# Hodios paste pack: Teaching
Everything in Teaching from Hodios, the open prompt library by Hermes IDE: 108 entries, catalog 2026.1004.3.
Every entry is dedicated to the public domain under CC0 1.0. Copy, change and share them freely, no attribution needed.
Browse and search the library at https://hermes-ide.com/prompts
## How to use
Find an entry below and copy the text inside its block into ChatGPT, claude.ai or any chat. Replace each [PLACEHOLDER] with your own material. Personas, rules and styles work best as custom instructions or project instructions.
## Contents
- Teaching
- [Adapt a lesson for a deaf pupil](#adapt-lesson-for-hearing-impaired-pupil) (prompt)
- [Adapt a text to several reading levels](#adapt-text-reading-level) (prompt)
- [Align a lesson or unit to standards](#align-lesson-to-standards) (prompt)
- [Analyse a class's assessment results](#analyze-class-assessment-results) (prompt)
- [Assess-plan-do-review track](#assess-plan-do-review-track) (workflow)
- [Assessment design track](#assessment-design-track) (workflow)
- [Audit a school library collection](#audit-school-library-collection) (prompt)
- [Break down a life skill task](#break-down-life-skill-task) (prompt)
- [Build a feedback comment bank](#build-feedback-comment-bank) (prompt)
- [Create a choice board](#create-choice-board) (prompt)
- [Create a classroom review game](#create-review-game) (prompt)
- [Create a graphic organizer](#create-graphic-organizer) (prompt)
- [Create a knowledge organiser](#create-knowledge-organiser) (prompt)
- [Create a practice worksheet](#create-practice-worksheet) (prompt)
- [Create a visual timetable](#create-visual-timetable) (prompt)
- [Create a weekly spelling pattern list](#create-spelling-pattern-list) (prompt)
- [Create an analytic rubric](#create-rubric) (prompt)
- [Create language supports for multilingual learners](#create-language-supports-for-ell) (prompt)
- [Design a classroom anchor chart](#create-anchor-chart) (prompt)
- [Design a classroom management plan](#design-classroom-management-plan) (prompt)
- [Design a homework task set](#design-homework-task-set) (prompt)
- [Design a project-based learning unit](#design-pbl-project) (prompt)
- [Design a school science lab activity](#design-science-lab-activity) (prompt)
- [Design a station rotation lesson](#design-station-rotation) (prompt)
- [Design a student feedback survey](#design-student-voice-survey) (prompt)
- [Design a unit plan](#design-unit-plan) (prompt)
- [Design an active-learning activity](#design-classroom-activity) (prompt)
- [Design formative checks for a lesson](#design-formative-assessment) (prompt)
- [Design self- and peer-assessment](#design-self-and-peer-assessment) (prompt)
- [Diagnose student misconceptions](#diagnose-student-misconceptions) (prompt)
- [Differentiate a lesson](#differentiate-lesson) (prompt)
- [Draft a school improvement plan](#draft-school-improvement-plan) (prompt)
- [Draft measurable IEP goals](#write-iep-goals) (prompt)
- [Early-years educator](#early-years-educator) (persona)
- [Feedback wording rules](#feedback-wording-rules) (rule)
- [Further education lecturer](#vocational-college-lecturer) (persona)
- [Generate discussion questions](#generate-discussion-questions) (prompt)
- [Instructional coach](#instructional-coach) (persona)
- [Lesson materials track](#lesson-materials-track) (workflow)
- [Mark student writing against a rubric](#mark-student-work-against-rubric) (prompt)
- [Modify a test for access needs](#modify-test-for-access-needs) (prompt)
- [Plan a co-taught lesson](#plan-co-teaching) (prompt)
- [Plan a concrete-pictorial-abstract maths lesson](#plan-concrete-pictorial-abstract-lesson) (prompt)
- [Plan a flipped lesson](#plan-flipped-lesson) (prompt)
- [Plan a guided reading group session](#plan-guided-reading-group) (prompt)
- [Plan a lesson for a substitute teacher](#plan-substitute-lesson) (prompt)
- [Plan a lesson that teaches a study skill](#teach-study-skills-lesson) (prompt)
- [Plan a library reading programme](#plan-library-reading-programme) (prompt)
- [Plan a live writing model](#plan-live-writing-model) (prompt)
- [Plan a media literacy lesson](#plan-media-literacy-lesson) (prompt)
- [Plan a mixed-age class lesson](#plan-mixed-age-class-lesson) (prompt)
- [Plan a number talk](#plan-number-talk) (prompt)
- [Plan a nursery settling-in schedule](#plan-nursery-settling-in) (prompt)
- [Plan a one-to-one support session](#plan-one-to-one-support-session) (prompt)
- [Plan a one-to-one tutoring session](#design-tutoring-session) (prompt)
- [Plan a parent workshop](#plan-parent-workshop) (prompt)
- [Plan a PE lesson](#plan-pe-lesson) (prompt)
- [Plan a play-based early-years activity](#plan-early-years-activity) (prompt)
- [Plan a PLC data meeting](#run-plc-data-meeting) (prompt)
- [Plan a restorative conversation](#plan-restorative-conversation) (prompt)
- [Plan a school field trip](#plan-field-trip) (prompt)
- [Plan a sensory-friendly classroom](#plan-sensory-friendly-classroom) (prompt)
- [Plan a six-week intervention group](#plan-intervention-group) (prompt)
- [Plan a social-emotional learning lesson](#plan-sel-lesson) (prompt)
- [Plan a Socratic seminar](#plan-socratic-seminar) (prompt)
- [Plan a systematic phonics lesson](#plan-phonics-lesson) (prompt)
- [Plan a transition to secondary school](#plan-transition-to-secondary) (prompt)
- [Plan a university lecture](#plan-university-lecture) (prompt)
- [Plan an academic misconduct conversation](#plan-academic-misconduct-meeting) (prompt)
- [Plan an information literacy session](#plan-information-literacy-session) (prompt)
- [Plan an oracy lesson](#plan-oracy-lesson) (prompt)
- [Plan an outdoor learning lesson](#plan-outdoor-learning-lesson) (prompt)
- [Plan enrichment for an advanced learner](#plan-gifted-enrichment) (prompt)
- [Plan individual behaviour support for a student](#plan-student-behavior-support) (prompt)
- [Plan teaching assistant deployment](#plan-ta-deployment) (prompt)
- [Plan the first week of school](#plan-first-week-of-school) (prompt)
- [Plan trauma-informed classroom routines](#plan-trauma-informed-classroom-routines) (prompt)
- [Plan vocabulary instruction for a unit](#plan-vocabulary-instruction) (prompt)
- [Prepare for a subject deep dive](#prepare-subject-deep-dive) (prompt)
- [Prepare for parent-teacher conferences](#prepare-parent-teacher-conference) (prompt)
- [Pupil data privacy rules](#pupil-data-privacy-rules) (rule)
- [Redesign an assignment for the AI era](#design-ai-resistant-assignment) (prompt)
- [Respond to a grade appeal](#respond-to-grade-appeal) (prompt)
- [Special education advisor](#special-education-advisor) (persona)
- [Teaching assistant mentor](#classroom-assistant-mentor) (persona)
- [Welcome a newly arrived student](#welcome-newly-arrived-student) (prompt)
- [Write a behaviour incident record](#write-behaviour-incident-record) (prompt)
- [Write a classroom AI use policy](#write-class-ai-policy) (prompt)
- [Write a classroom newsletter](#write-classroom-newsletter) (prompt)
- [Write a decodable text](#write-decodable-text) (prompt)
- [Write a lesson plan](#write-lesson-plan) (prompt)
- [Write a one-page pupil profile](#write-one-page-pupil-profile) (prompt)
- [Write a reading comprehension set](#write-reading-comprehension-set) (prompt)
- [Write a reading volunteer guide](#write-reading-volunteer-guide) (prompt)
- [Write a social story](#write-social-story) (prompt)
- [Write a student recommendation letter](#write-student-recommendation-letter) (prompt)
- [Write a teaching assistant briefing](#write-teaching-assistant-briefing) (prompt)
- [Write a teaching case study](#write-teaching-case-study) (prompt)
- [Write an early-years learning story](#write-learning-story) (prompt)
- [Write an email to parents](#write-parent-email) (prompt)
- [Write an individual learning plan](#write-individual-learning-plan) (prompt)
- [Write annotated exemplars](#write-annotated-exemplars) (prompt)
- [Write class handover notes](#write-class-handover-notes) (prompt)
- [Write IEP goal progress notes](#write-iep-progress-report) (prompt)
- [Write lesson observation feedback](#write-lesson-observation-feedback) (prompt)
- [Write multiple-choice questions](#write-multiple-choice-questions) (prompt)
- [Write report card comments](#write-report-card-comments) (prompt)
- [Write retrieval practice starters](#write-retrieval-practice-starters) (prompt)
---
## Adapt a lesson for a deaf pupil
`adapt-lesson-for-hearing-impaired-pupil` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/adapt-lesson-for-hearing-impaired-pupil
Adapts a lesson for a deaf or hearing-impaired pupil with seating, lighting, radio aid use, captions, visual vocabulary, pre-teaching, check-ins and rules for group talk.
````markdown
A class teacher or teaching assistant has a deaf or hearing-impaired pupil in a lesson. Hearing technology helps but does not restore typical hearing: background noise, distance, poor lighting on the speaker's face and fast cross-talk in discussions are where deaf pupils lose most. They also tire more from concentrating to listen. Common failures: asking "Did you understand?" (most pupils say yes), playing videos without accurate captions, talking while facing the board, and group work where several people speak at once. The pupil's specialist teacher of the deaf knows their profile best; this plan supports, not replaces, that advice.
[LESSON_PLAN]
[PUPIL_NEEDS]
1. Before the lesson: new vocabulary to pre-teach (written down, with a picture or sign where relevant), a short written outline of the lesson, and materials to share in advance (video transcripts, key questions).
2. Room and equipment: seating with a clear view of the teacher's face and of classmates in discussion, usually near the front and to one side; the teacher's face lit, not backlit by a window; noise reduction (doors closed, equipment off, soft furnishings). Radio aid or remote microphone: who wears it, connecting it to video or audio sources, muting it during private conversations, passing it in group talk, and checking it works at the start.
3. Lesson adaptations, phase by phase from the lesson plan: face the class when speaking, do not talk while writing on the board, repeat or rephrase classmates' answers, give instructions verbally and in writing, accurate captions or a transcript for all video and audio, visual cues before changes of activity, and a short pause before speaking so the pupil can find the speaker. If the pupil uses sign language with an interpreter or communication support worker, plan for their position, lag time and preparation materials.
4. Group work and discussion: small groups, one speaker at a time with a visual signal (a talking object), groups placed in quieter parts of the room, and a written record of key points.
5. Checking understanding: ask the pupil to explain or show back rather than ask whether they understood, a discreet signal for "I missed that", and a short check-in at the end. Allow for listening fatigue with brief breaks.
6. Questions for the specialist teacher of the deaf: what to ask to fill gaps in the notes.
- Use only the needs given; do not guess the level of hearing loss or what the pupil can hear. Mark assumptions [check with specialist teacher].
- Never single the pupil out in front of the class; agree any signals privately with them.
- Do not give medical or audiological advice, and do not adjust hearing equipment beyond the checks the specialist or audiologist has trained staff to do.
- If the lesson plan is too thin to adapt phase by phase ("normal maths lesson"), give the general room and checking adaptations and ask for the activities, any video or audio, and group work.
- If the question is about faulty or whistling equipment or its settings, say to contact the specialist teacher of the deaf or the pupil's audiology service and to use only trained daily checks.
- Include the fire alarm and emergency routine if the pupil may not hear alarms.
- Initials only.
## Before the lesson
Checklist.
## Room and equipment
Checklist.
## Lesson adaptations
Table: Lesson phase | What could be missed | Adaptation.
## Group work and discussion
Bullets.
## Checking understanding
Bullets.
## Questions for the specialist teacher
Numbered list.
````
---
## Adapt a text to several reading levels
`adapt-text-reading-level` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/adapt-text-reading-level
Rewrites a passage at several reading levels while keeping the key content and target vocabulary, with a glossary and comprehension questions for each version. For teachers with mixed-ability classes.
````markdown
Levelled versions of one text let a whole class learn the same content and then discuss it together. They fail when simplification drops the ideas that matter, removes the very vocabulary the lesson is teaching, or changes the facts. Good adaptation lowers the reading load (sentence length and complexity, assumed background, idiom and figurative language, text density) while keeping the content, the key terms and the order of ideas.
Rewrite the passage at each of these levels: [LEVELS].
[TEXT]
1. Identify the shared core: the 3 to 6 key ideas and facts every version must keep, and the key vocabulary.
2. Write one version per level:
- Keep every core idea, in the same order, so students reading different versions can discuss together.
- Keep the key vocabulary in every version. At lower levels, support each term in context (a short definition or example in the sentence) rather than replacing it.
- Adjust sentence length and structure, paragraph length, connectives, background knowledge supplied, and figurative language to the level. Explain or replace idioms and cultural references at lower levels.
- At higher levels, keep the original's nuance and add precision; do not just lengthen it.
- Never change facts, numbers, names or quotations. If a quotation is too hard, keep it and paraphrase it next to it.
3. For each version, write a glossary of 4 to 8 words with student-friendly definitions at that level, and 4 comprehension questions: 2 literal, 1 inferential and 1 shared "big question" that is the same across every version so the class can discuss it together.
4. If the original contains errors, outdated information or content that may be unsuitable for the levels requested, flag it rather than silently changing it.
- Reading-level labels are approximate. Do not claim an exact Lexile or grade score; say the teacher can check with a readability tool if precision matters.
- If the levels are far apart from the original (for example, a university text to grade 2), say what had to be cut from the shared core and why.
- If the text is copyrighted and long, adapt it for classroom use only and note the source.
- Do not add new facts or examples that are not in the original, except short definitions of key terms.
## Shared core
Key ideas as a list, then the key vocabulary.
## Versions
One subsection per level, each with: the text, "Glossary" (word: definition), and "Questions" (numbered, with the shared big question marked).
## Notes for the teacher
What was simplified or cut at each level, anything flagged in the original, and the shared big question again for whole-class discussion.
````
---
## Align a lesson or unit to standards
`align-lesson-to-standards` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/align-lesson-to-standards
Maps a lesson or unit to the curriculum standards a teacher supplies, showing what is taught, practised and assessed, and flags gaps, depth mismatches and over-claims.
````markdown
Plans often list standards they only touch. A standard is properly addressed when students are taught it, practise it, and are assessed on it at the depth its verb demands: a standard that says "analyse" is not met by a task that asks students to "identify". Alignment checks are most useful when they quote the evidence for each judgement and separate three problems: standards claimed but barely present (over-claims), standards present at a lower cognitive level than required (depth mismatches), and parts of a standard that nothing in the plan covers (gaps).
Check this lesson or unit against the standards given.
[LESSON_OR_UNIT]
[STANDARDS]
1. Break each standard into its assessable parts: the verb or verbs (the cognitive demand) and the content. A standard with "compare and contrast" or several content items has several parts.
2. For each part, find where the plan teaches it, where students practise it, and where it is assessed. Quote or cite the specific activity or item as evidence.
3. Rate each part: **Full** (taught, practised and assessed at the required depth), **Partial** (missing one of the three, or assessed at a lower depth), **Mentioned** (named but not actually taught or assessed), or **Absent**.
4. List the over-claims: standards the plan says it addresses but rates Mentioned or Absent.
5. List depth mismatches: where the plan's tasks require a lower level than the standard's verb (for example recall when the standard says evaluate), with the task quoted.
6. Note any significant plan content that maps to none of the standards, so the teacher can decide whether it earns its time.
7. Suggest the smallest changes that would close each gap, such as rewording an assessment item, adding a practice task, or dropping a claim.
- Use only the standards supplied. Do not add standards, codes or framework content from memory, and do not reinterpret a standard beyond its wording; if wording is ambiguous, say how you read it.
- Every rating cites evidence from the plan. Where you cannot find evidence, say so rather than inferring that it happens.
- Judge the plan as written. If the plan is an outline without activities or assessments, say what is missing and rate what you can.
- Keep suggestions within the plan's existing time and scope where possible; say when a standard needs more time than the plan has.
## Summary
Three bullets: overall alignment, the biggest gap, the most important fix.
## Alignment matrix
Table: Standard part | Taught (evidence) | Practised (evidence) | Assessed (evidence) | Rating.
## Gaps
Bullets: parts rated Absent or Partial, and what is missing.
## Over-claims and depth mismatches
Bullets with quoted evidence.
## Suggested fixes
Numbered, most impactful first, each naming the standard part it closes.
````
---
## Analyse a class's assessment results
`analyze-class-assessment-results` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/analyze-class-assessment-results
Analyses a class's scores by item and standard to find the weakest skills, likely misconceptions, suspect items and reteaching groups. Use after marking a test or quiz.
````markdown
A class average says almost nothing a teacher can act on. What they need is which skills are weak for most of the class (re-teach to everyone), which are weak for a few students (small group), which items were probably badly written rather than badly learned, and what the wrong answers say about how students are thinking. With class-sized data the numbers are small, so the analysis must be honest about what a handful of responses can and cannot show.
Analyse these assessment results.
[SCORES]
1. **Check the data first.** State how many students and items you read, the scoring (right/wrong, points, letters), and any problems: blank cells, inconsistent scales, rows that look duplicated. If the table cannot be read reliably, stop and say exactly what format you need.
2. **Per item:** compute the percentage correct (or mean score as a percentage of the maximum). If letter answers are given, count how many chose each option. If letters are given but no answer key, do not guess the key from the most popular answer: ask for it, and meanwhile report only the option counts.
3. **Per standard or skill:** group items using the map. If no map is given, infer skill groups from the item content if it is visible and mark them "inferred"; otherwise analyse items only and say so. Report the class percentage per standard and the number of students at or above 80%, 50 to 79%, and below 50% on it.
4. **Suspect items:** flag items that may be flawed rather than hard: an item that students who did well overall missed more often than weaker students, an item where one wrong option drew more answers than the key, or an item far out of line with others on the same standard. Recommend checking the item before re-teaching.
5. **Misconceptions:** from popular wrong answers and patterns of errors, state the likely misconception behind each, and mark it as a hypothesis to confirm by talking to two or three students.
6. **Reteaching groups:** decide which skills need whole-class re-teaching (roughly under 60 to 70% correct for the class), which need a small group, and which students are secure and need extension. List students by the identifiers given.
7. **Next steps:** the three highest-impact actions for the next one or two lessons.
- Do the arithmetic carefully and show the numbers that each conclusion rests on. Do not round away differences that matter, and do not report differences of one or two students as meaningful trends.
- With fewer than about 5 items on a standard, or fewer than about 15 students, say that the evidence is thin.
- Never invent scores, answers, standards or students. If something you need is missing, say what and continue with what you have.
- Describe performance on skills, not the worth of students: no labels like "low kids" or "weak students". Groups are temporary and based on this assessment only.
- Use only the identifiers in the data. If the data contains full names, refer to students by initials in your output and remind the teacher not to share identifiable data with tools their school has not approved.
- Thresholds above are defaults; if the teacher's message gives their own mastery cut-off, use it.
## Data check
Students, items, scoring, and any problems found.
## Headline findings
3 to 5 bullets a teacher can read in 30 seconds.
## Results by standard
Table: Standard or skill | Items | Class % | ≥80% | 50–79% | <50% | Action (whole class / small group / secure).
## Item analysis
Table: Item | % correct | Most common wrong answer (if letters given) | Flag.
## Likely misconceptions
Bullets: evidence → hypothesis → how to confirm it.
## Reteaching groups
For each group: skill, students, what to do.
## Next steps
Three numbered actions.
````
---
## Assess-plan-do-review track
`assess-plan-do-review-track` · workflow · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/assess-plan-do-review-track
Runs one SEN support cycle for a pupil - assess needs from evidence, plan outcomes and provision, brief staff to do it, then review progress with the family - pausing for approval at each stage.
````markdown
Runs one assess-plan-do-review cycle of special educational needs support for one pupil, the way an experienced SENCO and class teacher would together: understand the need from evidence, agree a few outcomes and the provision to reach them, make sure every adult knows what to do, and review honestly with the pupil and family after 8 weeks. Each step writes one document and stops for approval; later steps build on what was approved.
[PUPIL_INFORMATION]
Rules for every step:
- Initials only. Use only facts given or confirmed; ask for missing essentials (current attainment, what has been tried, the pupil's and family's views) and mark gaps [X]. Never invent scores, observations or progress.
- Strengths first. Describe needs and barriers, never a diagnosis; if a specialist assessment may be needed, name the kind of professional, not a condition.
- The class teacher stays responsible for the pupil's progress; support adds to good teaching, it does not replace it.
- Name the system you assume (the graduated approach used in England unless the setting says otherwise), and say to check local statutory processes.
- If anything suggests the pupil is at risk of harm, self-harm or abuse, stop and say it must go to the designated safeguarding lead today.
- End each document with open questions.
---
# Step 1: Assess
Build a clear picture of the need before planning anything.
1. Ask, in one message, for missing essentials: current attainment and assessment results, observations across lessons and times of day, what quality-first teaching and adjustments have already been tried and for how long, attendance, the pupil's own views, the family's views, and outside reports.
2. Summarise strengths and interests first.
3. Describe the need by area (communication and interaction, cognition and learning, social, emotional and mental health, sensory and physical), using evidence only: what the pupil can do, where learning or participation breaks down, and the gap to age-related expectations.
4. Separate evidence from interpretation, and list contradictions between sources.
5. Say whether the evidence supports adding SEN support, continuing adjusted class teaching, or seeking specialist advice, and why.
Sections: Strengths, Evidence summary (table: source, date, finding), Needs by area, What has been tried, Pupil and family views, Recommendation, Open questions.
Stop and wait for approval.
---
# Step 2: Plan
Agree what should change by the review and how.
1. Two to four outcomes for the next 8 weeks, each specific and measurable with a baseline from step 1 and a success criterion (for example "reads 40 of the 100 high-frequency words, baseline 22").
2. Provision for each outcome: what is done, by whom, how often and for how long, in class and in any intervention, using approaches the school already has. Show the extra time and staffing it needs.
3. Classroom adjustments every teacher makes.
4. How progress is measured and when: the tool, the frequency and who records it.
5. The pupil's part (their targets in their own words) and the family's part, agreed with them.
6. Draft a short, plain-language summary for the family.
Sections: Outcomes (table: outcome, baseline, success criterion), Provision (table: what, who, how often, where), Classroom adjustments, Measuring progress, Pupil and family, Family summary, Open questions.
Stop and wait for approval.
---
# Step 3: Do
Make sure the approved plan actually happens.
1. A one-page staff briefing: strengths, the outcomes, adjustments every adult makes, and what to avoid.
2. Role notes for the class teacher (teacher time with the pupil each week, links between interventions and lessons) and for any teaching assistant (prompting before helping, building independence, what to record).
3. A simple progress log for the cycle: date, session, what the pupil did independently, support needed, notes.
4. A mid-cycle check at about half of 8 weeks: what to look at and the decision rule for adjusting early (for example no progress on the measure after four weeks).
5. Who to contact if concerns grow, and when to bring the review forward.
Sections: Staff briefing, Role notes, Progress log template, Mid-cycle check, Escalation, Open questions.
Stop and wait for approval. The review step waits until the cycle has run and progress data is shared.
---
# Step 4: Review
Needs the progress data, logs and the pupil's and family's views at the end of the cycle. If they are missing, ask for them and stop; never invent progress.
1. For each outcome, compare the result with the baseline and success criterion: met, partly met or not met, with the evidence.
2. Judge the provision: was it delivered as planned (sessions run versus planned), and what helped or did not.
3. Bring in the pupil's and family's views in their own words.
4. Decide the next step with reasons: end SEN support, continue with new outcomes, change the provision, or seek specialist advice or a statutory assessment where the evidence shows the need is not met by what the school can provide.
5. Draft a review meeting agenda and a short, warm note to the family summarising decisions and next steps.
Sections: Outcomes review (table: outcome, baseline, result, status, evidence), Provision review, Pupil and family views, Decision and next cycle, Meeting agenda, Family note, Open questions.
````
---
## Assessment design track
`assessment-design-track` · workflow · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/assessment-design-track
Takes an assessment from blueprint and objectives to items, mark scheme or rubric, accessibility review and a pilot check, pausing for teacher approval between steps.
````markdown
Builds an assessment for [GRADE_LEVEL] covering these objectives and content:
[OBJECTIVES_AND_CONTENT]
The assessment is built one approved step at a time: a blueprint that decides what is assessed, how much and at what depth; the items or tasks; the mark scheme or rubric; an accessibility and bias review; and a pilot check that rehearses marking on sample answers. Each step produces one document and stops for the teacher's approval or edits, and later steps build on the approved versions instead of re-asking. If the teacher asks to skip the approvals, say in one sentence that each step builds on the approved one before it, and continue only once they confirm; even then, produce the steps in order under their own headings so each can still be checked. The teacher decides what is assessed and how it is graded; the assistant drafts, checks alignment and flags problems. Every answer and mark must be checked for correctness before it is shown, and nothing is invented about the curriculum beyond what the teacher supplied.
## Steps
Work through these steps in order. Do not skip a gate.
1. blueprint (plan)
2. items (build)
3. marking (build)
4. accessibility-review (review)
5. pilot-check (verify)
### Step 1: Blueprint
Decide what the assessment measures, in what proportion and at what depth, before writing any item.
1. Ask the teacher, in one message, for anything missing that changes the design: the purpose (diagnostic, formative, end-of-unit, exam practice), the time and conditions, the total marks or grading scale, any required question types or exam board format, and students with access arrangements. If the assessment type was not given, recommend one that fits the objectives and say why.
2. When you have the answers, break the objectives into assessable parts, each with its cognitive demand (recall, apply, analyse, evaluate, create), using the verb in the objective.
3. Write the blueprint as a table: Objective part | Demand | Item or task type | Number of items | Marks | % of total. Weight by the importance and teaching time of each objective, and make sure the demands in the assessment match the demands in the objectives (an "evaluate" objective is not assessed only by recall items).
4. Check the timing: estimate minutes per item type and show that the total fits the time available, with reading and checking time.
5. List what is deliberately not assessed, and any assumptions.
Stop and wait for approval or edits. Do not write items yet.
**Gate:** stop here and wait for the user's approval before step 2 (items).
### Step 2: Items and tasks
Write the items or tasks exactly as the approved blueprint specifies.
1. Write each item or task in the blueprint's order or in a sensible order for students (easier items first within each section), numbered, with marks shown.
2. Follow item-writing rules:
- each item assesses one blueprint part, at the stated demand;
- multiple choice: one clearly correct answer, plausible distractors drawn from real misconceptions, no "all of the above", no grammatical or length clues, options in a logical order;
- constructed response: the command word matches the demand (state, explain, compare, evaluate), and the question says how much is expected (marks, lines or length);
- extended tasks and performance tasks: a clear brief, the conditions, and what the final product must include;
- no item gives away another item's answer; contexts are familiar and inclusive.
3. Under each item, note privately for the teacher: the blueprint part it assesses, the correct answer or key points, and for distractors the misconception each represents.
4. Provide a student-facing version (items only, with instructions and space to answer) and a teacher version (with the notes).
5. Show a short coverage check: blueprint row → item numbers, and the total marks and estimated time.
Stop and wait for approval or edits. Do not write the mark scheme yet.
**Gate:** stop here and wait for the user's approval before step 3 (marking).
### Step 3: Mark scheme or rubric
Write how the approved items will be marked so that two markers would give the same score.
1. For short items: the accepted answers, acceptable alternatives, what does not earn the mark, and how to treat units, spelling or follow-through errors.
2. For multi-mark constructed responses: a points-based scheme (each creditable point and its mark) or a levels-based scheme (level descriptors with mark ranges and indicative content), whichever fits the item, and say which and why.
3. For extended or performance tasks: an analytic rubric with 3 to 6 non-overlapping criteria and level descriptors that name observable features of the work, tied to the blueprint's objective parts.
4. Write one short exemplar answer at the top level for each extended response, labelled as illustrative.
5. Add marking guidance: how to handle borderline answers, answers that are correct but unexpected, and blank or off-task responses; and how marks convert to the grading scale from step 1.
6. Check every key answer and total. Confirm the marks per item match the approved items and the totals match the blueprint.
Stop and wait for approval or edits.
**Gate:** stop here and wait for the user's approval before step 4 (accessibility-review).
### Step 4: Accessibility and bias review
Review the approved items and mark scheme so the assessment measures the objectives, not reading speed, background or access.
Check and report:
1. **Language load:** sentences, vocabulary and layout harder than the objective requires; suggest plainer wording that keeps the demand (subject vocabulary that is being assessed stays).
2. **Construct-irrelevant barriers:** items that depend on cultural knowledge, family circumstances, or experiences some students will not have; idioms; unnecessary context.
3. **Format and layout:** font and spacing, items split across pages, diagrams that need colour, tables without headers, insufficient answer space, and readability for screen readers if delivered digitally.
4. **Access arrangements:** how the assessment works with the arrangements mentioned in step 1 (extra time, reader, scribe, word processor, enlarged print, rest breaks), and whether any item conflicts with them (for example a reader would give away a vocabulary item).
5. **Bias and representation:** names, roles and contexts are varied and free of stereotypes.
Output a table: Item | Issue | Severity (must fix / should fix / consider) | Suggested change. Then list the revised wording for must-fix items. Make no other edits; the teacher decides.
Stop and wait for approval or edits.
**Gate:** stop here and wait for the user's approval before step 5 (pilot-check).
### Step 5: Pilot check
Rehearse the assessment before students take it, using the approved items and mark scheme.
1. **Sample answers:** for 4 to 6 items, including the extended ones, write three short simulated student answers (strong, middling, a common misconception), clearly labelled as simulated. Mark each against the scheme and show the marks awarded with reasons.
2. **Marking problems:** list any place where the scheme was ambiguous, gave credit for a wrong idea, or could not separate the middling from the strong answer, with a fix.
3. **Timing and difficulty:** estimate whether the assessment fits the time and whether the difficulty curve is reasonable for the class; identify items likely to be too easy or too hard to tell students apart.
4. **Final checks:** totals add up, numbering is continuous, instructions match the items, and every blueprint row is covered.
5. **After the real sitting:** suggest what to look at once results are in (items most students missed, items strong students missed, distractors nobody chose) and how to use that to improve the next version.
End with a short summary of what is ready and what still needs the teacher's decision. Make no further edits yourself.
````
---
## Audit a school library collection
`audit-school-library-collection` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/audit-school-library-collection
Audits a school library collection for age fit, diversity, currency and curriculum fit, then plans weeding, the gaps to fill and a purchase priority list within budget.
````markdown
You help school librarians and the teachers who run school libraries audit their collections. A collection audit asks whether the stock suits the readers it serves now: their ages and reading levels, the curriculum, the identities and languages in the school and the wider world, and the formats pupils actually choose. It finds what is out of date, worn or never borrowed, and what is missing. Weeding is a normal part of collection management: shelves full of out-of-date or tatty books hide the good ones and put readers off. Established criteria such as MUSTIE (misleading, ugly, superseded, trivial, irrelevant, elsewhere) and age-of-stock guides by subject help make weeding consistent and defensible.
[COLLECTION_SUMMARY]
Ages served: [AGE_RANGE]
Budget: [BUDGET]
1. Snapshot: what the data shows in five to eight lines: size, balance of fiction and non-fiction, average or median age of stock where computable, circulation patterns, and formats. Compute only from the numbers given and show how. If section counts do not add up to the total, say so and show the difference.
2. Findings under five headings:
- Age and reading-level fit for [AGE_RANGE].
- Diversity and representation: whether the summary suggests pupils will find characters, authors, cultures, languages, disabilities and family types that reflect them and others. Say plainly when the data cannot show this and how to check (a sample shelf audit).
- Currency: sections where publication dates suggest information is likely out of date, especially science, technology, health, geography and careers, using typical age-of-stock guides as rules of thumb.
- Curriculum fit: coverage against the subjects and topics in the summary, and what to ask departments.
- Condition, formats and use: worn stock, demand for graphic novels, audiobooks, e-books, high-interest low-reading-age titles, and sections with low borrowing.
3. Weeding plan: criteria for each section, a process (pull, review with a second person, decide: keep, repair, replace, withdraw), how to handle classics and local or donated items, and how to dispose of or reuse withdrawn books. Estimate the scale only from the data.
4. Gaps to fill: a ranked list linked to findings.
5. Purchase priorities: a table that allocates [BUDGET] across gaps, with the share for each and the reason, leaving a contingency for pupil requests. Do not list specific titles unless the user's summary names them; describe what to buy and how to choose (reviews, suppliers' lists, pupil input).
6. Data to gather next: what would make the next audit sharper.
7. Before answering, check that every figure in the snapshot comes from the summary or is shown as a calculation, and that the allocation adds up to the budget.
- Do not invent counts, percentages, circulation or publication data. Mark anything you need but do not have as "[data needed]".
- Base selection and withdrawal on the school's collection policy, curriculum and readers' needs. Do not recommend removing books because of a viewpoint or because a group objects to them; if the user raises a challenge to a book, point to the school's reconsideration procedure.
- Stay practical for a school library with limited staff time: suggest doing the weeding section by section over a term if needed.
- Use the school's own terms (year groups, grades, classification) as the summary does.
- If the summary has no information about the collection at all, ask for a few key numbers and stop.
## Snapshot
## Findings
Five subheadings, short bullets each.
## Weeding plan
## Gaps to fill
Numbered.
## Purchase priorities
Table: Priority | Area | What to buy | Share of budget | Why.
## Data to gather next
Bullets.
````
---
## Break down a life skill task
`break-down-life-skill-task` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/break-down-life-skill-task
Breaks a life skill such as making a drink or paying in a shop into a task analysis with prompt levels, a chaining plan and a data sheet, for learners with learning disabilities.
````markdown
Staff in a special school, post-16 provision or a care setting, or a family carer, want to teach a life skill step by step. Task analysis works when the steps are small, observable and in the order this learner will actually do them; it fails when steps bundle several actions ("make the drink"), when adults keep prompting at the same level so the learner becomes prompt-dependent, and when the skill is only ever practised in one room with one adult and does not transfer to real life.
Chaining method: backward
[TASK]
1. Write the task analysis: 8 to 20 numbered steps, each a single observable action that starts with a verb ("Fill the kettle to the line"). Note the materials and the natural cue that starts the task. Mark steps with a safety risk (hot water, roads, sharp items, money) with "SAFETY".
2. Note steps the learner can probably already do from the notes, and steps that may need an adaptation (a kettle tipper, a pre-loaded card, a picture shopping list) rather than more teaching.
3. Prompting plan: use the hierarchy full physical, partial physical, model, gestural, verbal, independent. Say which direction to use: most-to-least for new or safety steps (fewer errors), least-to-most for steps the learner partly knows. Add a short wait time (3 to 5 seconds) before each prompt and say how to fade prompts.
4. Chaining plan, using the chaining method above: the order steps are taught, which steps the adult completes, what counts as mastery of a step (for example independent on three sessions in a row), and when to move on.
5. Data sheet: a table to record the prompt level per step per session using codes (FP, PP, M, G, V, I).
6. Generalisation: how to vary people, places, materials and times once steps are mastered, and how to move from practice to the real situation.
- Ask for or flag missing essentials: the learner's current level and any physical needs. If absent, write the plan for a learner new to the task and list the questions.
- Physical prompts only with the learner's consent and within the setting's policy; never restraint. Stop and reassess if the learner is distressed.
- For community tasks (roads, buses, shops), keep road and personal safety steps adult-supervised until a risk assessment by the setting says otherwise.
- Respect dignity: age-appropriate materials and language for teenagers and adults.
- Do not invent the learner's abilities; mark guesses as [check].
## Task analysis
Table: Step | Action | Materials | Notes (SAFETY, likely already able, adaptation).
## Prompting plan
Bullets: direction, wait time, how to fade, praise and reinforcement.
## Chaining plan
Numbered teaching order with mastery criteria and what the adult does.
## Data sheet
Table: Step | Session 1 to Session 5 columns, with the code key below.
## Safety and generalisation
Bullets.
## Questions
What to check with the learner, family or team.
````
---
## Build a feedback comment bank
`build-feedback-comment-bank` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/build-feedback-comment-bank
Builds a reusable bank of specific feedback comments keyed to rubric criteria and levels, each with a next step, plus whole-class feedback, to speed up marking a class set.
````markdown
Teachers marking thirty scripts write the same ten comments thirty times, and fatigue turns them into "good effort" and "add more detail". Feedback changes learning when it is about the task rather than the person, says specifically what the work does and does not do against the criteria, and gives a next step the student can carry out, ideally straight away in a re-draft. A comment bank keyed to the rubric keeps that quality across the whole pile, as long as each comment leaves a slot for one detail from the student's own work so it never reads as generic.
Build a comment bank for this assignment.
[ASSIGNMENT_AND_RUBRIC]
Tone: warm (warm = encouraging and personal while still specific; neutral = matter-of-fact and concise; direct = brief, frank and action-first, never harsh).
1. List the rubric criteria and levels you are working from. If no rubric is given, derive 3 to 5 criteria from the brief, label them "derived", and use three levels (secure, developing, beginning).
2. For each criterion and level, write 2 or 3 comments. Each comment has:
- **What the work does:** one sentence describing what is present or missing against the criterion, with a slot for a specific detail, e.g. "Your claim in paragraph [n] is clear and arguable."
- **Next step:** one concrete action the student can take, phrased as an instruction or question ("Add one quotation that shows… and explain how it supports your claim").
Give each comment a short code (for example C1-S1 for criterion 1, secure, comment 1) so a teacher can write codes on scripts.
3. Add comments for common issues that cut across criteria (presentation, length, missing sections, referencing) with the same structure.
4. Write a whole-class feedback sheet: three strengths seen across the class, three common errors with a short model of the fix, and a misconception to re-teach, written with placeholders the teacher fills after marking.
5. Write 3 to 5 short re-draft tasks students can do in 15 minutes of lesson time, each linked to comment codes.
- Comments address the work, not the student's personality or ability: no "you're so clever" or "you're lazy". Praise names the specific thing done well.
- Every next step is something the student can do without further explanation, in language at the students' reading level. No "add more detail" or "be more analytical" without saying what that looks like.
- Use the rubric's own vocabulary so comments, rubric and grade agree.
- Keep each comment under about 40 words. Avoid repeating sentence openers across a level.
- Do not assign grades or scores; the bank supports the teacher's judgement.
- If the brief or rubric is too thin to write specific comments, ask for what is missing (the task, the criteria, the level) and stop.
## How to use the bank
Three bullets: the code scheme, filling the slots, pairing with re-draft tasks.
## Comment bank
One table per criterion: Code | Level | What the work does | Next step.
Then a table for cross-cutting comments.
## Whole-class feedback
Strengths, common errors with model fixes, misconception to re-teach, with [placeholders].
## Re-draft tasks
Numbered tasks, each with the comment codes it serves.
````
---
## Create a choice board
`create-choice-board` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/create-choice-board
Builds a choice board of tasks for one objective that vary in modality and challenge, with clear success criteria for each task and a simple tracking sheet.
````markdown
A choice board gives students agency over how they practise or show an objective while keeping everyone on the same learning goal. The usual failure is a board where tasks differ wildly in rigour (a poster next to an essay), where several tasks are about the topic but not the objective, or where the creative format takes more effort than the thinking. Good boards make every square an equivalent route to the same success criteria, vary the mode of working (writing, speaking, building, drawing, solving) for engagement and access, and vary the challenge deliberately so stretch is visible. Varying modality is about access and motivation, not about matching so-called learning styles, which research does not support.
Build a **3x3** choice board for **[GRADE_LEVEL]** on this objective:
[OBJECTIVE]
1. Write 2 to 4 student-facing success criteria ("I can…") that every task on the board must let students show.
2. State the rules for this layout:
- 3x3: students complete three tasks in a line (row, column or diagonal). Design it so every possible line includes at least one more demanding task and two different modes. Make the centre square either a must-do core task or a free-choice square with criteria.
- 2x3: the top row is core tasks (choose one or two), the bottom row is stretch tasks (choose one).
- menu: must-do tasks everyone completes, may-do tasks to choose from, and extension tasks for those ready.
3. Write each task with: a short title, the mode (write, talk, build, draw, solve, digital), the challenge level (core or stretch), clear instructions in student language, the product, and an estimated time. Keep tasks roughly equal in time within each challenge level.
4. For 3x3, check the layout before writing the task cards: list all 8 lines (3 rows, 3 columns, 2 diagonals, or only the 4 lines through the centre if the centre is a must-do) with the three tasks in each, and confirm each line has a stretch task and at least two modes. Move tasks until every line passes.
5. Write a task card for each square with its success criteria checklist.
6. Make a tracking sheet students use to record the tasks chosen, when finished, and a self-assessment against the success criteria.
7. Add teacher notes: materials, how to introduce the board, how to check progress during work time, and how to assess fairly when products differ (use the shared success criteria, not the format).
- Every task targets the objective itself, not a loosely related topic.
- No task depends on equipment or home resources not every student has; give an alternative when a task needs technology.
- Do not mention learning styles or assign tasks by learning style.
- Keep reading demand suitable for [GRADE_LEVEL].
- If the objective is too broad for one board, narrow it and say how.
## Objective and success criteria
The objective and "I can…" statements.
## Rules
How to choose for this layout.
## Board
The board as a table (3x3 layout; for menu, one table per section), each cell with title, mode and level. For 3x3, follow it with the line check: Line | Tasks | Stretch task | Modes.
## Task cards
One short card per task with steps, product and checklist.
## Tracking sheet
A table students copy or print.
## Teacher notes
Materials, launch, monitoring, assessment.
````
---
## Create a classroom review game
`create-review-game` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/create-review-game
Creates a low-prep classroom review game (quiz show, relay, escape challenge or card game) from unit content, with tiered questions, an answer key, rules, timing and materials.
````markdown
A review game is retrieval practice in disguise. It works when every student has to retrieve every answer, not just the fastest hand in each team, when the questions cover the unit's important content at rising difficulty, and when wrong answers get corrected on the spot. It fails when it rewards speed and luck over knowledge, when three students do all the thinking, or when setup eats the lesson. The best formats need nothing more than paper, a board and a timer.
Create a review game for **[GRADE_LEVEL]** in the **any** format.
[UNIT_CONTENT]
1. Choose the format. If it is "any", pick the one that best fits the content and say why in one sentence: quiz-show (Jeopardy-style board, good for broad factual coverage), relay (teams pass work along, good for multi-step procedures), escape (locked-room puzzle chain where each answer unlocks the next, good for connected ideas), cards (matching, sorting or "I have, who has", good for vocabulary and definitions).
2. Extract the 6 to 10 most important ideas, terms or procedures from the unit content and make sure the questions cover all of them.
3. Write questions in three difficulty tiers: recall (about 40%), apply or explain (about 40%), and challenge (about 20%). Mix formats (short answer, true or false with correction, solve, explain why, odd one out). Write enough for about 30 minutes of play.
4. Build in whole-class accountability: every student answers every question (mini whiteboards, team huddle then a random spokesperson, or all teams answer at once) rather than buzz-in speed.
5. Write the rules in numbered steps a class can follow, with scoring that rewards accuracy and lets teams that fall behind catch up (for example double points in the final round or wagers).
6. Give timing for each phase and a total, and the materials and setup in under 10 minutes of preparation.
7. Write the answer key, and for the apply and challenge questions, a one-line explanation the teacher can read out after the answer.
- Use only content from the unit given; do not add topics that were not taught. If the content is too thin for a game, say what is missing and ask for it.
- Check every answer. Avoid questions with more than one defensible answer unless the game accepts either.
- Teams are mixed and random or teacher-set; no picking captains or public elimination of individual students.
- No prizes that cost money or food rewards; points and small privileges are enough.
- Keep reading load suitable for [GRADE_LEVEL], and give an option for students who need questions read aloud.
- No technology unless the teacher mentions it; describe a paper version of any board or puzzle.
## Game overview
Format, why it fits, duration, team setup.
## Rules
Numbered steps, including scoring.
## Setup and materials
Checklist, plus timing per phase.
## Questions
Grouped by tier (or by round, board column or puzzle stage), numbered.
## Answer key
Matching numbers, with explanations for apply and challenge questions.
## Running it well
3 to 5 tips: keeping everyone answering, correcting misconceptions on the spot, and a 2-minute wrap-up asking students what they still need to revise.
````
---
## Create a graphic organizer
`create-graphic-organizer` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/create-graphic-organizer
Designs a graphic organizer matched to a thinking task (compare, cause and effect, argument, sequence), with a modelled example, a blank printable version and sentence frames.
````markdown
A graphic organizer helps when its structure matches the thinking students need to do: a comparison matrix with criteria makes students compare point by point, where a Venn diagram often produces two unrelated lists; a cause-and-effect chain makes students show the links, not just name causes; an argument organizer separates claim, evidence and reasoning. Organizers backfire when they become fill-in-the-boxes busywork, when the boxes are too small for real thinking, or when the teacher's filled example gives away the answers to the very task students are about to do.
Create a graphic organizer for **[GRADE_LEVEL]**.
[TASK_AND_CONTENT]
1. **Choose the organizer** that matches the thinking: for example a comparison matrix or double bubble for compare and contrast, a cause-and-effect chain or fishbone for causes, a claim-evidence-reasoning frame for argument, a flow chart or timeline for sequence, a concept map for relationships, a story map for narrative structure. Say in one or two sentences why it fits better than the usual alternative.
2. **Modelled example:** fill the organizer for a parallel example on different but similar content (for instance compare cats and dogs when the task compares frogs and toads), so students see the thinking without being given their answers. Include at least one entry that shows the deeper thinking you want (a link, a criterion, a "because").
3. **Blank organizer** for the actual task, printable in black and white: a Markdown table or clearly labelled boxes, with headings and the criteria or prompts already in place, and enough rows for the content. Add a final box that asks students to synthesise (a summary sentence, a conclusion, "the most important difference is… because…").
4. **Sentence frames** at two levels: basic frames for students who need language support, and stretch frames for students ready to write more complex sentences.
5. **How to use it:** 3 or 4 steps for the teacher (model, partner work, independent, turn the organizer into writing or talk).
- Fit language, number of boxes and box size to [GRADE_LEVEL]: fewer, larger boxes and picture cues for young students; criteria-based matrices for older students.
- The modelled example uses different content from the task and must be accurate.
- Keep the organizer to one printed page.
- If the task does not need an organizer (for example a single recall question), say so briefly and suggest a better scaffold.
- If the thinking task is unclear, pick the most likely one, say what you assumed, and design for it.
## Organizer choice
Type and why.
## Modelled example
The filled organizer for the parallel content.
## Blank organizer
The printable organizer for the task.
## Sentence frames
Basic · Stretch.
## How to use it
Numbered steps.
````
---
## Create a knowledge organiser
`create-knowledge-organiser` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/create-knowledge-organiser
Creates a one-page knowledge organiser for a unit with key vocabulary, core facts, a timeline or diagram plan and self-quiz instructions, limited to what pupils must remember.
````markdown
A teacher wants a knowledge organiser for [UNIT] for [YEAR_GROUP]: one page of the core knowledge pupils must remember for the long term, used for self-quizzing and retrieval, not a summary of everything taught. Common failures: cramming the page with every detail so nothing stands out; writing definitions in teacher language pupils cannot recall; and handing it out without teaching pupils how to quiz themselves from it, so it is read once and filed.
[UNIT_CONTENT]
1. Select the core: the knowledge later units and assessments depend on. Limit it to about 10 to 15 key terms, 8 to 15 core facts or ideas, and one structured element.
2. Key vocabulary: a table of term and a short pupil-friendly definition (under 15 words), with an example where it helps. Number every item so quizzes can refer to it.
3. Core facts: short numbered statements grouped under two to four sub-headings that follow the unit's logic.
4. One structured element that suits the subject: a timeline (dates and events), a labelled diagram (described precisely so it can be drawn), a process sequence, a formula box, or key quotations with their meaning.
5. Fit one side of A4 in a sensible font: if it will not fit, cut to the essentials and list what was cut.
6. Self-quiz routine: teach look, cover, write, check; quizzing on numbered items; mixing old and new sections; using it for homework and starters. Add five sample self-quiz questions with answers.
- Use only content from the unit content; every fact must match it. If something looks wrong in the source, flag it rather than correcting silently.
- Pupil-friendly wording for [YEAR_GROUP]; no teacher jargon.
- Do not invent dates, figures, quotations or names. If the unit content is too thin to fill a section, leave it short and ask for more.
- No decoration or clip-art suggestions that compete with the content.
## Knowledge organiser
Sub-headings: Key vocabulary (table: No. | Term | Definition), Core facts (numbered), and the structured element. Laid out so it fits one page.
## Self-quiz routine
Numbered routine, then five sample questions with answers.
## Left out on purpose
Bullets: content taught but not on the organiser, and why.
## Questions
Anything to check in the source.
````
---
## Create a practice worksheet
`create-practice-worksheet` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/create-practice-worksheet
Creates a printable practice worksheet for one skill with a worked example, graduated difficulty, mixed formats, an extension task and a checked answer key.
````markdown
A worksheet works when it practises one skill deliberately: a worked example students can refer back to, early items that build fluency and confidence, later items that vary the surface so students cannot answer on autopilot, a few that require reasoning or spotting an error, and something for students who finish early. Worksheets that jump straight to hard items, repeat the same item twelve times, or mix in skills that were not taught produce frustration or false confidence. And a wrong answer key is worse than none.
Create a printable worksheet on **[SKILL]** for **[GRADE_LEVEL]** with 12 practice items.
1. Header: title, Name and Date lines, and a one-sentence "Today I am practising…" goal in student language.
2. Worked example: one fully worked item showing every step, with a short note on the step students most often get wrong.
3. Practice items in three sections of graduated difficulty, totalling 12:
- **Section A, warm-up (about a third):** straightforward items close to the worked example.
- **Section B, practice (about half):** varied numbers, wording or contexts; at least two formats (for example fill in the blank, matching, multiple choice, short answer, sort or label).
- **Section C, think harder (the rest):** a word problem or application, and one "spot the mistake" item showing a typical wrong answer for students to correct and explain.
4. Extension: one challenge task for early finishers that deepens the same skill rather than introducing a new one.
5. Self-check: 3 short "I can…" statements students tick at the end.
6. Answer key: every answer, with working for multi-step items and the misconception behind the "spot the mistake" item.
- Stay on the one skill; any prerequisite skill used must be one students at [GRADE_LEVEL] would already have.
- Work out every answer and check it before writing the key. Avoid items with more than one defensible answer unless the format allows it.
- Leave writing space after each item ("________" lines or a working box), and keep instructions to one short sentence per section.
- Contexts must be familiar, inclusive and culturally varied; avoid money, food or brand contexts that assume particular family circumstances.
- Format for plain black-and-white printing: no colour cues, no images that the worksheet depends on. Where a diagram is essential, describe it in brackets for the teacher to draw.
- If the skill is too broad for one worksheet (for example "fractions"), narrow it, say how in the teacher notes, and write for the narrowed skill.
## Worksheet
The student-facing worksheet in the order above, numbered continuously, ready to copy.
## Answer key
Numbered answers matching the worksheet, with working where needed.
## Teacher notes
The skill as narrowed (if it was), prerequisite knowledge, and which items to use as a quick check if time is short.
````
---
## Create a visual timetable
`create-visual-timetable` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/create-visual-timetable
Creates the content for a visual timetable, now-and-next board or task strip with steps, short labels, symbol suggestions, a plan for changes and how to teach the pupil to use it.
````markdown
A teacher, teaching assistant or parent wants a visual timetable that a pupil actually uses. Most fail for three reasons: the representation is above the pupil's level (abstract symbols for a pupil who understands objects or photos), there are too many items for the pupil to take in, and the timetable is put on the wall and never taught, so it becomes decoration. A good one shows only what the pupil can process, uses the same picture and the same word for the same thing every time, marks what is finished, and prepares the pupil for changes instead of hiding them.
Format: full-day
[DAY_SCHEDULE]
1. Choose the representation level from the notes: objects of reference, photos, symbols with words, or words only. If the notes do not say, recommend photos or symbols with a word under each and say how to check (can the pupil match the picture to the real thing?).
2. Break the schedule into items for the format:
- full-day: 5 to 8 items for younger or less experienced users; split the day into morning and afternoon strips if there are more. Order top to bottom or left to right.
- now-next: pairs of "now" and "next" cards, with a plan to move to three cards (now, next, then) when the pupil is ready.
- task-strip: 3 to 7 steps for one task, each a single visible action.
3. Write a one- or two-word label for each item, the same word adults will say aloud. Combine tiny transitions (lining up, hand washing) into the activity unless they are the hard part for this pupil.
4. Suggest a picture for each label: what the photo shows or what the symbol depicts. Tell the user to use the school's existing symbol set so pictures match across rooms; do not invent symbol names or products.
5. Plan how finished items are marked: turned over, posted in a "finished" pocket or box, or crossed off.
6. Plan changes: a "change" card that goes over the old item, when the pupil is told (as early as possible, by a familiar adult), and a "surprise" or "?" card for things not yet known.
7. Plan the teaching: show and say before each transition, the pupil moves or removes the card themselves, praise for checking, and how adult prompts fade over two to four weeks.
- Use only the activities given; do not add lessons or times. Mark unclear items as [check]. If the schedule gives no actual activities ("usual Year 2 day"), ask for the day's activities in order and stop; do not invent a typical day.
- Plain, concrete labels a young child could say; no idioms.
- Never use the timetable as a reward or punishment system or remove a favourite activity from it as a sanction. If asked to, explain in two sentences that a timetable only works if the pupil can trust it shows what will really happen, and suggest keeping any behaviour system separate.
- If the learner notes are missing, give the default (photos or symbols with words) and list what to find out.
## Timetable
Table: Order | Time (if given) | Label | Picture suggestion | Notes. For now-next, show the first three pairs.
## Symbols and labels
Bullets: representation level and why, size and placement, where the board lives, the finished system.
## Handling changes
Bullets: the change card, when and how to tell the pupil, and a script of one or two sentences.
## Teaching it
Numbered routine for the first two weeks, then how prompts fade and signs it is working.
## Questions
What to confirm or find out.
````
---
## Create a weekly spelling pattern list
`create-spelling-pattern-list` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/create-spelling-pattern-list
Builds a weekly spelling list around one pattern with the rule explained, challenge words, a word sort, practice activities and a short dictation test.
````markdown
Spelling is learned by understanding how words work, not by memorising unrelated lists. English spelling is more regular than it looks once sound, position, and meaning (morphology) are taken into account: "ai" usually appears in the middle of a word and "ay" at the end; the consonant doubles before a vowel suffix after a short vowel; "-tion" carries meaning across related words. A good weekly list is built around one pattern, explains the rule in student language with its common exceptions, contrasts it with the pattern students confuse it with, and gives practice that makes students think about the pattern (sorting, building, explaining) rather than copying words five times. The test uses dictated sentences, because spelling in context is what transfers to writing.
Build a weekly spelling list for **[GRADE_LEVEL]** on the pattern **[PATTERN]**, with 12 core words.
1. **The pattern:** explain the rule in one or two student-friendly sentences, when it applies (position in the word, the sound, the meaning), the contrasting pattern students commonly confuse it with, and 2 or 3 common exceptions.
2. **Core list:** 12 words that follow the pattern, suited to the vocabulary of [GRADE_LEVEL], mostly words students will use in their writing, ordered from simplest to more complex. Mark each word with where the pattern appears.
3. **Challenge words:** 4 to 6 longer or less common words using the same pattern (more syllables, added prefixes or suffixes, subject vocabulary).
4. **Word sort:** a sort with 2 or 3 categories (the target pattern, the contrasting pattern, and an "oddball" column for exceptions), 15 to 20 words, with the answer key. Include a question students answer after sorting ("What do you notice about where ay comes in a word?").
5. **Practice activities:** one short activity for each school day of a week (for example: sort and explain, build words with letter tiles or morphemes, word hunt in reading books, look-say-cover-write-check on the trickiest words, write sentences using three words, a partner quiz). Avoid "write each word five times".
6. **Dictation test:** 3 to 5 dictated sentences that use the core words and some previously learned words, with the target words underlined in the teacher's copy and how to score it (word-level score plus a check for the pattern).
7. **Note for families:** 2 or 3 sentences explaining the pattern and one quick game to play at home.
- Check every word: it must truly follow the pattern as stated (in sound and spelling) in the stated variety of English, and exceptions must be listed only in the oddball column. Double-check accent-dependent words and leave out any whose pronunciation varies widely.
- Use British or American spelling to match the grade naming, unless the teacher says otherwise, and say which you used.
- Suit the words to the age: no obscure words in the core list, and nothing inappropriate.
- If the pattern is unclear or combines two patterns, choose the main one, state it, and suggest the other for a later week.
## The pattern
Rule, contrast, exceptions, variety of English used.
## Core list
Numbered words with the pattern marked in bold.
## Challenge words
Bullets.
## Word sort
Table with column headings and words, then the answer key and the noticing question.
## Practice activities
Day 1 to Day 5, one activity each.
## Dictation test
Numbered sentences, scoring notes.
## Note for families
Short text and a game.
````
---
## Create an analytic rubric
`create-rubric` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/create-rubric
Builds an analytic rubric with distinct criteria, performance levels and observable descriptors aligned to learning objectives, plus scoring notes. Use when setting or marking an assignment.
````markdown
Most rubrics fail in the descriptors. "Excellent analysis / good analysis / some analysis / poor analysis" tells a student nothing and lets two markers give different scores to the same work. A reliable analytic rubric has a few criteria that do not overlap, descriptors that name what can be seen in the work, and levels that differ in quality along the same dimension rather than in quantity alone.
Build an analytic rubric with 4 performance levels for this assignment:
[ASSIGNMENT]
1. List the objectives the assignment assesses. If none were given, infer them from the brief and mark them "inferred".
2. Choose 3 to 6 criteria. Each criterion assesses one thing; no two criteria reward the same feature (for example, do not grade evidence under both "Argument" and "Use of sources"). Separate content from mechanics.
3. Name the levels from highest to lowest (e.g. Exceeds, Meets, Approaching, Beginning for 4 levels).
4. Write each descriptor so that a marker can point to evidence in the work:
- Describe what is present, not just adjectives. "Each claim is supported by a cited source and an explanation of how it supports the claim" rather than "Strong evidence".
- Keep descriptors parallel: the same dimensions appear at every level, varying in quality.
- Write the "meets" level first as the target, then the levels around it.
- Avoid counting-only descriptors ("3 sources") unless the count is the requirement.
5. Weight the criteria by importance to the objectives and give point ranges per level.
6. Write scoring notes: how to decide between adjacent levels for the criteria where markers are most likely to disagree, and what to do with work that does not fit any descriptor.
- Every criterion must map to at least one objective, and every objective must be assessed by at least one criterion.
- Use language students can understand; the rubric will be shared with them.
- If the assignment brief is too vague to define criteria (e.g. "a project about the environment"), ask up to three questions and stop.
- If 4 is outside 3 to 6, use the nearest of those and say so.
## Objectives assessed
Numbered list.
## Rubric
A Markdown table: Criterion (weight) | one column per level, highest first, with points in the header. Descriptors in full sentences.
## Alignment
A table: Criterion | Objectives it assesses.
## Scoring notes
Bullets for borderline decisions, then a one-line student-facing version of the top-level descriptor for each criterion, for use as a checklist.
````
---
## Create language supports for multilingual learners
`create-language-supports-for-ell` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/create-language-supports-for-ell
Creates sentence frames, word banks, visuals and task adjustments for multilingual learners at different English proficiency levels for one specific classroom task.
````markdown
Multilingual learners can do grade-level thinking long before they can express it in grade-level English. Good supports lower the language barrier, not the cognitive demand: a newcomer comparing life cycles still compares, using a frame, a labelled diagram and a word bank, instead of copying a simpler worksheet. Planning starts from the language the task actually demands (the function such as compare, explain, argue; the grammar it needs such as comparatives or "because" clauses; and the vocabulary, both subject terms and general academic words), then adds supports that are graduated by proficiency level and designed to be removed over time. Home languages are a resource for thinking and drafting, not something to ban.
Create language supports for this task in **[GRADE_LEVEL]**:
[TASK]
If no proficiency levels are listed, plan for beginning, intermediate and advanced, and say so.
1. **Language demands:** the language function(s), the key grammar structures, subject-specific vocabulary (tier 3) and general academic vocabulary (tier 2) the task requires, and whether it involves listening, speaking, reading or writing.
2. **Supports by level:** for each proficiency level, what the student does (same task and thinking, with adjusted language output), the supports provided, and the expected product. Beginning students might label, sort, use a frame with a word bank, or speak before writing; advanced students might use a frame only for the trickiest structure.
3. **Sentence frames:** 2 to 4 frames per level that carry the task's language function, graduated from heavily supported to open. Each frame must be usable for this task, not generic.
4. **Word bank:** 8 to 15 words with a student-friendly definition, an example sentence from the task's context, and a note on which need a picture.
5. **Visuals and realia:** what to show or hand out (labelled diagram, graphic organiser, gestures, objects), described clearly enough to make.
6. **Home-language bridges:** ways to use home languages (think and plan in any language, bilingual partner talk, a bilingual glossary). List cognates only for the home languages given and only when you are confident; mark any you are unsure of for checking with a speaker. Warn about false friends if relevant.
7. **Checking content and language:** how the teacher assesses the content understanding separately from English accuracy, with one look-for at each level.
- Keep the cognitive challenge of the original task for every level. Do not replace it with an easier task.
- Do not translate whole texts or instructions into home languages unless you are confident of accuracy; recommend a fluent adult or a checked resource for anything important.
- Frames and word banks use language correct for [GRADE_LEVEL] and the subject.
- If the task is too vague to analyse (no clear output or topic), ask for the exact task before writing supports.
- Avoid deficit language; describe what students can do at each level.
## Language demands
Function, grammar, vocabulary (tier 2 and tier 3), skills.
## Supports by level
Table: Level | What the student does | Supports | Expected product.
## Sentence frames
Grouped by level.
## Word bank
Table: Word | Student-friendly meaning | Example from this task | Picture needed.
## Visuals and realia
Bullets.
## Home-language bridges
Bullets, with cognates marked as confident or to check.
## Checking content and language
Content look-fors and language look-fors per level.
````
---
## Design a classroom anchor chart
`create-anchor-chart` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/create-anchor-chart
Designs the content and layout of a classroom anchor chart for a skill or procedure, with student-friendly wording, examples, a visual plan and how to build it with the class.
````markdown
An anchor chart is a reference that students use while they work, so it captures a skill or routine in a form they can read at a glance from their seats. Charts fail when they are crowded with text, copied from the internet instead of built with the class, or so decorative that the key idea gets lost. Strong charts have one clear purpose, a title students recognise, a few steps or criteria in the words students used during the lesson, a worked example in the students' own context, simple icons, and colour used for meaning. Building it with the class over the lesson makes students far more likely to use it later.
Design an anchor chart for **[SKILL]** for **[GRADE_LEVEL]**.
1. **Purpose:** in one sentence, when students will look at this chart, and which type it is (a process or procedure chart, a strategy chart, a criteria chart, or a reference chart).
2. **Chart content:**
- A short title, ideally a question or "I can…" statement.
- 3 to 5 steps, criteria or key points, each under about 8 words for younger students and 12 for older, in student-friendly wording.
- A worked example or model from a context familiar to [GRADE_LEVEL] students, annotated to show each step.
- Optionally a common mistake to avoid, with a correction, where this skill has a typical error.
- Sentence starters if the skill involves talking or writing.
3. **Layout plan:** a text sketch of the chart's zones (title, steps, example, icons) as a simple grid, plus colour use (one colour per step or one colour for key words), simple icons for each step that a teacher could draw quickly, and minimum lettering size so it is readable from the back of the room.
4. **Building it with the class:** which parts are prepared before the lesson (title, boxes) and which are added live with students, the questions the teacher asks to get the students' wording, and the point in the lesson each part is added.
5. **Using it afterwards:** how to point students back to it during independent work, a quick routine for using it (for example "check your work against steps 1 to 3"), a smaller copy for desks or notebooks, and when to retire or update it.
- One chart, one purpose. If [SKILL] is too broad for one chart, choose the most useful focus, say so in Purpose, and list the other charts it could become.
- Keep the total text on the chart short enough to read in under 30 seconds.
- Content must be correct and use the terms and methods that [GRADE_LEVEL] students are taught; if methods vary by country (for example subtraction layouts or terminology), say which one you used.
- Use plain words and the language students actually use; avoid jargon unless it is the term students must learn, and then define it on the chart.
- Use icons and visuals that a teacher can draw by hand without design skills.
## Purpose
One sentence and the chart type.
## Chart content
The exact text that goes on the chart, in order, including the worked example.
## Layout plan
A text grid sketch, colour plan, icons and lettering size.
## Building it with the class
Prepared in advance, added live, questions to ask.
## Using it afterwards
Bullets.
````
---
## Design a classroom management plan
`design-classroom-management-plan` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/design-classroom-management-plan
Designs a classroom management plan with expectations, routines, positive reinforcement, a consistent response ladder and family communication for the grade. For new teachers and class resets.
````markdown
Most classroom behaviour problems are prevented, not punished away. The approaches with the strongest evidence (positive behaviour support and its classroom practices) share a core: a few positively stated expectations, routines taught and practised like content, frequent specific acknowledgement of what is going right, and calm, predictable, escalating responses to what is not, applied consistently and fairly. Relationships and repair matter as much as rules. New teachers usually have the rules and lack the routines and the response ladder.
Design a classroom management plan for [GRADE].
1. **Principles:** 3 or 4 sentences on the approach, so the teacher can explain it to students, families and colleagues.
2. **Expectations:** 3 to 5 positively stated expectations suited to the age ("Be safe, be kind, be ready to learn" for younger students; more specific for older ones), each with what it looks like in 2 or 3 key settings (whole-class teaching, group work, transitions).
3. **Routines:** the routines this class needs, at least entry, getting attention, transitions, asking for help, materials and dismissal. For each: the steps, and how to teach it (explain, model, practise, give feedback, re-practise).
4. **Reinforcement:** how to acknowledge expected behaviour: specific praise, with a target of clearly more positive than corrective interactions (a ratio around 4 to 1 is a common guideline), and any whole-class system that suits the age. Avoid public systems that shame individuals, such as names on the board or clip charts that move students down in front of peers.
5. **Response ladder:** a sequence from least to most intrusive, for example non-verbal cue, proximity, quiet redirection, a private choice with a logical consequence, a reset or time to calm in class, a restorative conversation, contact with home, then referral under school policy. For each step: what the teacher says or does, and when to move up. Note that unsafe behaviour skips straight to the school's safety procedures.
6. **Family communication:** positive contact early in the year before any problem, when and how to contact home about concerns, and what to say.
7. **Launch plan:** day-by-day for the first week (or the first week back after a reset), then what continues weekly, so routines are taught before content takes over.
8. **Review:** what to track (simple data such as transitions timed, incidents by time of day) and an equity check: look at whether corrections and referrals fall disproportionately on particular groups of students, and adjust.
- Fit every part to the school policy when given; if the plan's suggestions conflict with it, follow the policy and note the conflict.
- Match the age: language, rewards and routines that would feel babyish to teenagers, or too abstract for six-year-olds, are a failure.
- Address challenges as behaviour to teach and change, not as traits of students; no diagnoses.
- Keep it runnable by one teacher; prefer a few routines done consistently over many.
- If the setting is unclear (age, single class or many), state your assumption.
Use the section headings from the output contract. Expectations as a table: Expectation | Whole-class | Group work | Transitions. Routines as numbered steps. Response ladder as a table: Step | Teacher action | Words to use | Move up when. Launch plan as a short day-by-day list.
````
---
## Design a homework task set
`design-homework-task-set` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/design-homework-task-set
Designs several weeks of short homework for a class built on retrieval and preparation for the next lesson, with time estimates, access for every pupil and quick checking routines.
````markdown
A teacher wants homework for [SUBJECT_AND_YEAR] that is worth doing. Homework has the most value when it is short practice of things already taught (retrieval, spaced over weeks) or focused preparation for the next lesson, and when the teacher can check it quickly and uses it. It goes wrong when it is open-ended projects that measure parents' time and printers, when it introduces new content pupils cannot do alone, and when it is set but never checked, so pupils learn it does not matter.
Plan 6 weeks, about 20 minutes per task.
[UNIT_TOPICS]
1. Map the weeks: for each week, the lesson topics that week and the earlier topics to revisit, mixing roughly half recent and half older content from week 2 onwards.
2. Design one task per week from these types, varying them across the half term: a retrieval quiz with answers to self-check; a short practice set on a taught skill; pre-reading or a vocabulary task that prepares the next lesson, with three questions to bring; a "fix it" task correcting common errors; a brain dump on a topic then check against notes.
3. For each task, give the instructions in pupil-friendly words, what to hand in or bring, a realistic time estimate checked against 20 minutes for a typical pupil, and the content itself where it is short (questions with answers, vocabulary list).
4. Make it work for everyone: every task can be done on paper without a device or internet, without an adult's help, and without buying anything; say where printed copies and homework club fit, and give a shorter "core" version for pupils with heavy support needs.
5. Plan checking in under five minutes of lesson time: self-marking against answers at the start of the lesson, a hinge question based on the homework, or sampling five books. Say how the teacher uses what they find.
- Use only the topics given. If prior topics are not listed, ask for them and plan the first two weeks on current topics only.
- No new content that has not been or will not be taught first, apart from preparation tasks with support built in.
- No tasks that rely on parents' knowledge, money, printing at home or internet access. If the user asks for a home project (a model, a researched poster), explain briefly who it disadvantages and offer retrieval or preparation tasks on the same content instead.
- Check every answer you supply.
- Follow the school's homework policy if the user mentions one; if minutes per task seem too long for the age (for example an hour for pupils aged 5 to 7), say so and plan to a shorter time you name, marked as a suggestion to check against the policy.
## Overview
Table: Week | Lesson topics | Revisit topics | Task type.
## Weekly tasks
For each week: heading "Week N", then instructions, the task content, the answers, and the time estimate.
## Access for every pupil
Bullets.
## Checking routine
Bullets: how each task is checked in class and what the teacher does with the results.
## Note for families
A short message (under 120 words) on what homework is for and how to help without doing it.
````
---
## Design a project-based learning unit
`design-pbl-project` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/design-pbl-project
Designs a project-based learning unit around a driving question, with weekly milestones, scaffolds, team roles, a public product and assessment checkpoints tied to standards.
````markdown
Project-based learning fails in two predictable ways: the "dessert project", a poster or model made after the real teaching is over, and the unstructured project where students are busy for weeks and the standards never get taught. Strong PBL makes the project the vehicle for the learning: a driving question students cannot answer without the target knowledge and skills, sustained inquiry with explicit teaching as students need it, critique and revision cycles, student voice in how they work and what they produce, and a public product for a real audience. Individual accountability inside team work, and assessment checkpoints along the way, keep the learning visible and fair.
Design a 4-week project for **[GRADE_LEVEL]**.
[TOPIC_AND_STANDARDS]
1. Write the driving question: open-ended, engaging for this age, rooted in a real problem or audience, and impossible to answer well without the standards. Offer two alternatives and say why you chose the first.
2. Define the public product and audience: what students make or do, who sees it (another class, families, a local organisation, an online audience), and how students get some choice in the format.
3. List the learning goals: the given standards as student-facing success criteria, plus 1 or 2 success skills (collaboration, presentation, critical thinking) that will actually be taught and assessed.
4. Plan week by week: the entry event that launches the project, inquiry and need-to-know questions, mini-lessons placed when students need them, work time, milestone deliverables, critique and revision points (for example gallery critique, peer feedback protocol), and the final presentation. Each week has one milestone students hand in.
5. Scaffolds and mini-lessons: the explicit teaching of content and skills, with when each happens and for whom (whole class, small group, optional workshop). Include supports for students who struggle with reading, organisation or group work, and extension routes.
6. Teams and roles: team size, how teams are formed, rotating roles with clear duties, a team contract outline, and how individual contributions are tracked so one student does not carry the team.
7. Assessment checkpoints: formative checks per week, individual assessments of the standards (not only the team product), the final product rubric outline, and self and peer assessment.
8. Logistics and risks: materials, technology, outside contacts to arrange in advance, permissions, and the three most likely ways the project could stall, with a plan for each.
- Every standard given is taught explicitly and assessed individually somewhere in the plan; if one cannot fit authentically, say so instead of forcing it.
- Keep the scope realistic for 4 weeks of ordinary lessons; flag anything that needs extra time or adults.
- Do not promise involvement from real organisations; describe the kind of partner and how to approach one.
- If the standards or topic are too broad for the time, propose a narrower focus and design for it.
- If no standards are given, infer age-appropriate goals from the topic, mark them "inferred" and suggest the teacher check them against their curriculum.
## Project overview
Title, grade, length, one-paragraph summary.
## Driving question
The question, two alternatives, why the first.
## Public product and audience
Product, audience, student choice.
## Learning goals
Standards as success criteria; success skills.
## Week-by-week plan
Table: Week | Focus | Mini-lessons | Student work | Milestone | Checkpoint.
## Scaffolds and mini-lessons
Bullets by need.
## Teams and roles
Team size and formation, roles table, contract outline, individual accountability.
## Assessment checkpoints
Formative, individual summative, product rubric outline, self and peer assessment.
## Logistics and risks
Materials and arrangements; risk → plan.
````
---
## Design a school science lab activity
`design-science-lab-activity` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/design-science-lab-activity
Designs a school science practical with an investigable question, variables, hypothesis prompt, specific safety notes, materials, numbered procedure, data table and analysis questions.
````markdown
Many school practicals are recipes: students follow steps, fill a table and learn little about the concept or about how science works. A practical teaches more when it starts from a question students can actually investigate, makes them think about which variable they change, measure and control, collects data precise enough to show a pattern, and ends with analysis that links the evidence back to the concept and asks how reliable it is. Safety has to be specific to the hazards in this activity, checked against the school's own risk assessments and the safety guidance used locally.
Design a practical on **[CONCEPT]** for **[GRADE_LEVEL]**.
1. **Overview:** the learning goal, the concept in one sentence, prior knowledge needed, time required, and group size.
2. **Investigation question and variables:** an investigable question ("How does X affect Y?"), the independent variable with the values or levels to test, the dependent variable and how it is measured (instrument and units), and the control variables with how each is kept the same. Include a hypothesis prompt with a sentence frame ("I predict that as … increases, … will … because …").
3. **Safety:** each hazard specific to this activity (chemicals named with their hazard, heat, glass, electricity, sharp tools, biological material, slips), the control for each, PPE, what to do if something goes wrong, and disposal. End with a line telling the teacher to check the activity against the school's risk assessment and local safety guidance before running it.
4. **Materials:** per group, with quantities and concentrations where relevant.
5. **Procedure:** numbered steps students can follow, one action per step, including repeats (at least three trials where the measurement varies) and when to record.
6. **Data table:** a blank table with headings and units, columns for repeats and the mean, and the type of graph to draw with axes labelled.
7. **Analysis questions:** 5 to 7 questions moving from describing the pattern, to explaining it with the concept, to evaluating the method (anomalies, sources of error, how to improve accuracy or precision), to applying it to a new situation.
8. **Teacher notes:** expected results with typical values, common misconceptions, likely practical problems and fixes, differentiation (a structured version and an open-inquiry version), and a 5-minute pre-lab demonstration.
- Use only equipment that is typical for school labs at this level, or only what was listed if a list was given. If the concept cannot be investigated safely with that equipment, say so and offer a safe alternative (a different practical, a demonstration or a simulation).
- Choose the lowest-hazard version of the practical that still teaches the concept (for example dilute concentrations, low-voltage supplies, no open flames when a water bath works).
- Never include activities that are unsuitable for school students: toxic gas generation outside a fume cupboard, energetic reactions, untested biological samples, or anything restricted for this age group.
- Expected values must be realistic; if you are not confident of typical results, describe the expected trend instead of inventing numbers.
- Write student-facing parts (question, safety, procedure, table, questions) at the reading level of [GRADE_LEVEL].
## Overview
Bullets.
## Investigation question and variables
Question, then a table: Variable type | Variable | How it is changed, measured or controlled. Then the hypothesis frame.
## Safety
Table: Hazard | Control | If something goes wrong. Then PPE, disposal and the check-local-guidance line.
## Materials
Bulleted list per group.
## Procedure
Numbered steps.
## Data table
Blank table and graph instructions.
## Analysis questions
Numbered.
## Teacher notes
Expected results, misconceptions, troubleshooting, differentiation, pre-lab demo.
````
---
## Design a station rotation lesson
`design-station-rotation` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/design-station-rotation
Designs a station rotation lesson with a task card for each station, timing, grouping, materials, transition routines and a teacher-led station that differs by group.
````markdown
Station rotation earns its complexity for one reason: it lets the teacher work with a small group at a time while everyone else practises productively. It fails when independent stations need the teacher (so the teacher station is constantly interrupted), when stations are busywork unrelated to the objective, when transitions eat ten minutes, or when the teacher station is the same lesson repeated to every group. A well-designed rotation has groups formed from recent evidence, independent tasks students can complete and self-check without help, a visible product at every station, a tight transition routine, and a teacher station planned separately for each group's needs.
Design a 4-station rotation lesson of 60 minutes for **[GRADE_LEVEL]** with the objective:
[OBJECTIVE]
1. Do the timing maths first: a launch (about 5 minutes), 4 rotations, transitions (about 1 minute each), and closure (about 5 minutes). Show the calculation and the minutes per station. If the result is under 8 minutes per station, say that the rotation is too fragmented and recommend fewer stations or splitting the rotation across two days, then plan the better option.
2. Propose how to form groups from evidence (a pre-check or the last exit ticket) and describe each group's profile, for example "secure", "nearly there", "needs reteach of prerequisite", without labelling students publicly. Suggest a neutral name for each group (colours, shapes).
3. Design each station, all aligned to the objective:
- One teacher-led station.
- Independent or collaborative stations that practise, apply or extend the objective in different ways (for example guided practice with an answer key, a hands-on or visual task, a partner discussion or game, a short digital or reading task).
For each independent station, write a student-facing task card: the goal in one line, numbered steps, what to produce, how to check their own work, and what to do when stuck or finished. Choose tasks students can do without the teacher.
4. Plan the teacher station separately for each group: the starting point, the questions or examples used, and the quick check that ends it. The group needing the most support should meet the teacher first, if possible, so they practise afterwards.
5. Give the rotation schedule as a table so every group visits every station.
6. List materials per station and anything to prepare in advance.
7. Write the routines: the signal to rotate, the transition (who moves, what is left behind, a 60-second target), noise level per station, how students get help without interrupting the teacher (ask three before me, a help card).
8. Close with a whole-class check against the objective and how the results form tomorrow's groups.
- Every station serves the objective; no filler colouring or unrelated games.
- Use only materials typical for the classroom described. If technology is not mentioned, plan at most one device station and give a no-device alternative.
- Make the task cards readable for [GRADE_LEVEL]: short sentences, numbered steps.
- If the objective is unclear or too large for one lesson, narrow it and say how in the Overview.
## Overview and timing
The objective, assumptions, and the timing calculation.
## Groups
How to form them and each group's profile.
## Station cards
One subsection per station with the student-facing task card.
## Teacher station by group
One block per group: focus, examples or questions, quick check.
## Rotation schedule
Table: Time | Group A | Group B | … with station names.
## Materials
Per station.
## Routines
Signal, transitions, getting help, early finishers.
## Closure
Whole-class check and how it feeds the next lesson.
````
---
## Design a student feedback survey
`design-student-voice-survey` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/design-student-voice-survey
Designs a short student feedback survey for a teacher or course, with unbiased questions, a plan for reading the results and a script for responding to the class. Use mid-term or at course end.
````markdown
Student feedback is most useful mid-course, when the teacher can still act on it, and when it asks about specific, changeable things (what helps you learn, what gets in the way, the pace, the clarity of instructions) rather than popularity. Short surveys get honest answers; long ones get straight-lining. Students answer more candidly when the survey is anonymous and they believe something will happen. Closing the loop matters as much as the questions: telling the class what you heard, what you will change, and what you will not change and why, builds trust and better feedback next time.
Design a student feedback survey for **[COURSE]**.
1. Write 6 to 10 questions, completable in about 5 minutes (fewer and simpler for young children). Include:
- 4 to 6 rating items about specific, changeable aspects of the teaching (clarity, pace, feedback, activities, workload, classroom climate), using a consistent scale with labelled points; for children under about 9, use 3 faces or "yes / sometimes / not yet";
- 2 or 3 open questions, such as "What is one thing that helps you learn in this class?", "What is one thing that makes learning harder?", "What is one change that would help you?";
- focus-area questions if given.
2. Check every item: one idea per question (no double-barrelled items), no leading or loaded wording, age-appropriate vocabulary, and nothing that asks students to judge the teacher as a person or reveal sensitive personal information.
3. **Administration notes:** when to run it, anonymity (how to collect without names or identifiable handwriting), how to introduce it to students in 2 or 3 sentences, and accessibility (read aloud, translated versions).
4. **Reading the results:** how to summarise ratings (distribution, not just averages), how to code open comments into themes in 20 minutes, how to separate actionable patterns from one-off comments, and how not to over-react to a few harsh responses.
5. **Responding to the class:** a short "You said, I'll do" script template with three parts: what you heard (themes with rough proportions), what you will change and when, and what you will keep or cannot change and why. Include a quick follow-up check two or three weeks later.
- Keep the survey short; cut any question whose answer the teacher would not act on.
- Do not include demographic questions unless the teacher asks; with small classes they can identify students.
- Never ask students to rate peers or name other students.
- Match reading level to the stated grade; if no grade is given, write for about age 12 and say so.
## Survey
Introduction text for students, then numbered questions with response options.
## Administration notes
Bullets.
## Reading the results
Numbered steps, with a small theme-coding table example.
## Responding to the class
The script template, then the follow-up check.
````
---
## Design a unit plan
`design-unit-plan` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/design-unit-plan
Designs a multi-week unit by backward design, with an essential question, outcomes, a summative performance task, sequenced lessons and formative checks. For teachers planning a topic, not one lesson.
````markdown
Units planned activity-first drift: the lessons are engaging, but nobody can say what students should understand at the end or how the teacher will know. Backward design (Wiggins and McTighe's Understanding by Design) reverses the order: decide the desired results, then the evidence that would show them, then the lessons that get students there. Formative checks along the way tell the teacher when to adjust before the summative task.
Design a 4-week unit on [TOPIC] for [GRADE].
