🧠 AI in Elementary School

A Glimpse Into the Future of Learning

AI is changing everything—from how we work to how we communicate.

But here’s the twist: preparing children for an AI-powered future isn’t about rushing more technology into their hands. It’s about slowing down—helping them think deeply, ask sharper questions, and create with purpose and heart, so they can trust their own voice in a world filled with artificial ones.

Naturally, many parents are asking: What does this mean for my child’s education?

The answer to that question has two parts:
🔹 What do children need to learn?
🔹 And…just as importantly, how will they learn it?

Inside the WHPS Classroom: Preparing Students for an AI World

👇 This article offers a peek into what it looks and feels like to be a student at our school—and a closer look at how WHPS classrooms are preparing students to think critically, use AI responsibly, and lead with creativity and heart.

• 🔽 Step 1: What Happens When Kids Deconstruct Great Work?

  At WHPS, great learning starts with great models. Whether students are writing a personal narrative, designing a podcast, or preparing a class presentation, we begin by studying something meaningful—something that sparks curiosity and reveals what’s possible.

  We might read a Mo Willems story and notice how illustrations convey emotion, or compare opening paragraphs from student writing to see what hooks a reader. In science, we might analyze the layout of a successful experiment board, looking at how data is organized and what grabs attention.

  Teachers guide students through this process with lots of thinking aloud:
  🧠 “Did you notice how this author built suspense here?”
  🧠 “Let’s highlight where they used precise vocabulary to make a point.”

  In the upper grades, AI can also support this exploration. A teacher might pull up an AI-generated story starter and invite students to evaluate it alongside a human-written one:
  👀 “Which sounds more authentic?”
  👀 “What’s missing here?”
  👀 “How might a real writer improve this idea?”

  This step helps students build critical awareness and sets the stage for thoughtful creation—where their own voice begins to take shape.

  📌 Students have already been applying this process in Technology class. Beginning in fall 2025, there will be a stronger emphasis on analyzing AI-generated content as part of their regular classroom experience across subjects. Steps 2–4 below outline how this will unfold, especially in writing instruction.

• 🔽 Step 2: Helping Students Name What Makes Great Work Great

  Next, students try it themselves—maybe by revising a story to show how a character feels or reorganizing a presentation to improve clarity. This is also where AI may come in—but not as a replacement for thinking.

  A teacher might model how to ask a tool, “What are three ways to show a character is nervous without saying it directly?” Students reflect:
  🤔 What sounds realistic?
  🤔 What feels off or repetitive?
  🤔 How would you rephrase the question?

  Students then turn and talk to a partner, trying out their own questions, discussing what they might ask, and preparing to dive into the work with new insights. These short, powerful conversations are one of the ways we ensure every student is actively processing—not just a few hands in the air.

  Because each day builds on the last, students might begin with a Morning Meeting reflection, jot a sticky note goal, or revisit the previous day’s anchor chart. These small routines cultivate metacognition—awareness of their own thinking—and help keep the learning momentum strong.

• 🔽 Step 3: Watch a Lesson Come to Life as Students Try It for Themselves

  Now the classroom hums with creativity. Students are revising their writing, giving peer feedback, testing podcast ideas, or tweaking story endings. They may be using AI to brainstorm—but they’re still in the driver’s seat.

  Teachers move throughout the room, offering just-right support:
  💡 Prompting deeper thinking
  💡 Modeling how to revise a question
  💡 Helping students find their voice in the final product

  Because using AI is often an iterative process, teacher guidance is essential. Students don’t just copy and paste—they think critically, ask follow-ups, and decide which ideas reflect their intentions and values.

  Anchor charts from these moments might outline strong AI questions or co-created ethical guidelines. A future chart may even list “try – reflect – revise” as a visible reminder of how real learning works.

• 🔽 Step 4: Sharing in Real Time—What Worked, What Didn’t, and Why It Matters

  Each workshop ends with a brief but powerful reflection. Students share something they tried that worked—or even something that didn’t go as planned.

  These reflections can often be more profound than the lesson itself. That chance to name a success or a challenge within the classroom community gives students agency and creates a truly meaningful learning experience—where every voice is cultivated and celebrated.

  Students may co-create an anchor chart to capture takeaways:
  🗣️ “What makes a strong AI question?”
  🗣️ “How can we stay true to our voice?”

  Over time, these ideas deepen. A later mini-lesson may circle back to ethical use, with students reflecting on why we don’t let a computer do our thinking and how to create something that’s truly theirs.

• 🔽 What WHPS Students Have Already Been Doing

  At WHPS, our thoughtful approach to AI integration didn’t begin with the latest news cycle—it’s been unfolding intentionally over the past several years.

