This shows how the seed of just one instructional idea can be explored and embellished with AI tools into a better, more complete, idea, empowered with examples and classroom-ready content.
The initial seed of an idea was using an analogy of cooking an omelet to teach 6th grade students the importance of organization and transition words in writing in Social Studies. It should be easy for them to understand that you have to crack the eggs before putting them in the pan. If you’re writing directions for making an omelet you have to describe each of the steps clearly and in order, making sure the person reading the directions can follow the directions from one step to the next.
I put this idea into Google Gemini using this prompt. The more you put into a prompt, the better the product AI produces.
This is what I got….
| 🍳 The Omelet Analogy for Organized WritingThink of your writing—whether it’s an essay or a report—like making a delicious omelet. Just as you can’t cook the eggs before you whisk them, or add the filling before the pan is hot, the steps in a recipe must be followed in the right order for the final product to be successful. If you throw the directions for an omelet out of order—for example, saying “Fold the omelet,” then “Heat the pan,” and finally “Whisk the eggs”—the cook will be confused, and the final dish will be a disaster! Similarly, when you write, you must organize your ideas in a logical sequence, putting the introduction first, followed by supporting paragraphs, and ending with a conclusion. Furthermore, you need transition words like “First,” “Next,” “In addition,” and “Finally” to act like the arrows on a recipe, guiding your reader smoothly from one step (or idea) to the next. When your writing is well-organized and uses strong transitions, reading it becomes as easy and satisfying as following a clear recipe to make a perfect omelet. |
Not bad. This is helpful in that it fills out the idea with a few more examples and a more complete explanation. It took less than 90 seconds to get text that can be copied directly into the assignment’s direction. Or perhaps it can be put on a slide in a presentation, read aloud in class and discussed in whole-class format to ensure understanding.
Without going any further in this experiment, the idea of using an omelet analogy to teach writing is empowered by AI.
But to experiment further I tried to see if Gemini could use the analogy a replacing a flat tire with a spare tire.
| 🛠️ The Flat Tire Analogy for Organized WritingThink of your writing—whether it’s an essay or a paragraph—like the process of replacing a flat tire with a spare. You can’t put the spare tire on before you loosen the lug nuts, and you certainly can’t lift the car before you locate the jack! If you try to tell someone how to change a tire using a jumbled list of instructions—for instance, saying “Lower the car,” then “Locate the jack,” and finally “Remove the flat tire”—the person would be completely lost, and the task would be impossible to complete. Likewise, when you write, you must organize your ideas in a clear, logical sequence, ensuring one thought naturally leads to the next. You need transition words like “First,” “Next,” “In order to proceed,” and “Once that is complete,” to function as the step-by-step guidance, helping your reader move smoothly from point A to point B. When your writing is well-organized and uses effective transitions, reading it becomes as easy to follow as a clear set of directions for getting a car back safely on the road. |
This cost another 15 seconds. It makes sense, but not many students know anything about spare tires. Many new cars don’t even have them anymore. Not all ideas and experiments yield something that’s useful, but they certainly don’t cost a lot of time to try out.
Switching tools to Deepseek, I tried to have AI generate more analogies and give me more examples, fully explained in such a way to make the connection between the analogies and writing clear.
This is what DeepSeek generated….
