Overview: 

The lesson is focused on narrative fiction, where they are developing their writing skills in English. In this activity, students will integrate the use of Leonardo AI for the creation of images to illustrate their stories.

Contextualization: 

This lesson can be used in a range of classrooms though it is targeted toward high school students or college students at  B1 level, in English as a Second or International Language classes. Our targeted age group is 16-20 year-olds. The activity will take place in an EFL classroom in Turkey. This lesson is part of a larger unit. 

By the end of the lesson sequence, students will have produced a collection of illustrated picture books aimed at helping young English learners develop their language skills. These books will feature simple language paired with AI-generated visuals, making them engaging and educational resources for beginners.

Lesson Aims: 

Narrative Writing Skills:

• Enable students to write clear, detailed descriptions of characters, settings, or events within their short stories. Students will focus on using B1-level language that is organized and descriptive, with an emphasis on coherence and clarity. By doing so, they will enhance their ability to convey narrative elements visually and effectively through words.

Integrating Technology in Creative Expression:

• Equip students with the skills to use Leonardo AI as a digital tool to visualize their story descriptions. By creating prompts that accurately represent their written ideas, students will practice translating textual descriptions into visual form, enhancing both their technical and creative capabilities.

Speaking and Interaction for Reflection:

• Foster students' ability to explain their creative choices by describing the connection between their prompt and the generated image. Through this process, students practice explaining abstract ideas and discussing the effectiveness of their descriptions in groups, improving their ability to express narrative choices verbally and provide constructive feedback to peers.

Constructive Listening and Peer Feedback:

• Develop students’ skills in listening to peers' descriptions and evaluating the alignment between prompts and images. This aims to promote critical thinking as students assess the clarity and accuracy of descriptions, practice providing thoughtful feedback, and suggest adjustments that could enhance the accuracy of image prompts.

Applying Language Skills to Creative Production:

• Encourage students to synthesize writing, speaking, and listening skills by producing an illustrated picture book page. This final product will help students see the impact of their descriptive choices and provide a tangible outcome that integrates language practice with creative output, solidifying their understanding of how language and visuals work together to tell a story.

SWBATs:

• Create prompts that incorporate characters, settings, or events described in their short stories. 

• Write and modify detailed descriptions to input into Leonardo AI.

• Design images with Leonardo AI that illustrate their prompts and select images for their final product. 

Preparation:

Students will need a device with internet access.  They can access Leonardo AI on an internet browser, or they can download the app. They will need to sign up to use Leonardo AI. The page is user-friendly and students will need around 5-10 minutes to familiarize themselves with the website. They are given 150 credits at the start, and it takes about 16 credits each time, therefore they have limited attempts for the image creation. There are four images created per prompt and credits get replenished every day. Therefore, students should have enough credits to create multiple images in this lesson.

Teacher Preparation:

Familiarize with Leonardo AI: The teacher should review Leonardo AI's user interface and image creation tools in advance. Ensure that they can navigate the prompt input, style selection, and download functions efficiently, as they'll need to demonstrate these for students. They can practice generating a few example prompts to understand how specific details impact the resulting images.

Example Prompt Preparation: Teacher should prepare a couple of sample prompts to illustrate the type of descriptive language students should use (e.g., "A bustling city street at sunset with vibrant colors and shadows over people walking by"). These examples will help guide students as they write their own prompts in line with B1 CEFR expectations.

Technology Check: Teacher should ensure that all devices (teacher’s and students’) have stable internet access and can run Leonardo AI smoothly. If technology fails teacher should have an alternative method (such as screenshots or pre-prepared images) to illustrate the process.

Classroom Setup: Teacher can arrange seating to allow students to work in pairs or small groups and ensure the projector/smart TV is ready to display Leonardo AI on the teacher’s computer.

Create a Guidance Handout: Provide students with a brief handout or slide with guidelines on writing effective prompts and an outline of the lesson objectives, including how to use Leonardo AI and reminders of B1-level language structures.

Materials:

Teacher’s Computer and Projector: For demonstrating the Leonardo AI interface, showing examples, and guiding students through prompt creation.