  Since the 2022–2023 school year, artificial intelligence has been a deliberate part of our Technology curriculum, with age-appropriate explorations that build both understanding and discernment.

  • In the early grades, students have interacted with digital tools that model how machines sort, match, and make predictions—laying the conceptual groundwork for understanding how AI systems “learn.”

  • In 2nd and 3rd grade, students have engaged in hands-on coding and problem-solving activities that demonstrate how training data influences outcomes—and how bias and accuracy are shaped by the inputs AI receives. They also reflected on the role of AI in supporting (but not replacing) original thinking.

  • By 4th and 5th grade, students are exploring more complex themes, including:

    • How to assess the trustworthiness of online sources

    • How to detect bias in AI-generated content

    • What it means to use AI tools ethically and responsibly

    • Why authorship, originality, and voice are essential in a world of generative technology

  Through these experiences, our students are developing more than just technical know-how—they're building real-world habits of critical thinking, digital discernment, and ethical engagement.

  As AI becomes increasingly embedded across industries and disciplines, this article is designed to help families understand what’s ahead. While these early tech-based introductions have laid a strong foundation, the next phase will involve more intentional crossover into core academic subjects, where students continue to apply, evaluate, and reflect on their learning across contexts.

⚠️ Reminder: These examples don’t reflect daily AI use. At WHPS, AI is introduced carefully and purposefully. It is never a substitute for creativity or critical thinking. It’s just one of many tools we help students use responsibly—as they grow their skills and find their voice.

📚 Want to See How These Skills Grow Over Time?

If you're curious how skills in reading, writing, spelling, public speaking—and now AI—develop across grade levels, we’ve created parent-friendly snapshots to guide you.

Our Literacy Skills Overview and Technology Skill Progression show how instruction is aligned from TK–8th grade, with many WHPS students reaching (and often exceeding) skills typically introduced as late as high school.

🔽 What Might AI Look Like in TK–Fifth Grade?

These examples offer a gentle preview of how AI may appear at different grade levels—not as a daily tool, but as part of a broader learning progression. The field is evolving rapidly, and what we try now may shift significantly in six months or a year. Our goal is to introduce it slowly, responsibly, and with joy.

• TK & Kindergarten

  • Listening to a teacher model how to ask a question using AI during group time

  • Talking about how computers can help but people are the real thinkers

  • Exploring tools that can read words aloud or describe pictures

  • Comparing real and silly answers (e.g., “Can AI tell us what a dragon eats for breakfast?”)

  • Using a tablet or interactive board to co-create class stories or drawings

  • Beginning to understand digital sharing: “This is for our class only”

  • Practicing safe device handling and respectful sharing

• 1st Grade

  • Participating in simple, guided AI prompts with a teacher (e.g., naming a character or place)

  • Comparing ideas from the class vs. ideas from an AI tool—Which sound more interesting?

  • Talking about what makes writing sound “like a person”

  • Using tools to enhance or narrate their stories (images, voice recordings)

  • Discussing: “Is this your idea or did the computer suggest it?”

  • Reinforcing respectful use of technology and collaborative devices

• 2nd & 3rd Grade

  • Using AI tools in small groups to brainstorm ideas for stories or projects

  • Testing how rewording a question changes the AI response

  • Reflecting on: “Which parts did you keep? What did you change?”

  • Spotting the difference between a strong and weak AI response

  • Practicing how to search for reliable info—and how to tell when something’s off

  • Exploring digital tools to support multimedia projects (with guidance)

  • Engaging in early ethical discussions: “Is it OK to use this tool for this?”

  • Beginning to question digital authorship: “Who created this and why?”

• 4th & 5th Grade

  • Generating their own AI prompts to explore writing, research, or presentation ideas

  • Evaluating AI responses: What’s helpful? What needs to be revised or verified?

  • Using AI to expand thinking—followed by thoughtful revision and peer feedback

  • Reflecting on the role of human creativity in storytelling, writing, and design

  • Integrating AI tools into multimedia projects (e.g., creating visuals, testing ideas)

  • Practicing citation and authorship—who contributed what to a final product

  • Discussing real-world ethical dilemmas around AI use in school and society

  • Exploring bias: “How do we know who made this? What perspective does it reflect?”

  • Documenting responsible use and learning goals in their leadership notebooks

🎓 In Closing

If you're a parent wondering how your child will be prepared for the world ahead, we hope this article gives you more than reassurance.

We hope it gives you a glimpse into the classroom experience at WHPS—where students grow not only in skill, but in voice, joy, and confidence. And where learning how to think critically, creatively, and ethically is the real foundation for whatever comes next.