Back-to-school season is here, and educators everywhere are searching for ways to save time, reduce stress, and reignite creativity.

In episode 232 of The Shake Up Learning Show, Kasey Bell delivers exactly that—a powerhouse guide to using AI tools to start the school year off strong: 10 Genius Ways Teachers Can Use AI for Back-to-School.

Whether you’re an edtech newbie or seasoned AI user, these 10 strategies will help you create dynamic, engaging, and efficient classrooms from day one.

🎉 Start with the FREE Back-to-School AI Checklist!
Don’t miss Kasey’s brand-new AI-powered back-to-school checklist—a free resource filled with time-saving prompts and practical ideas.

ALL ACCESS members also receive the exclusive Back to School with AI BUNDLE, including her new ebook, digital downloads, and step-by-step tools designed to help you kick off your school year with clarity and creativity.

Listen to the podcast episode:

10 Genius Ways Teachers Can Use AI for Back to School

Below are 10 Genius Ways Teachers Can Use AI for Back to School, including example prompts. Copy and paste these into your favorite AI chatbot, replacing the content in the brackets with your specific details.

Love example prompts? Don’t miss the Back-to-School AI Prompt Cheat Sheet–it’s FREE!

1. Write Your “Meet the Teacher” Letter

Kick off the school year with a personal touch by using AI to write your “Meet the Teacher” letter. Whether you’re a first-year teacher or a veteran switching grade levels or campuses, crafting this letter can feel overwhelming. With AI, simply prompt it to include fun facts (like your love for music or your dog), your teaching philosophy, and classroom themes. Ask AI to write versions for email, print, and your class website. You can even use AI to help you create your “Meet the Teacher” presentation!

✅ Prompt: “Write a friendly Meet-the-Teacher letter for a [grade level] teacher, including my love for [music], a fun fact about [my dog], and how I [run a student-centered classroom.]”

Pro tip: Add a line in your prompt that instructs AI to ask clarifying questions—this ensures your letter is authentic, accurate, and truly you.

2. Craft Student-Friendly Classroom Rules

Take your formal classroom rules and reimagine them in language your students will actually connect with. AI can help you rewrite your expectations in positive, age-appropriate, and even playful ways. Unless this is your first year teaching, you may already have class rules that you use and post somewhere visible in your room. Copy and paste those into your favorite chatbot and let AI make them even better!

✅ Prompt: “Turn these expectations into positive, student-friendly language for [grade level] students.”

For example, “Be respectful” becomes “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” Want to engage students even more? Ask AI to add rhymes, emojis, humor, or current slang. This not only helps with classroom management but also makes the first day of school memorable and inviting.

3. Build First-Week Lesson Plans

Your first week sets the tone for the entire year. Use AI to help plan intentional, engaging lessons that blend content with relationship-building and classroom routines. Tools like Magic School, ChatGPT, and Brisk Teaching can generate differentiated plans aligned with your subject, grade, and teaching style.

✅ Prompt: “Design a 5-day back-to-school lesson plan for [grad level and subject] that builds classroom routines, introduces [something specific to your content like lab safety], and includes student reflection.”

Whether it’s lab safety for high school science or classroom procedures for third grade, AI helps you create customized, editable lessons that fit your needs—and your students’. Don’t forget to include goals like team-building or student reflection to deepen those first-day connections.

*Related: Back to School with Canva

4. Create Weekly Parent Newsletters

Keep families informed with professional, polished weekly newsletters—created in a fraction of the time with AI. Whether you teach first grade and send home updates every Friday or you’re a high school teacher offering monthly overviews, AI can generate newsletter templates that include events, reminders, student highlights, and more.

✅ Prompt: “Write a weekly classroom newsletter for [grade level parents/students] that includes upcoming events, class highlights, and a reminder to return forms.”

Enhance your layout using Canva’s free education tools and Magic Write feature to streamline the design process.

Pro Tip: Reuse and adapt your AI-generated templates throughout the year to save even more time.

5. Design Student Surveys

Start strong by learning more about your students’ interests, learning styles, and goals. Ask AI to generate 10 creative, age-appropriate questions for a beginning-of-year student survey. This works for parent surveys, too!

✅ Prompt: “Create 10 fun and meaningful survey questions for [grade level] students to share their interests, learning preferences, and hopes for the year.”

Once the questions are generated, paste them directly into Google Forms—AI formats them so cleanly you’ll be ready to send in minutes. Building student relationships is foundational, and this is an efficient, thoughtful way to start.

6. Create Bell Ringers and Warmups

Daily bell ringers and warmups are classroom game-changers. Use AI-powered tools like Curipod or Magic School to generate engaging, curriculum-aligned warmups that support learning objectives while managing transitions.

✅ Prompt: “Create a 5-minute icebreaker for [grade and subject] that uses emojis, polls, or drawing tools.”

Prompt AI to create a mix of digital and paper-based activities, including polls or emoji responses, or scaffold for different learning levels.

Pro Tip: Create a whole playlist of warmups for the quarter and plug them into your lesson plans in advance!

7. Draft Parent Emails and Templates

You’re going to write the same email over and over again—why not let AI help? Use AI to draft clear, respectful, and warm email templates for FAQs, reminders, or sensitive topics.

✅ Prompt: “Draft a professional but friendly reminder email to parents about missing homework for a [grade level] class.”

Create a bank of saved templates to answer those questions you get over and over again from students and parents.

Need to revise a message before sending it to a parent? Ask AI to “refine” or “make this sound friendlier.”

Pro Tip: Set up Gmail templates and drop in your polished content to save hours. This is especially helpful when you need to respond to tough emails with professionalism and care.

8. Design Eye-Catching Posters and Signs

Decorate your classroom with custom posters and signs that welcome students, display rules, or reinforce routines. With Canva’s AI tools, you can create custom classroom visuals that match your color scheme, mascot, or theme—like a cartoon owl on a welcome sign with your classroom expectations.

✅ Prompt: “Design a welcome poster with bright colors, my class rules, and a [cartoon owl] theme.”

These visual cues help students feel more at home and reinforce classroom rules without saying a word.

Get your FREE Canva for Education account here. (You can thank me later!)

9. Organize Supply and To-Do Lists

Is your back-to-school to-do list scribbled on a sticky note or jumbled in a Google Doc? Upload it to AI and ask it to organize the list into urgent, important, and later categories—with checkboxes.

✅ Prompt: “Organize this back-to-school to-do list into urgent, important, and later categories with checkboxes. [insert list]”

Prioritizing your tasks reduces mental clutter and gives you a clear roadmap. Whether it’s laminating posters, finalizing seating charts, or updating your syllabus, AI helps you sort through the chaos so you can focus on what matters most.

10. Reflect and Set Intentional Goals

Start the year with clarity and purpose. Use AI to reflect on last year’s challenges and generate targeted goals for classroom management, student engagement, or instructional improvements.

✅ Prompt: “Help me create three goals for classroom management based on my need to improve transitions and build student ownership.”

You’ll walk away with specific, motivating targets that guide your planning all year long.

🚀 Want More Time-Saving AI Tools for the Classroom?

Become an ALL ACCESS Member and unlock the exclusive Back to School with AI Bundle—available only to members! This powerful bundle includes Kasey’s brand-new AI for Classroom Management book, printable downloads, guided prompts, and step-by-step tools to help you integrate AI with confidence. Plus, get full access to all courses, resource libraries, and members-only trainings inside the Shake Up Learning All Access Pass.

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