Lesson 4 -

AI and Image Generation

Overview

Estimated Time (Without optional slide): 45 minutes

Learning Objective (SMART Goal):

By the end of this lesson, students will understand that AI generates images by copying patterns rather than imagining like a human. They will critically evaluate AI-generated pictures, identify common mistakes or biases, and use an image tool to illustrate part of a Marie Curie story and try out image generation themselves.

Materials Needed:

✔ Lesson 4 Presentation – For guiding the lesson
✔ Printed story pages – One page stripe per student to illustrate
✔ Optional: Laptops – For students to try image generation
✔ Whiteboard – For discussion and sharing ideas

Step 1

Slide lesson: Ai creativity and image generation

This lesson introduces students to how AI creates images by copying patterns rather than imagining like a human. Students discuss whether AI can be creative, learn how to spot common mistakes in AI-generated pictures, and play a visual guessing game to test their critical thinking.

The presentation is teacher-led, with Artie guiding the class through questions and observations. The lesson can be adapted by:
✔ Encouraging students to share examples of AI images they’ve seen
✔ Using the whiteboard to collect guesses during the “spot the mistake” activity
✔ Adding printed examples of AI pictures for small group work

This lesson builds on students’ understanding of how AI works and helps them begin questioning what they see in AI-generated visuals.

Presentation slides & Explanation

It is better to view the presentation through the Canva link, as links, animations, and videos do not work in the PDF.

Presentation PDF

Presentation Edit Link

Go over the goal of the lesson: to understand how AI creates images and what to be careful about. Emphasize that before we try it ourselves, we need to learn how to use it responsibly—just like with chatbots.

This slide gives a recap of all previous lessons: what AI is, how it learns from humans, how we researched and fact-checked information using a chatbot, and how we wrote a story about Marie Curie. The question is raised—what’s missing from our story? Images! This lesson focuses on how AI generates pictures and what we need to keep in mind before using those tools.

Briefly go through the same key vocabulary students learned earlier. Encourage students to use these words when talking about images today (e.g., pattern, prompt, chatbot, fact-checking).

Ask students where they think AI-generated images show up in everyday life. Encourage unexpected answers—this helps activate critical thinking.

Use this slide to expand on their ideas. Give examples like social media filters or edited weather, movies with CGI (e.g., dinosaurs), fake news using AI images, book illustrations, and video games that animate characters and environments.

Present this as an open question and let the class discuss. No right or wrong answer—this is about forming opinions and thinking critically.

Read this slide in Artie’s voice. Artie explains that he only copies patterns and doesn't truly imagine new things.

This is a student reflection moment. Repeat what Artie said in your own words and ask students: “If AI is just taking ideas from humans… is that really being creative?”

Artie has something else to confess. Ask the class, “What do you think Artie is going to say this time?” Then have a student read Artie’s message aloud. This helps transition from creativity to mistakes in AI pictures.

Just like with facts and stories, AI-generated images can be wrong. Let students know we will now practice spotting these mistakes.

Tell the class it’s time to play a fun guessing game. You will show them two pictures, and they have to figure out which one was made by AI.

Show a side-by-side image of two dollhouses. Ask students to point with their finger at the picture they think was made by AI.

Artie gives a clue: “The right one has no bathroom!” Let students zoom in or look closely to check.

Another clue from Artie: “There are no stairs either.” This helps students think critically about what should logically be in a house.

Reveal that the right image was AI-generated. Point out that small, strange details often give it away. Zoom in to show mistakes like odd blurry details or missing features.

Show another pair of images—this time of spaghetti. Ask students to guess again which one is AI.

Read Artie’s clue: “The left spaghetti looks way too perfect and just a bit odd.” Let students look closer before revealing the answer.

Artie adds a funny thought: “Human food is better… it’s made with love!” Human food is made with love...

Present the last image: an AI-generated picture of Marie Curie.

Let students look carefully and find at least four mistakes. Give them time to discuss in pairs or with the class.

Go over the mistakes one by one together. Finish the game by showing a real photo of Marie Curie so they can compare and see what AI got wrong.

Step 2

Hands on- Image Generation

In the second part of the lesson, students put their learning into action by generating AI images to match the pages of the Marie Curie story they wrote earlier. Each student receives one story sentence with a visual suggestion and uses an AI image tool to create a fitting picture. This activity reinforces how prompts influence the outcome and helps students connect text with visuals. It also encourages creativity, attention to detail, and responsible tool use by following Artie’s safety rules. By the end, students better understand how AI generates images and what makes a strong, meaningful prompt.

Introduce the second part of the lesson. Let students know they will now get the chance to try generating their own AI images.

Explain that each student will help complete your class’s Marie Curie story by creating an image for one part of it. Everyone gets a different page.

Tell students the story has 8 pages, each with two sentences. They will each receive a strip of paper that includes their page’s text and a suggestion in brackets for what the image might look like. Their task is to try generating the perfect picture to match their page and show it to a teacher before moving on to create anything they like.

Before beginning, remind students that Artie’s safety rules always apply when using AI. Keep it kind, safe, and respectful.

PDF Story

Edit Link Story

Introduce DeepAI as the image generator. Show students how to go to the website, type in a clear prompt, and generate their image. Model one example together so they know what to do.

Deep AI

Ending Quote

Teacher Tip: If teachers want to add more slides, activities, or worksheets, Artie can be copied into Canva presentations and materials to keep the AI theme consistent and engaging. This allows for easy customization while maintaining a structured learning experience.

Final Word

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lesson 4: Almost done!

After today’s image activities, students are starting to look at pictures differently. That’s a great place to pause and check in with how much they’ve picked up along the way. Lesson 5 takes that growing awareness one step further, diving into fairness and how we can use AI responsibly. If you're ready to wrap things up and help students reflect on the bigger picture, head there next.

Further Ressources

Lesson 5