The everyday guide / Motion

AI educational video prompts for teachers.

Turn one learning goal into a script your class can follow.

Start with a classroom prompt, then work through the brief, script, storyboard, and final edit. Download a free agent skill to reuse the workflow.

By Skill Everyday October 5, 2026 7 min read

Get the free explainer video skill

A storyboard concept: problem → process → outcome.

For teachers / Start with a learning goal

AI educational video prompts for your class

Choose one concept, specify your learners’ age and prior knowledge, and supply the facts you want to teach. Ask for a script and storyboard you can review before making the video.

A science lesson example

Use Explainer Video Starter to plan a 60-second educational video for ages 6–8.
Topic: What a young sunflower plant needs to grow.
Learning objective: Name water, light, and air as things this plant needs.
Prior knowledge: Learners have seen plants but may not know what roots and leaves do.
Source facts: Roots take in water. Leaves use light and carbon dioxide from the air to help the plant make food. Growth takes days and weeks; label time skips.
Language: English, with short sentences and explanations of unfamiliar words.
Return a narration draft, a timed storyboard, and one question to check understanding with a separate teacher answer. Flag unsupported claims. Return the plan for teacher review before producing video.

Replace the topic, learning objective, and source facts with your own teaching material. Keep the answer to the final question in your teacher notes. This prompt is an authored starting point and has not yet been evaluated in a classroom.

Need an activity and practice questions as well? Try the lesson materials example ↗.

Free agent skill / SKILL.md

Explainer Video Starter

Explain one concept with a narration script and storyboard. Video production and export depend on the tools available to your agent.

Download SKILL.md

How to use it

Save the downloaded file as SKILL.md inside a folder named explainer-video-starter.
Add that folder through your AI agent’s skill import workflow.
Give the agent your brief and ask it to follow Explainer Video Starter.

A first request to try

“Use Explainer Video Starter to make a 60-second explainer video about [topic] for [audience]. The viewer should understand [one takeaway]. Use these source facts: [facts]. Make it in [language] with [visual style]. Create the editable source and export MP4 if your tools support it. Tell me which production and playback checks you completed.”

Free to download, use, modify, and share. Your agent’s model usage and media tools may have a cost. MP4 export and recorded narration depend on the tools available in your agent. This workflow has not yet been tested in a complete video production run.

01 / The basics

What is an AI explainer video?

An AI explainer video uses AI for part of the work of explaining a product, process, or concept. That might mean drafting the script, creating illustrations, generating narration, or assembling scenes. The finished video still needs a clear message and a deliberate edit.

For this guide, aim for one takeaway in roughly 60 seconds. That is an editorial starting point, not a rule: a simple feature may need less time, while a lesson may need more. Choose the length after deciding what the viewer needs to understand.

A useful explainer answers three questions: What is the problem? How does this work? What should I do next? A product feature list rarely answers all three.

Before choosing a visual style, finish this sentence: “After watching, the viewer will understand _____.”

02 / Before the script

Give the video one job.

“Explain our product” is too broad for a short video. “Show a new teammate how to find their next task” gives you a viewer, a situation, and an outcome. That is enough to start making useful creative decisions.

Audience: Who is watching? What can you assume they already know?
Problem: What specific friction will they recognize in the opening?
Message: What single idea should they remember?
Evidence: Which facts, screenshots, or examples support that idea?
Next step: What one action should they take after watching?

Supply those answers to your AI assistant along with the facts it can use. If a feature, result, or customer quote is missing from your source material, leave it out of the script until you can verify it.

03 / From words to scenes

Write the story before the shot prompts.

Draft the narration as if you were explaining the idea to one person. Start with their problem, introduce the solution, show it in use, and end with a specific next step. Replace abstract claims like “improve collaboration” with something visible, such as assigning a task to a teammate.

For the example below, use a ceiling of 120 narration words, then read them aloud. The actual recording determines the timing. Leave space for the viewer to read a label or watch an action finish.

A six-scene, 60-second example

A fictional project board. Show these features only if the real product supports them.

0100–08s
Name the problem
Show scattered project notes and a missed handoff.
On screen: “Too many places to check.”
0208–16s
Introduce the idea
Bring those notes into one shared project board.
On screen: “One place for the next step.”
0316–28s
Show the first action
Use a real screen recording to create a task.
On screen: “Add the task.”
0428–40s
Explain what changes
Show an owner and due date being assigned.
On screen: “Make the handoff clear.”
0540–52s
Make the outcome visible
Show the teammate finding their next action.
On screen: “Know what to do next.”
0652–60s
Offer one next step
End with a single invitation to try a project.
On screen: “Create your first project.”

