Library & Classroom Discussion Guide

Each session below is designed to run in roughly 45 minutes and covers a small, digestible slice of the book. You can run all four sessions across a month, condense them into a single afternoon workshop, or pick the one that best fits your group. Nothing is prerequisite.

This session focuses on how algorithms decide what we see - the videos suggested to us, the products we scroll past, the search results at the top of the page. Start light. Nobody needs to defend their screen time here.

Opening prompt (5 min): "What is the last thing an app recommended to you that felt scarily accurate?"

This session opens the black box a little. We look at what apps quietly collect, how a "digital footprint" grows over time, and what young readers can do to be intentional about the trails they leave.

Opening prompt (5 min): "If your phone kept a diary about you, what do you think the last entry would say?"

This is the most important session for older readers. It moves from "AI is fun" to "AI makes decisions about people." Grades 4-5 can handle it with gentle framing; middle schoolers usually take it further than we expect.

Opening prompt (5 min): "If a computer had to pick one person from your class for a prize, what should it look at? What should it never look at?"

The closing session zooms out. Where does the reader go from here? What habits stay with them once the book is back on the shelf?

Opening prompt (5 min): "Name one habit around technology you would like to be known for."

Use these prompts to help readers connect the story to everyday systems they already interact with. Pick one or two per session as time allows.

• A streaming service recommending the next video you might like.
• A search engine deciding which results appear at the top.
• A game that adjusts its difficulty based on how you play.
• A photo app that suggests who to tag or which memory to relive.
• A homework or writing helper that finishes sentences for you.
• A translation tool that turns text from one language into another.
• A route app that decides the "best" way to get to school.

This is a take-home worksheet participants can complete between sessions or as a solo reflection. There are no right answers. Blank fields are intentional.

Close the discussion series with a short, low-stakes reflection. This is not a test; it is a chance for readers to hear their own thinking out loud.

“The goal is not to make young readers experts in artificial intelligence. It is to help them notice the systems already shaping their lives - and to feel curious, not powerless, about them.”

Every companion resource on subhasit.com is free to download, print, and share. Use whichever one supports your next session, family conversation, or classroom activity.

• Parent Quick-Start Guide - simple conversation starters and family activities.
• Parent Discussion Guide - chapter-by-chapter prompts for families and book clubs.
• Student Reflection Questions - individual reflection prompts for young readers.
• AI Glossary - plain-language definitions of the most useful AI terms.
• Understanding the System - a short reading that unpacks how recommendation systems work.
• Digital Footprint Checklist - a printable one-pager to review with a young reader.
• Librarian Information Sheet - a program-planning summary for library and school teams.