wanted to ask it something about you — your school, your friends, where we live — what
should you do first?" Practice with a hypothetical school-project question and have the child name
which details to leave out.

### 6. Closing reflection (2-3 min)

Ask, in the child's own words:

- What is this thing good at?
- What is it bad at, or where does it need checking?
- What would you never type into it without asking me first?

*Their answers:* ____________________________________________

## Age-band adjustments

| Age band | Who types | Adjustment |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ~6 | Adult | Adult narrates the false-answer test out loud; child watches and answers closing questions simply |
| ~10 | Child, adult watching | Child predicts confidence before checking; attempts source check with light guidance |
| ~13+ | Child drives | Child picks the trick question themselves; explains what they noticed instead of being told |

## After the session

- [ ] Repeat Steps 3-5 again within the next month — one session does not make the habit permanent.
- [ ] Decide separately, using the
      [parent AI-literacy age matrix](/downloads/articles/parent-ai-literacy-age-matrix.md), whether
      and when this child gets an account of their own.
- [ ] If the child later has repeated independent access, revisit
      [AI literacy by age](/articles/ai-literacy-by-age-for-parents) for the supervision level that
      band expects.