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Prompts for "To Know" Statements

Complete Knowledge Components List Prompt

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Act as an expert teacher. Generate an accurate and fully sequenced list of knowledge components students must understand to meet this learning outcome: “By the end of this lesson, students will be able to ___________________.”The lesson details are:• Year group: __________• Subject: __________• Curriculum (e.g., UK NC, IB MYP, CBSE, American CCSS, etc.): __________• Age range: __________• Topic: __________• Prior knowledge students should already have: __________Create a set of substantive knowledge components only (facts, concepts, definitions, relationships, principles). Include essential vocabulary with simple and technical definitions, conceptual links to prior learning, and how each component supports achieving the learning outcome. Avoid action verbs and avoid describing skills—focus only on what students must know.

Procedural–Substantive Knowledge Link Prompt

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For this lesson:
• Subject: __________
• Year group: __________
• Curriculum: __________
• Topic: __________
• Learning outcome: “By the end of this lesson, students will be able to ___________________.”
Generate the substantive knowledge that underpins the procedural skill described in the learning outcome. Include:

  1. Core facts students must know

  2. Rules, principles, formulas, or theories (if applicable)

  3. Key conceptual explanations

  4. Examples and non-examples (as knowledge, not tasks)

  5. Short notes showing how each knowledge component supports the procedural skill
    Ensure writing focuses on the “what” (knowledge), not the “how” (skill).

Prior Knowledge → New Knowledge → Connections Prompt

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For a lesson in:
• Subject: __________
• Year group: __________
• Curriculum: __________
• Age range: __________
• Topic: __________
• Learning outcome: “By the end of this lesson, students will be able to ___________________.”
Write the knowledge components students must know, sequenced clearly as:

  1. Prior knowledge they need to recall

  2. New substantive knowledge for this lesson

  3. How the new knowledge connects to existing schema
    Include key vocabulary, conceptual rules, big ideas of the discipline, and any essential clarifications. Ensure each component is factual or conceptual—not skill-based.

Vocabulary, Concepts & Misconceptions Prompt

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Create a detailed list of knowledge components for the following lesson:• Subject: __________• Year group / age: __________• Curriculum: __________• Topic: __________• Learning Outcome: “Students will be able to ___________________.”List the exact vocabulary students need to know (with student-friendly definitions), the core concepts, the conceptual relationships between them, and any common misconceptions students may hold. Write all components as “students need to know that…” statements. Include factual knowledge + conceptual understanding. Ensure the list strengthens schema and supports long-term understanding. Exclude all skills and procedures.

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Subject-Frame Knowledge Prompt

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You are supporting a teacher planning a lesson in:• Subject: __________• Year group: __________• Curriculum: __________• Age: __________• Topic focus: __________• Learning outcome: “Students will be able to ___________________.”Generate a comprehensive, precise set of knowledge components. Break them into:• Key concepts students must understand• Essential definitions and terminology• Relationships and connections between ideas• Any underpinning disciplinary principles (e.g., scientific laws, historical causation, mathematical properties, literary devices)Write knowledge as clear bullet points that can be explicitly taught and revisited. Ensure each item contributes directly to accurate understanding of the topic.

Universal “To Know” Generator Prompt

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Act as an expert curriculum designer. Using the information below, generate a precise, accurate, and fully sequenced set of “To Know” knowledge components for the lesson. These must focus exclusively on substantive knowledge (what students need to know), not procedural skills. Follow the structure of clear knowledge bullet points, conceptual explanations, vocabulary definitions, misconceptions and clarifications, and links to prior learning.

Lesson Information:

  • Subject: __________

  • Year group: __________

  • Age range: __________

  • Curriculum (e.g., UK NC, IB MYP, CBSE, CCSS): __________

  • Topic: __________

  • Learning Outcome: “By the end of this lesson, students will be able to ___________________.”

  • Prior knowledge students should already have: __________

Your task:
Create a high-quality list of “To Know” components that includes:

  1. Key facts and core knowledge students must understand before they can meet the learning outcome.

  2. Conceptual knowledge that explains relationships, principles, rules, or underlying ideas.

  3. Essential vocabulary with student-friendly definitions and any specialised terminology required to understand the topic.

  4. How these knowledge components link to prior learning and support schema development.

  5. Common misconceptions students may have, each paired with a clear correction or clarification.

  6. Connections within the subject (e.g., links to earlier units, disciplinary big ideas).

  7. No skills, no verbs, no success criteria—only substantive knowledge written as “students need to know that…” statements.

Write the final output as:

  • A concise, logically sequenced bullet-point list of knowledge components.

  • All items must directly support accurate understanding needed for the learning outcome.

  • Avoid procedural phrasing, steps, or actions. Focus purely on knowledge.

Create your own prompts using the following keywords and sentance starters
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Keywords for “To Know” knowledge components include terms linked to facts and core knowledge such as:

 

know that, recognise that, understand that, recall that, be aware that, identify that, substantively know, and conceptualise; vocabulary for conceptual understanding such as concept, principle, rule, idea, relationship, connection, cause, effect, pattern, structure, property, characteristic, and underpinning theory; language for vocabulary and terminology including define, explain, clarify, terminology, key terms, technical language, specialist vocabulary, and conceptual vocabulary; phrases indicating links to prior learning like builds on, connects to, deepens, reinforces, schema, prior schema, previously learned, and foundational knowledge; terms describing misconceptions and clarifications such as misunderstood as, often confused with, incorrect assumption, misconception, clarification, accurate interpretation, and common error; words representing disciplinary big ideas like core concept, overarching idea, disciplinary lens, framework, theme, and knowledge strand; and finally, labels for knowledge types such as factual, conceptual, theoretical, substantive, domain knowledge, essential knowledge, and core content.

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Sentence Starters for Creating “To Know” Statements

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  • “Students need to know that __________ is defined as __________.”

  • “Students need to know that the key concept of __________ involves __________.”

  • “Students need to know that __________ connects to prior learning on __________.”

  • “Students need to know that the term __________ means __________ and is used when __________.”

  • “Students need to know that a common misconception is __________, but the accurate understanding is __________.”

  • “Students need to know that __________ follows the principle/rule of __________.”

  • “Students need to know that the relationship between __________ and __________ is __________.”

  • “Students need to know that the idea of __________ helps them understand __________.”

  • “Students need to know that the structure/pattern of __________ supports understanding of __________.”

  • “Students need to know that understanding __________ is essential because it underpins __________.”

  • “Students need to know that in this topic, __________ is different from __________ because __________.”

  • “Students need to know that the vocabulary term __________ relates to __________ in this context.”

  • “Students need to know that the big idea behind __________ is __________.”

  • “Students need to know that previously learned knowledge about __________ helps them understand __________.”

  • “Students need to know that __________ is an example of __________, whereas __________ is a non-example.”

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PROMPT BANK GURU

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