| Analogies for Logical Sequence & Building an Argument These analogies focus on the necessity of order and foundation. 1. Building a House The Analogy: You can’t put up the walls before you pour the foundation. You can’t install the roof before the walls are up. Each step relies on the one before it to be stable and correct. Application to Writing: The topic sentence is the foundation. Your supporting sentences (the “facts” and “walls”) must be built firmly upon it. The concluding sentence is the roof—it only makes sense and provides shelter (a final thought) once everything else is in place. Transition words are the nails and mortar, holding the structure together. 2. Following a Treasure Map The Analogy:A treasure map gives you directions in a specific order: “Walk 10 paces north *from the old oak tree* to the riverbank, *then* follow the river east until you see the large rock formation…” Application to Writing:If you skip a step or present them out of order (“Go to the large rock, then find the oak tree”), your reader gets lost and never finds the treasure (your conclusion). Transition words are the directional cues like “then,” “next,” and “following this” that guide the reader on the correct path. 3. Solving a Math Problem The Analogy:To solve 2(x + 3) = 10, you must show your work. You can’t just jump to the answer “x=2.” You must first divide both sides by 2, *then* subtract 3 from both sides. Application to Writing: Each sentence is a “step” in showing your work. The reader needs to see your logical process. A transition like “therefore” or “as a result” signals the move from one mathematical operation to the next, proving how you arrived at your final answer (the conclusion). Analogies for Guiding the Reader & Creating Flow These analogies focus on the experience of the reader being led smoothly. 4. Being a Tour Guide The Analogy:A good tour guide doesn’t just point to random landmarks. They say, “First, we’ll look at the cathedral. *After* we appreciate its architecture, we will walk *down the main street* to the old market square. *Once we’re there*, you’ll notice…” Application to Writing:The writer is the tour guide, and the reader is the tourist. Your job is to lead them from one “sight” (idea/point) to the next smoothly, using transition words to point the way and explain the relationship between the ideas. This prevents the reader from feeling disoriented or lost. 5. Assembling IKEA Furniture The Analogy:The instructions show you step-by-step how to put the furniture together. Step 1: Attach piece A to piece B using bolt C. Step 2: Now that the frame is stable, insert shelf D.Application to Writing:If you skip a step or do them out of order, the final product is wobbly, confusing, and doesn’t work. Your paragraph is the instruction manual for your idea. Transition words are the “Step 1,” “Step 2,” and “now that you have…” that ensure the reader assembles the thought correctly in their mind. 6. Creating a Domino Chain The Analogy:You set up a long line of dominoes. The fall of the first domino *causes* the second to fall, which leads to the third, and so on, until the final domino falls in a satisfying conclusion. Application to Writing:Each sentence is a domino. The energy (your logic) must transfer seamlessly from one to the next. Transition words are the precise placement that ensures each thought knocks over the next, creating an inevitable and satisfying journey to your final point. If a domino is out of place (a sentence is out of order), the chain stops. How to Present This in Class 1. Start with the Frustration:Show them a poorly organized paragraph with no transitions. Ask, “Why is this hard to follow? Where did you get lost?” 2. Introduce the Analogy:”Writing a clear paragraph is a lot like being a tour guide…” Use one of the analogies above. 3. Show the “Right Way”:Display the steps of the analogy (e.g., the steps to build a house) and then map a well-written paragraph directly onto it. Use color-coding or arrows to connect the analogy to the parts of the paragraph. 4. Highlight the Transitions:Point out the transition words and explicitly state their job: “The word ‘Similarly’ acts like the mortar between two bricks,” or “‘However’ is like the tour guide saying, ‘Now, let’s contrast that with what’s on the other side of the square.'” 5. Student Activity: Have them choose an analogy and “reverse-engineer” it by writing a short paragraph that follows the same logical sequence, forcing them to use appropriate transition words. By using these analogies, you’re not just teaching a writing rule; you’re giving students a mental model for what good, organized writing feels like for the reader. This makes the concept stick. |
Again, not bad, perhaps even better.
Now the omelet analogy can be repeated and presented with more analogies like building a house and drawing a treasure map and the writing connection can be made stronger with the analogies of a tour guide, assembling furniture and dominos.
Dominos is a perfect analogy for Social Studies, if a writer stacks up the examples and arguments in a good paragraph like a line of dominos spaced apart evenly with effective transition words, it’s guaranteed that every domino will fall and the reader has to accept the conclusion.
So maybe the teaching solution is just look through this DeepSeek response and use it to explain the analogies to students. Maybe throw some images of assembling furniture, building a house, a treasure map, and a line of dominos on a slide to embellish the explanation – but that’s it. Four minutes of class time to deliver this message and it’s a better student experience in learning to write.
But – to take this experiment one more step, let’s try NotebookLM.
I took the two responses from Gemini and the one from DeepSeek and copied them as sources into NotebookLM and had it create a ‘briefing” video. “Briefing videos” are in the source panel of NotebookLM but you can still add prompting directions.
The more you include in the prompting directions, the better the product it produced
I wrote a paragraph to explain to NotebookLM what sort of video I wanted, explaining how it would be shown to middle school students as part of a writing exercise and should include the examples and explanations from these sources to explain the importance of organization and transition words when writing.
This is the result – not perfect by any means, but certainly usable.
So in the end, the help AI provided was worth the time using it. The simple idea of teaching important elements of writing by using an analogy of cooking an omelet became several different analogies and effective ways to describe them to students in a way they can understand.