Think About This — the weekly prompt bank¶
There is no homework in this class. Every week ends with one optional question — something to notice during the week, not something to complete.
How these work
- Read the prompt aloud in the last two minutes of class.
- Nothing is written down. Nothing is collected. Nothing is graded.
- Students who bring something back get 60 seconds to share it during next week's Anchor.
- If nobody brings anything back, say the prompt again and move on. Don't make it a duty — the moment it becomes an obligation, it stops working.
Why this is the whole engagement strategy. With no homework and no grades, curiosity is the only thing carrying this class through a seven-day gap. These prompts are cheap to give and cost students nothing — but a student who spends ten seconds on Tuesday wondering why YouTube recommended that video is a student who walks in Friday already thinking.
Unit 1 — Think Like a Machine¶
Aug 14 – Oct 2, 2026
Week 1 — Launch Day: How Does a Machine Know Anything?¶
Friday, August 14, 2026 · full lesson
Somewhere this week, a computer is going to guess what you want before you ask for it. A video it recommends. A word your phone finishes for you. A song it plays next.
When it happens — stop for two seconds and ask: what did it have to already know about me to make that guess?
Bring one example next Friday.
Week 2 — Sequence & Events: Making Things Move¶
Friday, August 21, 2026 · full lesson
Somewhere this week, notice a machine waiting for an event: a microwave button, a crosswalk button, a game controller, a car sensor, a phone notification.
Ask yourself: what was it doing before the event happened?
Week 3 — Loops: Doing It Again Without Repeating Yourself¶
Friday, August 28, 2026 · full lesson
Notice one repeated system this week: a traffic light cycle, a school bell schedule, a playlist, a washing machine, a game enemy pattern.
Ask: what would break if the timing changed?
Week 4 — Variables: Keeping Score¶
Friday, September 4, 2026 · full lesson
Notice one number an app or game remembers about you this week: a streak, unread messages, battery percent, score, watch steps, video progress.
Ask: what action changes that number?
Week 5 — Conditionals: Teaching a Program to Decide¶
Friday, September 11, 2026 · full lesson
Notice one everyday rule that works like an
if: if your battery is low, your phone warns you; if a door sensor sees motion, it opens; if a cart total is high enough, shipping changes.Ask: who chose that threshold?
Week 6 — Sprites & Collisions: When Things Touch¶
Friday, September 18, 2026 · full lesson
Watch for real-life collision rules: a checkout scanner sees a barcode, an elevator door senses an object, a car warns when something is close, a soccer ball crosses a goal line.
Ask: what counts as 'touching' in that system?
Week 7 — Build Your Own: Design Your Game¶
Friday, September 25, 2026 · full lesson
Play or watch any game for two minutes this week — sports, board game, phone game, playground game.
Ask: what is the smallest rule that makes it fun?
Week 8 — Playtest & Share: Ship It to the Class¶
Friday, October 2, 2026 · full lesson
Notice one product this week that was clearly improved because people tested it: a game tutorial, a checkout screen, a door handle, a lunch line, a sports rule.
Ask: what problem did a designer probably see before changing it?
Unit 2 — AI Unmasked¶
Oct 16 – Dec 18, 2026
Week 9 — What Is AI, Really?¶
Friday, October 16, 2026 · full lesson
This week, notice one place a computer sorts, recommends, filters, or guesses something for you.
Ask yourself: what examples might have trained it to make that guess?
Week 10 — Training Data: Teach a Machine Yourself¶
Friday, October 23, 2026 · full lesson
Notice one machine learning mistake this week. Autocorrect, recommendations, search, captions, anything.
Ask: what example might have been missing from its training data?
Week 11 — Bias: When the Data Is Lopsided¶
Friday, October 30, 2026 · full lesson
Notice a system that works better for some people, places, or situations than others.
It could be voice captions, autocorrect, a game controller, a search result, or a recommendation. Ask: what examples might be missing?
Week 12 — How Language Models Actually Work¶
Friday, November 6, 2026 · full lesson
When you type this week, notice autocomplete or suggested replies.
Ask: is it predicting what is true, or what is likely to come next?
Week 13 — Prompt Engineering: Asking Better Questions¶
Friday, November 13, 2026 · full lesson
Notice a time this week when better instructions would have saved time.
It could be with a person, a game, a search box, or a computer. Ask: what detail was missing from the original instruction?
Week 14 — Hallucinations: When AI Is Confidently Wrong¶
Friday, November 20, 2026 · full lesson
This week, notice one confident claim online.
Ask: what would I check before repeating this to someone else?