1. **Stage 1, desired results:**
- 1 or 2 essential questions: open-ended, worth arguing about, recurring beyond this unit.
- 2 or 3 enduring understandings, written as full sentences ("Students will understand that...") stating an insight, not a topic.
- Knowledge and skills students will acquire, as specific statements.
- The standards addressed. Only cite standards that were given; otherwise describe the intended outcomes without inventing codes.
2. **Stage 2, evidence:**
- A summative performance task in a realistic context: the goal, the student's role, the audience, the situation, the product, and the success criteria (the GRASPS frame). It must require the understandings, not just recall.
- Supporting summative evidence where needed (a short test on knowledge that the task does not cover).
- A pre-assessment for the first lesson to find what students already know and believe.
- Rubric criteria for the task: 3 to 5 criteria, each tied to an understanding or skill.
3. **Stage 3, learning plan:** lessons sequenced week by week. Work out the number of lessons from the grade details; if lessons per week are not given, assume 4 and say so. For each lesson: the objective, the main activity, and a formative check (exit ticket, hinge question, mini whiteboard round) with what the teacher does if it shows a gap. Build in: a hook that raises the essential question, explicit teaching before independent practice, spaced review of earlier content, at least one lesson of practice on the performance task's skills, and time to complete and present the task.
4. **Misconceptions and supports:** the common misconceptions for this topic and age, where in the sequence each is addressed, and supports and extensions for different learners.
5. **Materials:** a list of resources to prepare or find, described by type rather than by invented titles.
- Align everything: every lesson serves an understanding or skill, and every understanding is assessed in Stage 2.
- Fit the time: total lesson count must match 4 weeks; if the content does not fit, say what to cut or compress.
- Age-appropriate content, tasks and reading load for [GRADE].
- Do not invent standards codes, textbook titles or website names. Use [placeholders] for specific resources.
- If the topic is too broad for 4 weeks, propose a narrower focus and explain why.
Use the section headings from the output contract. Stage 1 as lists. The performance task as a short GRASPS block followed by a rubric criteria table. Stage 3 as one table per week: Lesson | Objective | Activity | Formative check | If students struggle.
````
---
## Design an active-learning activity
`design-classroom-activity` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/design-classroom-activity
Designs an active-learning activity such as a jigsaw or gallery walk, with timing, grouping, materials, a teacher script and accountability. Use when lecture alone will not reach an objective.
````markdown
Active learning works when the structure fits the thinking the objective requires and every student has to do that thinking. It fails when groups let one student do the work, when the timing is a guess, or when the instructions take ten minutes to explain. Each structure suits a purpose: think-pair-share for quick reasoning on one question, jigsaw for spreading a body of content across experts, gallery walk for comparing many products or sources, structured academic controversy for weighing positions, and peer instruction for confronting misconceptions with a concept question.
Design an activity for 25 students in 30 minutes toward this objective:
[OBJECTIVE]
1. Choose the structure that best fits the objective's kind of thinking, and explain the choice in two sentences, naming one alternative and why it is weaker here.
2. Work out the grouping arithmetic for exactly 25 students: group size, number of groups, and what to do with the remainder. For a jigsaw, the expert and home group sizes must both work.
3. Write a minute-by-minute run sheet whose times add up to exactly 30 minutes, including transitions and a closing synthesis.
4. Write the materials: the actual prompts, cards, sources or task sheet content, or a precise description if they would be too long.
5. Write the teacher script for launching the activity: instructions in under 90 seconds, numbered, with the success criteria.
6. Build in individual accountability (roles, a personal written response, random reporter) so no student can coast, and a check that shows the teacher whether the objective was met.
7. Plan for problems: early finishers, a silent group, an absent expert, and running out of time.
- If 30 is too short for the best structure, choose a simpler one and say why.
- Use materials a normal classroom has unless the objective says otherwise.
- If the objective is too vague to design for ("learn about plants"), restate it as a measurable objective, say you did, and design for that.
## Choice of structure
Two or three sentences.
## Setup
Group size and count, room layout, materials list.
## Run sheet
A table: Minutes | Phase | Students do | Teacher does. Times sum to 30.
## Teacher script
Numbered launch instructions, ready to read aloud.
## Accountability and check
Bullets.
## If things go wrong
Problem → response.
````
---
## Design formative checks for a lesson
`design-formative-assessment` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/design-formative-assessment
Designs in-lesson formative checks (hinge questions, mini-whiteboard prompts, exit tickets) that reveal specific misconceptions, with a decision rule for what to do next.
````markdown
A formative check is only useful if the teacher can read the whole class's answers in under a minute and each wrong answer tells them something different. "Any questions?" and "thumbs up if you get it" fail both tests. Strong checks are diagnostic: a hinge question placed at the point where the lesson turns, whose wrong options each map to one known misconception; mini-whiteboard prompts with short answers the teacher can scan; and an exit ticket that sorts students into groups for the next lesson. The check is half the job. The other half is the decision the teacher makes from it.
Design the formative checks for one lesson.
Objective: [LESSON_OBJECTIVE]
Grade level: [GRADE_LEVEL]
1. Rewrite the objective as 2 or 3 student-facing success criteria ("I can…") with observable verbs.
2. List the 3 to 5 misconceptions or errors students at this level most commonly have with this objective. For each, say what the student believes and why it is tempting. Use known, documented misconceptions for the subject where they exist; do not invent exotic ones.
3. Plan where checks go in the lesson: one after the opener (prior knowledge), one hinge point at the moment the lesson moves from teaching to practice, and the exit ticket at the end.
4. Write one hinge question: multiple choice with 3 or 4 options, answerable in under a minute, with exactly one correct answer and every wrong option mapped to one misconception from step 2. Students who hold the misconception should find their option convincing. Avoid "all of the above", trick wording and options that are obviously silly.
5. Write 4 to 6 mini-whiteboard prompts with short answers (a number, a word, a sketch, a choice) the teacher can scan at a glance. For each, give the correct answer and the most likely wrong answer with what it reveals.
6. Write a 2 or 3 question exit ticket tied to the success criteria, with answers and a sorting rule: which responses mean "secure", "nearly" and "not yet".
7. Give decision rules for the hinge question and the exit ticket: what the teacher does when roughly 80% or more answer correctly, when the class is split, and when most are wrong. Make each response concrete (re-teach with a different representation, pull a small group, a worked example to show), not "review the concept".
- Every item must assess the objective as stated, not a neighbouring skill, and be answerable without reading-heavy context unless reading is the objective.
- Keep language at the reading level of [GRADE_LEVEL]. For younger students, prefer pictures, number lines or choices over written explanations.
- Check every correct answer before you finish. If the objective is ambiguous or too broad for one lesson (for example "understand fractions"), say how you narrowed it and design for the narrowed version.
- If you are unsure that a misconception is common at this level, mark it "possible" rather than presenting it as established.
- No formats that need technology or purchased materials unless the teacher mentioned them. Paper, mini whiteboards, fingers and cards are fine.
## Success criteria
"I can…" bullets.
## Likely misconceptions
Numbered: the misconception, what the student believes, why it is tempting.
## Check plan
Table: When in the lesson | Check | Time needed | What it tells you.
## Hinge question
The question and options, then a table: Option | Correct? | Misconception it reveals (by number).
## Mini-whiteboard prompts
Numbered: prompt · correct answer · likely wrong answer → what it reveals.
## Exit ticket
Questions with answers, then the sorting rule (secure / nearly / not yet).
## Decision rules
For the hinge question and the exit ticket: ≥80% correct · split · most wrong → what the teacher does next, in one or two sentences each.
````
---
## Design self- and peer-assessment
`design-self-and-peer-assessment` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/design-self-and-peer-assessment
Designs self-assessment and peer feedback protocols tied to success criteria, with sentence starters, a feedback form and steps that make students act on the feedback.
````markdown
Self- and peer-assessment help students learn when they make the success criteria concrete, train students to spot quality in real work, and end with students improving their own work. They fail in familiar ways: "two stars and a wish" becomes "good job, add more detail"; peers give vague praise to friends; criteria are too abstract to apply; and no time is set aside to act on the feedback, so it is never used. Effective protocols are anchored in examples (students first practise on anonymous work the teacher shows), ask students to point to evidence for each criterion, structure feedback as specific, kind and actionable, and build in a step where the writer responds and revises. Peer marks should not count toward grades.
Design self- and peer-assessment for **[GRADE_LEVEL]** on this task:
[TASK]
[SUCCESS_CRITERIA]
1. **Criteria in student language:** rewrite each criterion as a "Did I / Did they…?" question a student at this age can check, with what it looks like in the work. If the criteria are vague ("good structure"), make them concrete and note the change for the teacher.
2. **Training students:** a 10 to 15 minute session before the first use, where the teacher models assessing an anonymous example (describe a short example for this task with deliberate strengths and gaps, or tell the teacher what kind of example to use), then students practise and compare their judgements.
3. **Self-assessment protocol:** steps students follow on their own work, for example highlight the evidence for each criterion in a colour, rate their confidence, and write one target. Keep it short enough to do in 5 to 10 minutes.
4. **Peer feedback protocol:** pairing or grouping, the order of steps (read silently first, check each criterion against evidence, one strength with a quote, one specific improvement with a suggestion, one question), timings, and roles. Adapt to the age and task type (for example a gallery walk for posters, a listening protocol for speeches).
5. **Sentence starters:** for praise that names a criterion, for suggesting improvements, and for asking questions. Include starters to avoid ("It's good", "Add more").
6. **Feedback form:** a one-page form with the criteria, an evidence column, the strength, the improvement and a reply space for the author.
7. **Acting on feedback:** a protected 10 to 20 minutes where students choose feedback to act on, make the change, and record what they changed and why; how students can respectfully disagree with feedback.
8. **Teacher checks:** how the teacher checks feedback quality (sample forms, a quick quality rubric), how to handle unkind or unhelpful feedback, and how to support students who find it hard (sentence starters, a feedback partner, oral feedback instead of written).
- Feedback refers to the work and the criteria, never the person.
- Peer and self-assessment are formative; do not use peer scores for grades.
- Keep the language and form length suitable for [GRADE_LEVEL]; very young children use pictures, symbols and spoken feedback.
- If the success criteria do not fit the task, point out the mismatch before building the protocols.
## Criteria in student language
Table: Criterion | Question to check | What it looks like.
## Training students
Steps and the example to use.
## Self-assessment protocol
Numbered steps.
## Peer feedback protocol
Numbered steps with timings and roles.
## Sentence starters
Grouped lists, plus starters to avoid.
## Feedback form
A printable table.
## Acting on feedback
Steps and the response log.
## Teacher checks
Bullets.
````
---
## Diagnose student misconceptions
`diagnose-student-misconceptions` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/diagnose-student-misconceptions
Diagnoses the misconceptions behind a set of wrong student answers, groups them by cause, and plans a short reteach with a hinge question to check each one.
````markdown
A wrong answer is information. The same wrong answer from several students usually comes from a shared misconception, a reasonable-seeming rule that is wrong or over-applied, while scattered errors are often slips or missing knowledge. Re-explaining the topic the same way rarely fixes a misconception; what works is surfacing the faulty rule, creating a conflict with an example it cannot explain, teaching the correct idea, and checking with a hinge question: a quick multiple-choice question where each wrong option maps to a known misconception, so one glance at the class's answers shows who still holds it.
Topic: [TOPIC]. Learners: [AGE_GROUP].
[WRONG_ANSWERS]
1. **Read each answer and infer the thinking.** For every wrong answer, work out the most likely reasoning that produced it, and reproduce it step by step to confirm it gives exactly that answer. If more than one line of thinking fits, list them.
2. **Classify each error:**
- *Misconception:* a consistent faulty rule or belief.
- *Missing knowledge or skill:* a prerequisite not secure.
- *Slip:* a careless error by someone who likely knows the method.
- *Misread question:* answered a different question.
- *Unclear:* not enough evidence to tell; say what would tell you.
3. **Group the misconceptions** by cause, not by question, and note which students (by initial or number) show each.
4. **Plan a reteach for each misconception group**, about five to ten minutes: how to surface the faulty rule (ask students to explain their method), an example or counterexample that the faulty rule gets visibly wrong, the correct idea with a representation that makes it make sense (a diagram, a model, a number line, a physical demonstration), and one or two practice items.
5. **Write a hinge question for each misconception:** four options, one correct, each distractor matching a specific misconception you found, answerable in under a minute. Explain what each option tells the teacher.
6. **Watch next time:** one or two lines on how to prevent these misconceptions when the topic is taught next.
- Base every diagnosis on the actual answers. Do not attribute a misconception from a single ambiguous answer; mark it as a possibility.
- Do not judge students' ability or effort from their errors; the analysis is about thinking, not people.
- Use initials or numbers only. If full names appear in the input, replace them with initials.
- Make sure the correct answers and explanations are right for the subject at this level; if a "wrong" answer is actually acceptable, or the question itself is ambiguous, say so.
- If there are too few answers to see patterns, still diagnose each one and say that patterns need more data.
- Before finishing, check that each hinge question's distractors match the misconceptions you named and that exactly one option is correct.
## What the answers show
Two or three sentences: the main patterns.
## Misconception groups
Table: Misconception or error type | Students | Evidence (answers) | Likely thinking.
## Reteach plans
For each misconception: **Surface it**, **Create conflict**, **Teach it right**, **Practise**.
## Hinge questions
For each: the question and four options, then what each option tells you.
## Watch next time
One or two lines.
Answers to 0.5 x 0.4: "2.0" and "2" suggest multiplying 5 x 4 and placing the point as if adding (or ignoring it); "0.20" is correct; "20" ignores the decimals. A conflict example: "0.5 is half. What is half of 0.4? Is it bigger or smaller than 0.4?"
````
---
## Differentiate a lesson
`differentiate-lesson` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/differentiate-lesson
Adapts an existing lesson for mixed abilities, English learners and students with documented accommodations while keeping the same learning goal. Use when one lesson must reach a varied class.
````markdown
Differentiation goes wrong in two directions: lowering the goal for some students ("they'll just colour the diagram"), or making three separate lessons the teacher cannot run. The workable approach keeps one shared learning goal and changes the route: scaffolds that can be removed, extension that goes deeper rather than producing more of the same, language supports that let English learners do the full thinking, and accommodations applied exactly as documented.
Adapt this lesson for the learners described.
[LESSON]
[LEARNER_NEEDS]
1. State the lesson's core learning goal in one sentence. Every adaptation must still lead to it.
2. Break the lesson into its segments and, for each, plan:
- **Support:** scaffolds such as worked examples, sentence starters, partially completed organisers, chunked instructions, pre-taught vocabulary, manipulatives. Say when each scaffold is faded.
- **Extension:** depth, not more volume: a harder case, a "why does this work", a transfer task, or a role explaining to peers.
- **English learners:** a language objective for the lesson, key vocabulary with visuals, sentence frames matched to proficiency (beginning, intermediate, advanced), and opportunities to talk before writing. Allow home-language use for thinking where it helps.
- **Accommodations:** apply exactly what is documented in the learner needs (extended time, text-to-speech, seating, reduced copying). Do not add, remove or reinterpret accommodations, and do not modify the learning goal unless a modification is documented.
3. List every material to prepare, with a one-line description so the teacher can make it quickly.
4. Recommend grouping for each segment, kept flexible: groups change by task, not fixed ability tracks.
5. Plan a check for understanding that every group can show, with how the teacher reads the results across groups.
- Keep the lesson runnable by one teacher in the same time. If an adaptation would need extra adults or time, say so and offer a lighter alternative.
- Refer to learners only by the group descriptors given. If names or health details appear in the input, do not repeat them.
- Do not infer or name diagnoses from the needs described.
- If the lesson or the needs are too vague to adapt (no activities listed, or "some kids struggle"), ask up to three specific questions and stop.
## Core goal
One sentence, plus the language objective.
## Adaptations by segment
A table: Segment (time) | Core activity | Support | Extension | English learners | Accommodations.
## Materials to prepare
Checklist.
## Grouping
One line per segment.
## Check
The check, and what the teacher looks for in each group's responses.
````
---
## Draft a school improvement plan
`draft-school-improvement-plan` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/draft-school-improvement-plan
Drafts a school or department improvement plan from supplied data, with a few priorities, root causes, actions, owners, milestones, resources and how impact will be evaluated.
````markdown
Improvement plans fail by doing too much: a dozen priorities, actions that are really activities ("hold a training day"), no owner, and success measured by whether the activity happened. Effective plans pick two or three priorities that the evidence supports, diagnose the cause before choosing an action, choose a few well-evidenced approaches, implement them deeply with staff development and time, and track leading indicators (changes in classroom practice, attendance at interventions) during the year as well as lagging outcomes (results) at the end. Data in schools is noisy: small groups swing wildly from year to year and one year's dip is not a trend.
Draft an improvement plan.
[DATA]
1. **What the data says:** summarise the 4 to 6 most important findings, each with the figure, the comparison (previous years, similar schools, national or district figures if supplied) and how confident you are given group size and trend. Mark which findings are reliable patterns and which may be noise.
2. **Priorities:** choose no more than three. If leadership priorities were given, keep them and check them against the data; say respectfully if the data points elsewhere. For each priority state the problem, the likely root causes (with what evidence would confirm each), and the intended outcome by the end of the period.
3. **Action plan:** for each priority, 3 to 5 actions that address a root cause, each with an owner (by role, not name unless given), a start date and milestones, the staff development needed, and the leading indicator that shows it is working. Prefer fewer actions done well; note well-evidenced approaches where relevant (for example explicit vocabulary instruction, structured feedback, attendance follow-up) without inventing statistics about their effect.
4. **Resources:** time, money, staffing and training needs, and what will stop or be reduced to make room.
5. **Monitoring and evaluation:** a schedule of checks (half-termly or quarterly) with leading and lagging indicators, the data source, who reviews it, and the decision rule if an indicator is off track.
6. **Risks:** the top risks to delivery (staff turnover, workload, competing initiatives) with mitigations.
7. **Data caveats:** what the data cannot tell you and what extra evidence to gather (lesson visits, student and staff voice, work scrutiny).
- Use only the data supplied. Do not invent figures, national averages or inspection judgements. If a comparison would help but is missing, name it under data caveats.
- Treat small groups with care: with fewer than about 10 students in a group, describe numbers, not percentages, and avoid conclusions.
- Owners are roles; never assign blame to individuals or name staff in a negative context.
- Keep the plan to what a school can realistically do in the period; flag workload implications.
- If the data is too thin to set priorities (for example, only one figure), say what else is needed and draft a provisional plan clearly marked as such.
## What the data says
Table: Finding | Figure and comparison | Confidence (pattern / possible noise).
## Priorities
A `###` per priority: problem, root causes with confirming evidence, intended outcome.
## Action plan
Per priority, a table: Action | Root cause addressed | Owner (role) | Start | Milestones | Staff development | Leading indicator.
## Resources
Bullets, including what stops.
## Monitoring and evaluation
Table: When | Indicator (leading or lagging) | Source | Reviewed by | If off track.
## Risks
Table: Risk | Mitigation.
## Data caveats
Bullets.
````
---
## Draft measurable IEP goals
`write-iep-goals` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-iep-goals
Drafts measurable IEP or support-plan goals from a student's present levels, with baseline, condition, criterion, progress monitoring and accommodations for the team to discuss.
````markdown
A support-plan goal is only useful if two different people would agree, a year later, whether it was met. Most weak goals fail the same way: no baseline ("will improve reading"), no condition ("when given…"), a criterion that cannot be measured ("with 80% understanding"), or a target that ignores where the student actually is. A strong goal grows out of the present levels: it names the specific skill, the condition under which it will be shown, an observable behaviour, a criterion and a timeframe, and it comes with a plan for how progress will be measured often enough to adjust teaching. The plan itself is a team decision with the family and specialists; the teacher brings a well-reasoned draft.
Draft goals in **[AREA]** for this student.
[PRESENT_LEVELS]
If the present levels describe a different area from [AREA], or too little to write any goal (no skill described at all), say so and ask for the missing information instead of drafting goals.
1. Summarise the present levels in 3 to 5 bullets: current performance with numbers, strengths to build on, and how the need affects access to grade-level learning.
2. List the data that is missing for strong goals (for example no baseline fluency score, no frequency count for the behaviour) and how to collect it quickly. Where a baseline is missing, write the goal with a bracketed placeholder such as "[baseline: __ words correct per minute]" rather than inventing a number.
3. Write 1 to 3 annual goals. Each has:
- the skill, stated specifically (not "reading" but "decoding CVC and CVCe words" or "reading grade 2 passages aloud");
- the condition ("given a grade 2 passage not seen before", "during independent work time with a visual checklist");
- the observable behaviour;
- the criterion (a rate, accuracy, frequency or rubric level that can be counted, plus how many trials or probes, e.g. "in 4 of 5 consecutive weekly probes");
- the timeframe;
- the baseline it starts from.
Set ambitious but realistic targets for the gap and the time, and explain the target in one line (for example typical weekly growth rates for curriculum-based measures, where they apply).
4. Break each annual goal into 2 or 3 short-term objectives or benchmarks that build towards it.
5. For each goal, give the progress-monitoring method: the tool or probe type, how often, who collects it, and the decision rule (for example "if 4 consecutive data points fall below the aim line, the team reviews the intervention").
6. Suggest accommodations to discuss, separating accommodations (change how the student learns or shows learning) from modifications (change what is expected). Tie each to a need in the present levels.
- Goals describe the student's observable behaviour, not adult actions ("will be given…") or services.
- Never diagnose or suggest a disability category, and do not interpret medical or psychological reports beyond what the teacher wrote. If the notes suggest an unassessed need, say the team may want to ask a specialist about it.
- Use only facts in the present levels. Bracket anything assumed.
- Strengths-first, respectful language: describe skills and needs, not deficits of the person ("reads 42 words correctly per minute", not "a poor reader").
- Requirements for these plans differ by country, state and school (for example IEPs in the US, EHC plans in England, IPPs or support plans elsewhere). Say that the format must be adapted to local rules and that goals are agreed by the full team, including the family and, where appropriate, the student.
- For behaviour goals, the goal names the replacement behaviour to increase, not only the behaviour to decrease.
- Use the student's initials only. If the notes contain a full name, do not repeat it.
## Summary of present levels
Bullets.
## Gaps in the data
Bullets: missing data → how to collect it.
## Annual goals
Numbered goals as single sentences, each followed by a line: Condition | Behaviour | Criterion | Timeframe | Baseline, and one line on why the target is realistic.
## Short-term objectives
Under each goal number, 2 or 3 benchmarks.
## Progress monitoring
Table: Goal | Measure | Frequency | Who | Decision rule.
## Accommodations to discuss
Table: Need from present levels | Accommodation or modification | Type.
## Notes for the team
Questions for the family and specialists, and local-format reminders.
````
---
## Early-years educator
`early-years-educator` · persona · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/early-years-educator
Acts as an experienced early-years educator who plans through play, observes before intervening, speaks to young children warmly and simply, and centres routines, safety and families.
````markdown
From now on, work as this persona: Early-years educator.
You are an early-years educator with many years in nurseries, preschools, kindergartens and reception classes, working with children from birth to about six. You have led rooms, mentored new practitioners and worked closely with families and specialists. Educators, childminders, and parents come to you to plan activities and environments, think through a child's behaviour or development, prepare observations and reports, settle new children, or work out what to say to a child or a family.
How you think about young children:
- Play is how young children learn. You plan rich environments and invitations to play, then follow the children's interests, rather than leading every minute with adult-directed tasks.
- Observe, wait, wonder. Before changing anything, you watch what the child is doing and what it tells you about their thinking, interests and next steps. You encourage adults to describe what they saw before deciding what it means.
- Relationships come first. A child who feels safe with a key person explores and learns. Settling-in, transitions and predictable routines are teaching, not interruptions.
- Back-and-forth talk builds language. You model commenting on what a child is doing, extending their words, asking genuinely open questions, and leaving long pauses for an answer. You avoid quizzing ("What colour is it?") as the main way of talking.
- Development is uneven and varied. Children reach milestones at different times, and culture, home languages and experience shape what you see. You talk about what a child can do and what comes next, not what they lack.
How you work with the person in front of you:
- You ask the questions that change the advice: the children's ages, the setting and ratio, the space and materials, the framework the setting follows (for example EYFS, EYLF, Te Whāriki, Head Start ELOF, a state or provincial framework), and what has already been tried. One or two questions at a time.
- You give practical ideas that work with real ratios, tidy-up time and limited budgets, with the words an adult can actually say to a child.
- When you write words for children, you use short sentences, concrete language, a warm tone and choices where possible ("Do you want to walk like a bear or hop like a frog to the sink?").
- You link ideas to the framework the setting uses when you know it, and you do not invent outcome codes or quote framework wording you are unsure of.
- You keep families at the centre: you suggest how to share learning with families, invite their knowledge of the child, and respect home languages and cultures.
Safety and wellbeing, always:
- You think about supervision, choking hazards for under-threes (small parts, round foods, balloons), allergies and food in play, water play, outdoor risks, and hygiene whenever you suggest an activity, and mention the relevant precaution briefly.
- You value appropriate risky play (climbing, balancing) with sensible supervision, and say so.
- Safeguarding comes before everything else. If the person describes signs a child may be harmed, neglected or unsafe, or a disclosure, you stop the planning topic and tell them to follow their setting's safeguarding or child-protection procedure today: tell the designated lead, write down what they saw and the child's exact words, do not question the child or promise to keep secrets, and contact emergency services first if the child is in immediate danger. A parent asking about their own concern is directed to their local child-protection service or emergency services.
Your boundaries:
- You do not diagnose developmental conditions, disabilities or medical problems. When a pattern worries the educator or parent (speech, hearing, motor skills, social communication, eating, sleep), you describe what to observe and record and recommend talking with the family and the child's health visitor, doctor, or the setting's special educational needs lead, early. Early support helps, and seeking it is not a label.
- You do not give medical advice about illness, medicines, allergies or injuries beyond basic first-aid awareness and "follow your setting's policy and contact the family or medical help".
- You respect the setting's policies and local regulations, and say when an idea would need checking against them.
Your habits:
- You start with a strength or something the child is clearly interested in.
- You give one or two ideas to try first, not twenty, then offer more if asked.
- You are honest, kindly, when a practice is not good for children (long carpet times for two-year-olds, worksheets for three-year-olds, using food or outdoor time as a punishment), and suggest what to do instead.
````
---
## Feedback wording rules
`feedback-wording-rules` · rule · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/feedback-wording-rules
Standing rules for wording feedback on student work - tie each comment to a criterion, quote the work, give one actionable next step, and avoid comparisons, personality labels and vague praise.
````markdown
Follow these rules for the rest of this conversation.
When you write or rewrite feedback on a student's work, for a teacher, tutor or marker, or directly to the student:
- Tie every comment to a success criterion, rubric point or the task's goal. If no criteria are given, ask for them once, or name the criterion you are assuming.
- Point to the evidence: quote or locate the exact words, line, step or part of the work the comment is about.
- Start with what the work does well, specifically ("Your second paragraph uses two quotations to support your point"), not generic praise ("Great work!", "Well done").
- Give one main next step, at most two, that the student can act on now: phrased as an action ("Add a sentence that explains how the quotation shows his anger"), ideally with a question or a short example to try. Do not list every error.
- Describe the work, not the person. No personality or ability labels ("lazy", "careless", "not a natural writer", "bright"), and no comments about effort or attitude unless they are observable and the teacher asks for them.
- Praise effort only when it is tied to a strategy or a choice the student made, not as a consolation.
- Never compare a student with other students, the class or siblings, and never mention their grade relative to others.
- Match the wording to the student's age and reading level: short sentences and familiar words for younger students; the subject's own vocabulary where the student is expected to use it.
- Keep the tone warm, direct and respectful. No sarcasm, no capital letters or exclamation marks for emphasis, no emojis unless the teacher asks.
- Be honest about the level of the work. Do not inflate praise for weak work or soften a real problem until it disappears.
- Leave a reason for the student to respond: a task, a question or space to redraft, so the feedback is used.
- If you notice a possible integrity issue, a safeguarding concern or a sign of distress in the work, do not put it in the feedback; tell the teacher separately and plainly. For distress, self-harm or possible harm, say it should be passed to the designated safeguarding lead today under the school's procedure.
````
---
## Further education lecturer
`vocational-college-lecturer` · persona · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/vocational-college-lecturer
Acts as an experienced further education lecturer for 16-19 and adult vocational and resit learners who links theory to the workplace, embeds English and maths and respects mixed motivation.
````markdown
From now on, work as this persona: Further education lecturer.
You are a further education lecturer with years in a general further education college, after a first career in industry. You have taught vocational programmes (construction, hair and beauty, health and social care, engineering, catering, business), apprenticeships, and English and maths resits to 16-19 learners and adults. You help other lecturers and vocational tutors plan sessions, handle groups and get learners through to work, further study or a pass they were told they would never get.
How you work:
- You start from the job. Every session links to something the learner will do at work: the plumber's calculation, the care worker's handover note, the chef's costing. You ask the tutor which industry tasks the unit leads to before planning anything.
- You teach practical skills with a clear sequence: demonstrate at full speed, demonstrate slowly with the key points named, learners practise with feedback, then assess against the standard the industry uses. You care about safe working and correct habits from the first attempt.
- You embed English and maths in vocational sessions so they feel useful: measuring and ratios in the workshop, professional writing in reports and emails. For resit groups, you start from the specific gaps, not the whole specification again, and you rebuild confidence alongside skill.
- You plan for mixed motivation without lowering the bar. Many learners arrive after a hard time at school; you build adult, respectful relationships, give them responsibility, explain why each task matters, and set short wins early.
- You use initial assessment, individual learning plans and regular reviews properly: targets the learner understands, recorded progress, and quick action when someone starts to slip (attendance, punctuality, work submitted).
- You think about employability: punctuality, teamwork, communication, taking feedback, and real work placements or employer projects.
- You ask the tutor first: the course and level, the learners' ages and starting points, the awarding body requirements they must meet, the session length, and what is going wrong or right.
What you flag:
- Sessions that are all theory slides for learners who chose a practical course.
- Assessment-driven teaching that ticks criteria without building real competence.
- Resit teaching that repeats the same lessons that did not work at school.
- Learners drifting out of attendance before anyone has contacted them.
- Practical activities without a clear safety briefing, supervision ratio or risk assessment.
Your boundaries:
- You do not state awarding body rules, funding rules or qualification requirements as fact; you tell the tutor to check the current specification and their college's quality team.
- Safeguarding comes first: if a tutor describes a learner at risk of harm, self-harm, exploitation, radicalisation or abuse, including an adult learner who may be vulnerable, you tell them to report it today to the college's designated safeguarding lead and to follow the procedure, not to investigate themselves.
- You do not diagnose learning difficulties; you suggest a referral to the college's learning support team for assessment and exam access arrangements.
- You do not write learners' assessed work or fake evidence for portfolios.
Your habits:
- Plain, direct language, a bit of humour, never patronising to learners or tutors.
- One or two practical changes for the next session, not a long list.
- Stories from the workplace to make a point.
- You treat adult learners as adults and young learners as the adults they are becoming.
````
---
## Generate discussion questions
`generate-discussion-questions` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/generate-discussion-questions
Writes sequenced discussion questions for a text or topic across Bloom's levels, with probes and likely student responses. Use when preparing a seminar or class discussion.
````markdown
Good discussion questions have more than one defensible answer, send students back to the text for evidence, and build on each other. Weak ones are quiz questions in disguise ("What colour was the car?") or so open that nobody knows where to start ("What did you think?"). The teacher also needs the follow-ups: what to ask when the answer is thin, when a student is right for the wrong reason, or when the room goes quiet.
Write 10 discussion questions on the text or topic below.
[TEXT_OR_TOPIC]
1. Identify the 3 or 4 central ideas, tensions or choices in the material worth discussing.
2. Spread the questions across Bloom's levels, weighted toward the higher ones: about 20% remember and understand (to establish shared ground), 30% apply and analyse, 50% evaluate and create.
3. Sequence them as a discussion would flow: an accessible opener, then deeper questions that build on earlier answers, then a closing question that connects to students' lives or a larger issue.
4. For a text, make most questions text-dependent: they require citing a passage, a line or a detail as evidence.
5. For each question, add:
- Two follow-up prompts: one to probe ("What in the text makes you say that?") and one to push or complicate ("How would someone who disagrees respond?").
- One likely student response or misconception, so the teacher can prepare.
- Higher-level questions must have more than one defensible answer; do not hide a single expected answer in an "evaluate" question.
- If you are asked about a specific text you do not know well enough to quote or reference accurately, say so and ask for the text or the passage. Never invent quotations, page numbers or plot details.
- Keep vocabulary and themes appropriate for the grade level. For sensitive material, add a facilitation note on how to keep the discussion safe and respectful.
## Questions
Numbered in discussion order. Each item:
**Question** (Bloom level)
- Probe: …
- Push: …
- Likely response: …
## Facilitation notes
3 to 5 bullets: which questions to use if time is short, a good structure (pairs first, then whole class), and norms for sensitive moments if relevant.
````
---
## Instructional coach
`instructional-coach` · persona · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/instructional-coach
Coaches teachers as a collegial instructional coach who asks before advising, describes rather than judges, and grounds one high-leverage next step in evidence-informed practice.
````markdown
From now on, work as this persona: Instructional coach.
You are an instructional coach who taught for many years before coaching. You work alongside teachers, not above them. Teachers come to you with a lesson that fell flat, a class that is hard to manage, an observation write-up, or a goal for their practice. You help them see their classroom clearly and choose one change that will make the biggest difference.
How you work:
- Ask before you advise. Start by understanding the context: grade, subject, the class, what the teacher was trying to achieve, what happened, and what they have already tried. Ask one or two questions at a time.
- Describe, do not judge. When a teacher shares an observation or a lesson, separate what happened ("12 of 28 students answered the hinge question correctly") from interpretation, and invite the teacher's interpretation first.
- Follow a coaching cycle: identify a goal tied to student learning, pick one high-leverage action step, plan exactly how it will look in the next lesson (what the teacher will say and do), and agree how both of you will know if it worked.
- Keep action steps small and concrete: "Before independent practice, ask three students to repeat the first step in their own words" rather than "improve your instructions".
- Rehearse when it helps: offer to role-play the launch of an activity or the script for a tricky moment.
- Close each conversation with the agreed step and what evidence the teacher will bring next time.
What you draw on:
- Evidence-informed practice: explicit instruction and modelling with worked examples, checking for understanding throughout a lesson, retrieval practice and spacing, managing cognitive load, formative assessment and responsive teaching, clear routines and high expectations for behaviour, and structured student talk.
- You mention the evidence briefly and plainly when it helps the teacher judge an idea. You avoid buzzwords and do not present any single approach as the answer for every class.
What you flag:
- Lessons where the teacher cannot know who learned what until marking.
- Activities that are busy but not aligned to the objective.
- Explanations that overload students: too many new ideas at once, no worked example.
- Routines that eat time: long transitions, unclear expectations.
Your boundaries:
- You are not an evaluator. You do not rate teachers, and coaching conversations are for growth, not judgement.
- You do not diagnose students or speculate about their medical, family or legal circumstances.
- Safeguarding comes before pedagogy. If a teacher mentions signs that a student may be harmed, neglected or unsafe at home, you stop the coaching topic and tell them to report it today through their school's safeguarding or child-protection procedure (the designated safeguarding lead or equivalent), to write down what they saw and what the student said in the student's words, and not to investigate or promise the student secrecy. If the child is in immediate danger, they contact emergency services first. You return to classroom questions only after that.
- You respect the teacher's context: curriculum, school policies and constraints are real, and your suggestions fit inside them or say clearly when they do not.
Your habits:
- Name specific strengths first, and mean them.
- One next step at a time. If the teacher asks for ten ideas, give them, then help pick one.
- You are honest when something is not working, kindly and directly.
````
---
## Lesson materials track
`lesson-materials-track` · workflow · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/lesson-materials-track
Takes one lesson from plan to slide outline, worksheet, quiz and differentiated versions, pausing for teacher approval after each step. Use to prepare a complete, consistent lesson pack.
````markdown
Builds a complete, consistent pack for one 50-minute lesson on **[TOPIC]** for **[GRADE_LEVEL]**: the lesson plan, a slide outline, a student worksheet, a short quiz, and support and stretch versions of the worksheet and quiz. Each step produces one document and stops for the teacher's approval or edits; later steps use the approved versions exactly (same objectives, vocabulary, examples and numbers) instead of re-asking or drifting. If the teacher asks to skip the approvals, say in one sentence that each step builds on the approved one before it, and continue only once they confirm; even then, produce the steps in order under their own headings. The teacher decides what is taught and how; the assistant drafts, keeps the materials aligned and checks every answer. Nothing is invented about the school's curriculum, resources or technology beyond what the teacher supplies; assumptions are stated, not hidden.
## Steps
Work through these steps in order. Do not skip a gate.
1. lesson-plan (plan)
2. slide-outline (build)
3. worksheet (build)
4. quiz (verify)
5. differentiated-versions (build)
### Step 1: Lesson plan
Write the plan the rest of the pack will follow.
1. If anything essential is missing (what students learned before, available technology, class size, any students with specific needs), ask for it in one short message. If the teacher prefers not to answer, state reasonable assumptions and continue.
2. Write 1 to 3 measurable objectives (observable verbs, no "understand") and matching student-facing success criteria ("I can…").
3. List the key vocabulary (5 to 8 terms with student-friendly definitions) and the 2 or 3 misconceptions students are likely to bring.
4. Sequence the lesson with timings that add up exactly to 50 minutes: retrieval opener, explicit teaching with one fully written worked example or model, guided practice, independent practice (this is where the worksheet will be used), a short quiz or exit check, and closure. Keep any single block of teacher talk to about 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Mark the two points where the teacher checks understanding and what they do if many students are wrong.
6. Add a materials list that names the slide deck, worksheet and quiz the next steps will produce.
Stop and wait for approval or edits. Do not start the slides.
**Gate:** stop here and wait for the user's approval before step 2 (slide-outline).
### Step 2: Slide outline
Turn the approved lesson plan into a slide outline the teacher can build quickly in any presentation tool.
1. One entry per slide, in lesson order, with: slide number, the lesson phase it belongs to, the title, the on-slide content and speaker notes for the teacher.
2. Keep on-slide text minimal: a question, a diagram description, a worked example step, or at most three short lines. Put explanations in the speaker notes, not on the slide.
3. Include the retrieval opener questions (with answers in the notes), the worked example split across slides so steps can be revealed one at a time, the check-for-understanding questions from the plan, and the success criteria at the start and end.
4. For every image or diagram, describe what it should show and suggest a simple way to make it (a labelled sketch, a table); never claim a specific image or source exists. Add alt text for each.
5. Use the plan's vocabulary, examples and numbers exactly. Aim for roughly one slide per 2 to 4 minutes of lesson time.
Stop and wait for approval or edits. Do not write the worksheet yet.
**Gate:** stop here and wait for the user's approval before step 3 (worksheet).
### Step 3: Worksheet
Write the student worksheet for the guided and independent practice in the approved plan.
1. Start with the lesson title, the "I can" statements and a short reminder box (the key vocabulary or the worked-example method from the slides).
2. Section A, guided practice: 2 to 4 tasks done with the teacher, mirroring the worked example.
3. Section B, independent practice: 4 to 8 tasks of rising difficulty that match the objectives, with at least one that applies the idea in a new context and one that targets a misconception from the plan.
4. Section C, challenge: 1 or 2 deeper tasks for students who finish early (reasoning, explaining, creating), not just more of the same.
5. Size the worksheet to the independent-practice time in the plan; say how long each section should take.
6. Write instructions at the class's reading level, with clear space to answer.
7. Provide an answer key with worked solutions or model answers, checked for correctness, separately from the student version.
Stop and wait for approval or edits. Do not write the quiz yet.
**Gate:** stop here and wait for the user's approval before step 4 (quiz).
### Step 4: Quiz
Write a short quiz that checks the approved objectives at the end of the lesson or at the start of the next one.
1. 5 to 8 questions, answerable in the time the plan allows (typically 5 to 10 minutes). Cover every objective; include at least one question that would expose each listed misconception.
2. Use a mix that fits the age and topic: multiple choice with plausible distractors drawn from misconceptions (one correct answer, no "all of the above", options of similar length), short answer, and one question that asks students to explain or apply.
3. Do not reuse worksheet questions word for word; test the same skills in a slightly different way.
4. Provide an answer key and, for each multiple-choice distractor, the misconception it reveals, so the teacher can act on the results.
5. Add a one-line guide: what score or pattern means re-teach, and what to re-teach.
Stop and wait for approval or edits. Do not write the differentiated versions yet.
**Gate:** stop here and wait for the user's approval before step 5 (differentiated-versions).
### Step 5: Differentiated versions
Adapt the approved worksheet and quiz so every student works toward the same objectives.
1. **Support version** of the worksheet and quiz: same objectives and the same core tasks, with scaffolds instead of easier content: a partly completed worked example, sentence starters, a word bank with the lesson vocabulary, chunked multi-step tasks, fewer but representative questions, simpler language and clearer layout.
2. **Stretch version** of the worksheet: the same core tasks with more open demands: explain why, generalise, find the error, create an example, connect to another topic. Not simply more questions.
3. **Multilingual learners:** key vocabulary with visuals or simple definitions, sentence frames for explanations, and a note on any idioms or culturally specific contexts to change.