Each scene needs a reason to exist. Pair a spoken instruction with the action it describes. If the narration says “assign an owner,” show that action instead of a decorative animation about teamwork.

04 / Choose your production route

Use visuals that do the explaining.

You do not need every scene to be generated. Decide which parts need precision, which benefit from illustration, and which need a person presenting. Use the format that helps the viewer understand the idea.

Format	Useful for	What to prepare
Screen recording	A product workflow or a specific interaction	A real interface, clean sample data, and a short action list
2D motion	A process, relationship, or abstract concept	A storyboard, consistent shapes, and readable labels
Presenter-led	A guided introduction, onboarding, or training	An approved script, relevant supporting visuals, and a voice

For a presenter-led route, HeyGen describes a workflow that accepts a script, document, or idea and produces an avatar-led video with narration and captions. Descript’s explainer template supports a supplied script or topic, narration, scene layouts, and illustrated media. These are examples of production approaches; choose after checking the current export options and trying a short scene.

Keep the visual language consistent.

Use one palette, one type system, and a small set of recurring elements. If you generate images or clips, reuse the same style description and supported references. Review the output for visual drift, and add precise interface text in your editor rather than relying on generated lettering.

Let the narration set the pace.

Record or generate a voice track after approving the script. Place that track on the timeline, then adjust scene lengths around it. Add captions, check names and technical terms, and keep music low enough that every spoken word is clear.

05 / Your starting point

A prompt for a better first draft.

Replace the bracketed fields with your own brief, then paste the prompt into your AI assistant. It asks for the script and storyboard first so you can review the message before making assets.

60-second explainer brief

Plan a 60-second explainer video using the brief below.

TOPIC / PRODUCT: [What are you explaining?]
AUDIENCE: [Who is watching, and what do they already know?]
PROBLEM: [One specific problem they recognize]
CORE MESSAGE: [The one thing they should understand]
VERIFIED FACTS: [Features, evidence, and limitations you can support]
NEXT STEP: [One action the viewer can take]
VISUAL STYLE: [Screen recording, simple 2D motion, or presenter-led]
LANGUAGE / TONE: [Language and tone of voice]
FORMAT: [16:9 landscape or 9:16 portrait]

Return:
1. A one-sentence takeaway.
2. A narration draft of no more than 120 words. Use plain language. Do not invent features, statistics, testimonials, or promises.
3. A six-scene storyboard totaling 60 seconds. For each scene, include its time range, narration, visual direction, and on-screen text of no more than eight words.
4. An asset list identifying what must be recorded, supplied, or generated. Use real screenshots for product interfaces.
5. A production checklist covering narration timing, visual consistency, caption accuracy, small-screen readability, and final export.

If essential facts are missing, ask before drafting. Treat the timing as a first estimate; flag any scene that needs a read-aloud check. Return the script and plan first. Do not claim that footage, audio, or an exported video has been created.

Download the prompt as Markdown ↓

An original planning template by Skill Everyday. Timing is a starting estimate; review the generated script and production plan in your own workflow.

06 / The final edit

Watch it like a first-time viewer.

Export a draft and watch the actual file from beginning to end. A good storyboard does not tell you whether captions are cut off, audio is too quiet, or the final scene disappears too soon.

One clear takeaway. Ask someone unfamiliar with the topic to explain it back to you.
Accurate claims. Match every feature, number, and example to the supplied facts.
Readable visuals. Check labels and captions on a phone in the intended aspect ratio.
Comfortable timing. Give each action time to finish and each sentence time to land.
Clean audio. Listen for pronunciation, abrupt cuts, and music competing with speech.
A working next step. Check the destination linked beside the video and hold the ending long enough to read.

If a scene is confusing, simplify it before adding more motion. Often the best revision is a shorter sentence, a closer crop, or one fewer thing on screen.

Common questions

Can AI make the whole explainer video?

Some video tools can combine script generation, narration, visuals, and editing. A text-only assistant may give you a plan or animation code instead. Check what your chosen workflow actually exports, then review the finished video for accuracy and clarity.

How long should an explainer video be?

Use the shortest length that explains the idea without rushing it. This guide uses 60 seconds as a planning constraint. Read the script aloud and watch the first edit before committing to the duration.

Do I need an AI avatar?

No. A screen recording or a few animated diagrams may explain the idea more clearly. Use a presenter when their guidance helps the audience follow the content.

Can I make one for free?

You can copy this prompt for free. Model access, voice generation, editing, and watermark-free exports depend on the services you use. Check their current plans before starting production.

Workflow and example storyboard by Skill Everyday. Product capabilities checked against HeyGen’s explainer page and Descript’s explainer template on October 5, 2026. The storyboard is an editorial example, not a published model run.

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