Student Devices with Internet Access: Each student or student pair needs a device to access Leonardo AI, either via an internet browser or app, to generate their images.

Handouts: 

• Prompt Writing Guide: Examples at their B1-level prompts and elements to include (character, setting, or event details). Suggestions on how to describe visual aspects (e.g., colors, atmosphere, and textures) that aid their story writing and illustrations. 

• Leonardo AI User Guide: This can be a handout or presentation students can access on their device. Step-by-step instructions on signing up, using credits, inputting prompts, and modifying prompts as needed. Reminders of credit limits and the number of images generated per prompt. 

• Lesson Objectives and SWBATs: Brief outline of the lesson goals, focusing on how prompt writing supports both descriptive writing and visual storytelling.

• Feedback Checklist: A list of constructive feedback questions students can use when discussing their images in pairs or groups (e.g., Does the image capture the main idea of the prompt? What could be added to make the image more accurate?). 

Student Instructions:

• Prompt Creation: Ask students to brainstorm simple, connected descriptions for a character, setting, or event from their story. They should use 2-3 sentences, focusing on basic yet vivid details (e.g., appearance, environment, mood).

• Using Leonardo AI: Guide students through logging in and using Leonardo AI, and remind them to adjust their prompts if the generated images don’t match their descriptions. They should save images that best reflect their ideas and continue creating new ones if time allows.

• Feedback and Discussion: Outline how students should present their images and prompts in pairs or small groups. Encourage them to describe their process, discuss whether the images align with their descriptions, and provide feedback to each other using the feedback checklist.

Pre-task (5 minutes):

1. Introduction to the Lesson

• Briefly introduce the objectives for this lesson (see SWBATs) 

• Explain that they will use their writing skills to describe a character, setting, or event in their short story. Proving examples to further support and scaffold. 

• Highlight that this task will focus on using clear, organized language to describe people, places, and situations, as per B1 CEFR descriptors.

2. Prompt Preparation

• In pairs or individually, students brainstorm a brief description of a character, setting, or event from their story or from a story from previous lessons. 

• Students will be encouraged to focus on basic and vivid details (e.g., physical traits, environment, mood) from their story in 2-3 sentences, ensuring the use of simple, connected sentences (CEFR B1).

Main Task (15-18 minutes):

1. Creating Descriptive Prompts

• Teacher models entering the prompt created in Pre-Task.

• Students input their descriptive prompts into Leonardo AI to generate images.

• Students are encouraged to modify their prompts if the images do not align with their expectations, refining their use of clear, descriptive language.

• Students should save the image that best reflects their prompt, and work on creating more images, if time allows. 

Post-task (5-7 minutes):

1. Sharing and Reflecting

• In pairs or small groups, students show their generated images and read the corresponding prompts aloud.

• Facilitate a brief discussion where students reflect on how well their descriptions conveyed their ideas and whether the image matched their expectations.

• Students give constructive feedback in simple terms, discussing both successes and challenges in the task (B1’s interaction).

CEFR Alignment:

• B1 Writing (The focus of the activity): Students practice writing connected text with simple, organized ideas to describe places, characters, or events that result in AI illustrations.

• B1 Speaking/Interaction: Through sharing and reflecting, students practice explaining their choices and engaging in basic discussions.

• B1 Listening: Students listen to and understand their peers’ descriptions, giving feedback.

Examples: 

1. Prompt: Magic castle surrounded by a whimsical forest with fantastic aquatic animals.

2. Prompt: A busy market square at dusk, with colorful stalls and people chatting and shopping.

Relation of examples to the Lesson:

Through prompts like these, students practice crafting, B1-level descriptions that include the essential details of a character, setting, or event. The resulting images offer students a way to visualize and validate their descriptions or prompts they created, deepening their understanding of descriptive language. By comparing the generated images to their original prompts, students gain insight into the effectiveness of their language choices - skills essential in narrative fiction.

Prompt: Magic castle surrounded by a whimsical forest with fantastic aquatic animals

Customization: You can use AI to improve the prompt. 

Elements: You can create images in a variety of styles.