Grades 7-8

How AI Thinks and Learns

Students develop conceptual understanding of how AI systems work at a systems level, begin hands-on model training, and practice structured ethical reasoning about AI.

Units (4)

Unit 1

Data — The Fuel of AI

4-5 weeks

Students explore how data represents the world, learn to collect and organize data, and understand how AI systems use data to make decisions. Through hands-on activities, they discover that the quality and quantity of data directly affects how well AI systems work.

Representation & ReasoningLearning

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Unit 2

Machine Learning Fundamentals

5-6 weeks

Students move from understanding data to understanding how AI systems learn from data through machine learning. Using visual, block-based tools and simple interactive demos, they train neural networks to recognize patterns, experiment with different parameters, and observe how training curves respond to changes. They build intuition for overfitting, underfitting, and the learning process.

LearningPerception

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Unit 3

Natural Language and Conversation

4-5 weeks

Students explore how AI systems understand and generate human language. They begin with simple text analysis (identifying sentiment, word frequency) and move to interactive chatbots. They learn that language is challenging for AI (ambiguity, context, tone) and practice structured reasoning about what AI conversations reveal about how machines "understand" meaning.

Natural InteractionRepresentation & Reasoning

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Unit 4

Fairness, Accountability, and Impact — Capstone

4-5 weeks

In this capstone unit, students investigate real-world AI systems and their societal impacts. They learn structured frameworks for ethical reasoning about AI, analyze case studies of biased or problematic AI, and work in teams to propose improvements or alternative approaches. This unit bridges technical understanding with humanities, encouraging students to think like designers, ethicists, and citizens.

Societal Impact

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Tools Used

Google Cloud Natural Language APIGoogle Cloud Natural Language API (for analysis)Google FormsGoogle SheetsGoogle Sheets (for data analysis)IBM Watson Natural Language UnderstandingNews and research databasesQuick, Draw! (Google)Scratch MLTeachable Machine (Google)Teachable Machine (for creating fair classifiers)Teachable Machine (image training)Teachable Machine (text classification)TensorFlow PlaygroundWrite With Transformerml5.js

Grade Level

7-8

Total Units