?How I Created a Novel Study With ChatGPT? #homeschooling
Education
Introduction
A few months ago, I wondered if I could use artificial intelligence to help me create a novel study for my kids, specifically for the book "My Side of the Mountain" for my fourth and sixth graders. As a homeschool mom for nine years, I know what works for my kids, who have their own unique learning needs. I wanted to create a custom experience to save time and reduce some of the tedium associated with creating a novel study. So, I decided to give ChatGPT a try.
To use ChatGPT effectively and responsibly, I completed the Prompt Engineering Specialization on Coursera. This training enabled me to spend less time getting the AI to do what I wanted. You're about to benefit from the many hours I spent learning about prompt engineering as I show you how I used ChatGPT to create a novel study that I'm quite proud of.
Setting Objectives
Before creating a novel study, it's essential to decide what you want your kids to learn. For me, I wanted my kids to do copy work, vocabulary learning, and cover some language arts topics. I also wanted to include nature learning and some hands-on activities.
Preparing for ChatGPT
Read the book and take notes. For this novel study, I read "My Side of the Mountain" on the Kindle app, highlighting passages for copy work, vocabulary, nature learning, and other objectives. I added consistent notes like "copy work" and "vocabulary" to these highlighted sections to streamline processing later.
Using ChatGPT
Once you have your notes, you can use a website like clippings.io to extract your Kindle highlights into a spreadsheet. Make sure the spreadsheet is consistent—same spellings and letter cases across similar notes. This ensures ChatGPT can process the data effectively.
Upload your spreadsheet to ChatGPT and create a plan to process it. ChatGPT can help create another spreadsheet categorizing different learning objectives and ideas for worksheets. If you're interested in seeing how I did this step-by-step, let me know.
Creating the Workbook
I created the workbook using Canva, incorporating images and fonts to make it visually appealing. Here's a breakdown of how I integrated ChatGPT into different worksheet types:
Vocabulary Worksheets
ChatGPT generated several vocabulary worksheets by using highlighted words from the book. I asked ChatGPT to create both standard and creative vocabulary exercises, which I then formatted and prettified in Canva.
Language Arts Topics
ChatGPT helped explain concepts like personification, similes, and metaphors. I edited these explanations for clarity and formatted them nicely before adding related exercises using quotes from the book.
Nature and Geography
I used ChatGPT to organize flora and fauna mentioned in the book, creating worksheets with illustrations for my kids to annotate and learn more about these topics.
Hands-On Activities
ChatGPT also helped brainstorm hands-on activities under a section called "Wilderness Workshop." These activities were designed to engage my kids practically and relate their experiences back to the book.
Science Learning
I used ChatGPT to generate questions for science discussions, prompting my kids to research and answer them during our lessons.
Assessment
For the final assessment, I decided on a creative YouTube video project. ChatGPT helped outline the process, from scripting to voiceovers and editing using Pictory.
Conclusion
Creating a novel study using ChatGPT proved to be enjoyable and time-saving. The AI assisted in overcoming the tedium of manual crafting, allowing me to focus on customizing the content for my kids' unique needs. As I look forward to possibly creating a unit study in the future, I'm excited to explore how ChatGPT can assist in diverse educational projects.
Keywords
- Homeschooling
- ChatGPT
- Novel Study
- My Side of the Mountain
- Language Arts
- Vocabulary
- Hands-On Activities
- Nature Learning
- Science Learning
- AI in Education
- Custom Learning
FAQ
What is the purpose of using ChatGPT in homeschooling?
ChatGPT helps in automating tedious tasks associated with creating custom educational materials, allowing for more personalized and efficient learning experiences.
How did you decide what should be included in the novel study?
I set clear learning objectives upfront, focusing on copy work, vocabulary, language arts, nature learning, and hands-on activities.
Why is it important to keep notes consistent when using ChatGPT?
Consistency in notes is crucial for accurate processing by ChatGPT. Variations in spelling or letter cases can lead to errors in the AI-generated output.
How did you create the workbook in Canva?
I integrated text and ideas generated by ChatGPT into templates on Canva, adding images and design elements to make the worksheets visually appealing and engaging for my kids.
What were some of the unique activities included in the novel study?
Apart from standard worksheets, I included hands-on activities like building a fireplace, drawing, science research discussions, and a final YouTube video project for assessment.
Can I see the step-by-step process of how you used ChatGPT for this project?
If there's enough interest, I can create a detailed guide on how I used ChatGPT to process and categorize the learning objectives from the book. Let me know if you're interested!