Week 15 — Synthetic Media: Seeing Isn't Believing¶
Friday, December 4, 2026 · full lesson
Before you share an image or video this week, pause for two seconds.
Ask: what claim would someone believe if I shared this without context?
Week 16 — AI for Good: A Design Sprint¶
Friday, December 11, 2026 · full lesson
Notice one small problem this week where a prediction might help.
Ask: what data would someone need, and what could go wrong if the prediction was wrong?
Week 17 — Hour of Code Celebration¶
Friday, December 18, 2026 · full lesson
Over break, notice one tiny task you wish a program could do for you.
Ask: could that task be solved with exact instructions, or would it need examples and predictions?
Unit 3 — From Blocks to Text¶
Jan 8 – Mar 5, 2027
Week 18 — Hello, Python — your first typed program¶
Friday, January 8, 2027 · full lesson
Notice one place this week where tiny punctuation changes meaning. A comma in a sentence, a decimal point in a price, a period in a web address. Python works that way too.
Week 19 — Variables & input — programs that talk back¶
Friday, January 15, 2027 · full lesson
Notice one system this week that remembers a number for you. A score, unread messages, steps, or battery percent. What is the variable?
Week 20 — Conditionals in text¶
Friday, January 22, 2027 · full lesson
Notice one decision rule this week: if it rains, if battery is low, if the score is high enough. What is the condition?
Week 21 — Loops in text¶
Friday, January 29, 2027 · full lesson
Notice one repeated pattern this week. What is the loop body? What tells it to stop?
Week 22 — Lists — holding many things at once¶
Friday, February 5, 2027 · full lesson
Notice a list this week: menu, roster, playlist, inventory. What would the list be named in code?
Week 23 — Functions — naming your own instructions¶
Friday, February 12, 2027 · full lesson
Notice a named routine this week: a recipe, play call, classroom procedure, or morning routine. What steps hide inside that name?
Week 24 — Debugging — reading an error message on purpose¶
Friday, February 19, 2027 · full lesson
Notice one error message this week outside coding. What clue did the message give you?
Week 25 — Coding with an AI assistant — and checking its work¶
Friday, February 26, 2027 · full lesson
Notice one AI or autocomplete suggestion this week. Did you accept it, change it, or ignore it? Why?
Week 26 — Python mini-project¶
Friday, March 5, 2027 · full lesson
Notice one website this week and ask: what parts are content, and what parts are instructions for how it should appear?
Unit 4 — Ship It¶
Mar 19 – May 21, 2027
Week 27 — Your first web page — HTML¶
Friday, March 19, 2027 · full lesson
Notice one website this week that has a style you like. Not the topic — the style. What color, spacing, or layout choice makes it feel good to use?
Week 28 — Styling with CSS — making it yours¶
Friday, April 9, 2027 · full lesson
What would you want someone to feel in the first five seconds on your page? Curious? Calm? Excited? Clear? Notice one design choice that creates that feeling.
Week 29 — Going live — deploy to Azure¶
Friday, April 16, 2027 · full lesson
If you could build one small thing for someone else to use or enjoy, what would it be? A page, a game, a quiz, a tool, a guide — just notice ideas.
Week 30 — Capstone kickoff — pitch your project¶
Friday, April 23, 2027 · full lesson
Notice one small app, game, or website that does one job well. What does it refuse to do? That refusal is part of good design.
Week 31 — Capstone build 1¶
Friday, April 30, 2027 · full lesson
Notice a time this week when something simple works better than something complicated. Why was simple better?
Week 32 — Capstone build 2¶
Friday, May 7, 2027 · full lesson
Notice one instruction in the world that is either very clear or very confusing. A sign, a button, a menu, a game tutorial. What made it that way?
Week 33 — Polish & deploy¶
Friday, May 14, 2027 · full lesson
What is one sentence you can say next week that starts with, 'I built…'? Notice how that feels.
Week 34 — 🎉 Showcase Day¶
Friday, May 21, 2027 · full lesson
This summer, notice one problem, curiosity, or hobby that could become a tiny project. Not a giant app. A tiny project. Ask: could I make a page, a game, or a program for that?
Printing these¶
Some teachers post the current week's prompt on the classroom door or the anchor board so students see it on the way out. Others just say it. Both work.
Never turn these into an assignment
The moment a prompt becomes something students have to answer, it stops being curiosity and starts being homework — and this class promised there wouldn't be any. Ask who noticed something. Take the hands you get. Move on.
This page is generated from the lesson files by python tools/build-prompts.py. Edit the lessons, not this page.