Teaching AI Literacy in K-12 Education Part Two: Recommendations by Grade Levels
Authors: Yerin Seung; info@ciddl.org
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to impact our daily lives significantly. AI literacy, an essential knowledge and skill to understand, interact with, and evaluate AI technologies, has become important for students to navigate this landscape of technologies. Our previous post explored teaching AI literacy by the core components of AI literacy (i.e., Know and Understand AI, Use and Apply AI, Evaluate and Create AI, and AI Ethics) based on the research. However, most are heavily focused on teaching the concept of machine learning. Since this may not be necessary or appropriate for many students, this sequel blog post delves into practical strategies for teaching AI literacy. As students with different grade levels have different capacities and needs, we introduce targeted activities and discussions of each grade level, particularly based on North Carolina’s AI State Guidance for PK-13 Public Schools and North Dakota’s K-12 AI Guidance Framework.
Elementary Education (Grades K–5)
Activities related to recognizing AI in daily life, media literacy, and computational thinking can be good ways to build foundations of AI literacy for elementary school students. North Carolina suggests that students can develop AI awareness by learning about AI they encounter daily, such as voice assistants and GPS systems. North Dakota indicates that lower elementary (K-2) students need to understand that these AI tools are not real people. Hence, humanizing AI should be avoided. Also, North Carolina highlights learning about AI-generated images and videos, which can help elementary students recognize AI and enhance critical thinking. Students can engage with AI by creating content with educational tools (e.g., Canva Edu, Adobe Express) with AI by selecting colors and shapes of images and events for AI-generated stories. Simple coding exercises through coding platforms (e.g., Code.org) or robots (e.g., Bee-Bot, Sphero) can help students build computational thinking. North Dakota addresses that developing problem-solving skills should be prioritized for upper elementary grades (3-5), and students should be aware of overreliance on AI as it can harm developing these critical skills.
Middle School Education (Grades 6–8)
North Carolina and North Dakota emphasize that middle school students can deepen their understanding of AI by engaging in complex thinking around AI applications and ethics. While North Dakota suggests having students critique AI outputs such as generative AI answers to questions or essays, North Carolina’s recommendations involve critical thinking activities like AI Snapshots for grades 7-8 from aiedu.org or exploring the How AI Works video series on Code.org. Lessons from Common Sense Media also help students critically analyze digital media, identifying fake images, spotting distortions, and recognizing AI-generated visuals. At this level, teachers can also introduce responsible uses of AI in social media and gaming and associated risks. For activities that involve the use of AI, students can not only create content with AI using apps (e.g., Canva and Adobe Express) just as recommendations for elementary students but also evaluate the output to enhance their creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking skills. Additionally, students can interact with teacher-created AI assignments on tools such as Schoolai.com, Magicschool Student, and Fobizz, which comply with FERPA and COPPA privacy standards. These platforms also have merits because they do not require student accounts and can be monitored by teachers.
High School Education (Grades 9–12)
In high school, students engage in hands-on experience with AI tools to apply their understanding to the real world and critically examine AI's impact, ethics, and limitations. Both North Carolina and North Dakota indicate that high school students can deepen their understanding of AI through critical analysis of AI-generated content and responsible use of advanced AI tools. According to North Carolina’s recommendations, students can explore hot topics such as deepfakes through various sources (e.g., AI for Education’s Uncovering Deep Fakes lesson) and practice identifying AI-generated images using tools like This Person Does Not Exist and Which is AI? These activities encourage students to analyze metadata and learn about images to distinguish AI-generated content.
North Carolina also suggests hands-on experience with large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT or Gemini for students over 13 years old, as they can leverage the tools with the consent of districts, schools, and parents. Guided, prompt engineering sessions may help students use generative AI tools responsibly and effectively while developing their critical thinking and creativity. Advanced high school students may also benefit from ‘Prompt-a-thon’ competitions or building a prompt library to evaluate their prompting skills over time. For those with a more profound interest in AI, building custom AI agents or bots can introduce them to programming and algorithm design in real-world applications.
Making Sure Students and Teachers are Ready
Teaching AI literacy requires tailoring activities to meet students’ developmental needs based on their grade levels. In elementary school, students begin by recognizing the presence of AI, exploring how AI works, and considering basic ethical questions. Middle school students can engage in more complex thinking, critically evaluating AI applications and considering implications on a broader scale. At the high school level, students are ready for hands-on activities and deeper explorations of ethical considerations. Through age-appropriate AI literacy instruction, we can prepare students to use AI responsibly and contribute to the technological landscape. By equipping educators with knowledge, tools, and ethical considerations, we take a first step toward preparing students for a future shaped by AI.
Keep the Conversation Going
Have you taught AI literacy to your students? What are effective strategies to teach AI literacy? Share your experiences and opinions in our community!