4. Keep the quiz answers comparable across versions so results can be read together; say which questions are shared.
5. Finish with a pack summary: a list of every file in the pack (plan, slides, worksheet, quiz, support and stretch versions, answer keys) and a final consistency check confirming that objectives, vocabulary, examples and answers match across all materials, noting anything the teacher should adjust.
````
---
## Mark student writing against a rubric
`mark-student-work-against-rubric` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/mark-student-work-against-rubric
Marks a batch of student writing against the teacher's rubric with criterion scores, quoted evidence and one next step each, and flags borderline scripts for teacher review.
````markdown
Rubric marking is reliable when every score is tied to the wording of a descriptor and to evidence in the script, when the same reading of each descriptor is applied to every script, and when uncertain cases go to a human. It goes wrong through drift (scripts marked later are judged against earlier ones instead of the rubric), halo effects (strong spelling raises the score for ideas), length bias, and feedback that names a level without telling the student what to do next. The teacher stays the assessor: this pass gives a consistent first marking with the evidence laid out, so the teacher can moderate quickly and spend their time on the scripts that genuinely need judgement.
Mark the scripts below against the rubric for this task.
[TASK]
[RUBRIC]
[STUDENT_WORK]
1. Read the rubric and write Marking notes: for each criterion, what evidence distinguishes adjacent levels, in one or two lines. If a descriptor is ambiguous, state the interpretation you will apply to every script. If the rubric is missing level descriptors or the scripts are not separated, stop and ask for what is missing.
2. Read all the scripts once before scoring any of them.
3. Score criterion by criterion across all scripts, not script by script, to keep each criterion consistent. For every score, quote the shortest piece of the script that justifies it (or note what is absent).
4. Judge each criterion on its own. Do not let spelling and grammar affect content criteria unless the rubric says so, and do not reward length for its own sake.
5. For each script, write one next step: specific, actionable in the next piece of work, and phrased to the student ("In your next paragraph, add a quotation that shows… and explain how it proves…").
6. Flag a script for teacher review when: a criterion sits on the boundary between two levels; the script does not answer the task; it is far shorter than expected or unfinished; its style or level is far from the rest of the set or from what the task and grade would lead you to expect (say only that it differs and that the teacher may want to compare it with the student's other work; do not accuse anyone of copying or AI use); or it contains anything that suggests a student may be at risk of harm (flag it as a welfare concern for the teacher to follow up through the school's safeguarding procedure the same day, and do not mark that script).
7. Summarise patterns across the class: the criteria most and least secure, and one suggestion for whole-class reteaching.
- Scores are provisional and for the teacher to confirm; say so once in Marking notes.
- Use only the rubric's levels and scale. Never invent extra criteria or a grade conversion the teacher did not give.
- Every score has a quotation or an explicit "not present". Quotations are copied exactly.
- Refer to students by the script code only. If a full name appears, use the code instead.
- Do not judge students' identities, dialects or home languages; apply the rubric to the writing.
## Marking notes
Interpretations of each criterion and the provisional-score reminder.
## Score summary
Table: Script | one column per criterion | Total (if the rubric totals) | Flag.
## Script feedback
For each script: a table Criterion | Score | Evidence (quote) | Why this level, then "Next step:" one sentence to the student.
## Flagged for teacher review
Script | Reason | What to check.
## Class patterns
Strongest and weakest criteria with counts, and a reteaching suggestion.
````
---
## Modify a test for access needs
`modify-test-for-access-needs` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/modify-test-for-access-needs
Modifies a classroom test or quiz for pupils with access needs by cutting reading load and clutter without lowering the demand, then logs every change and why.
````markdown
A teacher or SENCO wants a version of an internal test that lets a pupil with an access need show what they know. The point is to remove barriers that are not what the test measures, not to make the test easier. Common failures: replacing the subject vocabulary being tested with everyday words (which changes the construct); dropping the harder questions; changing the marks so results cannot be compared; and rewording so heavily that the question now gives away the answer.
Access need: reading
[TEST]
1. For each question, identify what it assesses (the knowledge or skill) and the words that are part of that construct. Keep those.
2. Reduce barriers that are not the construct, using the ones that fit the need:
- reading and language: short sentences in the active voice, one instruction per line, common words for non-subject vocabulary, context sentences cut to the essentials, the command word in bold, no double negatives, no idioms;
- dyslexia: as above, plus a clear sans-serif font of 12 to 14 point, 1.5 line spacing, left-aligned text, no italics or underlining, and an option to print on cream or pastel paper;
- visual: enlarged layout (state the point size the team uses, often 18 point bold), one question per page or half page, diagrams simplified or described in words only where the diagram is not the thing assessed; where reading the diagram or graph is the skill, keep it, enlarged with high contrast, and suggest a tactile version for the team to provide;
- attention: chunk multi-part questions into numbered parts with a box for each, plenty of white space, a short checklist at the top, and optional break points.
3. Keep the same questions, order, mark allocations, cognitive demand and total marks. If a question cannot be made accessible without changing what it measures, leave it as is and flag it.
4. Check each modified question still has exactly one correct reading and does not hint at the answer.
5. Log every change.
- Never lower the demand, remove questions or change marks. Never replace a subject term being assessed. If the user asks to drop hard questions or switch to multiple choice, explain in one or two sentences that this changes what is assessed, modify the original questions anyway, and suggest discussing a differentiated assessment with the SENCO if a different test is really needed.
- Do not change numbers, data or answers. Check that every value in the modified version matches the original.
- This is for internal school assessments. For formal exams, access arrangements and modified papers follow the exam body's rules and are applied for by the exams officer; say so if the test looks like a formal exam.
- If the test text is incomplete (missing marks, unreadable diagrams), ask for the missing parts and mark them [missing] in the modified version.
## Modified test
The full modified test, ready to print, with marks shown.
## Change log
Table: Question | What changed | Why | Construct kept.
## Kept the same
Bullets: subject terms kept on purpose, and any question flagged as not modifiable.
## Layout and print notes
Font, size, spacing, paper colour, page breaks.
## Check with the team
Up to three points for the SENCO or specialist (for example reader or scribe, extra time) that are arrangements, not paper changes.
````
---
## Plan a co-taught lesson
`plan-co-teaching` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-co-teaching
Plans a co-taught lesson by choosing a co-teaching model, splitting both teachers' roles minute by minute and planning support for students with additional needs.
````markdown
Co-teaching puts two qualified adults in one classroom, usually a subject teacher and a specialist such as a special education or language-support teacher. It pays off only when both adults are teaching. The most common pattern, "one teach, one assist", leaves the specialist circling the room as a helper and is the least effective use of two teachers when it becomes the default. The six common models are: one teach, one observe; one teach, one assist; station teaching; parallel teaching (the class split in two, same content); alternative teaching (one teacher takes a small group for pre-teaching, reteaching or enrichment); and team teaching (both lead together). The choice should follow the lesson's purpose and the students' needs, and can change within a lesson. Both teachers need visible, equal roles so students see two teachers, not a teacher and a helper.
Plan a 50-minute co-taught lesson for this objective:
[LESSON_OBJECTIVE]
[TEACHERS]
1. **Model choice:** choose the co-teaching model or models for each part of the lesson and justify each choice in one or two lines with reference to the objective, the needs and the teachers' strengths. Avoid one teach, one assist as the main model unless you explain why it is the best option here.
2. **Lesson flow:** a minute-by-minute table where both teachers have an active role in every phase. Include what each teacher says or does, what students do, the grouping, and where each adult stands.
3. **Support for additional needs:** for each need described, the specific support built into the lesson (pre-teaching, a modified organiser, chunked instructions, a check-in, a sensory break plan), which teacher provides it, and when. Supports should happen inside the lesson flow, not by removing students for long periods.
4. **Data to collect:** what each teacher records during the lesson (for example one teacher records responses to the hinge question; the other notes which students used the organiser), and how it will be used to plan the next lesson.
5. **Co-planning checklist:** the decisions the two teachers must agree beforehand: signals, who handles behaviour, who grades what, how they talk to each other in front of the class, materials, and how each introduces themselves as a teacher of all students.
6. **Debrief:** 3 or 4 questions for a 5-minute debrief after the lesson.
7. Timings in the lesson flow must add up to exactly 50 minutes.
- Both teachers have parity: both lead instruction at some point, and the specialist is not used only for students with plans.
- Groupings are flexible and based on the lesson's data, not fixed by label; avoid a permanent "special group" at the back.
- Respect confidentiality: no student names, and no discussion of individual plans in front of the class.
- If the teacher information or objective is too vague to plan meaningfully, state your assumptions at the top.
## Model choice
Phase → model → why.
## Lesson flow
Table: Minutes | Phase | Model | Teacher 1 | Teacher 2 | Students | Grouping.
## Support for additional needs
Table: Need | Support | Who | When.
## Data to collect
Bullets per teacher.
## Co-planning checklist
Checklist.
## Debrief
Questions.
````
---
## Plan a concrete-pictorial-abstract maths lesson
`plan-concrete-pictorial-abstract-lesson` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-concrete-pictorial-abstract-lesson
Plans a maths lesson that moves through concrete, pictorial and abstract representations, with manipulatives, models, stem sentences and a check at each stage.
````markdown
A primary or lower-secondary maths teacher wants a lesson on [CONCEPT] for [YEAR_GROUP] using the concrete-pictorial-abstract approach. Done well, pupils handle a structure, see it drawn, and then connect it to symbols, so the symbols mean something. Common failures: treating it as a strict one-way ladder (only weaker pupils get objects; everyone else jumps to symbols); using a manipulative that does not show the structure of the concept; and never making the link between representations explicit, so pupils learn three separate procedures.
1. Learning point: the one key idea in pupil words, the prerequisite knowledge, and a stem sentence pupils will repeat (for example "When the denominators are the same, I add the numerators and the denominator stays the same").
2. Concrete: the manipulative that best shows the structure and why; what the teacher models; what pupils do in pairs; the questions to ask while they handle it ("What is the whole? What are the parts?").
3. Pictorial: the drawing that mirrors the concrete step (bar model, part-whole model, number line, place value chart, array), drawn alongside the objects first, then without them; how pupils record it.
4. Abstract: the symbols and notation, written next to the picture so every symbol maps to something seen; one worked example in full with a non-example.
5. Keep representations side by side through the lesson and let every pupil move between them; say how to return to objects or pictures when someone is stuck.
6. Checks and misconceptions: a quick check at the end of each stage (show me, true or false, which representation matches), the two or three most likely misconceptions for this concept and how each shows up.
7. Practice and depth: varied practice that changes one thing at a time (intelligent practice), then a reasoning or problem-solving task for pupils who are secure ("convince me", "what is the same and what is different").
- Every number, example and answer must be mathematically correct; check them.
- Use only manipulatives listed if the teacher gave them; otherwise suggest common ones and give a drawn alternative.
- Do not state curriculum requirements as fact; if you mention where the concept sits in a curriculum, mark it [check].
- If the concept is too broad for one lesson, say so and plan the first lesson of the sequence.
## Learning point
Key idea, prerequisite, stem sentence.
## Concrete
Manipulative, teacher model, pupil task, questions.
## Pictorial
The representation (describe or sketch it in text), how it links to the concrete.
## Abstract
Notation, worked example, non-example.
## Checks and misconceptions
Table: Stage | Check question | Answer. Then bullets: misconception, how it shows, response.
## Practice and depth
Varied practice set with answers, then the depth task.
````
---
## Plan a flipped lesson
`plan-flipped-lesson` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-flipped-lesson
Designs a flipped lesson with a short pre-class video or reading plus check questions, and an in-class application activity that builds on what students learned at home.
````markdown
Flipping moves first exposure to new content out of class so class time can go on the harder part: applying it with the teacher there to help. It only works if the pre-class part is short and focused (students' attention drops quickly on long videos, so keep it to a few minutes, shorter for younger students), includes a check that tells the teacher who engaged and who understood, and if the in-class session genuinely depends on it rather than re-teaching everything. It fails when some students cannot access the material at home, when no one checks the pre-work, or when the class session repeats the video. The in-class session should open by using the check data to sort students, then move into application with the teacher targeting those who need it.
Plan a flipped lesson on **[TOPIC]** for **[GRADE_LEVEL]** with a 50-minute in-class session.
1. **Overview:** split the topic into what students can learn on their own beforehand (definitions, a procedure, a worked example) and what needs class time (application, problem solving, discussion, misconceptions). State the objective for each part.
2. **Pre-class content:** a script or tight outline for a teacher-made video of a few minutes, suited to the age, with one worked example and clear on-screen text, or a short reading with the same content. If the teacher may prefer an existing video, give selection criteria (length, accuracy, matches your method) rather than a link; do not invent titles or URLs.
3. **Pre-class check:** 3 to 5 questions students answer after watching or reading (at least one applying the idea to a new example and one asking what confused them), with answers. Add a one-line summary prompt and a "question I still have" prompt.
4. **Access plan:** how students without devices or internet at home get the content (printout, a school-based viewing slot, an in-class catch-up station) and what happens in class for students who did not do the pre-work, without punishing the whole lesson or re-teaching everyone.
5. **In-class lesson:** a timed sequence adding up to 50 minutes: an entry check that reuses the pre-class idea (2 or 3 questions), grouping based on the results, the main application activity with tasks at two or three levels of challenge, what the teacher does with each group (reteach group, conferencing, stretch), and a closing check.
6. **Assessment and follow-up:** how the in-class work shows mastery, and what the next pre-class task builds on.
- Keep the pre-class content short and focused on one idea; flag if the topic is too large for one flipped cycle.
- Content must be accurate and suit [GRADE_LEVEL]. Check the worked example.
- Plan for unequal access. Never assume every student has a device and home internet unless the teacher said so.
- Do not depend on a specific platform or app unless the teacher named one.
## Overview
Objectives for pre-class and in-class parts, and assumptions.
## Pre-class content
Video script with timings (or reading), including the worked example.
## Pre-class check
Numbered questions with answers, plus summary and question prompts.
## Access plan
Bullets.
## In-class lesson
Table: Minutes | Phase | Teacher | Students. Then the tiered tasks.
## Assessment and follow-up
Bullets.
````
---
## Plan a guided reading group session
`plan-guided-reading-group` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-guided-reading-group
Plans a small-group guided reading session at a set text or level with before, during and after reading steps, teacher prompts, word work and a quick check.
````markdown
Guided reading works when the session has one clear teaching point for this group and the teacher hears every child read. Weak sessions turn into round-robin reading, long book walks that give away the text, or comprehension quizzing with no teaching. Strong sessions are short and tight: a brief introduction that sets a purpose and pre-teaches only what would block meaning, independent reading at each child's own pace while the teacher listens in and prompts, a discussion that sends children back to the text for evidence, and a few minutes of word work on a pattern from the text. Prompts during reading should send the child's attention to the print first ("Check the letters. Does that look right and sound right?"), not to guessing from the picture or the first letter.
Plan a 20-minute guided reading session for a small group in **[GRADE_LEVEL]** reading **[TEXT_OR_LEVEL]**.
1. Decide what you are working from. If a specific text is named and you do not know its content reliably, do not invent plot, characters or quotes: plan around the structure and mark text-specific details as placeholders such as "[a word from p. 4 with the -ed ending]", and ask for an excerpt or summary at the end. If only a level is given, describe the kind of text that suits the group at that level and plan for it.
2. Choose **one** teaching point for this session that fits the group's needs and the text (a decoding pattern, reading with phrasing, monitoring meaning, an inference skill). Turn it into a child-friendly success criterion.
3. **Before reading** (about 3 to 4 minutes): a short introduction that gives the gist without reading the book to them, sets a purpose question, and pre-teaches at most 2 or 3 words or structures that would block meaning. Write what the teacher says.
4. **During reading:** every child reads the whole section independently (quietly or in their head, by age) at their own pace. The teacher listens to one child at a time. Give 6 to 8 specific prompts matched to the teaching point, worded exactly, ordered from most support to least, and what early finishers do (reread, answer the purpose question, find evidence).
5. **After reading:** return to the purpose question, then 3 or 4 discussion questions that move from literal to inferential and ask children to show the place in the text. Include the expected answer or the evidence to look for.
6. **Word work** (2 to 4 minutes): one pattern drawn from the text or the teaching point, with a quick hands-on activity (build, sort, change one letter, read and write).
7. **Quick check:** how the teacher will know who met the success criterion today (listen to one child read 100 words and note accuracy and phrasing, an oral retell, one written answer) and what to note for each child.
8. Timings for all phases must add up to exactly 20 minutes.
- Be concrete: write the exact teacher language, questions and words, not "discuss the story".
- Teaching prompts direct attention to the print and to meaning together; do not teach guessing from pictures or skipping words.
- Keep the introduction short. Do not pre-teach so much that the children no longer need to read.
- Match vocabulary and question demand to [GRADE_LEVEL]. If [TEXT_OR_LEVEL] looks too hard or too easy for the group needs described, say so in the Overview.
- If something essential is missing, state the assumption in the Overview rather than inventing details about the children.
## Overview
Group, text or level, assumptions, and any concern about text fit.
## Session goal
The teaching point and the "I can…" success criterion.
## Before reading
Time, then the teacher's script and the words to pre-teach.
## During reading
Time, routine, a numbered list of prompts, early-finisher task.
## After reading
Time, then questions with expected answers or evidence.
## Word work
Time, the pattern, the words, the activity.
## Quick check
What to check, how, and a one-line recording format per child.
## Next session
What the next session should focus on depending on what the check shows. If placeholders were used, end by asking for the excerpt or summary needed to fill them.
````
---
## Plan a lesson for a substitute teacher
`plan-substitute-lesson` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-substitute-lesson
Writes substitute-teacher plans a stranger can run, with schedule, routines, a self-contained lesson and materials, behaviour notes and an end-of-day report form. For teachers planning an absence.
````markdown
A substitute walks into an unfamiliar room, with unfamiliar students and systems, often with ten minutes to read the plans. Plans that work are scannable, self-contained and realistic: a lesson that reviews or practises what the class already knows, every material named and located, routines spelled out so the class keeps its normal shape, and a fallback when the technology or the timing fails. Students behave better when the day looks like a normal day.
Write substitute plans for this class, on: [TOPIC].
[CLASS_DETAILS]
1. **At a glance:** half a page the substitute can read in two minutes: class, room, times, where everything is, the one most important thing to know, and who to contact for help.
2. **Schedule:** each period or block with times and what happens.
3. **Routines:** entry and starter, attendance, bathroom and leaving the room, devices, transitions, packing up and dismissal, written as the students already do them. Where the details do not say, write a simple, sensible routine and mark it "[confirm]".
4. **Lesson:** a self-contained lesson on [TOPIC] that a non-specialist can run. Prefer review and practice of recent learning over new content. Give timings, exact instructions to read aloud, the task with answers or an answer key for anything the substitute must check, an early-finisher task, and how work is collected. Avoid anything that depends on the regular teacher's judgement, specialist equipment or unreliable technology. For a day of several periods, give each period its own lesson block; if the periods are different classes or subjects and only one topic was given, plan the topic for the class it fits and mark the others "[confirm topic]" with a sensible review task.
5. **Materials:** a checklist of everything needed, with where each item is and how many copies.
6. **Behaviour and support:** the class's usual expectations and positive routines, the response steps the school uses, and only the need-to-know support or health information from the notes (for example, where an allergy action plan is kept), in neutral language. Name student helpers by first name only if the teacher gave them.
7. **If things go wrong:** a no-tech backup activity, what to do if the lesson runs short or long, and who to call for behaviour, medical or safety issues (pointing to the school's emergency procedures).
8. **End-of-day report:** a form the substitute fills in.
- Do not include confidential information beyond what the substitute needs to keep students safe and run the day; no diagnoses, family details or behaviour histories.
- Do not invent school procedures, names or room numbers; use [placeholders] for anything not given.
- Instructions must be runnable by someone who does not know the subject well; if the topic needs specialist knowledge, adapt the task so it does not (answer keys, worked examples).
- If the topic or class details are too thin to plan from, list what is missing and give a sensible default for each, marked "[confirm]".
Use the section headings from the output contract. Keep "At a glance" to a short list. Schedule and Materials as tables or checklists. Lesson as numbered steps with times and quoted instructions. End-of-day report as a fill-in form: Attendance notes | What was completed | Students who helped | Issues and how they were handled | Notes for the teacher.
````
---
## Plan a lesson that teaches a study skill
`teach-study-skills-lesson` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/teach-study-skills-lesson
Plans a lesson that explicitly teaches one study skill such as retrieval practice, note-making, planning, revision or active reading, with modelling, guided practice and reflection.
````markdown
Most students are never taught how to study, and the strategies they choose by themselves (rereading, highlighting, copying notes neatly, cramming) feel productive but produce weak long-term learning. The strategies with the strongest evidence are effortful: retrieval practice (testing yourself), spacing practice over time, interleaving related topics, and explaining ideas in your own words. Because they feel harder, students abandon them unless they experience the difference and practise the skill on real content. A study-skills lesson should therefore be taught like any other skill: a brief, honest reason, a teacher model with a think-aloud, guided and then independent practice on the students' actual subject content, and a plan to keep using it.
Plan a 45-minute lesson for **[GRADE_LEVEL]** that explicitly teaches **[SKILL]**.
1. **Objective:** one objective and 2 or 3 "I can…" statements about using the skill.
2. **Why it works:** 3 or 4 sentences the teacher can say, in student language, explaining the evidence honestly (for example that rereading creates a feeling of familiarity that is not the same as being able to recall something), without overstated claims or invented statistics.
3. **Hook** (about 5 minutes): a quick experience that shows the problem the skill solves, such as a surprise recall test on yesterday's lesson, or comparing how confident students feel with how much they can actually write down.
4. **Model:** a teacher think-aloud using the skill on real content suited to [GRADE_LEVEL] (use the subject named in the grade level, or a short piece of general content the teacher can swap for the current unit). Show the steps and the decisions, including what to do when you get something wrong.
- retrieval-practice: brain dumps, self-quizzing, flashcards with spaced review, checking answers and correcting.
- note-making: a structure such as Cornell notes or a two-column method, selecting key ideas, using your own words, adding questions for later self-testing.
- planning: breaking a task into steps, estimating time, scheduling in a planner, prioritising, planning for distractions.
- revision: spacing over days or weeks, mixing topics, practice questions under realistic conditions, using mistakes to decide what to study next.
- reading: previewing headings and visuals, setting a purpose, stopping to summarise, asking and answering questions, checking understanding.
5. **Guided practice:** students try the skill in pairs or as a class with prompts and feedback, using the same or similar content.
6. **Independent practice:** students use the skill on their own current subject content, with a short success checklist.
7. **Reflection:** questions that compare how the strategy felt with how well it worked, and a commitment for when they will use it in the next week.
8. **Making it stick:** how the teacher brings the skill back in later lessons (a weekly routine, a prompt card, a homework task), and a brief note for families.
9. Timings add up to 45 minutes.
- Ground claims in well-established learning science; avoid learning-styles claims, brain myths, and made-up statistics.
- Adapt complexity to [GRADE_LEVEL]: younger students need shorter steps and lots of modelling; older students can plan their own schedules.
- Keep the content used in the model accurate.
- Make the practice use real school content, not generic study tips in isolation.
## Objective
## Why it works
The teacher's words.
## Hook
Time and activity.
## Model
Time, then the think-aloud script with the steps.
## Guided practice
Time, task and prompts.
## Independent practice
Time, task and success checklist.
## Reflection
Questions and commitment.
## Making it stick
Bullets, and a two-sentence family note.
````
---
## Plan a library reading programme
`plan-library-reading-programme` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-library-reading-programme
Plans a public library summer reading challenge or children's reading club, with a theme, non-competitive rewards, inclusive book choices, events and outreach to families who do not visit.
````markdown
You plan reading programmes with children's librarians and library assistants. Summer reading challenges exist because children's reading skills can slip over long holidays, most of all for children with fewer books at home, and because reading for pleasure is closely linked with how well children do later. The programmes that reach those children reward taking part rather than quantity, count every kind of reading (comics, audiobooks, non-fiction, home languages, being read to), make the library feel welcoming to families who never come in, and go out to where families already are. Programmes that reward the most books read mostly reward children who were reading anyway.
Ages: [AGE_RANGE]
Length: 6 weeks
Budget: low
1. Concept: a theme that suits [AGE_RANGE] and works across cultures, a name, and how the theme carries through the weeks. Offer two alternatives in one line each.
2. How it works: how children join (with or without a library card, in branch, at school, at outreach events), what counts as reading, how progress is tracked (minutes, sessions or books, with a reason for the choice), and rewards at milestones that every child can reach, including children who read slowly or with support. Include a finishing celebration.
3. Week by week: a table of each week's theme beat, activity in branch, a take-home or online activity, and the staff time needed.
4. Choosing books: selection criteria for a booklist that is inclusive (characters, authors and cultures that reflect local families and the wider world, disability, different family shapes), spans reading levels, formats and home languages, and includes non-fiction and graphic novels. Give a list-building template for staff to fill from their own catalogue. If you suggest any titles, suggest only ones you are confident exist, and mark them "check catalogue".
5. Events: three to five events across the programme (author or storyteller visit, craft, family session, finale), each with purpose, set-up and cost band.
6. Reaching families who do not visit: concrete actions such as school assemblies before the holidays, sign-up at community venues, food banks, health clinics and holiday clubs, partnerships, removing barriers (fines, card requirements, opening hours, transport), and materials in local languages. Use the community context where given.
7. Inclusion and access: SEND and sensory-friendly sessions, accessible formats, quiet times, and support for children learning the language.
8. Budget: a table of costs by item within low, with free or donated alternatives.
9. Measuring success: sign-ups, completion, new library members, and how many children came from target groups, with a simple way to collect each without extra burden; plus one way to hear from children and families.
10. Before answering, check the plan fits 6 weeks and the budget, and that every reward can be reached by a child who reads with support.
- Reward participation and enjoyment, not volume or speed. No public leaderboards ranking children.
- Count all formats and languages as reading.
- Collect only the personal data the library needs for sign-up and rewards, with consent from a parent or carer, and follow the library's data and safeguarding policies, especially for photographs and online activities.
- Do not invent statistics about reading outcomes or local data.
- Keep it achievable for the staff the context describes; if none is given, assume a small team and say so.
- If the age range is missing or too broad to plan for (for example "0-18"), ask whether to split it and stop.
## Concept
## How it works
## Week by week
Table: Week | Theme beat | In branch | Take-home or online | Staff time.
## Choosing books
Criteria bullets, then a template table: Category | Reading level | Format | Title from your catalogue.
## Events
## Reaching families who do not visit
## Inclusion and access
## Budget
Table: Item | Cost | Free alternative.
## Measuring success
````
---
## Plan a live writing model
`plan-live-writing-model` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-live-writing-model
Plans live modelling of a writing task with a think-aloud script, the decisions to narrate, a shared "we do" section and scaffolded independent writing, for any subject.
````markdown
A teacher wants to model a piece of writing live in front of the class, so pupils see how an expert in the subject makes decisions, not just the finished product. Live modelling works when the teacher writes in real time under a visualiser or on the board, narrates their choices (what to include, which word, why this order), makes and fixes a mistake on purpose, and keeps the model short. It fails when the teacher reads out a pre-written answer, when the model is too long for pupils to follow, or when pupils go straight from watching to writing alone with nothing in between.
Writing task: [WRITING_TASK]
Year group: [YEAR_GROUP]
1. Purpose and setup: the two or three writing decisions this model will make visible (for example choosing evidence, linking a cause to an effect, using subject vocabulary precisely), linked to the success criteria. Choose a parallel topic or question for the model, close enough to transfer but not the same, so pupils cannot copy it.
2. I do: a think-aloud script for the teacher, written as the teacher would say it, with the sentences they write shown separately. Include: planning out loud (what the question is really asking), at least three narrated choices, one deliberate error or weak sentence that the teacher spots and improves, and rereading against the success criteria. Keep the written model to one paragraph or about 100 to 150 words for younger classes.
3. We do: shared writing on another parallel question, where the class supplies ideas and the teacher asks "which is better and why?" between options. Give the questions to ask and likely pupil suggestions, strong and weak.
4. You do: the pupils' task, with scaffolds that fade: a sentence starter list for those who need it, the model left visible, and a short checklist. Say who gets which scaffold.
5. Checks and feedback: how the teacher circulates in the first five minutes (look for the narrated decisions), a mid-point stop to share one good example under the visualiser, and a self-check against the criteria.
- Subject content in the model must be accurate; if you are not sure of a fact, mark it [check] for the teacher.
- Write at a level that is a stretch but reachable for [YEAR_GROUP]; say what to simplify for younger or less confident writers.
- Do not write pupils' answers to the actual task.
- If no success criteria are given, propose three and mark them as suggestions.
## Purpose and setup
Decisions to make visible, parallel question, resources.
## I do
Two columns as a table: What the teacher says | What the teacher writes.
## We do
Shared question, prompts, likely suggestions.
## You do
Task, scaffolds by group, checklist.
## Checks and feedback
Bullets with timings.
````
---
## Plan a media literacy lesson
`plan-media-literacy-lesson` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-media-literacy-lesson
Plans a lesson on evaluating online sources, AI-generated content, digital footprints or advertising, with realistic invented examples and a practical checklist students keep.
````markdown
Media literacy lessons fail when they teach checklists of surface features (does it look professional, is there an "About" page, does the URL end in .org) that misleading sites easily fake. Professional fact-checkers instead read laterally: they leave the page early and check what other sources say about the source and the claim. Useful habits are short and portable, for example SIFT (Stop; Investigate the source; Find better coverage; Trace claims to the original). For AI-generated content, no tool or visual tell reliably detects it, so students should learn to check provenance, look for the original source and corroboration, and treat a convincing image, voice or quote as unverified until traced. Digital footprint and advertising lessons work best with concrete scenarios students recognise, at the right age, without scare tactics.
Plan a 45-minute lesson for **[GRADE_LEVEL]** with the focus **[FOCUS]**.
1. **Objective:** one objective and 2 or 3 "I can…" statements that name a habit students will use, not just knowledge.
2. **Hook** (about 5 minutes): a short, realistic invented example (a post, headline, image description, ad or profile) that is tempting to believe or share, and a quick poll on whether students would trust it.
3. **Teach and model:** the core habit for the focus, kept to 3 to 5 steps students can remember. Model it with a think-aloud on the hook example, showing exactly what you would search for or check and what you would conclude.
- source-evaluation: lateral reading and SIFT, why surface features mislead.
- ai-content: how generated text, images and audio can be convincing and wrong, why detectors and visual tells are unreliable, how to trace provenance and find corroboration, and when it is fine to use AI with disclosure.
- digital-footprint: what is collected and shared, permanence and screenshots, privacy settings, thinking before posting about others.
- advertising: spotting ads, sponsored posts and influencer deals, disclosure labels, persuasive techniques, and what the advertiser wants.
4. **Practice examples:** 4 to 6 invented examples at varied difficulty for pairs to evaluate with the habit, each with the "answer" and the reasoning a teacher wants to hear. Include at least one example that is actually trustworthy, so students do not learn blanket cynicism.
5. **Discussion:** 3 or 4 questions that connect the habit to students' own online lives, without requiring them to share personal accounts.
6. **Student checklist:** a short, memorable card students keep, in language for [GRADE_LEVEL].
7. **Exit task:** a new example to evaluate in writing, with a short success rubric.
8. Timings add up to 45 minutes.
- All examples are invented and labelled as invented in the teacher notes. Do not use real people, real brands' fake claims, or real misinformation that could spread if copied out of context. Use fictional names and organisations.
- Do not invent real-world facts, statistics or URLs to "check against". When students would search, describe what they would look for.
- Match the content to [GRADE_LEVEL]: younger students focus on asking a trusted adult and simple checks; older students on lateral reading and evaluating evidence.
- No scare stories or shaming. Present safe, practical habits.
- If students under the minimum age for common social platforms are involved, frame examples around games, video sites and messaging used at that age, and mention age limits neutrally.
## Objective
Objective and "I can…" statements.
## Hook
Time, then the example and the poll.
## Teach and model
Time, the habit steps, and the think-aloud.
## Practice examples
Time, then numbered examples, each with the expected verdict and reasoning.
## Discussion
Questions.
## Student checklist
A short checklist formatted to print.
## Exit task
The example and success rubric.
## Teacher notes
Which examples are invented, sensitivities, and how to extend the lesson.
````
---
## Plan a mixed-age class lesson
`plan-mixed-age-class-lesson` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-mixed-age-class-lesson
Plans one lesson for a mixed-age or multi-grade class with a shared opener, year-group tasks that run without the teacher, a teacher-time rotation and a shared plenary.
````markdown
A teacher in a small or rural school teaches several year groups in one room. The usual traps: planning separate lessons for every year group and running between them so no group gets real teaching; pitching everything at the middle so the oldest coast and the youngest are lost; and relying on older pupils as unpaid helpers. A strong mixed-age lesson shares one big idea, gives each group work it can do without the teacher for 10 to 15 minutes, and plans deliberately where the teacher's direct time goes.
Subject and topic: [SUBJECT_AND_TOPIC]
Lesson length: 60 minutes
[YEAR_GROUPS]
1. Name one shared big idea or question for the whole class, then a specific objective for each year group, from the objectives given or, if none, a suggested objective marked [check against your curriculum].
2. Shared opener (about 10 minutes): a hook or retrieval that everyone can enter, with questions aimed at each group by name of the group.
3. Group tasks: for each group, a task with a clear success criterion, the resources, what to do when stuck (a help card, a worked example, ask three before me) and what to do when finished. Each task must run without the teacher for at least 10 minutes.
4. Teacher time rotation: a minute-by-minute table showing where the teacher (and any other adult) is. Start direct teaching with the group meeting new content; never leave the youngest group longest without an adult.
5. Shared plenary: each group contributes to the big idea, with one check of each group's objective.
6. Coverage notes: how this lesson fits a two-year rolling programme or cycle (if the class uses one), and what each group misses or repeats, so the teacher can track coverage.
- Ask for the year groups and numbers if missing; do not assume them.
- Do not invent curriculum objectives as fact; mark suggestions [check against your curriculum].
- Older pupils may explain to younger ones as part of their own learning (explaining is valuable), but never as a replacement for teaching or for most of the lesson.
- Timings must add up to 60 minutes.
- Name additional needs only by initials and only as given.
## Lesson overview
Big idea, then a table: Group | Pupils | Objective | Success criterion.
## Shared opener
Steps with timings and targeted questions.
## Group tasks
One sub-heading per group: task, resources, when stuck, when finished.
## Teacher time rotation
Table: Minutes | Teacher | Other adult | Group A | Group B | Group C (one column per group).
## Shared plenary
Steps and the check for each group.
## Coverage notes
Bullets.
````
---
## Plan a number talk
`plan-number-talk` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-number-talk
Plans a short number talk with a purposeful problem string, anticipated student strategies, how to record each one and questions that move mathematical thinking forward.
````markdown
A number talk is a short daily routine where students solve problems mentally and explain their strategies while the teacher records their thinking for everyone to see. A problem string is a sequence of related problems chosen so a particular strategy or relationship becomes visible: early problems are easy and act as helpers, later ones invite students to use them. The teacher does not teach the strategy; the sequence and the recording draw it out. The planning that matters is anticipation: what students will probably do with each problem, which model will make each strategy visible (open number line, ratio table, array or area model, equations), and which questions push from one strategy to a more efficient or more general one.
Plan a 15-minute number talk for **[GRADE_LEVEL]** that develops **[MATH_FOCUS]**.
1. State the mathematical purpose in one sentence and the relationship students should notice by the end.
2. Describe the routine briefly: problems shown one at a time, solved mentally, a quiet thumb on the chest to signal a solution and extra fingers for more strategies, wait time, sharing answers before strategies, and all answers recorded without judgement.
3. Write a problem string of 4 to 6 problems that fits the time. For each, give its purpose (helper problem, the one that invites the strategy, a test of whether students use it, a stretch). Use numbers chosen so the target strategy is the efficient one for the later problems.
4. For each problem, anticipate 2 to 4 strategies students at this grade are likely to use, including at least one less efficient strategy and one common error. Name each strategy, show it as a student would explain it, and say exactly how to record it (draw the open number line jumps, the ratio table rows, or the equations as a chain).
5. Write teacher moves: questions to ask after each share (for example "Who can say what Maya did in their own words?", "Where is the 10 in her number line?", "Would this work for 38 + 9?", "How are problems 2 and 4 related?"), how to handle a wrong answer so the student reasons about it, and when to move on.
6. Close with a question that asks students to generalise or name the strategy in their own words, and list 2 or 3 look-fors that show who is using the target strategy.
- The talk is mental: no paper or calculators for students, except for written recording by the teacher.
- Every number in the string must be correct and suit [GRADE_LEVEL]. Check your own arithmetic.
- Do not script the target strategy as something the teacher tells students; it should emerge from the string and the questions.
- Keep the plan within 15 minutes; most of the time goes on student explanation, so fewer problems is better than rushed ones.
- If [MATH_FOCUS] is too broad for one talk, narrow it and say how.
## Purpose
One sentence plus the relationship to notice.
## Routine
Short bullets, including the hand signal and norms.
## Problem string
Numbered list: problem, purpose, suggested minutes.
## Anticipated strategies and recording
For each problem: Strategy | How a student might say it | How to record it.
## Teacher moves
Questions and responses to errors.
## Closing and look-fors
The closing question and observable look-fors.
````
---
## Plan a nursery settling-in schedule
`plan-nursery-settling-in` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-nursery-settling-in
Plans a key person's settling-in schedule for a new child at nursery or childcare, with gradual sessions, parent involvement, comfort items, and signs the child is ready for longer.
````markdown
You help early years key persons plan how a new child settles into nursery, a childminder's home or another childcare setting. Settling in is about the child forming a secure relationship with their key person before being left for long periods, so the plan is led by the child's cues rather than a fixed timetable. Separation distress is normal and often peaks between about eight months and two years; children who settle well are usually given gradual separations, a consistent key person, familiar routines and objects from home, and honest, short goodbyes. Parents settle too: a worried parent is reassured by updates and by seeing their child being comforted.
Child's age: [CHILD_AGE_MONTHS] months
Days available: 10
1. Before the first day: a home visit or meeting to learn about the child, an "all about me" with routines, comforts, likes, words in the home language and how the child shows they are tired, hungry or upset; a photo book or a photo of the key person to look at at home; agreeing what comfort item comes in; and checking any care or medical plan with the family and the setting's lead.
2. Schedule across 10 days in a table: day, length of session, where the parent is (staying and playing, in the room but stepping back, leaving for a short time, leaving for longer), what the key person focuses on (bonding through play and care routines, first nappy or meal, first sleep), and the cue to move to the next stage. Adjust for [CHILD_AGE_MONTHS] months: for babies, follow their own feed and sleep routines closely; for older toddlers, use play, a visual of the day and words for feelings.
3. Goodbyes: a short, consistent goodbye ritual; never slipping out unseen; how the key person comforts after the parent leaves; and what to say to the child.
4. Ready for longer: signs such as seeking the key person for comfort, being comforted within a few minutes, eating, sleeping and exploring.
5. Signs to slow down: prolonged distress, not eating or sleeping, withdrawal, or regression at home, and what to change. Say that every child is different and the plan can stretch.
6. Keeping the family informed: daily feedback (what the child did, ate, slept, how they were after goodbye, with a photo if the setting allows), a phone call during the first separations, a review meeting at the end, and how to raise worries.
7. Before answering, check the schedule fits 10 days, increases separation gradually, and follows any routines in the family notes.
- The child's cues lead. Present day lengths as a guide that the key person adjusts with the family.
- Follow the family's routines, cultural practices and language where given, and ask rather than assume.
- Any medical or care plan (allergies, medicines, feeding plans) is followed exactly as the family and the setting's policy require; do not give medical advice.
- If the child has additional needs, has experienced loss, care changes or trauma, or is a looked-after child, say the plan should be more gradual and agreed with the family and any professionals involved.
- If the child's age or the days available make the request unrealistic (for example a full day on day one for a baby), say so kindly and offer a gentler plan.
## Before the first day
Checklist.
## Schedule
Table: Day | Session length | Parent | Key person focus | Move on when.
## Goodbyes
## Ready for longer
## Signs to slow down
## Keeping the family informed
````
---
## Plan a one-to-one support session
`plan-one-to-one-support-session` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-one-to-one-support-session
Plans a teaching assistant's one-to-one or small-group session for a pupil with additional needs, with one short target, activities, a prompting ladder, rewards and what to record.
````markdown
You plan one-to-one and small-group sessions for teaching assistants and learning support staff working with pupils who have special educational needs or other additional needs. Short sessions work best when they focus on one target the pupil can reach with effort, use the pupil's interests and strengths, give help in the smallest amount that works and then fade it, reward effort and independence immediately, and record what the pupil did alone so the teacher can plan the next step. Sessions go wrong when the adult does the task for the pupil, the target is vague, or the pupil is overloaded.
[PUPIL_NEEDS]
Target: [TARGET]
Session length: 20 minutes
1. Restate the target as an observable success criterion for this session ("R.T. writes one sentence with a capital letter and full stop, with no more than one gesture prompt"). If the target is too big for one session, split it, use the first part, and say so.
2. Plan a session that fits 20 minutes: a settling-in routine, a quick warm-up that revisits something the pupil can already do, a short modelled step, guided practice, an independent try, and a positive finish. Use the pupil's strengths and interests from the notes, and a visual "first, then" or step list if it suits the pupil.
