Learning How AI Thinks Machine Learning Basics
These projects are downloadable step-by-step guides, with explanations and colour screenshots for students to follow.
Each project is a stand-alone activity, written to last for a single lesson, and will guide children to create a game or interactive project that demonstrates a real-world use of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Examples of how to use these worksheets, and a suggested order for using these with a class, can be found in the stories about what students learn.
Smart Classroom
Create a smart assistant in Scratch that lets you control virtual devices.
Teach a computer to recognise the meaning of your commands
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Full version of the project, where the students make a non-machine learning version first
Shorter version of the project, where the students only make a machine learning version of the assistant
Quick simplified version of the project, ideal for use as a first introduction to the tool
Make me happy
Create a character in Scratch that smiles if you say nice things to it and cries if you say mean things to it.
Teach a computer to recognise compliments and insults
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Full version of the project, where the students make a non-machine learning version first
Python project – for making the project using Python
Quiz Show
Use a computer that has been trained to find answers to questions in documents.
Make a game show player that can answer questions on a topic of your choice
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Chatbots
Create a chatbot that can answer questions about a topic of your choice.
Teach a computer to recognise questions
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Scratch project – for making a chat bot in Scratch
Scratch project – for making a chat bot in Scratch
Tourist Info
Create a mobile app in Scratch that recommends tourist attractions based on people’s interests.
Teach a computer to make recommendations
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Sorting Hat
Create a Sorting Hat like in Harry Potter, that puts you in a school House based on what you say.
Teach a computer to recognise use of language
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Individual version of the project, where each student trains their own machine learning model independently
Individual version of the project, where each student trains their own machine learning model independently
Newspaper shelves
Train a computer to recognise headlines from national newspapers.
Test the computer’s ability to recognise use of language
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Headline testing
Create a testing tool in Scratch to measure how good a machine learning model is.
Test the computer’s ability to recognise use of language
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Pokémon images
Make a project in Scratch that predicts the type of Pokémon from how it looks.
Teach a computer to recognize pictures
CAPTCHA
Make a game in Scratch that learns to solve CAPTCHA challenges.
Teach a computer to recognise objects in photos
I Spy
Make a game in Scratch where you have to guess what the computer recognises.
Use a computer that has been trained to recognize photos
Snap!
Make a card game in Scratch that learns to recognise pictures of your card.
Teach a computer to recognise what icons look like
For Teachers:
Full version of the project, where the students make a non-machine learning version first
For Students:
Full version of the project, where the students make their own cards that they will train the computer to recognise
Shorter version of the project, providing children with pre-made cards that you will need to print out, to save the students time having to make them
You will also need to provide students with a printed copy of this file.
Carpool Cheats
Make a game in Scratch where you make a traffic camera to catch carpool cheats.
Teach a computer to recognize a car without passengers
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Mailman Max
Make a postal sorting office in Scratch that can recognise handwritten postcodes on envelopes.
Teach a computer to recognise handwriting
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Car or cup
Train the computer to be able to sort photos into groups.
Teach a computer to recognise pictures of objects
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Individual version of the project, where each student trains their own machine learning model independently
Group version of the project, where students in the class work together to train a shared machine learning model
Face Lock
Make a phone in Scratch that unlocks if it recognises your face.
Teach a computer to recognise faces
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Shy Panda
Make a dancing panda that gets shy and stops dancing if it sees you looking.
Teach a computer to recognise webcam pictures
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Mobilenet
Make a game in Scratch where the computer recognises what you click on
Use a computer that has been trained to recognize objects in a photo
Virtual Pet
Make a dancing panda that gets shy and stops dancing if it sees you looking.
Teach a computer to recognise webcam pictures
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Recommender
Make a game that recommends a book you would like to read.
Teach a computer to recognise visual style
Ink blots
Recreate an MIT research project and learn about how AI systems are described in the news.
Teach a computer to recognize photos of objects
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Rock, Paper, Scissors
Make a Rock, Paper, Scissors game in Scratch that learns to recognise hand shapes.
Teach a computer to recognise shapes
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Judge a book
Make a game that tests whether it really is possible to judge a book by its cover.
Teach a computer to recognise visual style
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Full version of the Scratch project, where children make a game to compete against the computer to recognise books
Simplified version of the Scratch project, where children get the computer to recognise books
Fooled
Learn about how computers can be confused and can make mistakes if they’re trained badly.
Teach a computer to recognise fruit
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Explainable AI
Make a project in Scratch that helps explains what an image classifier is looking at.
Teach a computer to recognize objects in a webcam
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Describe the glass
Create a game in Scratch that learns when you describe a glass as half-full or half-empty.
Teach a computer to predict your answers
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Titanic
Create a Python program that can predict who survived the sinking of the Titanic.
Teach a computer to predict outcomes
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Journey to school
Train the computer to be able to predict how you travel to school in the morning.
Teach a computer to make predictions
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Pac-Man
Create a Pac-Man game in Scratch that learns how to avoid the ghost.
Teach a computer to play a game
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Zombie Escape!
Train a computer to help you escape from the zombie horde.
Teach a computer to make predictions
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
School Library
Create a school librarian in Scratch that suggests who a reading book might be suitable for.
Teach a computer to make recommendations
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Noughts & Crosses
Create a noughts and crosses game in Python that learns how to beat you.
Teach a computer to play a game
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Top Trumps
Train a computer to be able to play the Top Trumps card game in Scratch.
Teach a computer to play a game
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Phishing
Create a Python program that can predict if a URL is legitimate.
Teach a computer to recognize phishing web links
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Hand Gestures
Make a webcam project in Scratch that can recognize shapes you make with your hands.
Teach a computer to recognize shapes
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Pokémon statistics
Make a project in Scratch that predicts the type of Pokémon from their size and fighting stats.
Teach a computer to recognize patterns in sets of numbers
Semaphore Quiz
Make a voice-activated semaphores game you play by moving your arms.
Teach a computer to recognize speech and poses
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Laser Eyes
Make a voice-activated laser eyes game in Scratch.
Teach a computer to recognize speech and faces
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Jargon Buster
Make a project in Scratch that displays the meaning of words you say.
Teach a computer to listen for words
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Secret Code
Train a computer to understand secret code words to guide a spy.
Teach a computer to recognize speech
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Alien Language
Make an alien in Scratch that learns to recognize an alien language.
Teach a computer to recognize sounds
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Shoebox
Recreate the world’s first speech recognition system from 1961.
Teach a computer to recognize speech
Voice Tuner
Make a game in Scratch where the computer recognises what note you are singing
Use a computer that has been trained to recognize musical notes
Face Finder
Make a video filter in Scratch to turn your face into a cartoon.
Use a computer that has been trained to recognize faces
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Emoji Mask
Make a video filter in Scratch to add an emoji mask to your face.
Use a computer that has been trained to recognize faces
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Catch the ball
Make a game in Scratch where you predict where a bouncing ball will go before it moves.
Teach a computer to predict where a ball will land
Hoops
Make a game in Scratch that learns how to score basketball hoops.
Teach a computer to shoot hoops
Shoot the bug
Create a Breakout-style arcade game in Scratch that learns the angle to shoot balls at.
Teach a computer to play a game
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Language models
Learn the concepts behind how language models can generate new text
Teach a computer how to generate text
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
Story teller
Make a project in Scratch that can generate new stories
Use a computer trained to generate text
For Teachers:
This sheet contains information for teachers or coding group leaders to help them prepare, setup and supervise this project.
For Students:
