Classroom Kits

Teach the reasoning, not the technology.

Every kit here runs on index cards, a chalkboard, and a class — no device, no login, no cost. That is not a limitation. A tool that needs a fast laptop has already excluded part of the room it claims to serve, and the reasoning underneath an algorithm never actually required one.

Each kit takes an everyday decision students already live inside — who gets picked, who gets flagged, who gets believed — and lets them build the rule themselves, by hand, before anyone tells them what a "real" system does. Any teacher, tutor, or parent can pick one up and run it tomorrow.

Learning objective

One sentence naming exactly what a student should be able to explain afterward.

What you need

Ordinary materials — cards, buttons, paper. Nothing to install, nothing to charge.

How it works

A short numbered sequence any adult can run cold, without rehearsal.

Talk about it

Discussion questions with no single right answer — the point is the argument after.

Unplugged Simulations

Hands and objects, not screens

Ages 8–12 20 minutes

Bias in a Bag

Write a rule from a small sample, then test it on the whole bag. A concrete, physical first encounter with what happens when a rule learns from data that doesn't look like the group it's meant to describe.

Small groups of 3–4 View kit Ages 7–11 15–20 minutes

Mystery Machine

One student silently applies a secret rule. The class has only yes-or-no answers to work out what it is — practice at reasoning about a system you can't see inside.

Whole class View kit Ages 10–14 30 minutes

Build-a-Rule Tournament

Teams write the shortest rule that fits their training cards, then face a sealed set they've never seen. The confident rule from round one doesn't always survive round two.

Teams of 3–4 View kit Ages 11–15 30–40 minutes

The Human Sorting Machine

Write a rule before you see who it sorts. Then meet the people it excluded, and one thing about them the rule couldn't see.

Small groups View kit

Discussion & Debate

Structured talk, opposing seats

Ages 10–14 25 minutes

The Fairness Menu

Two groups design a fair rule for the same everyday decision. Both are reasonable. Both disagree — a first encounter with real fairness tradeoffs.

Small groups, then whole class View kit Ages 12 and up 30–40 minutes

Who Decides

A role-based circle debate on one real scenario: a school considering a tool that flags 'distracted' students. Every seat at the table gets a voice, including the ones usually left out.

Whole class, in a circle View kit Ages 9–13 20 minutes

Define the Box

Write a precise, enforceable definition of a word like 'late' or 'trustworthy.' Trade with another group and watch the disagreements surface immediately.

Small groups View kit

Reflection & Storytelling

Writing and noticing, alone or shared

Ages 8–13 20–30 minutes

Two Endings

A robot referee makes a call that looks wrong on replay. Write two endings: one where everyone moves on, one where someone asks a question. See what has to be true for the second one to happen.

Individual or pairs View kit Ages 9–14 15–20 minutes

Explain Yourself

One student decides using a secret rule. Everyone else gets 20 yes-or-no questions to work out why — the actual skill of demanding an explanation from a system that won't just give you one.

Pairs or small groups View kit Ages 10 and up One day take-home, plus a 15-minute debrief

Consent Ledger

A one-day log of every place a machine decided something about you today. Most entries go unnoticed until you're asked to write them down.

Individual, then whole class share View kit

Free, and yours to print

Every kit is also a plain PDF.

Open a kit and its full instructions are on the page — no download required to read it. Each one is also available as a single-page, print-ready PDF: the same materials list, steps, and discussion questions, formatted to come out of a printer looking like something worth keeping. No account, no email address, no tracking.

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