3. Write the prompting ladder for this target, from least to most help: wait time, a gesture or pointing to the visual, a verbal prompt that cues the strategy, a partial model, a full model and then the pupil tries again. Say which way to use it: start at the bottom (least help) for a skill the pupil can partly do, or at the top (most help) for a new skill or a pupil who becomes distressed by mistakes, then reduce help step by step. Say how to fade the help within the session once the pupil succeeds, so the record shows the least help they needed.
4. Rewards and motivation: how to praise specifically ("You remembered the full stop on your own"), a simple token or "first, then" system linked to the pupil's interests if appropriate, and how to keep rewards for effort and independence rather than only correct answers.
5. Regulation and breaks: signs from the notes or common signs that the pupil is overloaded, what to do (a planned movement or sensory break, reduce demands, give choices), and how to return to the task.
6. What to record: a short template for after the session covering the target, what the pupil did independently, the highest prompt needed, how they seemed, and one suggestion for next time.
7. Notes for the teacher: anything the teaching assistant should share or ask about.
8. Before answering, check the timings add up to 20 minutes, the plan follows anything the notes say from the pupil's support plan, and the success criterion is observable.
- Initials only, and only the needs supplied. Do not diagnose, label or guess at conditions, and do not suggest that a pupil has a need the notes do not mention; if the teaching assistant is worried about something new, the note goes to the teacher or the special needs coordinator.
- Follow the pupil's existing support plan, therapist programmes and school behaviour policy when the notes include them; do not override them.
- No punishments, loss of breaks or withholding of food or comfort items as consequences.
- Keep the plan practical for a teaching assistant with little prep time: materials that are usually in a classroom.
- If the needs or target are missing, ask in one line and stop.
## Target
Success criterion in one sentence.
## Session plan
Table: Time | Step | What the adult does and says | What the pupil does.
## Prompting ladder
Numbered, least to most.
## Rewards and motivation
## Regulation and breaks
## What to record
A short template.
## Notes for the teacher
Bullets.
````
---
## Plan a one-to-one tutoring session
`design-tutoring-session` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/design-tutoring-session
Plans a one-to-one tutoring session with a quick diagnostic, a teaching segment, guided and independent practice, homework and a session note. For private tutors in any subject.
````markdown
One-to-one tutoring is powerful because the tutor can find the exact gap and adjust minute by minute, but sessions often slip into the tutor explaining while the student nods, or into doing homework together. A strong session starts with a quick check of the last session and a short diagnostic, teaches one thing explicitly with a worked example, then moves quickly to the student doing problems while thinking aloud, with help fading from guided to independent. It ends with the student explaining back what they learned, homework that practises it with spacing, and a note so the next session (and the parent, where relevant) knows where things stand.
Plan a 60-minute tutoring session in **[SUBJECT]**.
[STUDENT_LEVEL]
1. Set **one** session goal (two at most) as something the student will be able to do by the end. If last session's notes show an unresolved gap, prioritise it. If the topic is too broad for the time, narrow it and say what is left for next time.
2. **Timed plan** adding up to exactly 60 minutes: warm-up retrieval (questions from earlier sessions or last homework), diagnostic, teaching segment, guided practice, independent practice, explain-back, homework set-up. Adjust proportions for age and session length.
3. **Diagnostic:** 3 to 5 short questions that pinpoint where the student is on today's topic, ordered from easier to harder, with what each wrong answer would reveal and how the plan changes if they get them all right (skip ahead) or all wrong (step back to the prerequisite).
4. **Teaching segment:** the key idea in plain words, one fully worked example with the reasoning the tutor says aloud, a common mistake to show and fix, and 2 or 3 questions to check understanding before moving on.
5. **Practice:** 3 to 4 guided problems with the hint the tutor gives at each sticking point (a question, not the answer), then 3 to 4 independent problems of rising difficulty, including one exam-style or real-world problem if relevant. Give answers.
6. **Homework:** 15 to 30 minutes of work: new topic practice plus 2 or 3 spaced review questions from earlier topics. Answers for the tutor.
7. **Session note:** a short template the tutor fills in after the session: covered, what clicked, what still needs work, homework set, plan for next time, and a 2 to 3 sentence parent update if the student is a minor.
- The student does most of the thinking: the tutor talks for less than half of the session.
- All problems and answers must be correct; check arithmetic and working.
- Match the language and difficulty to the student's level and any exam board named; do not invent exam-board specification details.
- Hints guide; they do not give the answer.
- Keep the parent update factual and encouraging, with no comparisons to other students.
## Session goal
One or two sentences, plus what is deferred.
## Timed plan
Table: Minutes | Phase | What happens. Total = 60.
## Diagnostic
Numbered questions with answers and what wrong answers reveal, then the branching note.
## Teaching segment
Key idea, worked example, common mistake, check questions.
## Practice
Guided problems with hints, then independent problems, with answers.
## Homework
Numbered tasks with answers.
## Session note
Template with fields.
````
---
## Plan a parent workshop
`plan-parent-workshop` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-parent-workshop
Plans a school workshop for parents and carers, such as how phonics or maths is taught or exam-season support, with a run of show, hands-on activities, handouts and follow-up.
````markdown
Parent workshops help when families leave able to do one or two specific things at home, and feel welcome rather than judged. They fail when they are a slide talk full of jargon, scheduled when working parents cannot come, or reach only the families already most involved. The best ones let parents try what their children do, show a short real example, and send people home with a handout in a language they read.
Topic: [TOPIC]. Length: 45 minutes.
1. **Purpose:** the two or three things parents should be able to do at home afterwards, written as "After this session, you can...".
2. **Getting people there:** timing options (for example a morning drop-off slot and an evening or online repeat), childcare or a children's activity, an invitation in plain words (and the languages needed) that says what parents will get, and how to reach families who do not usually come (personal invitations by staff who know them, the child inviting them).
3. **Run of show:** a timed plan for 45 minutes: welcome and why it matters, a short explanation without jargon, a demonstration (a short video or live example with a child's work, with permission), hands-on activities, questions, and a close with one thing to try this week. Keep talking to no more than about a third of the time.
4. **Hands-on activities:** two or three activities where parents try what children do (for example blending sounds with the actions, solving a calculation with the method the school uses), with materials, instructions, and what the facilitator says. Include an activity parents can repeat at home with everyday objects.
5. **Handout:** the one-page take-home sheet, written in plain words: what we teach and why, three things to try at home, phrases to use with the child, what to do if the child is stuck or upset, and who to contact. Say which languages it needs, and that translations should be done or checked by a fluent speaker; arrange interpreters for the session itself where needed.
6. **After the workshop:** how to share the content with families who could not come (a recorded version, the handout home in bags, a short message), a quick feedback question, and a check-in idea a few weeks later.
- Plain language throughout: explain or drop every acronym and teaching term.
- Never assume parents have time, money, devices, or confidence in the subject; at-home ideas use everyday things and fit into ten minutes.
- Be welcoming to every family form, language and level of schooling, and avoid any suggestion that parents are doing it wrong.
- Content must match how the school actually teaches the topic. Where you do not know the school's specific scheme or method, use a placeholder such as [our phonics programme] and keep explanations general and accurate.
- Children's work or photos shown need permission under school policy.
- If the topic is unclear, ask before planning.
- Before finishing, check the run of show adds up to 45 minutes and that the handout fits on one page.
## Purpose
Two or three "After this session, you can..." lines.
## Getting people there
Bullets, then the invitation text.
## Run of show
Table: Time | Section | What happens | Who leads | Materials.
## Hands-on activities
Numbered activities with materials and facilitator notes.
## Handout
The one-page handout, ready to adapt.
## After the workshop
Bullets.
````
---
## Plan a PE lesson
`plan-pe-lesson` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-pe-lesson
Plans a physical education lesson with a skill focus, warm-up, progressive activities, adaptations for every ability and disability, safety checks and quick assessment.
````markdown
A good PE lesson has pupils moving for most of it, learns one skill well through small progressive steps, and lets every pupil succeed and be stretched. Common failures are long queues, games where weaker players are eliminated or never touch the ball, a single activity pitched at the middle, and warm-ups that do not prepare for the skill. The STEP framework (change Space, Task, Equipment or People) is a practical way to adapt each activity up or down without separating pupils.
Activity: [SPORT_OR_SKILL]. Pupils: [AGE_GROUP], 30 in total. Space: `hall`.
Plan one lesson of about an hour (state the length you assume, and how to trim it to 45 minutes).
1. **Objective and success criteria:** one skill objective, and three success criteria pupils can see and check ("I can..."), including one teaching point for technique and, if relevant, a tactical or social point.
2. **Equipment and setup:** a list scaled for 30 pupils so groups are no bigger than about four per piece of equipment, and a layout for the `hall` described in words (zones, cones, stations).
3. **Lesson plan**, timed:
- *Warm-up:* a pulse raiser, dynamic mobility for the joints this skill uses, and a skill-related game that everyone joins straight away.
- *Skill development:* three progressive activities, each with the set-up, how it runs, the coaching points, and a STEP adaptation to make it easier and harder.
- *Applying it:* a small-sided or conditioned game where the skill is the way to succeed, with rules that keep everyone involved (for example everyone must touch the ball before a score, no elimination).
- *Cool-down and reflection:* gentle movement and stretches, then a question that has pupils explain a teaching point.
4. **Adaptations:** for less confident, most able, and the specific needs given in the age group, plus general options for wheelchair users, visual or hearing impairment, coordination difficulties and pupils who cannot do vigorous exercise that day, so they take part in a meaningful role rather than sitting out. Give non-participant roles (coach, referee, analyst) with real tasks.
5. **Safety:** a checklist before and during: space and equipment check, footwear and jewellery, medical needs (inhalers accessible, allergies), hydration and weather for outdoor spaces, a clear stop signal, safe distances for the activity, and spotting or landing rules where relevant.
6. **Assessment:** what the teacher looks for during the lesson against each success criterion, a quick way to record it, and a peer assessment moment.
- Maximise activity time: brief instructions (demonstrate, do not lecture), groups small enough that no one waits long, and transitions planned.
- No elimination games and no public picking of teams.
- Keep it age-appropriate in both skill and language.
- Follow the school's PE safety policy and national guidance for the activity; present safety items as checks, not as a replacement for them.
- If the sport or age group is missing, ask before planning.
- Before finishing, check that every activity has a harder and easier version and that the timings add up.
## Objective and success criteria
## Equipment and setup
List, then the layout in words.
## Lesson plan
Table: Time | Phase | Activity and organisation | Coaching points | Easier / Harder (STEP).
## Adaptations
Bullets by need, then non-participant roles.
## Safety
Checklist.
## Assessment
Bullets.
````
---
## Plan a play-based early-years activity
`plan-early-years-activity` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-early-years-activity
Plans a play-based activity for children aged two to five with learning areas, setup, adult prompts and questions, adaptations, safety notes and what to observe and record.
````markdown
Young children learn most when an activity starts from their interests, lets them explore and choose, and has an adult who notices and extends their thinking rather than directing every step. A good early-years activity is an invitation: an attractive setup that suggests possibilities without a single right outcome, adult language that comments, models vocabulary and asks genuinely open questions, and a clear idea of what to look for so the adult can capture learning and plan next steps. It must also be safe for the age group: under-threes put things in their mouths, many children have allergies, and water and outdoor play need supervision.
Plan a play-based activity for **6** children aged **[AGE_RANGE]** around:
[THEME_OR_GOAL]
1. **Overview:** a name for the activity, where it happens (indoors, outdoors, a tray, a corner), roughly how long children might stay with it (they come and go), and how many adults it needs.
2. **Learning areas:** the 2 to 4 areas it supports most, using broad areas such as communication and language; personal, social and emotional; physical; early literacy; early maths; understanding the world; and expressive arts. Name the specific skill in each (for example "comparing size using bigger and smaller", "using a pincer grip"). Tell the educator to map them to their own framework.
3. **Setup:** exactly how to lay out the invitation to play, with materials and quantities, so it looks inviting and works for the group size.
4. **Adult role:** what the adult does first (observe, then join in), 6 to 8 example comments and open questions, 5 to 8 words to model, and when to step back.
5. **Extending the play:** 2 or 3 ways to take it further over following days, depending on what the children do with it.
6. **Adaptations:** for the youngest or less confident children, for children ready for more challenge, for children learning English or another home language, and for children with additional needs (sensory sensitivities, mobility).
7. **Safety:** risks specific to this activity and age (choking hazards for under-threes, allergens in food or natural materials, water, sharp tools, hygiene) and the precaution for each.
8. **Observe and record:** 4 to 6 look-fors linked to the learning areas, and a quick way to capture them (a photo with a one-line note, a sticky note, a tally).
9. **Sharing with families:** one or two sentences a family could read, plus a question to ask families about the child's interest at home.
- Child-led and open-ended: no worksheets, colouring sheets or tasks with one right product.
- Match materials and expectations to [AGE_RANGE]: under-threes need large, safe items, sensory exploration and short attention spans; four- to five-year-olds can manage more complex construction, mark-making and rules.
- Use everyday, low-cost materials unless the educator listed others.
- If food is used, note allergies and whether the setting permits food in play.
- Do not invent framework outcome codes; describe skills in plain words.
## Overview
Name, location, adults needed, approximate time.
## Learning areas
Area → specific skill.
## Setup
Steps and materials list.
## Adult role
How to start, comments and questions, vocabulary.
## Extending the play
Bullets.
## Adaptations
Bullets by group.
## Safety
Table: Risk | Precaution.
## Observe and record
Look-fors and how to capture them.
## Sharing with families
Short text and a question.
````
---
## Plan a PLC data meeting
`run-plc-data-meeting` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/run-plc-data-meeting
Plans a professional learning community data meeting with a protocol, the data to bring, analysis questions, a decision on one instructional change and follow-up commitments.
````markdown
Data meetings help students only when they end with teachers doing something different in class next week. They usually fail in three ways: the data is too broad (overall percentages or grades) to point to anything teachable; the talk jumps straight from numbers to explanations that blame students, families or last year's teacher; or the meeting ends with "let's keep an eye on it". Structured protocols prevent this by separating what we see from what we infer, looking at item-level results and actual student work, focusing on what is within the team's control (instruction), and ending with one specific, shared change and a date to check whether it worked.
Plan a 45-minute PLC data meeting on:
[DATA_FOCUS]
1. **Purpose and outcome:** the question the meeting answers and the concrete output (one agreed instructional change, a regrouping plan, a reteach lesson).
2. **Pre-work and data to bring:** exactly which data each teacher brings (item-level or standard-level results, not only totals; 3 to 5 samples of student work at different levels, anonymised; the task or questions themselves), how to prepare it (for example a shared spreadsheet with one row per item), and a 10-minute pre-task such as solving the assessment items themselves and predicting the hardest one.
3. **Roles and norms:** facilitator, timekeeper, note-taker, and 4 or 5 norms, including "describe before interpreting" and "talk about instruction, not students' backgrounds".
4. **Agenda:** a timed protocol adding up to 45 minutes, for example: purpose and norms; what do we notice (observations only, no inferences); what do we wonder; looking at student work for the highest-leverage gap; root cause in instruction; deciding one change; planning the change concretely; commitments; meeting reflection.
5. **Analysis questions:** 6 to 10 questions to drive each phase (for example "Which items did fewer than 60% of students answer correctly?", "What do the wrong answers have in common?", "Which class did better on item 7, and what did that teacher do differently?", "What misconception would produce this answer?").
6. **Decision:** how the team chooses one instructional change: criteria (affects many students, within our control, can be done in the next two weeks, measurable) and a format for writing it ("In the next two weeks, we will… when teaching…, and we will know it worked if…").
7. **Commitments and follow-up:** who does what by when, the short common check the team will use to measure the change, and the date of the follow-up meeting.
8. **Notes template:** a one-page template for the note-taker.
- Keep the conversation about instruction and evidence; include a facilitator move to redirect comments that blame students or families.
- Student data stays anonymised in shared notes; refer to students by code or initials, and to classes rather than individual teachers when sharing outside the team.
- Comparing classes is for learning from each other, not for ranking teachers; say so in the norms.
- If 45 minutes is short (under about 30), move data organisation and first noticing into pre-work and keep the meeting for interpretation, the decision and commitments.
- If the data focus is too vague to analyse (for example "our results"), narrow it to one assessment and one skill area and say so.
## Purpose and outcome
## Pre-work and data to bring
Bullets per person or role.
## Roles and norms
## Agenda
Table: Minutes | Step | What happens | Output. Times add up to 45.
## Analysis questions
Grouped by agenda step.
## Decision
Criteria and the decision sentence format.
## Commitments and follow-up
Table: Who | What | By when | Evidence.
## Notes template
A copyable template.
````
---
## Plan a restorative conversation
`plan-restorative-conversation` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-restorative-conversation
Plans a restorative conversation after a behaviour incident, with a suitability check, preparation meetings, restorative questions, ground rules, an agreement and follow-up.
````markdown
A teacher, head of year or pastoral lead wants to repair harm after an incident between pupils or between a pupil and a member of staff. Restorative conversations work when everyone takes part voluntarily, the person who caused harm accepts some responsibility, each person has been prepared separately first, and the facilitator asks questions instead of lecturing. They backfire when used to force an apology, when they put a pupil who has been bullied in a room with someone who holds power over them, or when they replace dealing with a safeguarding concern.
Age: [AGE]. Format: meeting.
[INCIDENT_SUMMARY]
1. Suitability check: answer yes, no or unclear for each: does the person who caused harm accept some responsibility; do all parties agree to take part; is the harmed person safe and not under pressure; is there a power imbalance, repeated bullying, or discriminatory abuse that needs another route first; is there any safeguarding concern. If any answer points away from a restorative meeting, say so and give the alternative (separate conversations, the anti-bullying or safeguarding procedure, or a later meeting).
2. Preparation: a short separate conversation with each party using the same questions, what to explain about the process, and how to check they are ready. Decide who facilitates (a trained, neutral adult; not the staff member involved if a member of staff was harmed).
3. Ground rules: three or four, agreed at the start (one person speaks at a time, respectful words, anyone can ask for a break).
4. The conversation: an opening script, then restorative questions. To the person who caused harm: What happened? What were you thinking at the time? What have you thought since? Who has been affected and how? What do you need to do to make things right? To the person harmed: What did you think when it happened? How has this affected you and others? What has been the hardest thing? What do you need to happen now? Adjust the wording for [AGE]. Add how to handle denial, blame or tears.
5. Agreement: specific, realistic actions both parties suggest, written in their words, with a review date. An apology counts only if it is offered, not demanded.
6. Follow-up: check-ins with each party after a few days and two weeks, who tells families and what, and what to record.
- Use initials or roles only.
- Do not decide guilt or sanctions; restorative work can sit alongside the school's behaviour policy.
- If the summary mentions harm at home, a disclosure, sexual harm, self-harm or a threat, stop planning the meeting and say to report it today to the designated safeguarding lead, following the school's procedure.
- If the person mentions thoughts of suicide or self-harm, harming someone else, abuse, or being in danger, stop the exercise. Respond with care, tell them they deserve support now, and point them to local emergency services or a crisis line in their country. If you do not know their country, ask, and mention that local emergency numbers work everywhere.
- You are a supportive tool, not therapy. For ongoing distress, low mood that lasts, or anything that disrupts daily life, encourage them to talk to a doctor or a licensed mental-health professional.
- Never shame, diagnose, or tell someone what they "really" feel. Reflect back what they said and offer, rather than impose, next steps.
- If key facts are missing (who was harmed, whether they want to meet), list them as questions before the plan.
## Is this suitable
Table: Check | Answer | Note. Then a one-line recommendation.
## Preparation
Bullets per party, and who facilitates.
## The conversation
Opening script, ground rules, questions in order, and what to do if it goes wrong. For quick format, fit it on one card.
## Agreement
A short template with blanks.
## Follow-up
Dated checklist.
````
---
## Plan a school field trip
`plan-field-trip` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-field-trip
Plans a school field trip with learning goals, pre and post activities, a timed itinerary, supervision plan, risk assessment and a parent permission letter to adapt to school policy.
````markdown
A field trip is a lesson that happens to be off site, plus a duty of care that does not pause. The trips that teach something have a clear question students go to investigate, pre-teaching so they know what to look for, structured tasks on the day, and follow-up that uses what they saw. The trips that go smoothly have a realistic timetable with buffers, named adults with named groups, a written risk assessment, and families who know exactly what is happening. School and local-authority policies on ratios, transport, consent and first aid always take precedence over any general plan.
Plan this trip.
[DESTINATION_AND_PURPOSE]
Students: [STUDENTS_AND_AGES]
1. **Learning goals:** 2 or 3 goals tied to the curriculum unit, and the one question students will investigate on the trip.
2. **Before the trip:** 2 or 3 short pre-trip activities (building background knowledge, setting up the investigation, practising expectations), plus a briefing for students on behaviour, buddy system and what to do if lost.
3. **Itinerary:** a timed schedule from departure to return, including travel, toilet and meal breaks, group rotations if the class is large, buffer time, and a structured task for each stop (a recording sheet, a scavenger hunt tied to the goals, an interview question).
4. **Supervision plan:** proposed group sizes and adult assignments, how adults are briefed, headcount points (at least on leaving, on arrival, after each stop, before departure home), a meeting point, and how students with medical, mobility, sensory or behaviour needs are supported. State the ratio you used and that it must be checked against school and local requirements, which vary by age, activity and jurisdiction.
5. **Risk assessment:** a table of hazards for this specific trip (travel, roads, crowds, water or heights if relevant, allergies and medication, weather, lost or separated child, behaviour, accessibility), who is at risk, controls, and who is responsible.
6. **Emergency procedures:** first aid, medical emergencies and medication, lost child, transport breakdown, contacting school and families. Include a contact-card template with placeholders.
7. **After the trip:** 2 or 3 follow-up activities that use what students gathered, and how learning will be assessed.
8. **Permission letter:** a plain-language letter to families with date, times, destination, purpose, transport, cost and how to get help with it, what to bring and wear, lunch and medical arrangements, and a tear-off consent section including medical and emergency contact information.
9. **Admin checklist:** bookings, approvals, venue pre-visit or venue risk information, transport, medical forms, inclusion arrangements, staffing, and deadlines counting back from the trip date.
- Do not invent venue facts (opening hours, prices, programmes, accessibility features). Use placeholders like [confirm with venue] for anything you do not know.
- Ratios, consent rules, transport requirements and first-aid requirements differ by country, region and school. Present your choices as a starting point to check against policy, not as the legal requirement.
- Cost must never stop a student from going: include a discreet way for families to ask for help.
- Plan for every student listed, including those with access needs; never plan an alternative that leaves a student behind without saying so and offering an inclusive option.
- Keep the permission letter jargon-free and short enough to read on a phone, with placeholders for names, dates and contacts.
- If the destination or purpose is unclear, ask about it before planning.
## Learning goals
Bullets and the investigation question.
## Before the trip
Numbered activities and the student briefing.
## Itinerary
Table: Time | Location | Activity | Group | Notes.
## Supervision plan
Groups and adults, ratio used, headcount points, support for individual needs.
## Risk assessment
Table: Hazard | Who is at risk | Controls | Responsible.
## Emergency procedures
Bullets, then the contact-card template.
## After the trip
Numbered activities and assessment.
## Permission letter
The letter, ready to adapt.
## Admin checklist
Checkbox list with "weeks before" deadlines.
````
---
## Plan a sensory-friendly classroom
`plan-sensory-friendly-classroom` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-sensory-friendly-classroom
Plans changes that make a classroom or learning space easier for pupils with sensory sensitivities, covering light, noise, seating, movement breaks and visual routines on a school budget.
````markdown
You help teachers and special needs coordinators make classrooms easier for pupils with sensory sensitivities, including many autistic pupils and pupils with ADHD, sensory processing differences, anxiety or hearing and sight differences. Many of the changes that help them help everyone: less glare and visual clutter, lower background noise, predictable routines, choice of seat, and permission to move. Pupils differ: one seeks movement and touch, another avoids noise and light, and the same pupil can change by the hour. The best plans start from what pupils show and say, change the environment before asking the pupil to change, and are reviewed.
[ROOM_DESCRIPTION]
[PUPIL_NEEDS]
Budget: low
1. Room audit by sense: light (glare, flicker, natural light, screens), sound (background noise, echo, sudden noises), visual (displays, clutter, colour), touch and temperature, smell, and space and movement (routes, crowding, places to be alone). For each, note what the description shows and what to check that it does not.
2. Changes by priority: a table of changes linked to the needs given, each with cost band (free, low, moderate), effort, and who does it. Start with free changes (rearranging seats, reducing displays, agreeing noise routines, adjusting blinds) before purchases. Keep within low.
3. Routines and visual supports: a visual timetable, now-and-next cards, warnings before transitions and changes, signals for noise levels, and how to introduce them to the whole class.
4. Calm space: where and how to set up a calm or regulation space in this room, what goes in it, how pupils ask to use it, and how to keep it a support, never a punishment or a place to send pupils out of sight.
5. Movement and breaks: planned movement for the whole class, movement options for pupils who seek it (a job, a wobble cushion, standing desk spots), and sensory breaks agreed for individuals.
6. Pupil voice: simple ways to ask pupils, including non-speaking pupils, what helps and what is hard (a sensory survey with pictures, a choice board), and involving families.
7. Review: what to watch over four to six weeks (time on task, leaving the room, distress, pupils' own feedback) and when to seek advice from an occupational therapist or specialist teacher.
8. Before answering, check every need in the notes has at least one change linked to it and the total fits the budget.
- Do not diagnose pupils or attribute needs to conditions the notes do not mention.
- Individual sensory programmes, equipment such as weighted items, and anything to do with feeding or chewing need advice from an occupational therapist or the pupil's plan; suggest asking rather than prescribing.
- Check fire safety and school rules before adding fabric on walls or ceilings, extra lighting, or rearranging exits.
- No changes that single pupils out in a way they would not want; offer choices to the whole class where possible.
- If the room or needs description is too thin to plan from, ask two questions and stop.
## Room audit
Table: Sense | What we know | Check.
## Changes by priority
Table: Change | Need it addresses | Cost band | Effort | Who.
## Routines and visual supports
## Calm space
## Movement and breaks
## Pupil voice
## Review
````
---
## Plan a six-week intervention group
`plan-intervention-group` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-intervention-group
Plans a six-week small-group intervention for students below benchmark with entry data, session plans, progress monitoring, decision rules and exit criteria.
````markdown
Small-group intervention works when it is targeted at a precisely identified skill, delivered often and consistently with explicit teaching and plenty of practice with feedback, and judged by data rather than by how the sessions felt. Many interventions drift: the group is formed from a broad score ("below in reading"), sessions become extra homework help, and six weeks later no one can say whether it worked. A strong plan pins down the gap with a quick diagnostic, sets a measurable goal with an aim line from the baseline, follows a sequence of skills from easier to harder, monitors progress weekly with the same probe, and agrees in advance what the team will do if a student is not responding.
Plan a six-week intervention for **[GRADE_LEVEL]** students who are below benchmark in:
[SKILL_GAP]
Sessions: 3 per week for 6 weeks.
1. **Entry data and group:** summarise who qualifies and why. If there is no baseline, say which brief assessment to give and use bracketed placeholders such as "[baseline: __]" instead of inventing numbers. Recommend a group size (usually 3 to 6) and a session length that suits the age (state it), and flag any student whose data suggests a different need from the rest of the group.
2. **Goal and aim line:** a measurable six-week goal per student or for the group, using the same measure as the baseline, and the expected weekly growth that forms the aim line. Explain why the target is realistic.
3. **Diagnostic check:** a 5 to 10 minute check to pinpoint where in the skill each student breaks down (for example which syllable types, which fact families), and how it changes the starting point.
4. **Session template:** a fixed routine with timings (warm-up review, explicit teaching with modelling, guided practice with immediate corrective feedback, independent practice, a 1-minute check), and the exact error-correction routine.
5. **Six-week plan:** a table of the skill sequence week by week, from prerequisite to target, with example items or activities for each week and a cumulative review built in.
6. **Progress monitoring:** the probe to use (same type and difficulty each week), when, who gives it, and how to graph it against the aim line.
7. **Decision rules:** for example, after at least 6 data points, if the last 4 fall below the aim line, change one variable of the intervention (time, group size, focus, approach); if the last 4 are above, raise the goal or plan exit. Adjust to the data frequency.
8. **Exit criteria:** what score, sustained over how many probes, ends the intervention, and how the class teacher keeps the skill going.
9. **Communication:** what the class teacher, the family and, where relevant, the special education or learning support team are told and when.
- Every number you use comes from the data given or is a clearly marked placeholder or a stated typical-growth estimate.
- The intervention adds to core classroom teaching; it should not pull students from the same subject's core lesson unless the school chooses that. Say so.
- Do not diagnose or suggest a disability. If a student does not respond to well-delivered intervention, recommend that the school team review the data and consider next steps under local procedures.
- Use initials or codes only. Keep activities practical for one adult with a small group and common materials.
## Entry data and group
Table: Student | Baseline | Benchmark | Notes. Then group size and session length.
## Goal and aim line
Goals and weekly growth.
## Diagnostic check
Items and how to use the result.
## Session template
Table: Minutes | Phase | What happens. Then the error-correction script.
## Six-week plan
Table: Week | Focus | Example items or activities | Review.
## Progress monitoring
Probe, schedule, graphing.
## Decision rules
Bullets.
## Exit criteria
Bullets.
## Communication
Who, what, when.
````
---
## Plan a social-emotional learning lesson
`plan-sel-lesson` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-sel-lesson
Plans an age-appropriate social-emotional learning lesson on a skill such as managing frustration, friendship or empathy, with a hook, activity, discussion and check-in routine.
````markdown
Social-emotional skills are taught well the same way other skills are: name the skill, show what it looks and sounds like, practise it in safe low-stakes situations, and practise again in real moments across the week. The common failures are lessons that are all talk and no practice, activities that pressure children to share painful personal experiences in front of peers, and a single lesson with no follow-through. Using stories, puppets, characters and "what could they do?" scenarios lets children practise without exposing themselves. The teacher is the user here; the lesson is general classroom teaching, not counselling for any individual child.
Plan a 30-minute lesson for **[GRADE_LEVEL]** that teaches **[SKILL]**.
1. **Before you teach:** one or two lines on why this skill matters at this age, anything about the class context to be careful with, and a plan for disclosures (see constraints).
2. **Objective:** one observable objective and a child-friendly "I can…" statement.
3. **Hook** (3 to 5 minutes): a story, picture, puppet moment or short scenario that shows a character struggling with the skill. Write it out.
4. **Teach and model:** break the skill into 2 to 4 concrete steps with a memorable name or visual (for example "Stop, breathe, name it, choose"), and a teacher think-aloud showing the steps in a realistic situation for this age.
5. **Practise:** a structured activity using third-person scenarios (role play with scripts, puppets, scenario cards, sorting helpful and unhelpful choices). Write 4 to 6 scenarios that match the age and, where given, the class context. Include how the teacher sets up and debriefs role play so no one is embarrassed.
6. **Discussion:** 4 or 5 questions that move from the character to general strategies, never requiring personal disclosure.
7. **Check-in routine:** a short, repeatable daily routine linked to the skill (a feelings scale, a "how's your engine running" check, a choice of calm-down tools), with opt-in and private ways to respond so no child must show their feelings publicly.
8. **Carry it into the week:** 3 or 4 ways to prompt and reinforce the skill in real moments, a line for families, and what to look for that shows children are using it.
9. Make timings add up to 30 minutes.
- You give general information, not professional advice. You are not a doctor, therapist, lawyer, accountant or financial adviser, and you do not replace one.
- Say so once, briefly, near the start: what you can help with here and what needs a qualified professional.
- Do not diagnose, prescribe, give dosages, predict a legal outcome, or recommend a specific investment, tax position or legal action for this person.
- When the situation is serious, urgent, high-stakes or specific to their circumstances, say which kind of professional to see and what to bring to that appointment.
- If anything suggests immediate danger to health or safety, tell them to contact local emergency services now, before anything else.
- Rules, prices and laws differ by country and change over time. Name the assumption you are making and tell them to check it locally.
- If the person mentions thoughts of suicide or self-harm, harming someone else, abuse, or being in danger, stop the exercise. Respond with care, tell them they deserve support now, and point them to local emergency services or a crisis line in their country. If you do not know their country, ask, and mention that local emergency numbers work everywhere.
- You are a supportive tool, not therapy. For ongoing distress, low mood that lasts, or anything that disrupts daily life, encourage them to talk to a doctor or a licensed mental-health professional.
- Never shame, diagnose, or tell someone what they "really" feel. Reflect back what they said and offer, rather than impose, next steps.
- The user is a teacher, so keep any limits note to one short line in "Before you teach". The safety steps above apply to the students: if a child discloses harm, abuse, self-harm or thoughts of suicide, the teacher listens calmly, does not promise secrecy or question in depth, records the child's words, and reports to the school's designated safeguarding or child-protection lead the same day, or contacts emergency services first if the child is in immediate danger.
- Never ask children to share personal trauma, family conflict or private feelings in front of the class. Use characters and hypothetical situations.
- Do not diagnose, label children, or suggest that a child has a mental-health condition. If the class context suggests a child needs individual support, recommend talking to the school's counsellor, psychologist or wellbeing lead.
- Respect cultural and family differences in how emotions are expressed; present strategies as options, not one right way to feel.
- Match language, length of talk and activity type to [GRADE_LEVEL]: short and concrete for young children, more discussion and real-life transfer for adolescents.
- If the school uses a named programme, fit the lesson's language to it and do not reproduce its proprietary materials.
## Before you teach
Why this skill matters, cautions, disclosure plan.
## Objective
Objective and "I can…".
## Hook
Time, then the script or story.
## Teach and model
Time, the steps, and the think-aloud.
## Practise
Time, setup, scenario cards, debrief.
## Discussion
Time and questions.
## Check-in routine
The routine, with private ways to respond.
## Carry it into the week
Prompts, a family line, look-fors.
````
---
## Plan a Socratic seminar
`plan-socratic-seminar` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-socratic-seminar
Plans a Socratic seminar on a text with student preparation, opening, core and closing questions, roles, discussion norms and a fair way to assess participation.
````markdown
A Socratic seminar is a student-led discussion of a rich text where students build understanding together by asking questions, citing the text and responding to one another rather than to the teacher. It succeeds or fails in the preparation: students who have annotated the text and drafted their own questions talk about the text; students who have not, talk around it. Good questions are genuinely open (more than one defensible answer), anchored in specific passages, and sequenced from an opening question anyone can enter, through core questions that require close reading, to a closing question that connects the text to the wider world. Participation assessment is where seminars often become unfair: counting how many times someone spoke rewards dominance and penalises quiet thinkers.
Plan a 45-minute Socratic seminar for **[GRADE_LEVEL]** on:
[TEXT]
1. Check your knowledge of the text. If you do not know it reliably and no excerpt is given, do not invent quotations, page numbers or plot details: write the questions around passages the teacher will choose, mark them as "[passage: …]", and ask for the excerpt at the end. Never present a made-up quote as the author's words.
2. **Student preparation:** an annotation task with 3 or 4 specific focuses tied to the goal, plus a ticket to enter (each student brings two open questions and one passage they want to discuss, with a reason). Include what students do if they did not prepare.
3. **Format and roles:** choose a format that suits the class size and age (whole circle, inner and outer circle fishbowl, or triad with a "hot seat"), and explain the choice. Give outer-circle observers a specific task (tracking a partner's text references, building on others, questions asked).
4. **Norms:** 4 to 6 student-facing norms, with sentence stems for building on, disagreeing respectfully, asking for evidence and inviting others in.
5. **Questions:** one opening question, 4 to 6 core questions and one closing question. For each core question, give the passage it draws on and two contrasting positions students might take, so the teacher can recognise a productive discussion.
6. **Facilitation:** a timeline that adds up to 45 minutes, the teacher's minimal role (when to step in, how to redirect without taking over), and moves for common problems: silence, one student dominating, discussion drifting from the text, factual errors.
7. **Assessment:** a short rubric (3 to 4 criteria such as use of textual evidence, building on others, questioning, and reflective listening) scored on quality, not frequency, and an alternative route for students who contribute less orally (observer notes, written reflection).
8. **Debrief:** a 5-minute group reflection on the discussion process and an individual exit writing prompt.
- Questions are open and interpretive; avoid questions with a single factual answer, except one quick comprehension check during preparation.
- Keep the content suitable for [GRADE_LEVEL]. If the text deals with sensitive themes (violence, racism, suicide), add a short note on preparing students and keeping the discussion respectful and safe.
- Assessment must never rely on talk counts alone.
## Overview
Text, goal (stated or drafted), format chosen, assumptions.
## Student preparation
Annotation focuses, ticket to enter, plan for the unprepared.
## Format and roles
Layout, roles, observer task.
## Norms
Norms and sentence stems.
## Questions
Opening, core (with passage and two possible positions each), closing.
## Facilitation
Timeline table: Minutes | Phase | Students | Teacher. Then troubleshooting moves.
## Assessment
Rubric table and the alternative route.
## Debrief
Group reflection questions and exit prompt. If passages are placeholders, end by asking for the excerpt.
````
---
## Plan a systematic phonics lesson
`plan-phonics-lesson` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-phonics-lesson
Plans a synthetic phonics lesson for one grapheme-phoneme correspondence with review, teach, practise and apply phases and fully decodable words and sentences.
````markdown
Systematic synthetic phonics teaches one grapheme-phoneme correspondence (GPC) at a time and has children read and spell words by blending and segmenting all through the word. Lessons follow a predictable four-part routine (review, teach, practise, apply) so working memory goes on the new learning, not on the lesson format. The non-negotiable is decodability: every word children are asked to read must use only GPCs already taught plus the target, or be a tricky word already taught. A single undecodable word teaches children to guess. Teachers also need pure sounds (/m/ not "muh"), consistent actions or mnemonics if their scheme uses them, and quick responses that keep every child reading, not just the confident ones.
Plan a 25-minute phonics lesson for **[GRADE_LEVEL]** introducing **[TARGET_GPC]**.
Already taught:
[PREVIOUSLY_TAUGHT]
1. Build the allowed set: list the taught GPCs and tricky words you will use, plus the target. If `previously_taught` names only a scheme stage or is ambiguous, state the GPCs you are assuming and flag them for the teacher to confirm.
2. **Review** (about 5 minutes): rapid flashcard review of 6 to 8 recent GPCs, with the target's likely confusions included; oral blending of 3 words; reading 4 previously taught tricky words.
3. **Teach** (about 5 minutes): introduce the phoneme orally first (a few words that contain it, with where in the word it appears), then the grapheme. Describe how to say the pure sound and any mouth cue, the letter formation if new, and a short mnemonic. Model blending 3 words with the target, saying exactly what the teacher says and points to.
4. **Practise** (about 8 to 10 minutes):
- 8 to 12 words for reading, ordered from easiest to hardest (short words, then adjacent consonants or longer words if they are taught). Write each word followed by its graphemes split with a vertical bar, e.g. "ship (sh | i | p)", so the teacher can draw a dot under each single-letter grapheme and a dash under each digraph or trigraph.
- 2 to 3 nonsense or alien words only if the scheme uses them for assessment, labelled as such.
- 4 to 6 words for spelling by segmenting, with the routine (say the word, count the sounds on fingers, write each grapheme, check).
- Choral, partner and individual responses so every child reads.
5. **Apply** (about 5 minutes): 2 or 3 fully decodable sentences to read, then 1 dictated sentence to write, using the target and taught tricky words only.
6. Timings must add up exactly to 25 minutes.
7. **Word check:** audit every word you used against the allowed set.
- Every word to read or spell is decodable from the allowed set plus the target. If a word needs an untaught GPC (including endings like -ed, -es, -ing, or y as /ee/), remove it. Plural -s is allowed only if s is taught.
- Watch for accent differences (for example the vowel in "bath" or rhotic r) and mention it if the target or a chosen word is affected.
- If [TARGET_GPC] has more than one common pronunciation (ow, ea, ie), teach the one stated, or the first in a typical sequence, and say which.
- Pure sounds only; never add a schwa when modelling consonants.
- No pictures-as-clues, guessing strategies, or memorising whole words outside the taught tricky words.
## Overview
Target, allowed set, assumptions to confirm, materials.
## Review
Time, then the cards, words and tricky words in order.
## Teach
Time, then the teacher's script, mouth cue, formation, mnemonic, modelled words.
## Practise
Time, reading words with their grapheme split (sh | i | p), spelling words, response routine.
## Apply
Time, sentences to read, dictation sentence.
## Word check
Table: Word | GPCs used | Allowed (yes/no). Every row must be yes; list any word you removed.
## Assessment and next steps
What to listen for, how to spot children who need same-day catch-up, and what to review next lesson.
````
---
## Plan a transition to secondary school
`plan-transition-to-secondary` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-transition-to-secondary
Plans the move from primary to secondary school for a class or a vulnerable pupil, with information sharing, visits, a transition booklet, first-week adjustments and check-ins.
````markdown
A primary or secondary teacher, SENCO or transition lead is planning the move to secondary school. Most pupils settle within weeks; some, often pupils with special educational needs, anxiety, attendance or safeguarding concerns, or a difficult home situation, struggle and their attainment and wellbeing dip. What helps: early, specific information passed to the people who will actually teach the pupil; extra visits that make the new building, routines and adults familiar; one named key adult; and planned check-ins rather than waiting for problems. What goes wrong: information that sits in a file nobody reads, a single crowded induction day, and support that stops after the first week.
Your school's side: sending-primary
[PUPILS_OR_NEEDS]
1. Decide the level of transition for each pupil or group: universal (whole cohort), enhanced (extra visits and a key adult) or intensive (a personalised plan with family and specialists). Give the reason from the notes.
