Standards Correlations

R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.7, W.1 , SL.1, L.4, L.6

Learning Objective

Students will read and summarize an article about ChatGPT.

Key Skills

summarizing, text features, vocabulary, key details, problem and solution, critical thinking, argument writing

Complexity Factors

Purpose: The article explains why ChatGPT is remarkable, and also why it’s not perfect. 

 

Structure: The text has an introduction followed by five sections with headings.  

 

Language: The language is mainly conversational. 

 

Knowledge Demands: Some familiarity with the concept of artificial intelligence will be helpful. 

Levels

Lexile: 600L-700L 

Guided Reading Level: S 

DRA Level: 40

SEL Connection

This story and lesson plan promote responsible decision-making skills. 

Lesson Plan: Could a Chatbot Write This Story?

Essential Questions

  • What is intelligence, and what does it allow us to do? 
  • What are some things a person can do that a machine can’t?

Literature Connection

  • Graphic nonfiction: The World of Artificial Intelligence (Max Axiom and the Society of Super Scientists) by Carol Kim
  • Nonfiction: All About Artificial Intelligence (Cutting-Edge Technology) by Joanne Mattern

1. Preparing to Read 

Build Background Knowledge (5 minutes)

Before reading the article, have students view our exciting video “What You Need to Know About AI.” The video will help students prepare to read by providing  information on how artificial intelligence works, as well as some of its benefits and drawbacks.

Preview Text Features (15 minutes)

Guide students to locate the article in their magazines or at Action Online. Then preview the text features by asking the following questions:

  • Read the article’s title and subtitle (the text beneath the title). Based on these text features, do you think a chatbot wrote the article? Answers may vary. Most students will probably say it’s unlikely that a chatbot wrote the article, because the subtitle is followed by a byline: the name of the person who wrote the article.
  • The article has an introduction that starts with a joke, and then five sections with headings in orange. What do the five headings have in common? Every heading is a question.
  • Look at the sidebar, “Our Chat With ChatGPT.” What do you think you might learn about ChatGPT by seeing how it answers questions? By seeing how ChatGPT answers questions, you’ll be able to tell how clearly it communicates and how closely it matches the communication style of a real person.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

  • Point out the vocabulary box. Read the words (technology, analyzing, data, content, stereotypes) aloud and discuss their definitions.
  • Play the Vocabulary Slideshow.

Make a Plan for Reading 

Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:

  • Set a purpose for reading by telling students that the article “Could a Chatbot Write This Story?” will give them information about ChatGPT, the most advanced chatbot ever released. 
  • Remind students that each section of the article (after the introduction) has a heading that is a question. Like the Pause & Think questions that usually follow sections of our In the News stories, these questions are a great way for students to check their own comprehension. Encourage students to look at each section heading after reading the section and try to answer the question.
  • Point out the activity at the end of the article and tell students they will complete it after reading. Encourage them to briefly scan the questions and to keep them in mind as they read.

2. Reading and Unpacking the Text

Read the article. (Higher- and lower-Lexile versions are available on the Story page at Action Online. Click Presentation View to access an audio read-aloud.) Then discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions.

Close-Reading Questions (15 minutes)

  • What is artificial intelligence? (key details) Artificial intelligence is a type of technology that teaches computers to do things that normally require a human’s ability to think or learn. For example, AI makes it possible for a computer to understand and answer people’s questions.
  • What is GPT-4, and what’s special about it? (key details) GPT-4 is the latest version of ChatGPT. It’s special because it can do more than the earlier versions could. For instance, it can analyze photos and describe objects for people with vision loss. 
  • This past summer, what rule did Google, Amazon, and other tech companies agree to that might help keep fake news from spreading? (problem and solution) The tech companies  agreed that AI-created content must be labeled, such as with a stamp. That way, people can see that certain content was created by AI and decide to double-check before believing what they read.

Critical-Thinking Question (5 minutes)

  • The article says that ChatGPT wouldn’t be great at doing your homework or writing a news article because its information can be incorrect and can include hurtful stereotypes. What are some ways the chatbot might be helpful? (critical thinking) Answers may vary. Students might say that ChatGPT could help them come up with ideas for a homework assignment, but they’d still need to do the research and writing themselves. They might also say that ChatGPT could help a visually impaired person by describing works of art, buildings, or anything else related to sight or to the appearance of things.

3. Skill Building and Writing

  • Have students work in pairs to complete the Spotlight Skill activity at the end of the article.
  • Go further: Assign students to work independently on our Summarizing activity, available in higher- and lower-level versions. (Click here to view all your Skill Builders for this article.)
  • Writing prompt: The article says that ChatGPT is free online. Think about the pros and cons of making a chatbot like this available for everyone to use. Then write a paragraph to say whether you think ChatGPT, and its availability, is a good thing or a bad thing.

Go-Further Activity

An enrichment activity to extend the learning journey at home or in the classroom

Project the task below on your whiteboard or share it with students in your LMS.

Give ChatGPT a Try

After reading Action’s chat with ChatGPT, students might be interested in seeing more examples of how the chatbot communicates. At home or at school (depending on your access to ChatGPT), try asking the chatbot a few questions or giving it a few tasks. (We recommend doing this on your own first in case any responses are not appropriate for students.) Then display the questions and the chatbot’s responses for students to view and discuss. Ask students if they think the chatbot’s writing seems natural and human-like. Ask for suggestions to improve the responses. 

Here are just a few ideas for questions and prompts for ChatGPT:

  • Can you write a cookie recipe that rhymes?
  • Write a rap song about seltzer.
  • Can you write a poem about a puppy, using only one-syllable words?
  • Can you write a lullaby for a goldfish?
  • Can you write a rhyme to help a 7-year-old remember her phone number?

Another suggestion: This issue of Action features a poem about gratitude (on the back page). The poem comes with an activity to help students write their own gratitude poems. It might be fun to see if ChatGPT can follow the instructions too. Experiment with the chatbot to see how it does.

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