The "Copy-Paste" Burnout Cycle
It is the night before your new unit starts. You have a 30-page textbook chapter on "The Water Cycle" that you need to turn into a PowerPoint for tomorrow morning.
In the past, this meant hours of:
Reading a paragraph.
Typing a bullet point.
Looking for an image.
Repeating 50 times.
This manual process is the enemy of teacher well-being. It turns you into a typist, not a teacher.
There is a better way.
You can use AI to read the chapter for you and extract the key points formatted exactly for slides. You simply copy the text, paste it into the prompt, and then paste the result into PowerPoint (or Google Slides).
Slide Content: The bulleted text, definitions, and speaker notes that go onto a presentation slide, distinct from the visual design.
Step 1: Use AI to Extract Clean Bullet Points
Do not ask AI to "summarize the chapter." That gives you a paragraph, which is terrible for slides. You need bullets.
The Why: Slides should have low text density. A paragraph on a slide guarantees students will read the screen instead of listening to you.
The How: Use this prompt to force the AI into "Presentation Mode."
Copy-Paste Prompt:
[Context]: I am creating a PowerPoint for [Grade Level] students about [Topic].
[Role]: Act as an Instructional Designer.
[Exact Task]: Extract the key information from the text below and format it into 5 distinct slides.
[Format]:
Slide Title: (Catchy and relevant)
Bullet Points: (Max 4 bullets per slide, under 10 words each)
Key Term: (Bold the most important vocabulary word)
[The Text]: [Paste your textbook chapter here]
Step 2: Generate Speaker Notes So You Don't Read the Slide
Good slides have minimal text. But you need to know what to say. If you put everything on the slide, you become a reader, not a teacher.
The Why: Speaker notes allow you to keep the slide clean while still having the detailed explanation, analogies, and questions right in front of you.
The How: Add this instruction to the previous prompt:
"For each slide, write a 'Speaker Note' script for me. Include one analogy to explain the concept and one 'Check for Understanding' question I can ask the class."
For more on how to streamline your entire lesson planning workflow beyond just slides, check out our guide on cutting lesson planning time in half.
Step 3: Get AI to Describe the Perfect Images for You
Now you have the text. But a slide with just words is boring. You need visuals.
The Why: Searching Google Images for "Water Cycle" takes forever. Instead, ask the AI to describe the perfect image for you.
The How: Ask the AI:
"For each slide, suggest a specific image or diagram that would best illustrate the concept. Be descriptive so I know exactly what to search for."
Recommended Video: How to Use AI to Create Slides for Educators This video is excellent because it shows how to use tools like Canva's Magic Design or Curipod to take the text you just generated and instantly turn it into a designed presentation, skipping the manual formatting entirely.
Safety Check: Verify the Output Against Your Textbook
AI doesn't "know" science; it predicts words.
The Risk: If you ask for a slide on "The History of the Atom," the AI might attribute a discovery to the wrong scientist because they are often mentioned together.
The Fix:
Source Truth: Always paste the textbook text into the AI. Do not let it write from its own memory.
Verify Dates/Names: If the slide says "Darwin discovered DNA," check it. (He didn't).
Conclusion
Your value as a teacher is your delivery, not your typing speed.
By using AI to handle the extraction and formatting, you save hours of busy work. You walk into class with a clean, professional slide deck and a script that makes you look like a genius.
If you want a tool that can take this a step further and actually plan the activities that go between the slides, the Lesson Planner is your best next step.
Check it out here: Lesson Planner
