Create a lesson plan and supporting materials

Introduction

In grades 3 through 5, our students encounter the newly abstract concepts.

In early elementary, concepts have been very concrete, and instructional strategies generally use solid, touchable manipulatives. Now, we begin asking them to visualize concepts like empathy, gravity, theme, or the water cycle.

For a 9-year-old, trying to understand these ideas without a concrete model or tangible tool is like trying to solve a puzzle in a dark room. They have the pieces, but they can't see how they're supposed to fit together.

In this session, you’ll explore how to use Gemini’s image generation to create visual anchors for abstract vocabulary, figurative language, and scientific processes,

Before we dive in think about:

• What is one invisible block or abstract concept in a current unit, lesson or project you are currently teaching that your students are struggling to understand?

In our classrooms, we talk a lot about mental models. For example, when we ask a student to explain fairness vs. equality or how evaporation works, we’re asking them to create an image or a movie in their head. If that movie is blurry or missing scenes, it impacts their comprehension.

With Gemini’s image generation, we can put their movie into focus and complete any missing scenes.

• Instead of referencing a dictionary definition, we can show them what anxious or dense look like through a character or a scene.

• We can generate images to help students who are literal thinkers see how having a heavy heart isn't about physical weight, but about an emotional feeling

Demo

Let’s try it out! Imagine we’re teaching our class about similes.

Often, students just memorize the “like or as” rule without actually feeling the comparison. They might write: “He was as quiet as a mouse” because they've heard it so often, not because they are visualizing the silence.

Step 1: We’ll start by opening Gemini: gemini.google.com

• Point out the interface and the prompt bar at the bottom

Step 2: We're going to tell Gemini exactly what our students need so we'll paste the following prompt into the prompt bar:

• Create a whimsical, colorful illustration of a giant library where the floor is made of fluffy clouds. A small turtle is wearing slippers and walking softly. The style should look like a high-quality children’s book.

[Wait for the image to generate]

Now, instead of just reading “He was as quiet as a turtle walking on a cloud,” they see the texture.

Then, we might ask the class: What colors help to make it feel quiet?

Step 3: What if we changed the prompt to: Now create: He was as loud as a thunderstorm in a tin can .

• By generating this image, we’re showing students that “quiet” has a texture. The clouds and the slippers are visual proof of the sound level.

• If we just said “as quiet as a turtle,” our students might only think of a turtle in a tank. This image shows them the mood of the simile.

The image can also generate discussion. We can ask the class:

• Does the turtle in slippers feel quieter than a mouse in sneakers?

• Why?

We’re analyzing the strength of the comparison, not just the grammar. We’re helping them turn those invisible blocks into something they can finally see and understand.

Practice

Your turn! Pick an invisible block—a concept that’s coming up in your next unit that your students usually struggle to visualize and understand.

Your task:

Step 1: Open gemini.google.com and enter your prompt. Or if you’re stuck, you can try one of these prompts:

• Generate a friendly character made entirely of oxygen trying to give a hug to a carbon character. Make it look like a 3D animated movie.

• Create a photo of the word “courage” represented by a small kitten looking in a mirror and seeing a lion. Use bright, brave colors.

• Generate an image of a seed's journey showing a tiny seed with a backpack flying on the wind over a giant forest.

Step 2: Take a minute to review the output, ask yourselves, is the image too complicated? How can I simplify the prompt to focus on only one part of the concept?

Step 3: If the image isn’t exactly what you need, you don’t need to start over. Just type in the prompt bar the changes you want made.

Step 4: Continue to iterate like this until it generates an output that you think best illustrates the concept for your students.

When you look at the image you generated, does it provide a clear conceptual bridge to the intended meaning, or does it risk adding another layer of literal confusion? How would you use this specific image to help a student 'pivot' from what they see to what the author means?

Reflection

Let’s come back together and discuss your experience.

• Share one “aha moment” you had while prompting today.

• Did Gemini surprise you by visualizing your idea in a way you hadn't considered?

• What’s one way you’ll use Gemini’s image generator to help your students understand an abstract concept?