This exercise shows how to define constraints such as participant count, time, printed materials, purchasing limits, and available equipment before asking AI for 4 distinct alternatives. Instead of deciding which idea is best, you check whether each option satisfies the constraints and learn how to revise the request when the constraints change.
Who this is forBeginners who want several realistic alternatives that respect practical constraints rather than a vague list of ideas
The fictional task is to design a beginner reading activity for a library. In brainstorming, it is easier to review the results if you first lock the conditions that must be satisfied instead of simply asking for 'lots of good ideas.' Here, the constraints are 8 participants, a total of 30 minutes, a maximum of 16 printed sheets, no additional purchases, and only paper and pens as equipment.
[Fictional activity design constraints]
S1: There are 8 participants.
S2: The entire activity lasts 30 minutes.
S3: A maximum of 16 printed sheets may be used.
S4: No additional purchases are allowed.
S5: The only available equipment is paper and pens.
Goal: Generate 4 alternative reading activities suitable for beginners.
Note: The task is to create distinct alternatives, not to select the best one.| source ID | constraint | how to check it |
|---|---|---|
| S1 | 8 participants | Check whether group assignments and handouts are based on 8 participants |
| S2 | Total 30 minutes | Check whether the sum of all step times is 30 minutes |
| S3 | Maximum 16 printed sheets | Check whether the total printed materials for each idea are 16 sheets or fewer |
| S4 | No additional purchases | Check whether any new materials or paid items are required |
| S5 | Paper and pens only | Check whether extra equipment such as a projector, smartphone, or speaker is required |
Without explicit constraints, AI may repeat essentially the same activity under different names. State that the 4 ideas should differ in their activity structure, and ask for the sequence, minute-by-minute timing, number of printed sheets, and unresolved conditions for each one.
Create 4 beginner reading activity ideas that satisfy all of the following constraints.
S1: 8 participants
S2: Total 30 minutes
S3: Maximum 16 printed sheets
S4: No additional purchases
S5: Paper and pens only
Requirements:
1. The 4 ideas must use different activity formats.
2. For each idea, list the steps and give the time for each step in minutes.
3. Make the step times add up to exactly 30 minutes.
4. State the total number of printed sheets and confirm that it is 16 or fewer.
5. Include at least 1 condition that a person must verify before implementation.
6. Do not add equipment or materials on your own.
7. Do not rank the ideas or conclude that any 1 idea is the best.
8. Do not claim that feasibility is guaranteed.This request combines idea generation with constraint checking, but it still does not verify the actual space, participants' reading levels, or the content of available documents. That is why it is important to keep an 'unverified condition' field in the result.
The 4 alternatives below are editorial examples showing different activity structures. Each is set to 30 minutes and uses no more than 16 printed sheets, but suitability for real participants and smooth operation in an actual setting have not been verified.
[Editorial example created and reviewed with AI assistance — not a validation of actual implementation performance]
Idea A: Mark 1 sentence and explain it to a partner
- 5 minutes: Read a short text and mark 1 memorable sentence
- 8 minutes: Write notes explaining why you chose it
- 10 minutes: Work in pairs and explain your choices to each other
- 5 minutes: Each pair records 1 point they had in common
- 2 minutes: Closing
Total 30 minutes
Printed materials: 8 copies of the reading text
Unverified: Need to confirm whether the reading level is appropriate for beginners
Idea B: Create your own question card
- 5 minutes: Read a short text
- 7 minutes: Each participant writes 1 question on paper
- 10 minutes: Split into 2 groups of 4 and take turns answering the questions
- 6 minutes: Each group selects and records 1 memorable question
- 2 minutes: Closing
Total 30 minutes
Printed materials: 8 reading sheets + 8 instruction sheets = 16 sheets
Unverified: Need to confirm whether participants are comfortable creating their own questions
Idea C: Build a shared summary without printed materials
- 5 minutes: The facilitator reads a prepared short text 1 sentence at a time while participants note keywords
- 8 minutes: Each participant selects 3 keywords
- 10 minutes: Split into 2 groups of 4 and write a shared summary
- 5 minutes: The 2 groups read their summaries to each other
- 2 minutes: Closing
Total 30 minutes
Printed materials: 0 sheets
Unverified: Need to confirm whether the facilitator can prepare an appropriate text to read aloud in advance
Idea D: Reconstruct the sequence of scenes
- 4 minutes: Read a short story
- 6 minutes: Each participant notes 3 key scenes
- 10 minutes: Split into 2 groups of 4 and discuss the order of the scenes
- 8 minutes: Each group writes down its chosen order and reasons
- 2 minutes: Closing
Total 30 minutes
Printed materials: 8 copies of the reading text
Unverified: Need to confirm whether the selected story is suitable for discussing scene order| idea | activity format | total time | printed materials | constraint check | unverified condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Individual marking followed by partner explanation | 30 minutes | 8 sheets | 30 minutes or less; 16 sheets or fewer | Reading difficulty |
| B | Create questions individually, then discuss in groups | 30 minutes | 16 sheets | 30 minutes or less; 16 sheets or fewer | Comfort with creating questions |
| C | Keyword notes followed by a shared summary | 30 minutes | 0 sheets | 30 minutes or less; 16 sheets or fewer | Whether a suitable read-aloud text can be prepared |
| D | Reconstruct scene order | 30 minutes | 8 sheets | 30 minutes or less; 16 sheets or fewer | Story suitability |
When reviewing brainstorming results, first check the numbers and conditions rather than deciding which idea looks most interesting. In this exercise, confirm that each activity stays within 30 minutes, uses no more than 16 printed sheets, and does not require extra equipment or purchases.