2. Timeline: count back from the start date (or from "start of the new school year" if none) across the spring and summer terms and the first half term, with who does what.
3. Information sharing: what to pass on (strengths, what helps, current support, attainment, attendance, friendships to keep or separate), how (a meeting for enhanced pupils, not only forms), and to whom. Sensitive and safeguarding information goes from safeguarding lead to safeguarding lead through the schools' secure process.
4. Visits and familiarisation: extra small-group visits, a photo tour, a map with key places, practising the journey, meeting the key adult, trying the lunch system and timetable.
5. Transition booklet: the pages to include, written for the pupil (key adults with photo placeholders, the day's timings, what to bring, who to ask for help, what to do if lost or worried) and a page the pupil fills in about themselves.
6. First weeks: practical adjustments (an early-leave pass between lessons, a quiet place at break, a buddy, a written timetable, a soft start), and what all teachers are told.
7. Check-ins and review: planned conversations with the pupil and family after week one, week three and half term, what to ask, and signs that need action (attendance drop, isolation, refusal, behaviour change).
- Initials only. Never put safeguarding detail in a booklet, profile or general staff briefing.
- Do not invent school routines, names or dates; use placeholders like [key adult] and list them under Questions.
- Sharing personal data follows the schools' data protection policies and, where required, consent from the family; say so.
- If the notes show a new or current risk (a fresh disclosure, recent self-harm, a pupil in danger), say first that it must go to the designated safeguarding lead today. If they repeat past or known safeguarding history and ask to put it in a booklet or briefing, leave it out, say it goes safeguarding lead to safeguarding lead through the secure process, and still plan a supportive transition from the non-sensitive information.
- Involve the pupil and family in every enhanced or intensive plan.
## Timeline
Table: When | Action | Who | Done.
## Information sharing
Bullets.
## Visits and familiarisation
Bullets per level.
## Transition booklet
List of pages with the content of each.
## First weeks
Bullets: adjustments per pupil or group, and the staff briefing points.
## Check-ins and review
Table: When | With whom | Questions | Warning signs.
## Questions
Placeholders and things to confirm.
````
---
## Plan a university lecture
`plan-university-lecture` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-university-lecture
Plans an interactive university lecture with timed segments, interaction points, worked examples, a slide outline and a retrieval check, sized to the slot. Use when preparing a lecture.
````markdown
Lectures work better when they are broken into segments of about 10 to 15 minutes separated by short activities where every student has to think, commit to an answer and compare it with others. Peer instruction (a concept question, individual vote, discussion with a neighbour, revote, explanation) reliably improves conceptual understanding, even in large rooms. Worked examples should be shown step by step with the reasoning spoken aloud, then followed by a similar problem for students to try. Starting with a quick retrieval question on last week's material and ending with a check on today's makes learning visible to both lecturer and students. Lecturers usually overestimate how much fits in a slot.
Plan a 50-minute lecture on:
[TOPIC]
Level: **[COURSE_LEVEL]**
1. If the class size is not in the level description, assume about 100 students and say so, because it decides which interaction formats work. Write 2 to 4 lecture goals with observable verbs. Cut anything that cannot be taught properly in the time and list it under "move elsewhere" (reading, problem set, next lecture).
2. Build a timed plan that adds up to exactly 50 minutes: an opening retrieval question on prior material (3 to 5 minutes), segments of no more than about 15 minutes of exposition, an interaction point between segments, and a closing retrieval check with a one-sentence summary. Include a 2 to 3 minute buffer as its own row inside the total, so the rows still add up to exactly 50.
3. Write out each worked example in full: the problem, the steps with the reasoning the lecturer says aloud, and a follow-up "your turn" problem with its answer.
4. Write each interaction point as it will be run: the exact question, the format (vote with a polling tool or hands or cards, think-pair-share, predict-then-reveal, a one-minute paper), timing, the answer and, for multiple-choice concept questions, why each wrong option is tempting.
5. Give a slide outline: one line per slide with its title and content, keeping text minimal (a diagram or example rather than bullet walls), and mark which slides are worked by hand or annotated live.
6. Write the closing retrieval check: 2 or 3 short questions that test today's goals, with answers.
7. Add notes on what to watch for (the most likely confusion and the cue that students are lost) and what to adjust next time.
- Content must be accurate for the level; if the topic description is ambiguous (which notation, which prior knowledge), state your assumption at the top.
- Interaction formats must work at the stated class size; for 100+ students avoid activities that need the lecturer to hear every group.
- Do not pad with generic advice about engagement; everything in the plan is specific to this topic.
- If the slot cannot fit the topic as described, say so and propose the split.
## Lecture goals
Numbered goals, then "Move elsewhere".
## Timed plan
Table: Start-end (min) | Segment | What happens | Interaction. Times sum to 50.
## Worked examples
Each with steps, spoken reasoning and a "your turn" problem with answer.
## Interaction points
Each with question, format, timing, answer and distractor notes.
## Slide outline
Numbered list: Slide title - content (live annotation marked).
## Retrieval check
Questions with answers.
## Notes for next time
Bullets.
````
---
## Plan an academic misconduct conversation
`plan-academic-misconduct-meeting` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-academic-misconduct-meeting
Plans a fair conversation with a student suspected of plagiarism or undisclosed AI use, with an evidence review, open questions, a meeting script and the process to follow afterwards.
````markdown
A misconduct conversation is an inquiry, not a verdict. The student may have cheated, may have misunderstood the rules, may have poor referencing skills, or may have done nothing wrong. Fairness means going in with an open mind, sharing the concern and the evidence, asking open questions that let the student show their knowledge of the work and their process, and following the institution's procedure exactly, because procedural mistakes can void an outcome. AI-text detector scores are unreliable, produce false positives (especially for non-native writers), and should never be the sole basis for an allegation. Strong evidence is concrete: copied passages with sources, references that do not exist, content the student cannot explain, or a process history that does not match the submission.
Plan my conversation with the student.
[EVIDENCE]
1. **Evidence review:** rate each piece of evidence as strong, moderate or weak, with why, and list innocent explanations to keep in mind (common knowledge, shared notes, permitted tools, a language-support tool, poor citation practice). Say whether the evidence justifies a formal process, an informal conversation, or no action. If a detector score is the only evidence, say clearly that it is not enough on its own and suggest what else to look at. If you recommend no action, stop after the evidence review and say what new evidence would change that.
2. **Before the meeting:** what to prepare (the work, sources side by side, drafts or version history if available, the policy), whether the policy requires written notice, the student's right to be accompanied or supported, a quiet private space, and whether this conversation is permitted by the policy or must go straight to a formal panel. If no policy was given, list what to check in the institution's policy before meeting.
3. **Meeting plan:** a short opening script that states the purpose neutrally ("I want to understand how you produced this work"), the sequence (explain the process and their rights; let them talk about the work; show the specific concern; listen; explain next steps), and timing (about 20 to 30 minutes).
4. **Questions:** 8 to 12 open, non-leading questions about their process and understanding (how they chose sources, how they built a specific argument, what a specific term or step means, what tools they used, how they drafted), plus follow-ups if answers are vague. Include questions specific to the evidence given.
5. **During the meeting, what not to do:** accusing language, bluffing about evidence, promising outcomes, recording without consent, or deciding in the room if the policy reserves the decision for someone else.
6. **During the meeting, wellbeing and fairness:** adjustments for disability or language, and what to do if the student becomes very distressed (pause, offer support services, reschedule). If the student says anything suggesting they are at risk of harm, stop the meeting and follow the institution's safeguarding or welfare procedure.
7. **After the meeting:** possible outcomes under the policy (or typical ones if no policy: no case, educational outcome such as referencing support, formal referral), how to decide, and the timeline for informing the student.
8. **Record template:** a factual meeting note format.
- Never treat the student as guilty in the plan or the scripts; use neutral language throughout.
- Do not rely on AI-detector output as proof, and do not recommend running the student's other work through detectors as evidence.
- Do not invent the institution's rules; where the policy is missing, use placeholders and tell the teacher to check.
- Keep the student's information confidential; do not suggest discussing the case with other students or in public channels.
- Account for the student context: for non-native writers and students with relevant disabilities, consider how that affects both the evidence and the meeting.
## Evidence review
Table: Evidence | Strength | Why | Innocent explanations. Then a recommendation: formal, informal or no action.
## Before the meeting
Checklist.
## Meeting plan
Opening script, then the timed sequence.
## Questions
Numbered, with follow-ups indented.
## During the meeting
"What not to do" bullets, then wellbeing and fairness: adjustments for this student, what to do if they become distressed, and the safeguarding stop rule.
## After the meeting
Possible outcomes, decision criteria and timeline for informing the student.
## Record template
Headed fields to fill in.
````
---
## Plan an information literacy session
`plan-information-literacy-session` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-information-literacy-session
Plans a library or classroom session on searching, judging sources and citing, built around students' real research task, with live search activities and a short assessment.
````markdown
Information literacy teaching sticks when it is tied to a task students must do now; a generic "how to research" talk is forgotten by the time the assignment arrives. Students tend to type a whole question into a search box, take the first result, judge a source by how it looks, and cite at the last minute. Better habits are concrete and teachable: turning a question into keywords and synonyms, choosing where to search (catalogue, databases, the open web, AI tools with care), using search features, reading laterally (leaving a site to find out who is behind it and what others say) before reading deeply, tracing claims to their origin, and recording sources as they go. This session is for librarians and teachers, often teaching together.
Learners: [AGE_GROUP]. Length: 50 minutes.
1. **Learning outcomes:** three outcomes students can show by the end, covering searching, judging and citing, worded for this age group.
2. **Session plan:** a timed plan for 50 minutes with a short hook (for example, two search results for the same question that disagree), brief modelling, mostly hands-on work on devices, and a close. Note who leads each part if a librarian and teacher co-teach.
3. **Search activity:** students turn their research question into keywords, synonyms and narrower or broader terms (a planning grid), then search in at least two places suited to the age: the library catalogue, a database [use the library's own], and the open web with features such as quotation marks, site or domain limits, and date filters. They compare what each place gives and record their best results. Include a short note on using AI chat tools: fine for brainstorming keywords, never as a source, and every claim checked against a real source.
4. **Judging sources activity:** students apply a few concrete moves to two or three of their own results: who is behind this and what do others say about them (lateral reading), what is the evidence and where did it come from, is it current enough for this topic, and what is it for (inform, persuade, sell). Include one worked example the teacher models live, and a reminder that a source can be biased and still useful if used carefully.
5. **Citing:** why we cite, the style required (or a common style appropriate to the age if none is given), a quick demonstration of recording citation details as you search, and how to quote, paraphrase and avoid plagiarism.
6. **Assessment:** a short end-of-session check, such as a search log submitted with their three best sources, a one-sentence justification for each, and one correctly formatted citation, plus a quick self-rating of confidence. Give a simple success checklist the teacher can use to mark it.
7. **Resources and prep:** what to set up before the session (logins, device check, a page of links, a printed planning grid) and follow-up support such as library drop-in times.
- Do not invent the library's databases, subscriptions or login details. Use placeholders like [your library's database] unless the teacher named them.
- Use real, live searching rather than invented results where possible; for any example sources you describe, keep them generic or clearly invented for illustration.
- Keep talk short; at least half the time is students searching on their own task.
- Pitch it to the age group: younger students use the catalogue and a curated starting list; older students use databases, advanced search and scholarly sources.
- If no assignment is given, say the session will be more effective tied to one, and build it around a sample research question appropriate to the age.
- Before finishing, check that every outcome is practised and assessed in the session and the timings add up to 50 minutes.
## Learning outcomes
Three numbered outcomes.
## Session plan
Table: Time | Activity | Who leads | Student output.
## Search activity
Steps, the keyword planning grid, and the AI tools note.
## Judging sources activity
The moves as a short checklist, plus the modelled example.
## Citing
Bullets and one example citation in the required style.
## Assessment
The task and a marking checklist.
## Resources and prep
Checklist.
````
---
## Plan an oracy lesson
`plan-oracy-lesson` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-oracy-lesson
Plans a lesson that teaches talk explicitly, with a talk task, roles, sentence stems, ground rules, a listening task and feedback on the physical, linguistic, cognitive and social strands.
````markdown
A teacher wants to teach talk, not just use it: pupils learn to speak and listen well through deliberate instruction, practice and feedback, as in a widely used oracy framework with four strands - physical (voice, body), linguistic (vocabulary, register, structure), cognitive (reasoning, building on ideas, challenging) and social and emotional (listening, turn-taking, confidence). Common failures: "discuss in groups" with no structure, so a few pupils talk and the rest wait; a talk objective that is really a content objective; and feedback only on what was said, never on how.
Topic: [TOPIC]. Year group: [YEAR_GROUP]. Talk type: discussion. Lesson: 60 minutes.
1. Talk objective: one or two oracy skills from the strands that fit discussion (for example "build on another person's idea" for discussion, "rebut a point with evidence" for debate, "vary pace and pause for effect" for presentation), stated separately from the content objective.
2. Task and roles: a talk task with a real reason to talk, group size (pairs, threes or fours), and roles that rotate (for example instigator, builder, challenger, summariser, or for debate proposer, opposer, rebuttal, chair), each with a role card line.
3. Ground rules: three or four co-agreed talk rules for this task. Sentence stems for the target skill, at two levels of challenge ("I agree with... because...", "Building on what ... said...", "I see it differently because...").
4. Listening task: what non-speakers do (track how ideas build, note one strong point to quote back, tally stems used), so everyone is active.
5. Lesson sequence: hook, model of good and weak talk (teacher-led or a fishbowl of one group), preparation time, talk rounds with timings, a mid-point coaching stop, and a reflection. Timings add up to 60 minutes.
6. Feedback on talk: a short checklist across the four strands for this task, how peers give feedback using it, and how the teacher records progress for a few pupils each lesson.
- Content must be accurate and age-appropriate; mark uncertain facts [check].
- Plan for quieter pupils and those learning the language of instruction: thinking time before talk, rehearsal in pairs, stems, and roles that do not force solo performance at first.
- Pupils with speech, language or communication needs, or who use alternative communication, take part with adaptations the teacher knows; ask about them if relevant rather than assuming.
- If the topic is vague ("the poem", "the topic"), ask what the content is and use a [content] placeholder meanwhile. If the teacher wants a light structure, keep the plan short but keep the essentials: one talk objective, one or two stems, a listening task and a one-line reason why unstructured groups leave many pupils silent.
- For debate topics, avoid sensitive issues that could target pupils' identities or experiences; suggest an alternative topic if needed.
## Talk objective
Oracy objective and content objective.
## Task and roles
Task, grouping, table: Role | What you do | Stem.
## Ground rules and stems
Rules, then stems in two levels.
## Listening task
Bullets.
## Lesson sequence
Table: Minutes | Phase | Teacher | Pupils.
## Feedback on talk
Checklist by strand, peer feedback routine, teacher recording.
````
---
## Plan an outdoor learning lesson
`plan-outdoor-learning-lesson` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-outdoor-learning-lesson
Plans a curriculum lesson taught outdoors, with site setup, timed activities, behaviour and safety routines, a risk checklist, wet-weather plans and how learning is captured.
````markdown
Outdoor lessons work when the outdoors does something the classroom cannot: real measurements at full scale, living things in their habitat, materials to handle, space to move, a place to write about. They fail when they are a classroom lesson moved outside, when routines are invented on the spot, or when the weather wins. Teachers also need the safety side ready to show a leader: a simple risk checklist and clear boundaries.
Subject: [SUBJECT]. Objective: [OBJECTIVE]. Learners: [AGE_GROUP]. Site: `school-grounds`.
Plan one outdoor lesson that meets the objective.
1. **Objective and why outdoors:** restate the objective as one or two success criteria pupils can show, and say in a sentence what the outdoor setting adds for this objective. If the objective would be taught just as well indoors, say so and suggest how to change the task so the outdoors earns its place.
2. **Site and setup:** what the site needs (space, features, shelter, toilets), a boundary plan, a base point, what to check on a walk-through beforehand, and equipment, including clipboards or alternatives that survive weather. For `park`, `woodland` or `city`, note that the school's off-site visit procedures, consent and ratios apply.
3. **Lesson sequence:** a timed plan covering moving out, a hook, teaching input, two or three active tasks in pairs or small groups with clear roles, regrouping signals, a plenary, and the return. Include how adults are deployed and what they ask pupils.
4. **Behaviour and boundaries:** routines taught before going out and rehearsed at the start: the gather signal, physical boundaries, buddy pairs, how to handle and return equipment, how to treat plants and animals, and what happens if someone needs the toilet or feels unwell.
5. **Risk checklist:** a table of the hazards that apply to this site and activity (trips and slips, weather and sun, plants, fungi and animals, allergies and stings, water, traffic and public, lost pupil, handwashing, tools if used), controls and who checks. State that it supplements, not replaces, the school's own risk assessment.
6. **Weather plans:** what changes in rain, wind, heat and cold, the point at which the lesson moves indoors, and a version of the activity that works under cover or inside.
7. **Capturing learning:** how pupils record (photos, sketches, data sheets, voice notes, natural materials collected where allowed), and how the teacher assesses against the success criteria during the lesson.
8. **Back in class:** a short follow-up that uses what was gathered.
- The objective drives the plan; the outdoors serves it.
- Include every pupil: plan access for wheelchair users and pupils with sensory, medical or behavioural needs on this site, and an option for pupils who are anxious about being outside.
- Keep active time high: avoid long talks outside, and keep groups small enough that no one waits idly.
- Do not invent facts about a specific site. Use placeholders such as [check: is the pond fenced?] for anything the teacher must confirm.
- Ratios, consent and first-aid requirements vary by school and country; present them as items to check against policy, not as rules.
- If the objective or age group is missing or unclear, ask before planning.
- Before finishing, check that each task produces evidence of the success criteria and that the risk table covers every activity in the sequence.
## Objective and why outdoors
Success criteria and one sentence on the outdoor advantage.
## Site and setup
Bullets, including the pre-check walk-through and equipment list.
## Lesson sequence
Table: Time | Phase | What pupils do | What adults do.
## Behaviour and boundaries
Bullets.
## Risk checklist
Table: Hazard | Controls | Who checks.
## Weather plans
Bullets per condition, and the move-indoors point.
## Capturing learning
Bullets.
## Back in class
A short follow-up activity.
````
---
## Plan enrichment for an advanced learner
`plan-gifted-enrichment` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-gifted-enrichment
Plans enrichment and acceleration for an advanced learner in one subject, with pre-assessment and compacting, depth and complexity tasks, an independent project and how progress is shown.
````markdown
Advanced learners are often given "more of the same": extra worksheets once they finish early, which teaches them that finishing fast is punished. Better practice starts by pre-assessing to find out what the student already knows, compacting the regular curriculum to skip what is mastered, and using the freed time for work with more depth (more detail, rules, patterns, evidence), complexity (connections across time, disciplines and perspectives) and authentic challenge, or for acceleration in the subject when the student is ready for content well beyond their grade. Advanced students still need to learn how to struggle, revise and fail safely; many are perfectionists, and their social and emotional development may not match their academic level.
Plan enrichment in **[SUBJECT]** for a **[GRADE_LEVEL]** student.
[STUDENT_PROFILE]
1. If the profile gives no evidence of current attainment (only "very bright"), ask for it or propose a pre-assessment first and keep the rest of the plan provisional.
2. **Where the student is:** summarise the evidence, the likely next level of challenge, and any gaps (advanced students can have holes in fundamentals). Propose a short pre-assessment for the next unit if needed.
3. **Compacting plan:** for the next unit or term, which regular content the student can skip (with the evidence that shows mastery), which parts they still do, and how the freed time is used. Include a simple agreement the student and teacher sign (what they will work on, how they check in, expectations).
4. **Enrichment tasks:** 4 to 6 tasks tied to the regular curriculum topics that add depth or complexity, not volume: open problems with multiple solutions, real data or primary sources, connections across subjects, taking an expert's perspective, creating rather than consuming. Each with the time needed and the product.
5. **Independent project:** one longer project (4 to 8 weeks) built on the student's interests, with a driving question, milestones, a mentor or expert if possible, and a real audience for the outcome.
6. **Acceleration options:** whether subject acceleration, working with an older class, a competition or an external programme might fit, with the evidence that would justify it and the questions to discuss with the family and school. Do not decide this; set out the considerations.
7. **Showing progress:** how growth is shown when grade-level tests are at ceiling: a portfolio, a rubric that extends beyond grade level, above-level assessments, reflections on process and revision.
8. **Wellbeing and fit:** how to build tolerance for difficulty and mistakes, avoid isolation from peers, and adapt if the student has a learning difference alongside high ability (twice-exceptional).
- No busywork: every task must be more challenging in kind, not just more of it.
- Keep the student connected to class learning and peers; enrichment should not mean always working alone.
- Do not label or diagnose; describe needs and behaviours. Refer concerns about learning differences or wellbeing to the school's specialist staff.
- Tasks must be manageable for one teacher with a full class; note the preparation each needs.
- Content must be accurate and age-appropriate even when advanced.
## Where the student is
Bullets, plus the pre-assessment if needed.
## Compacting plan
Table: Regular content | Skip / still do | Evidence | Replacement. Then the agreement.
## Enrichment tasks
Table: Task | Depth or complexity angle | Time | Product | Teacher prep.
## Independent project
Driving question, milestones, mentor, audience, assessment.
## Acceleration options
Considerations and questions for the family and school.
## Showing progress
Bullets.
## Wellbeing and fit
Bullets.
````
---
## Plan individual behaviour support for a student
`plan-student-behavior-support` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-student-behavior-support
Drafts an individual behaviour support plan from ABC observations, with a hypothesised function, prevention, a replacement skill, responses and data to collect, for review with specialists.
````markdown
Behaviour serves a purpose for the student. Most persistent classroom behaviour gets something (attention from adults or peers, an object or activity, sensory input) or avoids something (a task, a demand, a social situation, discomfort). Plans that only add consequences often strengthen the behaviour, for example sending a student out of a task they want to avoid. Effective individual plans are built on a hypothesis about the function drawn from patterns in observations, then change the triggers (prevention), teach a replacement behaviour that gets the student the same thing in an acceptable way, respond so the problem behaviour stops paying off, and collect data to check the hypothesis. A teacher's draft is a starting point for the school's behaviour specialists, special educators or psychologist and the family, not a substitute for a formal functional behaviour assessment where one is needed.
Draft a behaviour support plan for a student aged [STUDENT_AGE].
[OBSERVATIONS]
1. **Important first:** before planning, check the observations for anything that needs immediate action rather than a plan: self-harm or talk of it, harm to others that puts anyone at risk, signs of abuse or neglect, or a disclosure. If any is present, write the safety steps here (who to tell today, what to record, what to do if anyone is in immediate danger), then write only the "Review with the team" section and stop: say the behaviour plan waits until the safeguarding lead has acted, and do not treat the concern as a behaviour to manage.
2. **Behaviour defined:** describe each target behaviour so two observers would agree when it happens (what it looks and sounds like), and its estimated frequency or duration from the notes.
3. **Patterns in the data:** when, where, during what, with whom, and what usually happens straight after. Note the times and settings where the behaviour does not happen; they are clues.
4. **Hypothesis:** a summary statement, "When [antecedent], [student] does [behaviour] in order to [get or avoid what], and this is maintained because [consequence]." Give a confidence level and the evidence for and against, plus one alternative function to rule out.
5. **Prevention:** 3 to 5 changes to antecedents (task design, choice, pre-teaching, visual supports, seating, transitions, relationship-building check-ins) matched to the hypothesis.
6. **Replacement skill:** one acceptable behaviour that serves the same function and is easier than the problem behaviour (for example asking for a break with a card), how it will be taught and practised, and how it will be reinforced every time at first.
7. **Responses:** what adults do when the replacement skill is used, at early warning signs, and when the behaviour happens, so the behaviour no longer gets the student what it used to, with calm, consistent scripts. Include how to help the student calm and how to repair afterwards.
8. **Data to collect:** a simple tally, interval or ABC form, who records it, for how long, and what change in the data would confirm or reject the hypothesis.
9. **Review with the team:** questions for the family, specialists to involve (for example a special educator, behaviour specialist, school psychologist or counsellor) and a review date.
- You give general information, not professional advice. You are not a doctor, therapist, lawyer, accountant or financial adviser, and you do not replace one.
- Say so once, briefly, near the start: what you can help with here and what needs a qualified professional.
- Do not diagnose, prescribe, give dosages, predict a legal outcome, or recommend a specific investment, tax position or legal action for this person.
- When the situation is serious, urgent, high-stakes or specific to their circumstances, say which kind of professional to see and what to bring to that appointment.
- If anything suggests immediate danger to health or safety, tell them to contact local emergency services now, before anything else.
- Rules, prices and laws differ by country and change over time. Name the assumption you are making and tell them to check it locally.
- If the person mentions thoughts of suicide or self-harm, harming someone else, abuse, or being in danger, stop the exercise. Respond with care, tell them they deserve support now, and point them to local emergency services or a crisis line in their country. If you do not know their country, ask, and mention that local emergency numbers work everywhere.
- You are a supportive tool, not therapy. For ongoing distress, low mood that lasts, or anything that disrupts daily life, encourage them to talk to a doctor or a licensed mental-health professional.
- Never shame, diagnose, or tell someone what they "really" feel. Reflect back what they said and offer, rather than impose, next steps.
- The user is a teacher; the safety steps above apply to the student. A student's talk of suicide or self-harm, harming someone, or being harmed goes to the school's designated safeguarding or child-protection lead the same day, and to emergency services if anyone is in immediate danger.
- Never diagnose or suggest a diagnosis (ADHD, autism, trauma, anxiety). Describe what was observed; the team decides whether an assessment is needed.
- Never recommend restraint, seclusion, physical punishment, shaming, public behaviour charts that single the student out, or withholding food, water, toilet access or play as consequences. Physical intervention is only ever under school policy by trained staff to prevent immediate harm.
- Base every claim on the observations. With fewer than about five incidents, say the hypothesis is tentative and lead with data collection.
- Use respectful, person-first language and the student's initials only.
- Fit the plan to the setting: a secondary student with several teachers needs a plan every teacher can follow in under a minute.
## Important first
Safety items and actions, or "No immediate safety concerns found in the notes." If there are safety items, this section and "Review with the team" are the whole response.
## Behaviour defined
Bullets per behaviour.
## Patterns in the data
Table: Antecedent / setting | Behaviour | What happened next | Count.
## Hypothesis
The summary statement, confidence, evidence for and against, alternative to rule out.
## Prevention
Bullets.
## Replacement skill
Skill, how it is taught, how it is reinforced.
## Responses
Table: Situation | What adults do | What adults say.
## Data to collect
Method, who, how long, decision rule.
## Review with the team
Questions, people to involve, review date.
````
---
## Plan teaching assistant deployment
`plan-ta-deployment` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-ta-deployment
Plans how a teacher deploys a teaching assistant across a week, with a role for each lesson, which pupils, scaffolding not doing, interventions, briefing time and feedback loops.
````markdown
A class teacher or SENCO wants to plan how a teaching assistant (TA) is used across the week. Evidence on deploying TAs (summarised in widely used school guidance on making best use of teaching assistants) is clear: TAs used as an informal teacher for the lowest-attaining pupils, sitting beside the same pupils every lesson, can leave those pupils making less progress, because they get less teacher time and become dependent. TAs add most when they supplement rather than replace the teacher, help pupils become independent learners, are prepared for each lesson, and deliver well-structured interventions they are trained in, linked back to class learning.
[TIMETABLE]
[PUPIL_NEEDS]
1. Principles for this class: four or five rules written for this teacher and TA (the teacher works with the pupils needing most support in every lesson for part of the time; the TA prompts before helping; the TA roves as well as sits; pupils try first).
2. Weekly deployment: for every timetabled session, the TA's role chosen from: roving and prompting independence, a focus group (named by initials, rotating across the week), working with the rest of the class while the teacher takes a focus group, delivering a structured intervention, observing and recording, or preparation. Respect pupils' statutory or funded support exactly as stated.
3. Roles by lesson type: for input, guided practice, independent work and plenary, what the TA does and says. Include a short prompting ladder: wait, prompt to self-help, hint, model a similar example, and only then step in.
4. Interventions: which pupils, which programme the school already uses (do not invent named programmes), when it runs without missing the same lesson every week, how it links back to class teaching, and how progress is checked.
5. Briefing and feedback: when the teacher and TA meet (a fixed 10 to 15 minutes, with a fallback written briefing), what the TA needs before each lesson, and a quick feedback form after lessons.
6. Review: what to look at after half a term (pupil independence, intervention progress, TA confidence) and how to adjust.
- Initials only. Use only the needs given; do not add diagnoses.
- The teacher stays responsible for the learning of every pupil, including those with SEND; never plan a pupil to be taught mainly by the TA.
- Hours, breaks and TA contract limits as stated; if missing, ask and mark the plan [hours to confirm].
- Do not invent intervention programmes, evidence statistics or guidance quotes.
## Principles for this class
Numbered list.
## Weekly deployment
Table: Day | Session | TA role | Pupils | Notes.
## Roles by lesson type
Table: Lesson phase | TA does | TA says.
## Interventions
Table: Intervention | Pupils | When | Link to class | How progress is checked.
## Briefing and feedback
Bullets and a short feedback form.
## Review
Bullets.
````
---
## Plan the first week of school
`plan-first-week-of-school` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-first-week-of-school
Plans the first week of a school year day by day, with relationship-building, routines to teach and practise, co-created expectations, low-stakes diagnostics and a family welcome message.
````markdown
The first week sets the norms students will test for the rest of the year. Two things matter most: students feel known and safe, and the routines that will run the room (entering, getting attention, transitions, materials, asking for help, finishing early) are taught explicitly, practised and reinforced like content, not announced once. Teachers who spend the week on rules lectures, or who jump straight into heavy content, usually spend October re-teaching routines. A good first week also starts real learning early, at a level where everyone can succeed, and gives the teacher a light read on where students are.
Plan the first week for **[GRADE_LEVEL]**.
1. Set 3 or 4 priorities for the week, in order.
2. List the 6 to 10 routines that matter most for this age and setting. For each, write the steps as students will learn them, how the teacher models it, how students practise it (including practising it wrong and fixing it, for younger classes), and how it will be reinforced in week 2.
3. Plan each day, fitted to the schedule if given (otherwise assume a typical schedule for the age and say so). Each day includes a relationship-building activity, one or two routines introduced or practised, a short piece of real learning in the subject at an accessible level, and a closing reflection.
4. Plan the expectations co-creation: how students help shape 3 to 5 positively stated class expectations, how they are linked to school rules or values if given, and what each looks like and sounds like.
5. Getting to know students: an interest or learning-profile survey (age-appropriate questions), a low-stakes diagnostic of key prior skills that is not graded, and how to learn names quickly and pronounce them correctly.
6. Write a family welcome message: who the teacher is, what the class will learn this year in a few lines, how to get in touch and when to expect replies, one question inviting families to share something about their child.
7. End-of-week check: how the teacher will know the week worked (routines running with fewer reminders, every student known by name, diagnostic results grouped).
- Activities must be inclusive: no "what I did on my holiday" tasks that expose differences in family income, no activities that require sharing personal or family details students may not want to share, and options for students who are shy, new to the language or new to the school.
- Keep teacher talk short at a time for the age (roughly the age in years plus a few minutes for younger students) and include movement.
- Every routine is described as observable steps, not values ("hands empty, eyes on me, voices off within 5 seconds", not "be respectful").
- Use only materials a typical classroom has.
- For secondary teachers with several classes, plan the routines once and say how to adapt the pacing across classes.
- If the grade or setting is unusual (for example an alternative provision or adult class), say what you assumed.
## Priorities for the week
Numbered.
## Routines to teach
Table: Routine | Steps for students | How it is modelled and practised | Reinforce in week 2.
## Day-by-day plan
One subsection per day: a time-blocked list with activity, purpose and materials.
## Expectations co-creation
Process, then a draft set with "looks like / sounds like".
## Getting to know students
Survey questions, diagnostic outline, name strategy.
## Family welcome message
The message, under about 200 words, with [placeholders].
## End-of-week check
Bullets.
````
---
## Plan trauma-informed classroom routines
`plan-trauma-informed-classroom-routines` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-trauma-informed-classroom-routines
Plans predictable, safe-feeling classroom routines for pupils affected by trauma, with transitions, a regulation space, language to use, repair, and when to involve the safeguarding lead.
````markdown
Trauma-informed practice in a classroom is not therapy. It is a set of everyday routines that help any child feel safe enough to learn, and help children whose experiences have taught them that adults and change are dangerous. The core ideas are predictability, felt safety, relationships with consistent adults, regulating before reasoning, offering choice, and responding to behaviour as communication without shame, while still keeping clear boundaries. Teachers do not need to know a child's history to use them, and they must never try to find it out. Any concern about harm goes to the safeguarding lead.
Learners: [AGE_GROUP]. Setting: mainstream-classroom.
Plan routines for this class:
1. **Principles in this room:** four to six plain commitments the adults make (for example "we tell you before things change"), written so they could go on the wall in age-appropriate words.
2. **Daily rhythm:** arrival and greeting (a predictable welcome and a quick, non-intrusive check-in), a visual timetable, how the day or lesson starts and ends, and how changes such as supply teachers, fire drills and trips are announced in advance.
3. **Transitions:** routines for the transitions that most often go wrong for this age and setting (into class, between activities, tidy-up, breaks, end of day), with warnings, visual or sound signals, jobs, and a plan for pupils who find a specific transition hard.
4. **Regulation space:** a calm area inside the room, how it is introduced to the whole class, what is in it, how pupils ask to use it, how long, how they return, and how to keep it a support rather than a punishment or an escape from work. For secondary or multi-room settings, give an alternative such as a regulation pass.
5. **Language to use and avoid:** a table of situations (a pupil refuses, shouts, shuts down, runs, says something hurtful) with phrases that connect and set limits calmly, and phrases to avoid (shaming, public sanctions, sarcasm, "calm down").
6. **When a pupil is dysregulated:** staged responses from early signs to crisis: noticing, co-regulating (lower voice, fewer words, offering space or a choice), keeping others safe, when to get help, and what to avoid (arguing, touching without consent unless policy and safety require it, crowding). Note that physical intervention follows school policy and training only.
7. **Repair and reconnection:** how the adult and pupil restore the relationship after an incident, a short restorative conversation script for this age, and how logical consequences still apply without shame.
8. **Safeguarding:** state plainly that any disclosure, sign of abuse or neglect, self-harm, or worry about a child's safety goes to the designated safeguarding lead the same day following school procedure. The adult listens, does not investigate or ask leading questions, does not promise secrecy, writes down the child's own words, the time and what they saw, and passes it on. In immediate danger, follow emergency procedures first.
9. **Looking after the adults:** how staff debrief after hard incidents, share consistent approaches, and seek support, since staff consistency is the routine.
- You give general information, not professional advice. You are not a doctor, therapist, lawyer, accountant or financial adviser, and you do not replace one.
- Say so once, briefly, near the start: what you can help with here and what needs a qualified professional.
- Do not diagnose, prescribe, give dosages, predict a legal outcome, or recommend a specific investment, tax position or legal action for this person.
- When the situation is serious, urgent, high-stakes or specific to their circumstances, say which kind of professional to see and what to bring to that appointment.
- If anything suggests immediate danger to health or safety, tell them to contact local emergency services now, before anything else.
- Rules, prices and laws differ by country and change over time. Name the assumption you are making and tell them to check it locally.
- If the person mentions thoughts of suicide or self-harm, harming someone else, abuse, or being in danger, stop the exercise. Respond with care, tell them they deserve support now, and point them to local emergency services or a crisis line in their country. If you do not know their country, ask, and mention that local emergency numbers work everywhere.
- You are a supportive tool, not therapy. For ongoing distress, low mood that lasts, or anything that disrupts daily life, encourage them to talk to a doctor or a licensed mental-health professional.
- Never shame, diagnose, or tell someone what they "really" feel. Reflect back what they said and offer, rather than impose, next steps.
- The user is a teacher; the safety steps above apply to the pupils they describe. A pupil's talk of suicide or self-harm, being harmed, or harming someone goes to the designated safeguarding lead the same day, and to emergency services first if anyone is in immediate danger. If the concerns describe such a case, lead with that step before any routines.
- Do not diagnose pupils, label them as "traumatised", or suggest the teacher identify which pupils have trauma histories. The routines are for the whole class.
- Never suggest asking pupils about their past or home life to explain behaviour.
- Keep boundaries and high expectations: warmth and structure together, not lowered standards.
- Fit routines to the age group and setting; secondary teachers seeing many classes need lighter, portable versions.
- Refer to the school's own behaviour, safeguarding and physical-intervention policies, which take precedence. Specialist input (educational psychologist, school counsellor, mental health team) is suggested when concerns persist.
- Before finishing, check the safeguarding section is explicit and the language table is free of shaming phrases.
## Principles in this room
Numbered, wall-ready.
## Daily rhythm
Bullets in time order.
## Transitions
Table: Transition | Routine | Support for pupils who find it hard.
## Regulation space
Bullets.
## Language to use and avoid
Table: Situation | Say | Avoid.
## When a pupil is dysregulated
Staged list from early signs to crisis.
## Repair and reconnection
Bullets and a short script.
## Safeguarding
Bullets.
## Looking after the adults
Bullets.
````
---
## Plan vocabulary instruction for a unit
`plan-vocabulary-instruction` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/plan-vocabulary-instruction
Plans explicit vocabulary instruction for a unit, selecting tier 2 and tier 3 words with student-friendly definitions, examples, practice routines across days and a quick check.
````markdown
Students learn most words from reading, but the words that unlock academic texts need explicit teaching. Useful selection follows a tiered view: tier 1 everyday words rarely need teaching; tier 2 words (analyse, reluctant, consequence, significant) appear across subjects and are the best investment; tier 3 words (photosynthesis, feudalism) are subject-specific and are taught with the content. Dictionary definitions rarely help ("ubiquitous: present everywhere"); student-friendly definitions explain the word in everyday language with "describes someone who…" or "if something is…, it…". Words stick through multiple, varied encounters over days: examples and non-examples, using the word in speech and writing, word parts, and connections between words.
Plan vocabulary teaching for **[GRADE_LEVEL]**, teaching 10 words explicitly.
[UNIT_TEXT_OR_TOPIC]
1. **Select words.** From the text (or, if only a topic is given, from texts typical for that topic and level), choose 10 words: mostly tier 2, plus the tier 3 words essential to the content. For each, say why it earns explicit teaching: it is needed to understand the unit, useful across subjects, or unlikely to be learned from context. If a text was given, only choose words that appear in it.
2. **Teaching card for each word:** a student-friendly definition, an example sentence from the unit context, an example from students' everyday lives, a non-example, word parts or related forms if useful (for example "-ology", "reluctant / reluctance"), and for multilingual learners a cognate note where a common one exists.
3. **Introducing a word:** a short routine (about 2 minutes per word) the teacher repeats: say it, students say it, definition, examples, a quick "yes or no, why?" question, students use it.
4. **Practice across the unit:** a day-by-day plan of short practice activities (5 to 10 minutes) that bring every word back several times, mixing speaking and writing, such as "which word goes with…", example or non-example sorts, word-relationship maps, and challenges to use target words in discussion or writing.
5. **Quick check:** 5 to 8 items that test meaning in context rather than definition recall, with an answer key.
6. **Words to treat lightly:** other unfamiliar words in the text to explain in passing, not teach.
- Definitions use words simpler than the word being defined and fit the meaning used in this unit; note when a word has a different everyday meaning (for example "table" in science, "power" in maths).
- Do not pick words only because they are long or rare. Prefer words students will meet again.
- If a pasted text has fewer than 10 words worth teaching, choose fewer and say so.
- Example sentences must be correct, natural and inclusive.
- Keep cognate notes accurate; skip them when you are not sure, and flag false friends only if you are certain.
## Word selection
Table: Word | Tier | Why teach it.
## Teaching cards
One block per word: definition · unit example · everyday example · non-example · word parts · cognate note (if any).
## Introducing a word
The routine as numbered steps with teacher prompts in quotes.
## Practice across the unit
Table: Day | Activity | Words | Time.
## Quick check
Numbered items, then the answer key.
## Words to treat lightly
Word: quick in-passing explanation.
````
---
## Prepare for a subject deep dive
`prepare-subject-deep-dive` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/prepare-subject-deep-dive
Prepares a school subject lead for an inspection-style deep dive with curriculum intent in plain words, sequencing, assessment, adaptations, likely questions and evidence to have ready.
````markdown
A subject lead is preparing for a deep dive into [SUBJECT]: a review in which inspectors or reviewers talk to the subject leader, visit lessons, look at pupils' work, and talk to pupils and teachers to see whether the intended curriculum is what pupils actually learn and remember. Leads struggle when they describe activities instead of the knowledge and skills built over time, cannot explain why topics come in a particular order, claim things that lesson visits and books do not show, or hide known weaknesses that reviewers will find anyway.
[CURRICULUM_SUMMARY]
1. Curriculum story: in about 150 words of plain speech the lead could say aloud, what pupils should know and be able to do by the end of the phase, the key concepts or threads, and why this curriculum suits these pupils.
2. Sequencing rationale: for two or three threads, show how knowledge builds year by year (what comes before, what it enables later), using the user's map. Flag places where the order is not explained.
3. Assessment: how teachers check that pupils have learned and remembered the core content, how that information changes teaching, and how workload is kept sensible.
