5 Advanced AI Prompt Tricks Every Kid Should Know

You've learned the SUPER Prompt Formula. You're getting decent results. Now here are 5 techniques that separate good AI users from great ones — taught in Lesson 2.3 of the AI Adventures course.

Trick 1: Chain prompting

Don't try to do everything in one prompt. Break complex tasks into steps, building on each answer:

1. First prompt: "Give me 10 ideas for a science fair project about water conservation."
2. Second prompt: "I like idea 3. Now give me a materials list and step-by-step method for that one."
3. Third prompt: "Now write a 2-minute presentation script I could give when showing it to judges."

Each step uses the previous answer as context. The result is far better than trying to get all of this from one mega-prompt — because you can steer at each stage.

Trick 2: Ask AI to think out loud ("think step by step")

For reasoning tasks — maths problems, logic puzzles, planning decisions — add "think step by step" or "show your working" to your prompt. This forces AI to reason through the problem rather than jumping straight to a conclusion, which dramatically reduces errors.

Example: "If a train travels at 80km/h and leaves at 9am, what time does it arrive at a station 200km away? Think step by step."

Without "think step by step," AI often just gives an answer. With it, you can see the reasoning and catch any mistakes in the logic.

Trick 3: "Try again but..."

The first answer is rarely the best one. Instead of starting a new conversation, refine in place:

• "Try again but make it funnier."
• "That's good but too long — cut it to 50 words."
• "Now make it more exciting, like a movie trailer."
• "The second paragraph is too complicated — rewrite it for a 7-year-old."

AI holds the context of your conversation. You can keep refining the same piece of writing, explanation, or plan without starting over.

Trick 4: Ask for alternatives

Instead of accepting the first answer, ask for options:

• "Give me 5 different ways to start this essay."
• "What are 3 different approaches to solving this problem?"
• "Give me the optimistic version and the pessimistic version of this argument."

Having options lets you choose, combine, or use the range to spark your own ideas — which is better learning than just copying one answer.

Trick 5: Play devil's advocate

Once AI gives you an answer, test its quality by asking it to argue the opposite:

• "Now argue against everything you just said."
• "What are the weaknesses in that plan?"
• "What would a critic of this idea say?"

This is fantastic for developing critical thinking. AI will often find genuine weaknesses in its own answers, teaching kids (and adults) to evaluate ideas from multiple angles rather than accepting the first response.

The Prompt Battle activity

This is the Lesson 2.3 activity in AI Adventures: two players get the same task. Each uses their best prompting techniques. Compare the AI outputs — which prompt produced better results and why? This friendly competition is one of the most effective ways to build prompting skills quickly, because the contrast between good and bad prompts is immediately visible.