| check | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Based on 8 participants | Meets | Meets | Meets | Meets |
| 30 minutes or less | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 30 minutes |
| 16 printed sheets or fewer | 8 sheets | 16 sheets | 0 sheets | 8 sheets |
| No additional purchases | None in the example | None in the example | None in the example | None in the example |
| No equipment beyond paper and pens | None in the example | None in the example | None in the example | None in the example |
| Feasibility validation | Not conducted | Not conducted | Not conducted | Not conducted |
Here, 'none in the example' does not mean that no additional preparation would ever be needed in a real setting. It only means that the written activity plan does not explicitly require extra items. A person still needs to verify on-site conditions such as space, noise, and participants' reading levels.
AI can produce an interesting idea while overlooking numerical limits. In that case, you do not have to discard the entire idea. Specify which constraints were violated and ask for only those parts to be corrected. If the real situation changes and the constraints themselves are different, clearly state only the changed values and ask AI to preserve the rest.
[Incorrect editorial example]
Activity E: Give each of 8 participants 3 colored cards and use tablets to search for book covers.
- Explanation 5 minutes
- Individual search 10 minutes
- Group activity 12 minutes
- Presentation 8 minutes
Total 35 minutes
Printed materials needed: 24 activity sheets
Materials: colored cards, tablets, paper, pensThis answer exceeds the 30-minute limit in S2 by 5 minutes and exceeds the 16-sheet maximum in S3 by 8 sheets. It also introduces materials that violate S4, no additional purchases, and S5, paper and pens only. Regardless of how interesting the activity may seem, it cannot be used as written because it violates the constraints.
Revise the previous idea so it fits the constraints.
- Keep 8 participants.
- Recalculate the total time so it is 30 minutes or less.
- Reduce printed materials to 16 sheets or fewer.
- Remove all materials that require additional purchases.
- Remove all equipment other than paper and pens.
- After revising, show the step-by-step time total and total number of printed sheets again.
- Do not claim that feasibility is guaranteed; keep an unverified condition.
If the constraints themselves change, modify only the conditions I changed and keep the rest of S1-S5 unchanged.The purpose of this article is not to recommend or rank 1 of the 4 alternatives. The goal is to first obtain distinct ideas that satisfy the constraints, then let a person verify the actual setting and participant conditions before selecting or revising an option. The results in this article are editorial examples created and reviewed with AI assistance; they do not validate actual satisfaction, participation, educational effect, or AI product performance.
[Reader checklist]
□ Are there exactly 4 ideas?
□ Do the 4 ideas use genuinely different activity formats?
□ Is the participant count still 8?
□ Did I manually add up the step times for each idea?
□ Is each total 30 minutes or less?
□ Is the printed-material total for each idea 16 sheets or fewer?
□ Are there no items that require additional purchases?
□ Is there no equipment other than paper and pens?
□ Does each idea include an unverified condition to check before implementation?
□ Was no arbitrary 'best idea' or ranking added?
□ Is there no claim that feasibility is guaranteed?
□ When changing constraints, did I separate the changed conditions from those that must remain unchanged?Editorial-example review scope: compared the 4 alternatives against the constraints of 8 participants, total 30 minutes, maximum 16 printed sheets, no additional purchases, and paper and pens only.
The activities were not carried out in an actual library or with actual participants, and feasibility, satisfaction, effectiveness, safety, and AI product performance were not validated. Before real use, a person must verify the space, participant characteristics, and available materials directly.