4. Adaptations: how pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils access the same ambitious curriculum (scaffolds, pre-teaching, adapted resources) rather than a reduced one.
5. Likely questions: 12 to 15 questions across the subject lead conversation, teacher conversations, pupil conversations and work scrutiny, each with what a good answer draws on from this curriculum.
6. Evidence to have ready: specific documents and examples, and what to check beforehand (books from different attainment groups and pupils with SEND showing the sequence; pupils able to talk about prior learning).
7. Honest gaps and actions: weaknesses visible in the summary, what is already being done, and short-term actions, so the lead can talk about them openly.
- Use only the user's curriculum; do not invent content, data, outcomes or practice. Gaps become questions or actions.
- Do not advise staging evidence, coaching pupils with scripted answers, or claiming practice that does not happen.
- Do not state inspection criteria, grades or rules as fact unless the user supplied them; name the assumption and say to check the current published framework.
- Plain language; the lead should sound like themselves.
## Curriculum story
The spoken version, about 150 words.
## Sequencing rationale
Table: Thread | Earlier | This year | Later | Why this order.
## Assessment
Bullets.
## Adaptations for SEND and disadvantaged pupils
Bullets.
## Likely questions
Table: Who asks | Question | What a good answer draws on.
## Evidence to have ready
Checklist.
## Honest gaps and actions
Table: Gap | What is being done | Next action | By when.
````
---
## Prepare for parent-teacher conferences
`prepare-parent-teacher-conference` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/prepare-parent-teacher-conference
Prepares a teacher for parent-teacher conferences with a timed brief per student covering strengths with evidence, one concern, a shared goal and questions to ask the family.
````markdown
A short conference goes well when the family leaves knowing three things: the teacher knows and likes their child, exactly how the child is doing with evidence they can see, and one thing the school and the family will each do next. Conferences go badly when the teacher reads out grades, raises five concerns, uses jargon, runs out of time before listening, or is surprised by a family's question. Preparation means choosing the one concern that matters most, bringing evidence (a work sample, a number), and planning time for the family to talk.
Prepare briefs for 15-minute conferences from these notes.
[STUDENT_NOTES]
1. **Before the conferences:** a short checklist (work samples to pull, data to print, room setup side by side rather than across a desk, interpreter bookings, timer).
2. **For each student, a brief that fits 15 minutes:**
- **Opening (1 minute):** a specific, genuine positive about the child as a person or learner.
- **Strengths with evidence:** 2 points, each with the evidence to show (a work sample, a score, an observation).
- **One concern:** the most important one only, as observable facts with evidence, what the teacher has tried, and why it matters. If the notes show no real concern, a next learning step instead.
- **Questions to ask the family:** 2 or 3 open questions ("What does homework time look like at home?", "What does she say about school?"), and time to listen.
- **Shared goal:** one goal with what the school will do and one simple thing home can do.
- **Timing:** a minute-by-minute split that keeps at least a third of the time for the family to speak.
3. **Handling hard moments:** short scripts for a family that disagrees with a grade, one that becomes upset or angry, one that raises a concern about another child, and when to say "let's set up a longer meeting with [colleague]".
4. **After the conferences:** a follow-up note template and a tracking table of agreed actions.
- Use only the information in the notes. Where evidence is thin, say what to bring rather than inventing scores or incidents.
- No diagnoses, labels or speculation about home life or the child's health. Describe behaviour and learning, not character ("handed in 3 of 8 homework tasks", not "lazy").
- Never discuss other students. Use initials or first names only, as given.
- Plain language, no acronyms or education jargon. Note where an interpreter or translated summary may help.
- If the notes suggest a safeguarding or child-protection concern (signs of harm, neglect, a disclosure), do not include it in the conference plan: say it must go to the school's designated safeguarding lead under school procedures before the conference.
- If notes for a student are too thin to prepare, list what to gather for that student instead of padding.
## Before the conferences
Checklist.
## Student briefs
One section per student (### Initials) with: Opening · Strengths and evidence · Concern or next step · Questions to ask · Shared goal (school / home) · Timing.
## Handling hard moments
Situation → what to say, in quotes.
## After the conferences
Follow-up note template, then a table: Student | Agreed action | Who | By when.
````
---
## Pupil data privacy rules
`pupil-data-privacy-rules` · rule · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/pupil-data-privacy-rules
Standing rules for an assistant used by school staff with pupil information - initials or codes, minimal special-category data, no names in outputs, and flags for what belongs in school systems.
````markdown
Follow these rules for the rest of this conversation.
When you help a teacher or other school staff with anything that involves pupils, students or their families:
- Work with the least personal information the task needs. Ask for initials, first names or codes (Pupil A, P1) instead of full names, and for descriptions of needs instead of documents.
- If the person pastes full names, dates of birth, addresses, contact details, pupil numbers or photos, do not repeat them. Use initials in your answer and say once, briefly, that you have done so and that they need not share them.
- Treat health, special educational needs, disability, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, free school meals or pupil premium status, looked-after status and family circumstances as sensitive. Use them only where the task needs them, never as labels, and never in outputs meant for wide sharing.
- Keep safeguarding and child protection information out of general documents such as lesson plans, handover notes, reports, profiles or messages to families. If the person shares a concern that a child may be at risk, tell them to pass it to the designated safeguarding lead today through the school's procedure, and do not help write it anywhere else.
- Never put identifiable pupil details in content meant for publication or wide audiences (newsletters, social media, slides, displays, examples) unless the person confirms the school has consent, and even then keep to what is needed.
- When a task would involve analysing or storing identifiable records (spreadsheets of names with grades, SEN registers, behaviour logs), suggest removing names or using codes first, and say that identifiable data belongs in the school's approved systems and should only be shared with tools the school has approved.
- Do not guess or infer sensitive facts about a pupil (a diagnosis, a home situation, a protected characteristic) from what you are told.
- In messages to families, include only information about their own child; never mention other pupils by name or in a way that identifies them.
- If you are unsure whether the school's data protection policy allows something, say so in one line and suggest checking with the school's data protection lead, then help with an anonymised version.
````
---
## Redesign an assignment for the AI era
`design-ai-resistant-assignment` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/design-ai-resistant-assignment
Redesigns an assignment so learning stays visible when students have AI tools, with process checkpoints, local or personal data, an oral defence and a clear class AI-use policy.
````markdown
No take-home assignment is AI-proof, and AI-text detectors are unreliable enough that they should not be the basis for accusing a student. What works is design: assess the process as well as the product, tie the work to things a general model does not know (local data, class discussions, the student's own experience or fieldwork), make thinking visible at checkpoints, and include a short oral or in-class component where students explain and extend their work. Equally important is clarity: students need to know exactly which uses of AI are allowed, how to disclose them, and why the rules serve their learning.
Redesign this assignment with the AI stance **allowed-with-disclosure**.
[CURRENT_ASSIGNMENT]
[LEARNING_GOALS]
1. **Diagnosis:** say which parts of the current assignment a general AI tool could produce convincingly with little student thinking, and which learning goals the current design therefore cannot evidence.
2. **Redesigned assignment:** rewrite the student-facing brief. Keep the learning goals and roughly the same workload. Use the strategies that fit the goals best, typically several of:
- grounding in specific, local or class-generated material (data the class collected, a local issue, an in-class discussion, a text annotated in class);
- personal connection or reflection that is part of the learning, not decoration;
- visible process: proposals, notes, drafts, version history or annotated decisions;
- in-class components under normal conditions for the part that most needs to be the student's own;
- a product that requires judgement about sources or outputs, not just generation.
3. **Process checkpoints:** 3 to 5 dated checkpoints with what students submit and the quick feedback they get.
4. **Oral check:** a 3 to 5 minute conversation or mini-viva protocol with 5 or 6 questions that ask students to explain choices, extend to a new case, or fix a deliberately introduced flaw, with what a secure answer sounds like.
5. **AI-use policy for students** fitted to the stance:
- banned: what counts as AI use, why it is excluded for this task, and which tools remain fine (spell check, for example);
- allowed-with-disclosure: permitted uses (brainstorming, feedback on a draft, explaining a concept) and not permitted uses (generating the submitted text or answers), plus the disclosure rule;
- required: the specific AI task students do, how they evaluate and correct the output, and what they submit to show their judgement (prompts, outputs, critique).
6. **Disclosure statement:** a short template students complete describing any AI use (tool, purpose, what they changed).
7. **Marking changes:** how the rubric shifts weight toward process, reasoning and the oral check, with criteria wording.
8. **Teacher notes:** what to do if you suspect misuse (talk to the student about the work and process first; follow school policy; do not rely on detector scores alone) and equity notes (access to tools at home, students with accommodations).
- Never claim the design makes AI use impossible or detectable. Say how it makes learning visible instead.
- Do not recommend AI-detection software as evidence of misconduct.
- Keep total student workload close to the original; if the redesign adds time, take something out and say what.
- Do not require students to share private or sensitive personal information; personal-connection tasks must have an alternative.
- If allowed or required AI use needs tools the school has not approved, or students below a tool's minimum age, flag it.
- If the learning goals are unclear, infer them from the assignment, mark them "inferred", and proceed.
## Diagnosis
Bullets: vulnerable parts → goals not evidenced.
## Redesigned assignment
The new student-facing brief.
## Process checkpoints
Table: Checkpoint | Due | Students submit | Feedback.
## Oral check
Protocol, questions, what a secure answer sounds like.
## AI-use policy for students
Student-facing, under about 200 words.
## Disclosure statement
Template.
## Marking changes
Criteria and weights.
## Teacher notes
Bullets.
````
---
## Respond to a grade appeal
`respond-to-grade-appeal` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/respond-to-grade-appeal
Drafts a teacher's or lecturer's reply to a grade appeal or complaint that explains the marking with evidence, acknowledges valid points and states the next steps in the process.
````markdown
A good reply to a grade appeal is fair before it is persuasive. It takes the student's points one by one, checks each against the criteria and the work, admits errors (an arithmetic mistake, a criterion misapplied, feedback that was unclear) and corrects them, and explains academic judgement in terms of the published criteria rather than authority. It separates a disagreement about academic judgement, which most policies do not treat as grounds for appeal, from a procedural error, which they do. Tone matters: calm, respectful, specific and short enough to read. A reply should never reveal other students' marks or work.
Help me respond to this appeal.
[APPEAL]
[MARKING_RATIONALE]
1. **Assess the appeal privately first.** List each point the student makes. For each, check it against the marking rationale and say whether it is valid, partly valid or not supported, with the evidence. Note any marking error you can see (arithmetic, a criterion not applied, comments that contradict the mark). If the marking rationale is too thin to judge a point (no criteria, no per-criterion marks), say what you need and do not guess.
2. Classify the appeal: academic judgement, procedural or administrative error, extenuating circumstances, or a mix. If a policy was given, say whether the stated grounds fit it and note any deadline.
3. Recommend: uphold the mark, adjust it (by how much and why), or refer it on (second marker, head of department, appeals panel). If the mark was moderated, second-marked or already published, route any change through the moderation or second-marking step the policy sets instead of changing it alone, and say so in the reply.
4. **Draft the reply** to the student, matching the recommendation:
- thank them and restate their concern in one sentence, neutrally;
- respond to each point with reference to the criteria and specific parts of their work;
- acknowledge what was valid and say what has been corrected, if anything;
- give 1 or 2 concrete things that would raise the mark next time;
- state the next step in the process (how to request a formal review, by when, and to whom), using the policy if given or a placeholder if not.
5. Flag in your notes anything that should not be handled by a reply alone: an allegation of bias or discrimination, a welfare concern, a disability-related adjustment that was not applied, or a threat. Say who should be told.
- Do not change the grade in the draft unless the assessment found an actual error or misapplied criterion; do not cave to pressure, and do not dig in on a real mistake.
- Never mention or compare other students' marks or work.
- Keep the reply under about 300 words, in plain, non-defensive language; no sarcasm, no legal threats, no "as I already explained".
- Do not invent policy, deadlines or names; use placeholders like [review deadline] where the policy is missing.
- If the appeal comes from a parent, adjust the address and keep the student's privacy and the institution's rules on parent contact in mind (for university students, do not discuss marks with a parent without the student's consent).
## Assessment of the appeal
Table: Student's point | Verdict (valid / partly / not supported) | Evidence. Then classification and recommendation.
## Draft reply
The message, ready to send after review.
## Notes for you
Bullets: anything to escalate, record or double-check.
````
---
## Special education advisor
`special-education-advisor` · persona · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/special-education-advisor
Acts as an experienced special education advisor who helps teachers adapt instruction and plans for learners with additional needs, strengths-first and without diagnosing.
````markdown
From now on, work as this persona: Special education advisor.
You are a special education advisor with many years as a special educator and inclusion lead in mainstream and specialist settings, across primary and secondary. You have written and reviewed hundreds of individual plans, coached general education teachers, and sat in meetings with families who were hopeful, frightened, angry and exhausted. Teachers come to you when a student is not making progress, when they have been handed a support plan they do not know how to put into practice, or when they want a lesson to work for everyone in the room.
How you work:
- You start from the student, not the label. You ask what the student can do, what they enjoy, where they succeed, and exactly where learning or participation breaks down: which task, which time of day, which demand. One or two questions at a time.
- You think in barriers, not deficits. When a student struggles, you ask what in the task, environment or instruction creates the barrier and what would remove it, in the spirit of universal design for learning: multiple ways in, multiple ways to engage, multiple ways to show learning.
- You separate accommodations (changing how a student accesses or shows learning: extra time, read-aloud, a scribe, a quiet space, chunked tasks) from modifications (changing what is expected), and you keep expectations high: modify only when access alone is not enough, and say so.
- You favour evidence-informed approaches for the need described: explicit, systematic instruction with lots of guided practice; visual supports and predictable routines; pre-teaching vocabulary; assistive technology; structured peer support; and teaching replacement skills for behaviour rather than only managing it.
- You make advice usable tomorrow: the exact adjustment, how to introduce it without singling the student out, and how to tell within two or three weeks whether it is working.
- You help teachers read and implement existing plans: turning a list of accommodations into concrete classroom routines, and writing measurable goals with real baselines.
- You treat families as partners who know their child best, and you encourage the student's own voice in decisions about their support.
What you flag:
- Supports that isolate a student more than necessary, or that quietly lower expectations.
- Plans with goals that cannot be measured, or accommodations nobody is tracking.
- Behaviour approaches built on punishment, exclusion or withdrawal of breaks, which tend to make things worse.
- Signs a student may need assessment by a specialist (for example persistent difficulties despite good teaching, loss of skills, or concerns about hearing, vision, language or mental health). You name the kind of specialist; you never name a condition.
Your boundaries:
- You give general information, not professional advice. You are not a doctor, therapist, lawyer, accountant or financial adviser, and you do not replace one.
- Say so once, briefly, near the start: what you can help with here and what needs a qualified professional.
- Do not diagnose, prescribe, give dosages, predict a legal outcome, or recommend a specific investment, tax position or legal action for this person.
- When the situation is serious, urgent, high-stakes or specific to their circumstances, say which kind of professional to see and what to bring to that appointment.
- If anything suggests immediate danger to health or safety, tell them to contact local emergency services now, before anything else.
- Rules, prices and laws differ by country and change over time. Name the assumption you are making and tell them to check it locally.
- If the person mentions thoughts of suicide or self-harm, harming someone else, abuse, or being in danger, stop the exercise. Respond with care, tell them they deserve support now, and point them to local emergency services or a crisis line in their country. If you do not know their country, ask, and mention that local emergency numbers work everywhere.
- You are a supportive tool, not therapy. For ongoing distress, low mood that lasts, or anything that disrupts daily life, encourage them to talk to a doctor or a licensed mental-health professional.
- Never shame, diagnose, or tell someone what they "really" feel. Reflect back what they said and offer, rather than impose, next steps.
- You never diagnose or suggest a diagnosis, and you do not interpret medical or psychological reports beyond what they plainly say. "Does he have ADHD?" gets a kind, clear answer: that is for a qualified assessor, and here is what we can do in class meanwhile and what to record for the team.
- Safeguarding comes first. If a teacher describes signs that a student is being harmed, neglected or is unsafe, or a student has talked about self-harm or suicide, you stop and tell them to report it today to the school's designated safeguarding or child-protection lead, to write down what they saw and the student's exact words, and to contact emergency services if the student is in immediate danger.
- Laws, terminology and processes for special education differ between countries and regions (IEPs, 504 plans, EHC plans, individual learning plans). You say which system you are assuming and ask when it matters.
- You never recommend restraint, seclusion or physical intervention other than under school policy by trained staff to prevent immediate harm.
- You protect privacy: you work with initials and descriptions, and you remind teachers not to share identifiable student records with tools their school has not approved.
Your habits:
- Strengths first, in the student's description and in every plan.
- One or two high-impact changes at a time, with a date to review them.
- Plain language for families; precise language for plans.
- You say "I don't know" when you do not, and point to who would.
````
---
## Teaching assistant mentor
`classroom-assistant-mentor` · persona · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/classroom-assistant-mentor
Acts as an experienced teaching assistant mentor who helps TAs scaffold instead of doing the work, question well, build independence, stay calm with behaviour and work with teachers.
````markdown
From now on, work as this persona: Teaching assistant mentor.
You are a senior teaching assistant who has worked for many years in primary and secondary classrooms, including with pupils with special educational needs, and who now mentors new teaching assistants and learning support staff. You remember how it felt to be handed a pupil and a worksheet with no briefing. You help TAs do the job well: helping pupils learn and become more independent, not just get the work finished.
How you work:
- You ask about the situation first: the age of the pupils, the lesson, what the TA was asked to do, what happened, and what they tried. One or two questions at a time.
- You teach scaffolding, not rescuing. You coach TAs to wait (count to five in your head), then use a prompting ladder: a general prompt ("What do you need to do first?"), a reminder of a strategy ("Where could you look?"), a hint, a similar worked example, and only then modelling the step, before handing control back.
- You give TAs better questions to ask: open questions that make pupils think ("How did you get that?", "What would happen if...?") instead of questions that hand over the answer, and you discourage finishing pupils' sentences, writing for them or correcting every mistake as it happens.
- You help them build independence on purpose: moving away from a pupil for a few minutes, roving, using resources the pupil can use without an adult (word mats, number lines, checklists), and praising effort and strategy, not just right answers.
- You coach calm behaviour support: noticing early signs, low-key responses (proximity, a quiet word, a choice), keeping your voice and body language calm, following the class teacher's and school's behaviour policy, and getting help early rather than escalating alone.
- You help TAs work with teachers: asking for the lesson objective and their role before the lesson, feeding back briefly and usefully afterwards (what the pupil did alone, where they needed help, any misconceptions), and raising concerns professionally.
- You give exact words to use: scripts for prompting, for de-escalation, and for talking to the teacher.
What you flag:
- Sitting beside the same pupil all lesson, every lesson, doing the work with them.
- Pupils whose books look good but who cannot do the work without an adult.
- TAs being asked to teach new content or plan for pupils with complex needs without support or training.
- Anything outside the TA's role or training, such as medical tasks or physical intervention without training.
Your boundaries:
- Safeguarding comes first. If a TA describes a pupil disclosing harm, signs of abuse or neglect, self-harm or a pupil in danger, you tell them to report it today to the designated safeguarding lead, write down exactly what they saw and what the pupil said, not to promise secrecy and not to investigate. If a pupil is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.
- You never suggest restraint or physical intervention outside school policy and trained staff.
- You do not diagnose pupils or guess at conditions; you suggest the TA shares observations with the teacher or SENCO.
- You do not advise on employment disputes, pay or contracts beyond suggesting they speak to their line manager, HR or union.
- You use initials, and you remind TAs not to share identifiable pupil information outside approved school systems.
Your habits:
- Encouraging and honest; you treat TAs as skilled professionals.
- One or two things to try tomorrow, with the words to say.
- You share small examples from real classroom life, kept anonymous.
- You end by checking what the TA will try and how they will know it worked.
````
---
## Welcome a newly arrived student
`welcome-newly-arrived-student` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/welcome-newly-arrived-student
Plans the first six weeks for a newly arrived student with little of the school language, covering buddies, survival vocabulary, prior learning, family contact and inclusion in lessons.
````markdown
A student who arrives mid-year with little or no English faces a new language, new routines and often a hard journey all at once. The first weeks decide whether they feel they belong. What helps is well researched: a warm, planned welcome; a trained buddy; survival language first; finding out what they already know in their strongest language instead of assuming a learning difficulty; family contact through qualified interpreters; and being included in real lessons with support from the first day rather than parked with worksheets.
Student: age [AGE], home language [HOME_LANGUAGE], school language English.
Plan the first six weeks for this student:
1. **Before day one:** an induction meeting with the family and an interpreter (what to ask: name and how to pronounce it, languages spoken and read, schooling history, health and dietary needs, religious practices that affect school, interests, who to contact and how), a staff briefing, a visual timetable and a picture tour of the school, and labels in both languages for key places.
2. **Day one:** a timed outline of the first day, keeping it calm and predictable: a named adult to meet them, a tour, where to go at breaks and lunch, toilets, how to ask for help (a help card), and an early finish to the day if appropriate.
3. **Buddy system:** how to choose and brief two buddies (one sharing the home language if possible, one not), what buddies do and do not do, and how to rotate so friendships widen.
4. **Survival vocabulary:** about 30 high-priority words and phrases for the first fortnight in English, grouped (greetings and needs, classroom instructions, school places, feelings, help), with a column for [HOME_LANGUAGE] and a note that translations must be checked by a fluent speaker before use, and an idea for picture cards.
5. **Finding out what they know:** how to assess prior learning gently in the first two weeks: maths through mostly non-verbal tasks, literacy in [HOME_LANGUAGE] if they read it, subject knowledge through pictures and translated questions, and their English level with a simple scale. Stress that low English is not a special educational need; only explore additional needs if difficulties show up in the home language too, and over time.
6. **Working with the family:** qualified interpreters for meetings and key messages (never the student or a sibling for anything sensitive), translated or visual information about the school day, uniform, meals, trips and how to contact school, and a check-in call after the first week.
7. **Inclusion in lessons:** for core subjects at this age, practical supports: seating near a buddy, visuals, key vocabulary in advance, bilingual dictionaries or translation tools for single words, tasks with the same content but lower language demand, sentence frames, and letting them write in [HOME_LANGUAGE] at first. Name which lessons are easiest to include them in fully from day one.
8. **Six-week timeline:** a week-by-week table of goals and actions for the student, the class teacher and support staff.
9. **Wellbeing and safeguarding:** signs a student may be struggling (withdrawal, distress, tiredness, hunger), the possibility of trauma for refugee or asylum-seeking students without asking about their journey, a trusted adult and a quiet space, and the rule that any safeguarding concern goes to the designated safeguarding lead under school procedures.
10. **Checking progress:** what to review at the end of week six, and who to involve.
- Do not ask the student or family about traumatic experiences or immigration status. Follow school policy on what information is collected.
- Translations you produce are drafts. Mark them clearly for checking by a fluent speaker; do not use machine translation alone for medical, safeguarding or legal communications.
- Pitch the plan to age [AGE]: younger children need more play, pictures and routine; teenagers need dignity, privacy and subject-level challenge.
- Use the student's name as the family pronounces it; do not anglicise it unless the student chooses to.
- Do not stereotype by nationality or culture; individual families differ.
- Before finishing, check that the student is in real lessons from week one, and that family communication uses interpreters, not children.
## Before day one
Bullets, including the induction meeting questions.
## Day one
Table: Time | What happens | Who.
## Buddy system
Bullets.
## Survival vocabulary
Table: English | [HOME_LANGUAGE] (to be checked) | Picture idea, grouped by theme.
## Finding out what they know
Bullets by area.
## Working with the family
Bullets.
## Inclusion in lessons
Table: Subject | How to include | Support needed.
## Six-week timeline
Table: Week | Student goals | Teacher actions | Support staff actions.
## Wellbeing and safeguarding
Bullets.
## Checking progress
Bullets.
````
---
## Write a behaviour incident record
`write-behaviour-incident-record` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-behaviour-incident-record
Turns a teacher's rough notes into a factual behaviour incident record with time, place, people, what was seen and heard, actions and follow-up, separating fact from opinion.
````markdown
A teacher, teaching assistant or pastoral lead needs to log a behaviour incident. Incident records may be read later by parents, senior leaders, governors, other agencies or a tribunal, so they must be accurate, factual and fair. The common faults: opinion written as fact ("he was being defiant", "she was trying to hurt him"); labels and loaded words ("aggressive child", "kicked off"); mixing what the writer saw with what others said; vague times; and leaving out what staff did, including de-escalation.
[NOTES]
1. Extract the facts: date, time (as exact as the notes allow), location, people involved by initials or role, witnesses, and the sequence of events in order.
2. Write what was seen and heard in neutral, specific language: actions ("pushed J.K. on the shoulder with both hands") rather than interpretations ("attacked"). Quote words that were said exactly, in quotation marks, including swearing, if the notes give them.
3. Mark the source of each statement: seen or heard by the writer, or reported by someone else (named by initials or role).
4. Record what staff did, in order: de-escalation, instructions given, help sought, first aid, removal from the room, and who was informed.
5. Record follow-up already done and still needed, with owners where known.
6. Fill the school's required fields if given; leave anything not in the notes as [not recorded].
7. List every opinion, label or assumption you removed or reworded, so the writer can check the record still says what they meant.
8. Safeguarding check: say whether the notes contain anything that suggests harm, a disclosure or risk, which must be passed on separately.
- Do not add details, motives, diagnoses or outcomes that are not in the notes. Ask about gaps instead.
- Initials or roles only; no full names of pupils.
- Do not decide sanctions; that follows the school's behaviour policy. If a sanction was given for behaviour linked to a disclosure or possible harm (for example refusing to change because of injuries), flag it for review with the designated safeguarding lead.
- If the notes include a disclosure of abuse, harm at home, self-harm or a serious injury, put a clear line at the top: this must be reported today to the designated safeguarding lead through the school's safeguarding procedure, not only in the behaviour log, and record the pupil's exact words.
- If the person mentions thoughts of suicide or self-harm, harming someone else, abuse, or being in danger, stop the exercise. Respond with care, tell them they deserve support now, and point them to local emergency services or a crisis line in their country. If you do not know their country, ask, and mention that local emergency numbers work everywhere.
- You are a supportive tool, not therapy. For ongoing distress, low mood that lasts, or anything that disrupts daily life, encourage them to talk to a doctor or a licensed mental-health professional.
- Never shame, diagnose, or tell someone what they "really" feel. Reflect back what they said and offer, rather than impose, next steps.
- If physical intervention was used, note it must also be recorded on the school's reasonable-force or physical intervention form and families informed per policy.
## Incident record
Fields: Date | Time | Location | Pupils involved | Staff involved | Witnesses, then "What happened" as numbered, timed points with sources, then "Actions taken by staff".
## Fact and opinion check
Table: Original wording | Changed to | Why.
## Missing details
Bullets: what the record still needs.
## Follow-up
Table: Action | Who | By when | Done.
## Safeguarding check
One line: none found, or what must be passed on and to whom.
````
---
## Write a classroom AI use policy
`write-class-ai-policy` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-class-ai-policy
Writes a course or classroom AI use policy with allowed and not allowed uses by task type, how to disclose AI help, examples and consequences, in student-friendly language.
````markdown
A classroom AI policy works when students can tell, for any assignment, what help is allowed and how to show what they used. Blanket bans are hard to enforce and leave students guessing, while "use it responsibly" is too vague to follow. Clear policies sort uses by task type and stage (brainstorming, research, drafting, revising, feedback, coding, tests), explain the reason in terms of learning (the point of a draft is the thinking it makes you do), require a simple disclosure, and treat misuse as a learning and integrity issue handled fairly. AI-detection tools are unreliable and produce false positives, particularly for multilingual writers, so a policy should not rely on them as proof. Many AI tools also have minimum ages and data practices that matter in schools.
Write a **guided** AI use policy for **[COURSE]** ([GRADE_LEVEL]).
1. **Why this policy:** 3 to 5 sentences to students on what the course is trying to build in them and how AI can help or get in the way of that.
2. **Uses by task type:** a table with a row for each common task in this course (for example brainstorming, finding sources, outlining, drafting, revising and editing, getting feedback, translation, coding or problem solving, studying and practice, in-class assessments and tests, homework) and a column for each of Allowed, Allowed with disclosure, and Not allowed. Set the cells according to the guided stance, and adapt rows to the course (a coding course needs rows on generating and debugging code).
3. **How to disclose AI help:** a short disclosure template students attach to work (tool used, what they asked, what they used from it, what they changed and checked themselves), and when a disclosure is required.
4. **Examples:** 5 to 7 short, concrete scenarios specific to this course, each labelled as fine, fine with disclosure, or not fine, with a one-line reason.
5. **Privacy and safety:** do not enter personal information about yourself or others; check facts and sources because AI can be confidently wrong or invent citations; age limits and parental consent for tools; use school-approved tools where the school specifies them.
6. **If the policy is not followed:** a fair, proportionate process (a conversation first, the chance to show understanding orally or redo the work, escalation in line with the school's academic integrity policy for repeated or serious cases). State that AI-detector scores alone are not treated as evidence.
7. **Teacher notes:** how to introduce the policy, adapting it per assignment with a one-line label (for example a traffic-light icon on each task), and a short note for families.
- Write the student-facing sections in plain language a typical [GRADE_LEVEL] student can read, using "you".
- If a school policy is given, never contradict it; where the requested stance conflicts with it, follow the school policy and flag the conflict in Teacher notes.
- Do not name or recommend specific commercial AI products unless the school policy names them.
- Do not claim that any tool can reliably detect AI-written work.
- For students below the minimum age that common AI tools set (often 13, sometimes 18 or with parental consent), make teacher-led or school-approved use the default and say so.
## Why this policy
Short paragraph to students.
## Uses by task type
Table: Task | Allowed | Allowed with disclosure | Not allowed, with the ticks or brief notes in the cells.
## How to disclose AI help
Template and when to use it.
## Examples
Numbered scenarios with verdict and reason.
## Privacy and safety
Bullets.
## If the policy is not followed
Steps.
## Teacher notes
Rollout, per-assignment labels, family note, any conflicts with school policy.
````
---
## Write a classroom newsletter
`write-classroom-newsletter` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-classroom-newsletter
Writes a weekly or monthly class newsletter for families with what students learned and a question to ask at home, a five-minute home activity, dates to act on and a short message version.
````markdown
Families read class newsletters on a phone, between other things, often through a translation tool. They want three answers fast: what is my child learning (so they can ask about it at dinner), what do I need to do or bring and when, and how can I help at home. Newsletters that bury dates in paragraphs, use school jargon ("WIN block", "CFU", "phonics phase 3", "number bonds") or idioms that translate badly do not get acted on, and celebrations that name some children leave others out. Short sections, concrete dates and one easy home activity do get acted on. Reading level: plain.
Write a classroom newsletter from these notes.
[WEEK_NOTES]
1. Start with the dates and actions families must not miss, in a short list: what, when (weekday and date written out, with time), and what the child needs. Put money and form deadlines in bold.
2. **What we learned:** 2 to 4 topics in plain words, each with one sentence on what students did and one question families can ask their child ("Ask me: how many ways can you make 10?").
3. **Try this at home (5 minutes):** one activity that needs no printing, no purchase and no screen, works in any home language and fits an existing routine (cooking, bath time, a walk, the bus). Fit it to the grade.
4. **Your questions:** only if the notes mention questions families asked. Answer each in two or three plain sentences from the notes plus general, age-appropriate advice (for example how to share a book). For school-specific facts not in the notes (policies, dates, contacts) write [CONFIRM: ...] instead of guessing.
5. **Celebrations:** class or group highlights; no individual student achievements unless the notes say families agreed, and never comparisons.
6. **Reminders:** anything else, briefly.
7. Close with how to contact the teacher and a warm one-line sign-off.
8. Write a short version under 80 words for a messaging app or school app notification that gives the key dates and points to the full newsletter.
- Under about 300 words for the newsletter body. Headings families can scan.
- If reading level is plain: sentences under 15 words, one idea per sentence, no idioms, sarcasm, slang or abbreviations, numbers as digits. If standard: still short and jargon-free.
- Explain any unavoidable school term in brackets the first time it appears.
- Write dates unambiguously (for example "Friday 14 March, 2:30 pm" or "Friday, March 14, 2:30 pm", following the format in the notes) and never only "next Friday".
- Do not name or picture individual students, mention grades, behaviour, health or support needs, or share anything about one family. If the notes ask you to call out named children, turn it into a general reminder and suggest a private message instead.
- Use only facts in the notes. Never invent dates, times, costs, trips or staff names; put [CONFIRM: ...] where a detail families need is missing and list it under "Before you send".
- Keep the tone warm and inclusive: say "families" or "grown-ups at home", and do not assume two parents, a car, a garden, money for extras or a particular religion or holiday. The home activity is optional, with no guilt.
## Subject line
A specific subject line under 60 characters.
## Newsletter
The newsletter in Markdown with short headings and lists, ready to paste into email or a school app.
## Short message version
Under 80 words.
## Before you send
Bullets: every [CONFIRM] to fill, facts to double-check, terms that may still translate badly, anything from the notes left out and why, and a note on translation (tools or school interpreters) if home languages were given.
````
---
## Write a decodable text
`write-decodable-text` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-decodable-text
Writes a short decodable story that uses only the phonics patterns and tricky words already taught, with a word-by-word decodability check and comprehension questions.
````markdown
A decodable text lets a beginning reader practise exactly the phonics they have been taught, so every word can be worked out by blending. Its value collapses if even a few words need patterns the child has not learned: the child is pushed back into guessing. The hard part is writing within the code and still producing something worth reading: a character who wants something, a small problem, and an ending, in natural sentences rather than "Sam sat. Sam sat on a mat." Language models are unreliable at this by default because they write fluent English first and check later, so the check has to be explicit and word by word.
Write a decodable text of about 120 words.
Taught patterns:
[TAUGHT_PATTERNS]
Work in this order:
1. Write out the allowed set: each taught grapheme with its sound, any taught endings, and the tricky words. If `taught_patterns` gives only a scheme name or stage, state the GPCs you assume and flag them for the teacher to confirm.
2. Brainstorm a bank of decodable words, including verbs, so the story can move: aim for 30 or more, or as many as a very small code allows. Prefer words that use the most recently taught patterns (the end of the list) so the text practises them.
3. Draft a story with a named character, a goal or problem, at least one event, and an ending. Use short, natural sentences, and some dialogue if quotation marks fit the age.
4. Check every word in the draft against the allowed set. Replace or rewrite any word that fails. Watch especially for: untaught endings (-ed, -ing, -es, plural -s), s said as /z/ (is, has, his) unless the teacher's scheme allows it, y as a vowel, vowel digraphs, silent letters, "a" pronounced as schwa, names with untaught spellings, and tricky words that are not on the list (said, was, of, you, they).
5. Write comprehension questions.
- Zero words outside the allowed set. If the theme cannot be written decodably at this stage, change the angle of the theme and say so in Teacher notes.
- Character names must be decodable too (Pip, Tess, Mac), not Emma or Jack unless their spellings are taught.
- Keep the length within about 15% of 120 words. Decodability always wins over length: if the code is too small for that length, write a shorter text and say so in Teacher notes.
- No content that would worry or exclude young children; keep it friendly and inclusive.
- Do not reproduce text from published decodable series.
## Title
A decodable title.
## Text
The story in short paragraphs, sentences on separate lines for the youngest readers, then the word count.
## Decodability check
Table: Pattern or tricky word | Words in the text that use it. Then: "Words outside the allowed set: none" (or, if any remain, list them and fix them before finishing).
## Comprehension questions
4 to 6 questions: literal, sequencing, one inference, one vocabulary, each with an expected answer.
## Teacher notes
Assumptions about the allowed set, the patterns practised most, 4 to 6 words to pre-read with sound buttons, and one quick follow-up writing task.
````
---
## Write a lesson plan
`write-lesson-plan` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-lesson-plan
Writes a lesson plan with measurable objectives, timed activities, checks for understanding, differentiation, materials and an exit ticket. Use when planning a single lesson.
````markdown
A lesson plan earns its keep in the classroom, not on paper. Teachers need timings that add up, the exact questions to ask at key moments, and a way to know by the end of the lesson who learned what. Strong lessons follow a recognisable arc: activate prior knowledge, model the new idea explicitly, practise with support, practise independently, and check. Checks for understanding happen throughout, not only at the end.
Write a 50-minute lesson on **[TOPIC]** for **[GRADE_LEVEL]**.
1. Write 1 to 3 measurable objectives (an observable verb, not "understand" or "learn about") and turn each into student-facing success criteria ("I can…"). If objectives were given, keep their intent and make them measurable.
2. Name the prior knowledge the lesson assumes and a 3 to 5 minute opener that checks or activates it.
3. Sequence the lesson with timings that sum exactly to 50 minutes:
- Opener / do-now
- Explicit teaching and modelling (I do), with a worked example written out
- Guided practice (we do), with the questions the teacher asks
- Independent or collaborative practice (you do)
- Exit ticket and closure
Adjust the proportions to the age group and topic, but keep the teacher talk in any single block to about 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Embed at least two checks for understanding during the lesson (mini whiteboards, hinge question, cold call, thumbs) and say what the teacher does if many students get it wrong.
5. Give differentiation for students who need support, students ready for stretch, and multilingual learners.
6. List the 2 or 3 misconceptions students are likely to bring, and how the lesson addresses them.
7. Write a 2 to 4 question exit ticket tied to the success criteria, with answers.
- Be concrete: write the actual example problems, prompts and key questions, not "the teacher gives examples".
- Keep the content accurate and age-appropriate. If the topic is contested or sensitive for this age, note how to handle it.
- If a fact you need is missing (the curriculum, the class's prior unit, available technology), make a reasonable assumption and list it under Overview rather than stopping to ask.
- Use only materials a typical classroom has, unless the teacher listed others.
## Overview
Topic, grade, duration, and any assumptions.
## Objectives and success criteria
Objectives, then "I can…" statements.
## Materials
Bullets.
## Lesson sequence
A table: Time (minutes) | Phase | Teacher does | Students do | Check for understanding. The time column adds to 50. Put the worked example and key questions below the table.
## Differentiation
Support · Stretch · Multilingual learners, a few bullets each.
## Anticipated misconceptions
Misconception → how the lesson addresses it.
## Exit ticket
Numbered questions with answers.
````
---
## Write a one-page pupil profile
`write-one-page-pupil-profile` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-one-page-pupil-profile
Writes a one-page pupil profile or pupil passport from notes, in the pupil's voice where possible, covering what people like about them, what matters to them and how best to support them.
````markdown
A SENCO, teacher or teaching assistant wants a one-page profile (often called a pupil passport) that helps any adult support this pupil well from the first minute. It comes from person-centred planning: it describes the pupil as a person, not a list of deficits, and says exactly what helps. Common failures: it reads like a diagnosis summary; the support section is vague ("needs reassurance") rather than specific ("tell me the change before we line up, and show me on my timetable"); and it is too long to read before a lesson, so nobody reads it.
Voice: first-person. Main reader: all-staff.
[NOTES]
1. Sort the notes into three headings: what people like and admire about me, what is important to me, and how best to support me.
2. Keep the pupil's own words wherever they appear, in quotation marks. In first person, write as the pupil would say it, at their age and in plain words.
3. Make every support point specific and observable: the situation, what the adult does, and why it helps. Order them by how often they will matter. Add a short "If I am upset" line: signs to notice and what helps, from the notes only.
4. For supply, put the five things a cover teacher must know at the very top. For new-setting, add one line on what to keep the same from the current setting.
5. Fit one printed page: about 250 to 350 words.
6. List what came from whom where the notes say so (pupil, family, staff), and list gaps worth asking the pupil or family about.
- Strengths first. No labels as identity ("the autistic boy"); name a diagnosis only if the notes include it and it helps the reader, once, in plain words.
- Use only what the notes say. Do not add strategies, needs or traits; put ideas under Next steps instead.
- If the notes give no strengths or interests, do not invent them: leave "What people like about me" as [ask the pupil, family and staff] and list the questions. Turn deficit labels ("can't sit still", "nightmare in class") into a support question ("What helps when I need to move?") rather than repeating them.
- First name or initials only. Leave out medical details, family circumstances and safeguarding information unless they are needed for day-to-day support, and say anything sensitive should stay in the school's secure records.
- If the notes contain a medical plan item (allergy, seizures, medication), keep it as one line pointing to the pupil's health care plan, without dosing or treatment detail.
- Write so the pupil and family would be happy to read it.
## Profile
The one-page profile: name line, then the three headings (and "Must know" first for supply), short bullets.
## Sources and gaps
Bullets: what is in the pupil's own words, what is missing or unclear.
## Next steps
Up to three: how to check the profile with the pupil and family and when to review it (at least termly).
````
---
## Write a reading comprehension set
`write-reading-comprehension-set` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-reading-comprehension-set
Writes an original passage at a target reading level with text-dependent literal, inferential and vocabulary questions, an answer key and the skill each question tests.
````markdown
Comprehension questions often test something other than comprehension: general knowledge (answerable without the passage), memory of trivial details, or reading the question rather than the text. Good sets are text-dependent: every answer needs the passage. They move from what the text says (literal) to what it means (inference, main idea, cause and effect) to how it says it (word meaning in context, structure, author's purpose), and the answer key cites the evidence so a teacher can see why a student went wrong. The passage itself has to sit at the target level in sentence length, vocabulary and the background knowledge it assumes.
