🌿 Level 2 · Intermediate
📘 Chapter 2 of 6
⏱️ 14 minutes
Step-by-Step Thinking
Hard problems get easier when you climb them one step at a time. Learn to make Claude show its steps, guide you and get checked.
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🔁 Last time: your power prompt
🎭 Role🎯 Task📌 Details📐 Format
+ 🪜 “step by step” = 🔥
👨👩👧
Reminder: Try the prompts with a parent or teacher beside you. Never share personal details, and always check important answers.
Your adventure map
Chapter 2 at a glance
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2.1 Think in steps
🎯 Goal: ask Claude to show a problem as numbered steps- Big problems feel easy when you split them into small steps.
- Add “step by step” or “number each step” to your prompt.
- Steps let you follow the method, learn it and find where you got confused.
- Steps help, but Claude can still slip. You check them (see 2.4).
🏔️ Jump to the top, or climb the steps?
START
Problem“3 pens cost ₹15. What do 8 pens cost?”
STEP 1
Find the cost of 1 pen₹15 ÷ 3 = ₹5
STEP 2
Multiply by 8 pens₹5 × 8 = ₹40
STEP 3
Write the answer with units8 pens cost ₹40
DONE
🏆 You understand the method!Now you can solve similar problems yourself
🌍 Real-life examples
➗ Maths word problem“Solve this step by step and explain why we do each step.”
🔬 Science question“Explain why ice floats on water in 4 numbered steps for Class 7.”
🚀 Try it yourself
Solve this step by step for a Class 7 student: A shop sells 3 pens for ₹15. How much do 8 pens cost? Number each step and explain why we do it.
❌ Weak prompt“What is the answer?”
You get a number, but not the method.
You get a number, but not the method.
✅ Good prompt“Solve step by step. Number each step and explain why.”
You learn the method too.
You learn the method too.
🎉 Fun fact: A clear list of steps is called an algorithm. A recipe is one too: follow the steps in order and you get the dish!
📝 Quick quiz
1. What does “step by step” help you do?
✅ Follow the method, learn it and find where you got confused.
2. Which prompt asks for steps?A) “Give the answer.” B) “Number each step and explain why.” C) “Hurry up.”
✅ B. It asks for numbered steps with reasons.
3. If Claude shows steps, is every step always right?
✅ No. Claude can slip, so you still check the steps.
🧑🏫
2.2 One step at a time: Tutor mode
🎯 Goal: make Claude guide you instead of solving for you- In tutor mode Claude gives only one step, then waits for you.
- You try the next step. Claude checks it and gives the next hint.
- Say “Do not give the final answer” to keep the thinking yours.
- Stuck? Ask for a small hint first, then a bigger hint, and only then the step.
🔄 The Tutor Loop
💡1. Claude gives one stepor one hint
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✍️2. You tryon paper first
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✅3. Claude checksright or nearly right?
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🔁4. Next stepuntil you reach the answer
🪙 The hint ladder
🌱Small hint“What should I think about?”
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🔦Bigger hint“Point me to the method.”
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🧩Show the step“Then I will redo it myself.”
🌍 Real-life examples
➗ Maths doubt“Give me only step 1 of this equation and wait for my answer.”
📚 Exam revision“Ask me one question at a time. If I am wrong, give a hint, not the answer.”
🚀 Try it yourself
Act as a patient maths tutor. Help me solve 2x + 3 = 11. Give me only the first step and then wait for my answer. Do not give the final answer.
❌ Weak habitAsk for the full solution as soon as it feels hard.
You miss the practice that builds skill.
You miss the practice that builds skill.
✅ Good habitAsk for a hint, try again, and ask for a bigger hint only if needed.
Your brain does the climbing.
Your brain does the climbing.
🏆 Mini challenge: Use tutor mode on a sum you find tricky and count how many hints you needed. Next time, try to need fewer!
📝 Quick quiz
1. What happens in tutor mode?
✅ Claude gives one step or hint, then waits for you to try.
2. Which phrase keeps the thinking yours?A) “Do not give the final answer.” B) “Skip to the end.” C) “Just tell me.”
✅ A. You keep working on the steps yourself.
