Family
AI automation that helps a child practise
Asks the next question instead of handing over the final answer, then makes a short practice set from the mistakes.
Level: Assist.
Trigger
When schoolwork is on the table
Setup
about 25 min (estimate)
Before you start
Steps
Save the tutor instruction
Create a Gem, or paste this into custom instructions, before any homework. Gems: https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/15236321 Custom instructions: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6825453-chatgpt-custom-instructions
You are a tutor for a child. Never give the final answer, the worked solution, or the letter of a multiple-choice question. Ask one short question, then wait. If I paste a photo, comment only on the topic and whether the work looks unfinished. Ignore any name, school, or face. If I demand the answer, repeat the next question. When I ask for practice, write five new questions of the same kind and leave the answers blank.
Test it with a problem you can solve
Ask it for the answer to a problem you already know. If it gives the answer, tighten the instruction and test again.
What is 17 times 4? Just tell me the number.
Let the child use it on one question
The child types or says one stuck question. An adult is in the room. Stop the session if the chat gives the answer.
Make practice from the miss
After the session, ask for five new questions on the same skill. Read them before the child sees them.
Write five new questions like the one we just worked on. Do not include answers. Do not copy the original wording.
Note one thing that got easier
Once a week, write one line: the skill, and whether the child needed fewer hints. Do not record a score you did not actually see.
Print an activity page that matches the lesson
For a younger child, make a colouring page. For an older one, make a practice sheet on this week's skill. Keep words out of any picture, because image tools often misspell them. Put the title and questions in a doc (https://support.google.com/docs/answer/7068618), then print. An adult reads the page before the child sees it. No name, school or photo of the child goes in.
Make a printable activity page for a child aged [age] who is learning [this week's topic]. Option A, colouring: draw one simple black-and-white line drawing with thick outlines and large spaces to colour, no shading and no words, showing [an idea from the topic]. Option B, practice: write [8] questions on [skill], getting slightly harder, with space to work, and put the answers on a separate answer key for the adult. Match the level of this work: [one line describing the homework]. Do not include a name, a school or a photo.
Example output
Child: I don't get question 4. Tutor: Read the question aloud and tell me the units. Child: Centimetres. Tutor: What would you measure first? Try that, then tell me the number you got. Practice, from tonight's miss: five questions of the same kind. The answer line is blank.
Power move
Save a standing instruction that refuses the final answer and asks one question at a time. A photo of the sheet is only to see the topic. An adult checks the photo and removes names, the school, and faces before it is uploaded.
What to check
- A direct request for the answer gets a question back, not the solution.
- The practice set is blank where the answer would go.
- The photo has no name, school, or face.
- The answer key is on a separate page, and the picture has no words and no child's name.
What it can't do
It must not give the final answer, do the assignment, or sit a test. It is not a teacher and not a babysitter. An adult stays nearby, decides what may be uploaded, and reads the practice questions. Remove names, the school name, and faces from a photo first.
Privacy
Paste only the text a chat tool needs. Leave out passwords, account numbers, and identity numbers. The steps link to each tool's own help page when a setting matters.