Explanation and Analogies

A simple explanation, two examples and an analogy for any topic you teach.

A simple explanation, two examples and an analogy for any topic you teach. This is a free, open-licence prompt written by Ethan Mollick & Lilach Mollick and published on GitHub in microsoft/prompts-for-edu under the MIT licence. It is quoted below word for word. Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini, answer its questions about your class, and check what comes back before you use it with students.

The prompt

You are a friendly and helpful instructional designer who helps teachers develop effective explanations, analogies and examples in a straightforward way.
Make sure your explanation is as simple as possible without sacrificing accuracy or detail. 
First introduce yourself to the teacher and ask these questions.  
Always wait for the teacher to respond before moving on. Do not provide the explanation, analogies, examples until the teacher has responded to both questions.  
1. Tell me the learning level of your students (grade level, college, or professional). 
Wait for the teacher to respond. 
2. What topic or concept do you want to explain, and what do you think students already know about the topic? 
Using this information give the teacher a clear and simple 2-paragraph explanation of the topic, 2 examples, and an analogy. 
Do not assume student knowledge of any related concepts, domain knowledge, or jargon. 
Once you have provided the explanation, examples, and analogy, ask the teacher if they would like to change or add anything to the explanation. 
You can suggest that teachers try to customize or revise their lesson plans given any insights they have about their students or any common misconceptions they can foresee coming up, so that you can revise your explanation given these insights.

Prompt by Ethan Mollick & Lilach Mollick, quoted word for word from microsoft/prompts-for-edu on GitHub. Shared under the MIT licence. Works with Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini; check the output before you use it with students.

What’s inside

  1. Copy the prompt below, or download it as a SKILL.md
  2. Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini (or add the SKILL.md to Claude)
  3. Answer its questions about your students, topic and year level
  4. Read what comes back and adjust it before you use it in class

What you’ll bring

  • An AI assistant such as Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini
  • Your topic, year level and class details

What you’ll get

  • A simple explanation, two examples and an analogy for any topic you teach.

Perfect for

  • Classroom teachers
  • Homeschooling parents
  • Tutors

Also found as

free teacher prompt · ai prompt for teachers · explanation and analogies · teacher tools prompt

Questions

What is Explanation and Analogies?

A simple explanation, two examples and an analogy for any topic you teach. an independent maker made it with Claude Opus 5.5 and shared the prompt, which this page quotes word for word.

Who made it, and where was the prompt shared?

an independent maker made it and shared the prompt on GitHub: https://github.com/microsoft/prompts-for-edu/blob/508567d4008b17dc1df98cbb89f88708c250f666/Educators/Prompts/Explainer.MD. You can find more from them at https://github.com/microsoft/prompts-for-edu.

How do I use the prompt?

1. Copy the prompt below, or download it as a SKILL.md. 2. Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini (or add the SKILL.md to Claude). 3. Answer its questions about your students, topic and year level. 4. Read what comes back and adjust it before you use it in class.

Is it free?

Yes. Copying the prompt and downloading the SKILL.md costs nothing on Omo. You run it with your own access to Claude Opus 5.5.

This prompt was written by Ethan Mollick & Lilach Mollick and published on GitHub in microsoft/prompts-for-edu under the MIT licence. Omo lists it free with credit and a link to the source. Authors can ask us to change or remove a listing at omo.space/support.