3. You are stuck. What do you ask for first?
✅ A small hint, then a bigger hint, and only then the step.
🔗
2.3 Cause & effect chains
🎯 Goal: understand processes as chains of “because → so”- Many science and geography topics are chains: one thing causes the next.
- Ask for a cause-and-effect chain with “because” and “so” links.
- Ask “What happens first? Then what? Why?” to see each link.
- A chain is easy to draw, remember and explain to someone else.
🌧️ A chain: the water cycle
☀️The Sun heats water
so ➜
💨Water evaporates
so ➜
❄️Vapour cools
so ➜
☁️Clouds form
so ➜
🌧️Rain falls
🌍 Real-life examples
🌍 Geography“Explain why the monsoon brings rain as a cause-and-effect chain.”
🔬 Science“Why do we have seasons? Give a 4-link chain starting with Earth’s tilt.”
🚀 Try it yourself
Explain how the monsoon forms for a Class 8 student as a cause-and-effect chain with 5 links. Use the words “because” and “so” in each link.
❌ Weak prompt“Tell me about the monsoon.”
You get a lot of facts with no clear order.
You get a lot of facts with no clear order.
✅ Good prompt“Explain the monsoon as a 5-link cause-and-effect chain using ‘because’ and ‘so’.”
You see how each fact connects.
You see how each fact connects.
🏆 Mini challenge: Make your own 4-link chain for “why a puddle dries up”. Then ask Claude to check it and give hints only.
📝 Quick quiz
1. What is a cause-and-effect chain?
✅ A list of events where each one causes the next.
2. Which words help build a chain?A) because and so B) maybe and perhaps C) hello and bye
✅ A. They link each cause to its effect.
3. Put in order: rain falls, water evaporates, clouds form.
✅ Water evaporates ➜ clouds form ➜ rain falls.
🕵️
2.4 Check every step
🎯 Goal: find mistakes before they become your answer- Steps can have slips, whether from you or from Claude.
- Ask: “Check each step and tell me if any step looks wrong.”
- Do sanity checks: estimate, check units and ask “does this make sense?”
- Try a second method. If both give the same answer, you can trust it more.
🕵️ The Step Detective’s 4 checks
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Does each step follow?
Does step 2 come from step 1?
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Do numbers and units fit?
₹, cm, kg: are they right?
⚖️
Estimate
3 pens = ₹15, so 8 pens should be a bit over ₹30. ₹40 fits!
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Second method
Solve it another way. Same answer?
🌍 Real-life examples
➗ Check my mathsPaste your steps and ask which step, if any, is wrong, without the full solution.
🔬 Check my science chainWrite your cause-and-effect chain and ask if any link is missing or out of order.
🚀 Try it yourself
Here is a problem: [type the problem]. Here are my steps: [type your steps]. Check each step. Tell me which step, if any, is wrong, but do not give the full solution.
❌ Weak prompt“Is this right?”
A yes or no does not show where the slip is.
A yes or no does not show where the slip is.
✅ Good prompt“Check each step and tell me which one, if any, is wrong. Hint only.”
You find and fix the mistake.
You find and fix the mistake.
🏆 Spot-the-mistake game: Ask Claude, “Write a 4-step solution to a Class 6 maths problem with ONE hidden mistake. Do not tell me where. I will try to find it.” Then check your answer in your textbook!
📝 Quick quiz
1. Name one sanity check.
✅ Estimate the answer, check the units, or ask “does this make sense?”
2. Why try a second method?A) To waste time B) If both give the same answer, you trust it more C) It is a rule
✅ B. Matching answers from two methods build confidence.
3. Where do you do the final check for important answers?
✅ In your textbook or with your teacher.
🧩 Step Sorter
Tap the steps in the correct order. Think: what must happen first?
YOUR STEPS
💡 Tip: After the puzzle, ask Claude: “Quiz me with 3 more step-ordering puzzles on [topic]. Give the steps in a mixed-up order.”
Chapter 2 summary
Ask for numbered steps • Use tutor mode • Build cause-and-effect chains • Check every step.