Step 1: Designing Your Own Homework
Objectives
Students will:
- Take charge of their own learning by creating a homework plan that feels useful and motivating.
- Practice thinking about what Essay 1 asks and what skills they need to succeed.
Lesson Materials
- Copy/paste this Essay 1 Assistant Prompt into Co-Pilot or your favorite LLM to start the conversation.
- Access to the AI conversation tool, Co-Pilot or your favorite other LLM
- The AI is your assistant, not your boss. If you don’t like its suggestions, say so and ask for something better. The goal is to design homework you are genuinely motivated to do. Your own imagination is the limit. I want you in charge doing work that is meaningful for you.
To Receive Credit for this Assignment
Submit:
- A transcript of your conversation with the AI focused on Essay 1 copy/pasted here. I need to see the full conversation.
- A homework plan that:
- Takes 30–45 minutes to complete.
- Explains why you chose these tasks and how they will help you write Essay 1.
Show Your Work Grading
Full credit comes from:
- Showing a real conversation with the AI (not just one question).
- Creating a homework plan that is clear, realistic, and connected to Essay 1.
- Making sure the homework plan would reasonably take between 30 and 45 minutes.
- Explaining your reasoning for the tasks you picked.
AI Guidelines
You must use AI for this assignment. It should be the partner for your conversation and it can totally write your own homework plan.
Step 2: Turn That Homework in for A Grade
Objectives
Students will:
- Follow through on the homework plan they created.
- Show how doing this work helped them get ready for the timed Essay 1 writing.
Lesson Materials
- The homework plan you designed in the previous assignment.
- Any notes, drafts, or brainstorming you already have for Essay 1.
To Receive Credit for this Assignment
Submit:
1. The completed homework you designed. Do the tasks exactly as you wrote them in your plan.
2. A short reflection (3–4 sentences) explaining:
- Now that you’ve completed the homework, how confident do you feel about handling challenges in Essay 1?
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- Not confident at all
- Somewhat confident
- Confident
- Very confident
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- How has this assignment helped you prepare for the timed writing?
- In what ways do you feel like you could still use more preparation.
Show Your Work Grading
Full credit comes from:
- Completing the homework tasks you designed.
- Showing clear effort and connection to Essay 1.
- Writing a reflection that explains what worked and what didn’t.
Strong work looks like:
- Homework that matches your plan and shows real preparation.
- A reflection that is specific about what you learned and still have to work on.
AI Guidelines
Students may not use AI for this assignment unless that was explicitly part of your homework plan (in that case, do whatever your plan says). This includes tools like ChatGPT, Grammarly, and any other AI writing or rewriting tools.