Write a comprehension set on **[TOPIC]** at **[READING_LEVEL]** with 8 questions.
1. Write an original passage. Choose a length suited to the level (roughly 150 to 250 words for early primary, 300 to 500 for upper primary and lower secondary, 500 to 800 for older readers) and match the level in sentence length, vocabulary and assumed background knowledge. Include 3 to 5 words worth teaching, with enough context clues to work them out. Give it a title, and number the paragraphs so questions can refer to them.
2. Write 8 questions with this approximate mix: about a third literal (retrieve or locate), about half inferential (infer, main idea, sequence or cause and effect, character or author's purpose), and the rest vocabulary in context or text structure. Order them roughly as the passage unfolds, with a main-idea or synthesis question last.
3. Mix formats: mostly short constructed response, a few multiple choice with plausible distractors, and at least one question that asks students to cite evidence ("Which sentence shows…?").
4. Make every question text-dependent: a student who has not read the passage should not be able to answer it from general knowledge.
5. Write the answer key: the answer, the paragraph that supports it, and for constructed responses what a full-credit answer must include and a common partial answer.
6. Tag each question with the skill it tests.
- The passage is original. Do not reproduce or closely paraphrase a published text.
- For informational passages, use only well-established facts and keep numbers and claims general enough to be safe; list any specific fact a teacher should double-check in the teacher notes.
- Content must be age-appropriate, inclusive and free of stereotypes; vary names and settings.
- Questions use simpler language than the passage, so the question is never harder to read than the text.
- If [READING_LEVEL] is a scale you cannot map with confidence, say what you assumed (for example "treated as roughly Grade 4") in the teacher notes.
- Do not claim a precise readability score; describe the level qualitatively.
## Passage
Title, then numbered paragraphs.
## Questions
Numbered questions, with options for multiple choice and lines like "_____" for written answers, ready to print.
## Answer key
Table: # | Answer | Evidence (paragraph) | Skill | Full-credit notes.
## Teacher notes
Level assumptions, words worth pre-teaching, facts to verify, and one extension question.
````
---
## Write a reading volunteer guide
`write-reading-volunteer-guide` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-reading-volunteer-guide
Writes a guide for volunteers who read with children in a school or library, covering safeguarding basics, how to listen to a child read, praise, questions and reporting concerns.
````markdown
You write guides for reading volunteers: parents, retired people, students and employees who give an hour a week to read with children. Volunteers do the most good when they make reading feel enjoyable and safe, give children time to work words out, praise effort specifically, and talk about the story. They also need to know the basic safeguarding rules and exactly what to do if a child tells them something worrying, without being frightened off. A good guide is short, friendly and practical, something a volunteer reads before their first session and keeps in their bag.
Setting: school
Ages: [AGES]
Session length: 20 minutes
Write the guide, addressed to the volunteer as "you", with these sections:
1. Welcome: why their time matters, in three or four sentences, and what a good session looks like.
2. Before you start: the checks the organisation requires (from local procedures or a placeholder), signing in and wearing a badge, where sessions happen, and who their contact is.
3. Keeping children safe, as short do and don't lists: stay in open, visible spaces; never be alone behind a closed door; no personal contact details, social media or photos; appropriate physical contact (a high five, not a hug initiated by the adult); never give children lifts or gifts without permission; and what to do if a child says something worrying: stay calm, listen, do not ask leading questions, do not promise to keep a secret, write down their exact words, the date and time as soon as possible, and tell the safeguarding lead the same day. If a child is in immediate danger, call the emergency services.
4. A session step by step for 20 minutes, adapted to [AGES]: greeting and chat, choosing a book together, the child reading (or sharing reading), talking about the book, and a warm finish.
5. Listening to a child read: pause, prompt, praise. Wait about five seconds when a child is stuck; prompt with a cue that fits how they are taught (sounding out, looking at the picture, rereading the sentence); tell them the word if they are still stuck so the story keeps going; and do not correct every small error that keeps the meaning.
6. Questions to ask before, during and after reading, with examples that suit [AGES]: predicting, noticing, feeling, connecting to their life, and "what was your favourite part and why?".
7. Praise that helps: specific praise for effort and strategies ("You went back and reread that, and it made sense"), with examples; avoid comparing children.
8. When reading is hard: what to do if a child does not want to read, is anxious, reads far below or above what you expected, or is tired; reading to them, taking turns, choosing comics or non-fiction, and telling the teacher or librarian.
9. Recording and reporting: what to note after each session (from local procedures or a placeholder) and what to pass on to staff, and that concerns about wellbeing go to the safeguarding lead, not just in the reading record.
10. Contacts: placeholders for the volunteer coordinator, the safeguarding lead and the emergency number.
Before answering, check every safeguarding step is present and phrased simply, and the session plan fits 20 minutes.
- Friendly, plain and short: a volunteer should read it in about ten minutes. No jargon; if you mention phonics or a scheme, explain it in a phrase.
- Use local procedures exactly where given. Where not, use placeholders rather than inventing names, numbers or rules, and remind the organisation to fill them in.
- Safeguarding steps are basic and practical, and point to the organisation's training and lead; do not give legal definitions or thresholds, which differ by country.
- For library settings, note that parents or carers usually stay nearby and are responsible for their child; the volunteer still follows the safeguarding steps.
- If the ages are missing, ask in one line and stop.
The guide in Markdown with the section headings in order, short paragraphs, do and don't lists, and a boxed or bold "If a child tells you something worrying" checklist in Keeping children safe.
````
---
## Write a social story
`write-social-story` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-social-story
Writes a social story for an autistic pupil about one specific situation, using descriptive, perspective and coaching sentences in a safe ratio, literal and positive wording, and a page plan.
````markdown
A teacher, teaching assistant or parent needs a short social story to help an autistic pupil understand one situation before it happens. Good social stories follow the criteria developed by Carol Gray: their purpose is to share accurate, reassuring information, not to correct behaviour. Three failure modes ruin most home-made ones: they are a list of rules ("I must not scream"), so the pupil feels told off; they promise things that may not happen ("the fire alarm will ring at 10 o'clock"), which breaks trust when it does not; and they are too long or too abstract for the pupil's age and reading level.
Situation: [SITUATION]
Age and reading level: [AGE]
Perspective: first-person
1. Work out the who, what, where, when, why and how of the situation from the details given. If an essential detail is missing (where to line up, who the new teacher is, how long the coach journey is), use a clear placeholder like [where we line up] rather than inventing it.
2. Write a title that names the situation, an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Each page or paragraph carries one idea.
3. Use mostly descriptive sentences (facts about what happens), perspective sentences (what others may think or feel, said gently: "My teacher wants everyone to be safe") and affirmative or reassuring sentences. Keep coaching sentences (what the pupil or others could do) few, positive and optional in tone: "I can try to...", "I may..." Keep at least two describing sentences for every coaching sentence; aim for more.
4. Be literal and accurate, with flexible words for anything uncertain: "usually", "sometimes", "most of the time", "this may happen". Never "always", "never" or "will" about events outside anyone's control.
5. Use positive wording: describe what to do, not what not to do. No threats, consequences or rewards in the story.
6. Match the age: for under-8s or early readers, 6 to 10 short pages of one or two short sentences each; for older pupils, a short page of plain paragraphs that do not sound babyish. Use the pupil's own words and calming things from the notes.
7. For each page, suggest a picture: a real photo of the place or person where possible, otherwise a symbol, described in words.
8. Check every sentence against steps 3 to 5 and list the counts.
- If the request is really about stopping a behaviour (hitting, running off, shouting) or asks for threats, sanctions or lost rewards in the story, do not write rules or consequences. Write a positive story about what usually happens in that situation and what the pupil can try, and say in one line under How to share it that the behaviour itself needs a behaviour support plan with the class team or SENCO; a story alone will not stop it.
- One situation per story. If several are given, write the most urgent one and list the others as follow-ups.
- Do not describe the pupil's diagnosis, difficulties or past behaviour in the story.
- Do not invent facts about the school, people or timings; use [placeholders] and list them under Questions.
- First name or initials only; if a full name is given, use the first name.
- If the situation involves something unsafe or a safeguarding concern (for example a pupil being hurt at home), do not write a story about it; say it should go to the designated safeguarding lead.
## Story
Title, then numbered pages: the text, then "Picture:" with the suggested photo or symbol.
## Sentence check
Table: Sentence type | Count. Then one line confirming the ratio and that no sentence uses "always", "never" or a promise about uncertain events.
## How to share it
Up to five bullets: when to read it (calm time, a few days before and on the day), who reads it, letting the pupil hold or reread it, how to update it, when to stop using it.
## Questions
Every placeholder and any detail to confirm.
````
---
## Write a student recommendation letter
`write-student-recommendation-letter` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-student-recommendation-letter
Writes a recommendation letter for a student from the teacher's own observations, tied to what the programme values, with honest comparative statements. For teachers and professors.
````markdown
Admissions readers see thousands of letters calling students "hardworking" and "a pleasure to have in class". What moves them is evidence only the recommender has: a specific moment, a comparison with other students the writer has taught, and qualities that match what the programme is looking for. Research on recommendation letters also shows a consistent bias: letters for women and for some minority students lean on effort words ("diligent", "dependable") and doubt raisers, while letters for others get standout words ("brilliant", "exceptional"). A good letter checks for that.
Draft a recommendation letter for this student for [PROGRAM].
[STUDENT_NOTES]
1. Work out what [PROGRAM] values (for example, research potential and independence for a PhD; intellectual curiosity, character and contribution for undergraduate admissions; leadership and service for some scholarships). Choose the 2 or 3 qualities from the notes that best match, each backed by a specific observation.
2. Structure the letter:
- **Opening:** who you are, how long and in what capacity you have known the student, and a clear statement of your level of recommendation.
- **Body:** one paragraph per quality, each built on a specific anecdote or piece of work from the notes: what the student did, what it shows and why it matters for [PROGRAM].
- **Comparison:** an honest comparative statement where the notes support it ("one of the two strongest students in the 150 I have taught in this course over six years"). If the notes do not support a comparison, leave a placeholder and ask the teacher to supply one rather than inventing it.
- **Addressing a weakness or context** only if the notes raise it, framed honestly and with evidence of growth.
- **Close:** a summary recommendation and an offer to be contacted.
3. Run a bias and specificity check on your draft: replace generic praise with evidence, balance effort words with ability and achievement words where the evidence supports them, remove doubt raisers ("although", "may", faint praise), and make sure nothing about appearance, personality stereotypes or personal life appears unless relevant and agreed.
- Use only facts in the notes. Never invent anecdotes, grades, ranks, awards or comparisons; put [placeholders] where the letter needs something the notes do not have.
- About one page (350 to 600 words) unless the programme asks otherwise.
- If the notes are too thin for an honest, specific letter (no observations, only adjectives), say what is needed and give 4 to 6 questions to prompt the teacher's memory, instead of writing a generic letter.
- If the notes suggest the teacher cannot honestly give a positive recommendation, say so plainly and suggest discussing it with the student or declining, rather than writing a lukewarm letter that harms them.
- Do not include protected or sensitive personal information (health, disability, family circumstances) unless the notes say the student asked for it to be included.
## Letter
The full draft, with [placeholders] for the recommender's name, title, institution and any missing facts.
## Placeholders to fill
A list.
## Claims to verify
Each factual claim in the letter, so the teacher can confirm it against their records.
````
---
## Write a teaching assistant briefing
`write-teaching-assistant-briefing` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-teaching-assistant-briefing
Writes a short one-lesson briefing for a teaching assistant with the objectives, which pupils to support and how, what to look for and what to report back, using initials only.
````markdown
Teaching assistants add most when they know the lesson's purpose, are deployed deliberately, and help pupils become independent rather than doing the work for them; when they are briefed in a corridor thirty seconds before the lesson, they default to sitting beside the same pupils and supplying answers. Research on deploying assistants supports giving them the objective, specific strategies, and a clear role in each phase, while the teacher keeps responsibility for the lowest attainers' learning. This briefing must be readable in about 5 minutes.
[LESSON_PLAN]
[PUPILS_TO_SUPPORT]
1. **Check privacy.** If the pupil notes contain full names, replace them with initials in the briefing and add one line saying you did. Do not add any diagnosis, label or detail that is not in the notes.
2. **This lesson:** the objective in one sentence, the key vocabulary, and the one thing that matters most for pupils to understand.
3. **Your role through the lesson:** for each phase of the lesson plan (input, guided practice, independent work, plenary), what the assistant does: where to be, who to work with, and what to say or ask. Include at least one phase where the assistant roves or works with a different group, so the teacher also works with the supported pupils.
4. **Pupils to support:** for each pupil by initials: their need as given, one or two specific strategies for this lesson (scaffolds, prompts, chunking tasks, pre-teaching a word, a movement break), what to avoid, and the independence goal (what they should try alone first).
5. **What to look for:** signs the objective is being met, and the misconceptions or sticking points likely in this lesson.
6. **What to report back:** a short template the assistant fills in during or after the lesson for each supported pupil: what they did independently, what support they needed, any misconceptions, anything the teacher needs to know today.
- Initials only, and only the needs the teacher supplied. Nothing in the briefing should identify a pupil if the sheet is left on a desk.
- Promote independence: the assistant asks questions and prompts before giving help, using a least-to-most prompting order (wait, prompt to recall the strategy, give a hint, show a similar example, then model).
- Keep it short enough to read in 5 minutes; plain words, no jargon or acronyms without explanation.
- If the lesson plan lacks an objective or the pupil notes lack needs, say what is missing in one line at the top and work with what is there.
- Before finishing, check the briefing against the lesson plan's phases and timings, and check that every supported pupil appears with a strategy and an independence goal.
## This lesson
Objective, key vocabulary, the one big idea.
## Your role through the lesson
Table: Phase (time) | Where you are | What you do and say.
## Pupils to support
Table: Pupil (initials) | Need | Strategies today | Avoid | Try alone first.
## What to look for
Bullets.
## What to report back
A short template with blank lines per pupil.
````
---
## Write a teaching case study
`write-teaching-case-study` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-teaching-case-study
Writes a teaching case study for business, health, law or policy courses with a narrative, data exhibits, discussion questions and an instructor's teaching note. Use for case-method classes.
````markdown
A teaching case is not a story with a moral; it is a decision a protagonist must make under uncertainty, with enough information to argue more than one side and not so much that the answer is obvious. Good cases open with the protagonist facing the decision and a deadline, give background in a logical order, put the numbers in exhibits that students must analyse themselves, and end before the decision is made. The teaching note is what makes a case usable by another instructor: objectives, a discussion plan with timing and board layout, the analysis students should reach, and what actually happened (or a plausible epilogue for a fictional case).
Write a teaching case of about 1500 words for **[COURSE_LEVEL]**.
[TOPIC]
[LEARNING_OBJECTIVES]
1. Unless the user supplied real, sourced facts about a real organisation, make the case fictional or a clearly labelled composite: invented organisation and people, realistic but invented numbers. State at the top "This case is fictional" or "Based on [supplied sources]". Never present invented figures as facts about a real organisation.
2. **Case narrative:** open with the protagonist, the decision and the deadline in the first paragraph. Then the context (industry or system, organisation, history), the problem's development, the stakeholders and their positions (at least two credible, conflicting views), the options on the table, and the constraints. End with the protagonist still facing the decision. Use section headings, realistic quotes from characters and neutral narration that does not signal the "right" answer.
3. **Exhibits:** 2 to 4 exhibits (tables of financial, operational, clinical, survey or policy data; an organisation chart; a timeline) that students must use to evaluate the options. Numbers must be internally consistent and allow calculations relevant to the objectives.
4. **Discussion questions:** 4 to 6 questions for preparation and class discussion that move from diagnosis to analysis to decision and generalisation.
5. **Teaching note:**
- synopsis and learning objectives;
- suggested assignment questions and pre-reading (described by type; do not invent citations);
- a discussion plan for a 75 to 90-minute class with timing, the opening question, transitions, and a board plan showing what goes on each board;
- the analysis: worked calculations from the exhibits, the arguments for each option, and the trade-offs a strong discussion surfaces;
- common student responses and how to push them further;
- an epilogue (what happened, or a plausible outcome for a fictional case, labelled as such) and the key takeaways.
- In health and law cases, clinical or legal details must be accurate for the stated setting at a general level; mark anything jurisdiction-specific or clinically specific as "check against current guidance" rather than stating it as settled fact. The case is a teaching tool, not professional advice.
- No real patient, client or employee information. Characters are diverse and not stereotyped; avoid making the protagonist's identity the problem.
- Do not invent citations, statistics attributed to real sources or quotes from real people.
- Keep the narrative within about 15% of 1500 words; exhibits and the teaching note are extra.
- Check that every number used in the teaching note's analysis appears in the exhibits and that the arithmetic is correct.
# Case title
A statement on whether the case is fictional, composite or sourced.
## Case
The narrative with subheadings.
## Exhibits
Numbered exhibits with titles and tables.
## Discussion questions
Numbered.
## Teaching note
Subheadings: Synopsis and objectives; Assignment questions; Discussion plan (with a timing table and board plan); Analysis; Common responses; Epilogue and takeaways.
````
---
## Write an early-years learning story
`write-learning-story` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-learning-story
Writes an early-years learning story from observation notes in a warm narrative voice, linking what the child did to learning dispositions and outcomes and suggesting next steps.
````markdown
A learning story is a short narrative assessment of a moment in a young child's play, written warmly so the child, their family and other educators can share it. It comes from the New Zealand early-childhood tradition and is now used in many countries. It notices what the child can do and is interested in, recognises the learning (including dispositions such as taking an interest, being involved, persisting with difficulty, expressing ideas, and taking responsibility), and suggests how the educator will build on it. It is credit-based: it describes competence, not deficits. It must also be accurate, because families trust it as a record of their child's day: the story cannot add events the educator did not see.
Write a learning story about a child aged **[CHILD_AGE]** from this observation:
[OBSERVATION]
1. **Title:** a short, warm title that captures the moment (for example "The Great Bridge Builder").
2. **The story:** 120 to 220 words in the educator's first-person voice, addressed to the child ("Today I noticed you…") or about the child, as the setting prefers (default: addressed to the child). Tell what happened in order, include the child's own words where the notes give them, and describe their actions, ideas and feelings as observed. Do not add events, dialogue or emotions that are not in the notes; if you need to bridge two moments, keep it general.
3. **What learning was happening:** 3 to 5 sentences, written for the family and educators, naming the dispositions and skills seen, with the evidence for each. If a framework is named and you know it reliably, link to its strands, principles or outcomes by their names; do not invent outcome codes or quote wording you are not sure of. If no framework is named, describe learning in plain terms and suggest the educator add framework links.
4. **Where to next:** 2 or 3 concrete ideas the educator could offer to extend this interest or skill (resources, a provocation, a question to ask, a trip or visitor), following the child's lead.
5. **Family voice:** a short invitation for the family to add a comment, with one or two questions about whether they see this interest at home.
- Strengths-based and specific. Avoid generic praise ("You are so clever!") and comparisons with other children.
- Stick to the observation. If the notes are too thin for a story (one line, no actions), write a short version and list what to observe next time.
- Use the language suited to a family audience: warm, plain, no jargon unless explained.
- Privacy: refer to other children only by first name or initial as the setting allows, and never include health, family circumstances or behaviour concerns in a story that is shared with families. If the notes include a concern about the child's wellbeing or development, leave it out of the story and add a separate note to the educator to follow the setting's procedure (safeguarding concerns go to the designated lead the same day).
## Title
## The story
## What learning was happening
## Where to next
## Family voice
If the notes contained something left out for privacy or safety, end with a short "Note for the educator" after Family voice.
````
---
## Write an email to parents
`write-parent-email` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-parent-email
Writes a teacher's email to parents about a concern, praise, incident, request or update that is factual, warm and specific, with a clear next step and due privacy. For teachers and school staff.
````markdown
Parent emails are read closely, forwarded, and sometimes kept for years. The ones that work describe observable facts rather than labels ("handed in 2 of the last 5 homework tasks", not "lazy"), show that the teacher knows and likes the child, and end with one clear next step. The ones that backfire speculate, name other children, bury the point, or try to settle something by email that needs a conversation.
Write a [PURPOSE] email to a student's parents or carers about this situation.
[SITUATION]
1. Check first whether email is the right channel. If the situation involves a possible safeguarding or child-protection concern (signs of harm, a disclosure, neglect), do not draft an email: say it must go to the school's designated safeguarding lead under school procedures and stop. If it is serious enough that a phone call or meeting should come first (an injury, exclusion, a major incident), say so and draft a short email that arranges the call and states only the essential facts.
2. Write the email according to its purpose:
- **concern:** open with something genuine and specific about the child; state the concern as observations with dates or numbers; say what you have tried in class; propose one next step and invite the family's view ("Is there anything at home that would help me understand this?").
- **praise:** say exactly what the child did and why it mattered; keep it short; no "but".
- **incident:** what happened, factually and briefly, when and where; how the school responded and how the child is now; what happens next and who will follow up. Do not speculate on causes, assign blame beyond the facts, or name or describe other children.
- **request:** what you need, why, by when, and how to do it, in the first two sentences.
- **update:** the key information first, dates and actions in a short list, and one line on why it matters for their child.
3. Apply the school policies given, including who to cc and anything that must be approved before sending.
- Facts and observations only; no diagnoses, labels or guesses about the child's home life.
- Never name, identify or describe other students, even indirectly ("the boy who sits next to her"), anywhere in your reply, including the notes under "Before you send"; refer to them as "another student".
- Do not include grades, medical or support-plan details beyond what the family needs for this email.
- Plain language: no education jargon or acronyms without explanation; short paragraphs; under about 200 words unless it is an update.
- Warm and professional, never sarcastic, defensive or pleading. No admission of liability or promises the teacher cannot keep for the school.
- Use placeholders like [Parent name] and [your name] for anything not given; do not invent facts, dates or actions taken.
- If key facts are missing (what actually happened, what was done), list what is needed instead of filling the gaps.
## Subject
A specific, calm subject line (not "Concern" or "Urgent").
## Email
The email, ready to adapt.
## Before you send
2 to 5 bullets: facts to verify, who to cc or get approval from, whether a call would be better, and a note if the family may need a translated version.
````
---
## Write an individual learning plan
`write-individual-learning-plan` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-individual-learning-plan
Writes an individual learning plan for an adult or further-education learner from initial assessment notes, with a goal, SMART targets in the learner's words, support and review dates.
````markdown
An adult education or further education tutor is turning initial assessment notes into an individual learning plan (ILP) for a learner on [COURSE]. A useful ILP is owned by the learner: a goal that means something in their life, a few short-term targets they helped write and can explain, and support that removes their actual barriers. Weak ILPs are paperwork: targets copied from the qualification ("complete Unit 3"), written in tutor language, too many to track, and never reviewed. For non-accredited learning, progress needs to be recognised and recorded against the learner's own starting point (an approach often called RARPA).
Review every 6 weeks.
[INITIAL_ASSESSMENT]
1. About the learner: their reason for learning and what they want to be able to do, in their own words where the notes have them; strengths and prior experience.
2. Starting point: assessed levels and the specific gaps found (for example "uses full stops but not commas in lists", "cannot yet calculate percentages"), not just a level number.
3. Main goal: one longer-term goal that links the course to the learner's purpose (work, family, further study, independence).
4. Targets: three, at most four, short-term SMART targets: specific, measurable, achievable by the next review, relevant to the goal, time-bound. Write each in plain first-person words the learner could say ("By 14 March I can write a short email to my manager with paragraphs and correct punctuation"), with how it will be checked.
5. Support: what the tutor, the learner and others will do, including adjustments for declared needs, help with barriers (timing, travel, childcare, confidence) and referrals to the provider's learner support or advice services where relevant.
6. Reviews: dates every 6 weeks from the start of the course (as placeholders if no start date), and what each review covers: progress against each target, evidence, new targets, the learner's comment.
- Use only what the notes say. Do not assume a learning difficulty, disability or circumstance; if support needs are unclear, list a question.
- Adult, respectful tone; never childish wording.
- Do not give benefits, immigration or legal advice; refer to the provider's advice service.
- Initials only; personal circumstances only as far as needed for support.
- If starting levels or the learner's goal are missing, say so and mark targets [draft - agree with learner].
## About the learner
Short paragraph.
## Starting point
Table: Area | Assessed level | Specific gaps | Strengths.
## Main goal
One sentence.
## Targets
Table: Target (learner's words) | How it is checked | By when.
## Support
Bullets: tutor, learner, other.
## Reviews
Table: Review date | Focus | Learner comment (blank).
## Questions
What to agree with the learner.
````
---
## Write annotated exemplars
`write-annotated-exemplars` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-annotated-exemplars
Writes original exemplar answers at several levels for one task, annotated against the success criteria, with a comparison table and an improve-it task for pupils.
````markdown
A teacher wants pupils to see what quality looks like before and during a task, by comparing anonymous answers at different levels against the success criteria. Exemplars help when the differences between levels are clear and tied to the criteria, when the weaker ones show common real mistakes, and when pupils do something with them. They hurt when there is only one polished model (pupils copy it), when the levels differ only in length, or when the annotations are vague ("good detail").
Task: [TASK]
Year group: [YEAR_GROUP]
Number of levels: 3
[SUCCESS_CRITERIA]
1. Plan the levels: for each, which criteria it meets, partly meets or misses. Adjacent levels should differ in one or two criteria, not in everything. The weakest still has something to praise.
2. Write each exemplar as a realistic pupil answer for [YEAR_GROUP]: the vocabulary, sentence length and typical errors of that age, not adult prose. Base weaker answers on common mistakes for this task (describing instead of explaining, unsupported claims, missing units, muddled sequence). Keep lengths similar so length is not the difference.
3. Annotate each exemplar: quote the exact words, name the criterion, and say what it does well or what is missing. Mark any level or score only if the success criteria define one; otherwise use "working towards, meeting, exceeding" or letters A, B, C.
4. Write a comparison table showing for each criterion how each exemplar handles it.
5. Write an improve-it task: pupils take the weakest or middle exemplar and improve two named things, then apply the same check to their own work.
- Exemplars are original and anonymous; never copy real pupils' or exam board answers.
- Subject content must be accurate even in weaker answers, apart from deliberate, labelled errors that match a real misconception.
- Do not claim official grade boundaries or exam board marks; say the levels are based on the criteria supplied.
- If the task names a paper or question number without its text, ask for the question itself; do not reconstruct or claim to reproduce official papers, exemplars or examiner material.
- If the success criteria are missing or too vague to mark against, ask for them or propose three and mark them as suggestions.
- 2 to 4 levels; if 3 is outside that range, use 3 and say so.
## How to use these
Three bullets: when to show them, how pupils compare, how to avoid copying.
## Exemplars
For each: heading "Exemplar A" (B, C...), the answer, then annotations as bullets (quote - criterion - comment).
## What makes the difference
Table: Criterion | Exemplar A | Exemplar B | Exemplar C.
## Improve-it task
Pupil instructions.
````
---
## Write class handover notes
`write-class-handover-notes` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-class-handover-notes
Writes end-of-year class handover notes for the next teacher with a class overview, pupils needing support, what worked, attainment gaps, family context to share and what to leave out.
````markdown
A teacher is writing handover notes so the next teacher can start the year well.
Class moving into: [YEAR_GROUP] Good handovers give practical, current information the next teacher can act on in September: what helps each pupil, what to keep, and where the learning gaps are. They go wrong when they pass on reputations ("a nightmare", "lazy") that shape expectations before the new teacher has met the pupil; when they are a long list nobody reads; and when sensitive family or safeguarding information is written into a general document instead of going through the proper route.
[CLASS_NOTES]
1. Class overview: size, the class's strengths and character, routines and rewards that worked, seating or groupings to keep or avoid (with a reason that is about learning or wellbeing), in under 150 words.
2. Pupils needing support: for each pupil mentioned with a need, the need as recorded (SEN support, plan, medical plan, English as an additional language, attendance), what works for them, current targets or interventions, and who else is involved. Strengths first. Practical and current.
3. What worked: specific strategies, resources and routines for this class.
4. Attainment and gaps: what the data or notes show by subject, topics not covered or not secure, and pupils who need catch-up or extension.
5. Family context to share: only what the next teacher needs for day-to-day support (preferred contact, language for letters, separated parents' contact arrangements as the notes state them).
6. Left out and why: list anything in the notes you did not include (opinions, reputations, safeguarding or sensitive family detail, old incidents no longer relevant), so the teacher can confirm.
- Initials only. Facts and current strategies, not labels or reputations; reword judgemental comments into observable, helpful information or leave them out.
- Safeguarding concerns, child protection details and sensitive health or family information are not written in the handover; say they are passed on by the designated safeguarding lead or through the school's secure records, and that a verbal handover can flag "speak to the DSL about X.Y.".
- Do not invent attainment, needs or strategies. Missing information goes under Questions.
- Keep the whole document readable in about 10 minutes.
## Class overview
Short paragraph.
## Pupils needing support
Table: Pupil | Need as recorded | What works | Current support | Others involved.
## What worked
Bullets.
## Attainment and gaps
Table: Subject | Secure | Not secure or not covered | Pupils for catch-up or extension.
## Family context to share
Bullets.
## Left out and why
Bullets.
## Questions
Bullets.
````
---
## Write IEP goal progress notes
`write-iep-progress-report` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-iep-progress-report
Writes IEP or support-plan goal progress notes from supplied data in objective, parent-readable language with the trend, status, next steps and any needed team discussion.
````markdown
A progress report on a support-plan goal should let a parent understand, in a minute, where their child started, where they are now, whether they are on track to meet the goal, and what happens next. Weak reports say "making progress" with no numbers, use jargon, or describe effort rather than the measured skill. Strong ones state the baseline and the latest data in the goal's own measure, describe the trend honestly (including flat or uneven data), give a clear status, and say what the team will keep doing or change. The report is a factual record; decisions about changing goals or services belong to the plan team with the family.
Write progress notes for these goals.
[GOALS]
[PROGRESS_DATA]
1. For each goal, find the baseline (from the goal text or earliest data point), the most recent data, and the target. Compute the change and, where there are at least three data points, describe the trend (rising, flat, falling, variable) and whether the student is on pace to meet the target by the goal date. Show the numbers you used.
2. Assign one status per goal: **Goal met**, **On track**, **Progress, but not yet on track**, **Little or no progress**, or **Not enough data**. Use "Not enough data" when there are fewer than three data points or the data is not in the goal's measure, and say what data is needed.
3. Write a parent-readable note per goal: 3 to 5 sentences, plain language, any term defined in brackets the first time (for example "words correct per minute (how many words read correctly in one minute)"), starting with what the student can now do.
4. Give next steps per goal: what continues, any change in teaching or support the teacher is planning, and how families can help at home if useful.
5. List items for team discussion: goals met early (new goal needed), goals with little progress or not on track (whether to change the instruction, the intensity, or the goal), and any data gaps.
- Use only the data provided. Never invent scores, dates or observations, and do not round in a way that changes the picture.
- Describe the skill, not the child's character ("reads 62 words correctly per minute", not "is a weak reader"); strengths first, honest about slow progress.
- Do not diagnose, suggest new disability categories, or interpret medical or psychological information.
- Do not decide changes to goals, placement or services; frame them as questions for the team.
- Use the student's initials only, even if the data includes a full name.
- Formats and legal requirements differ by country, state and school; remind the teacher to transfer the notes into the required form.
## Summary
2 or 3 sentences across all goals.
## Goal progress
For each goal: the goal (abbreviated), a line "Baseline → Latest → Target", Status, Trend with the numbers, then the parent-readable note.
## Next steps
Per goal.
## For team discussion
Bullets.
## Data notes
Data gaps, inconsistencies and the local-format reminder.
````
---
## Write lesson observation feedback
`write-lesson-observation-feedback` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-lesson-observation-feedback
Turns lesson observation notes into specific, growth-focused feedback with evidence-based strengths, one priority, an action step and a follow-up check, for coaches and school leaders.
````markdown
Observation feedback changes practice when it is specific, evidence-based and narrow: a few genuine strengths grounded in what happened, one high-leverage priority, and an action step small enough to practise this week ("pause after the question and scan three named students' whiteboards before calling on anyone"), rather than a list of everything that could be better. It fails when it is generic ("good relationships"), judgemental ("the lesson was boring"), or a list of ten targets. The directness should match the teacher: new teachers usually benefit from a clear model and a script; experienced teachers from questions that surface their own analysis before a step is agreed. The aim is growth, not a rating.
Write feedback for a **developing** teacher from these observation notes.
[OBSERVATION_NOTES]
1. **Lesson snapshot:** in 2 or 3 sentences, what the lesson aimed to do and what happened, from the notes only.
2. **Strengths:** 2 or 3 strengths, each tied to a specific moment in the notes (quote or paraphrase with the timestamp if there is one) and to its effect on students.
3. **Priority:** choose the one area that would most improve student learning in this class, within the focus area if one was given. Explain the evidence from the notes and why it matters for students. If the focus area shows no clear need, say so and choose the most useful priority within it or a closely related one.
4. **Action step:** one concrete, observable step the teacher can practise in their next lesson, phrased as what they will do and say. Keep it to a habit that takes a week or two to build.
5. **Practice plan:** how to rehearse the step before the next lesson. For a new teacher, give a short model script and a rehearsal with the coach. For an experienced teacher, give a planning prompt and let them design the wording.
6. **Reflection questions:** 2 or 3 questions for the debrief conversation that help the teacher analyse the evidence themselves. Make them more open for experienced teachers.
7. **Follow-up check:** when the observer will look again and what evidence would show the step is working (a change in what students do, not just what the teacher does).
- Use only evidence in the notes. If the notes are mostly judgements ("weak behaviour management") without what was seen, say which low-inference evidence would help next time, and keep the priority tentative.
- Do not rate or grade the lesson, use evaluation-framework labels, or comment on the teacher's personality, appearance or accent.
- One priority and one action step, even if the notes show many issues; list other observations in one line at the end only if they matter for later.
- If the notes mention a student safety or welfare concern, put it first: the observer should raise it with the school's designated safeguarding lead today, separately from the feedback.
- Refer to students by initials or descriptions, not full names.
- Write in a warm, direct, collegial tone, addressed to the teacher ("you").
## Lesson snapshot
2 or 3 sentences.
## Strengths
Bullets with evidence and effect.
## Priority
The priority, the evidence and why it matters.
## Action step
One sentence, then what it looks and sounds like.
## Practice plan
Script or planning prompt, and how to rehearse.
## Reflection questions
Numbered.
## Follow-up check
When and what evidence to look for.
````
---
## Write multiple-choice questions
`write-multiple-choice-questions` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-multiple-choice-questions
Writes multiple-choice questions that test understanding, with distractors drawn from real misconceptions, item-writing checks and a rationale for every option. For teachers building quizzes.
````markdown
A good multiple-choice item can test reasoning, not just recall, and tells the teacher why a student got it wrong, but only if each wrong option is a mistake real students make. Most homemade items leak the answer through cues (the longest option, grammar that fits only one choice, "all of the above") or test trivia. The item-writing guidelines researchers have validated for decades are short and mechanical enough to check every item against.
Write 10 multiple-choice questions on this material.
[TOPIC]
1. **Blueprint.** Map the items to the objectives (or, if none are given, to 3 to 6 objectives you derive from the material and state). Aim for about a third recall and two thirds understanding and application: interpreting a scenario, data, a diagram described in words, or predicting an outcome.
2. **Write each item:**
- A stem that poses a complete question, answerable before reading the options. Put shared wording in the stem, not repeated in options.
- One unambiguously correct answer and 2 or 3 distractors (3 or 4 options in total). Each distractor is a specific misconception or a common procedural error, plausible to a student who has not mastered the idea.
- Options that are similar in length, grammatically parallel, and in a logical order (numbers ascending).
- No "all of the above", no "none of the above" unless it is genuinely needed, no negatives in the stem unless essential (then bolded: **NOT**), no absolutes like "always" or "never" as giveaways, no clang words repeating the stem in only the key.
3. **Rationale.** For every option: why it is right, or which misconception or error it represents, so the teacher can read results diagnostically.
4. **Check the set.** Verify each key is correct and each distractor is genuinely wrong. Spread the correct answers evenly across letter positions. Make sure no item gives away the answer to another.
- Items must be answerable from the material and the level; do not test facts outside it.
- If the material is too short to support 10 distinct items without trivial or near-duplicate questions, write fewer and say why.
- If a distractor might be defensibly correct under some reading, rewrite it.
- Keep language accessible: test the concept, not reading speed or vocabulary unrelated to the subject.
## Blueprint
A table: Objective | Items | Cognitive level.
## Questions
Numbered items with options A to D (or A to C), no answers marked, so the section can be copied straight into a quiz.
## Answer key and rationales
A table per item: Option | Correct? | Rationale or misconception.
## Item checks
A short table: Item | Objective | Key position | Checks passed (stem complete, cues removed, distractors plausible), and the key distribution across positions.
````
---
## Write report card comments
`write-report-card-comments` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-report-card-comments
Writes specific, balanced report-card comments from a teacher's notes, with a strength, a next step and a consistent tone and length across a class. Use at reporting time.
````markdown
Families read report comments closely, often several times. The comments that help name something specific the student did, give one clear next step, and sound like they were written about this child. The comments that hurt are generic ("a pleasure to have in class"), vague about problems, compare the child with classmates, use labels ("lazy", "disruptive"), or hint at a diagnosis. Across a class, comments must also be consistent in length and tone so no family feels short-changed.
Write report-card comments in a `warm` tone, at most 80 words each, from these notes:
[STUDENT_NOTES]
For each student:
1. Lead with a specific strength drawn from the notes, with evidence (a piece of work, a skill, a behaviour).
2. Give one area for growth framed as a next step the student can take, specific enough to act on.
3. Where it fits, add one way the family can support at home.
4. Close on a forward-looking sentence.
5. Use the student's name and the pronouns given. If no pronouns are given, use the name and "they".
Across the class:
6. Keep lengths within about 15% of each other, and keep the same structure and register.
7. Vary sentence openings and wording between students so comments do not read as a template.
- Use only what is in the notes. Do not invent achievements, grades or incidents. If a student's notes are too thin to write a fair comment (one word, or only negatives), write the best comment you can and flag it.
- Describe behaviour, not character: "often begins tasks after reminders" rather than "lazy".
- No comparisons with other students, no medical or diagnostic language, no mention of family circumstances, discipline records or attendance unless the notes explicitly ask for it to be included.
- Avoid jargon families will not know, and clichés ("a joy to teach", "needs to apply themselves").
- `formal`: third person, school reporting register. `warm`: third person, friendly and encouraging, still professional.
## Comments
For each student: a heading with the name, the comment as one paragraph, then "(n words)".
## Check before sending
Bullets: students whose notes were too thin, anything you left out because it was sensitive, and any statement the teacher should verify.
````
---
## Write retrieval practice starters
`write-retrieval-practice-starters` · prompt · Teaching · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-retrieval-practice-starters
Writes a set of low-stakes lesson starters that mix last lesson, last week and last term content, with answers and a quick tracker to spot the gaps across the class.
````markdown
Retrieval practice, pulling knowledge out of memory rather than rereading it, is one of the best-supported strategies for long-term learning, especially when it is spaced over time and mixes topics. A short starter at the beginning of each lesson does this cheaply, if the questions are low stakes, quick to mark, and spread across recent and older content so forgotten material resurfaces before it is lost.
Learners: [AGE_GROUP]. Starters needed: 5.
[UNITS]
1. **Sort the content.** Group the units into last lesson, last week (or the current unit) and last term (or earlier). If the teaching order or timing is unclear, make a reasonable assumption and state it at the top.
2. **Write 5 starters**, one per lesson, each with five questions that can be answered in about five minutes without notes:
- two questions from last lesson,
- two from last week or the current unit,
- one from last term or earlier.
Across the set, each starter shifts forward as if one more lesson has passed, so content from early starters recurs later in the set, and every listed unit appears at least once.
3. **Vary the question types** across each starter: short recall, fill the gap, true or false with a correction, label or complete a diagram described in words, "what's the link between X and Y", and one question that needs explanation rather than a single word. Keep each answerable in a sentence or less.
4. **Write the answers** for each question, with the acceptable variations and the common wrong answer to listen for.
5. **Build a gap tracker:** a table with one row per question, its topic, and a column for the number or share of pupils who got it right, so the teacher can see which topics need re-teaching across the week.
6. **Add how to run it:** silent start on entry, self or peer marking with the answers shown, no grades recorded, a show of hands or mini-whiteboard count for the tracker, and a two-minute re-explain for any question most pupils missed.
- Low stakes: no scores that count, no trick questions, and wording a struggling reader can manage.
- Questions test understanding that matters for the course, not trivia; prefer the key facts, vocabulary and processes listed in [UNITS].
- Accuracy matters more than variety. Use only facts you are sure of for this subject and level; if the units are thin on detail, keep questions to what is clearly within them and say so.
- Avoid repeating the same wording across starters; when a topic recurs, ask about it differently.
- These are starters, not games: no teams, points or competition.
- Before finishing, check the mix in each starter (2, 2, 1), that every unit appears, and that every answer is correct.
## Assumptions
How the units were sorted by time, in a line or two.
## Starters
For each: **Starter N**, then numbered questions 1-5, each tagged (last lesson / last week / last term).
## Answers
For each starter, numbered answers with acceptable variations and the common wrong answer.
## Gap tracker
Table: Starter | Q | Topic | Pupils correct (blank) | Re-teach? (blank).
## How to run it
Four or five bullets.
````