Grade 3-5 Teachers' Guide: Presidential AI Challenge & West Virginia Standards Alignment
- Hampshire County AI
- Oct 16
- 11 min read
How the Presidential AI Challenge Meets WVBE Policy 2520.14 (College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Technology and Computer Science)
Quick Reference: West Virginia Standards Alignment at a Glance
Here's what you need to know: The Presidential AI Challenge directly addresses all seven Technology clusters and all five Computer Science clusters required by West Virginia's College- and Career-Readiness Standards for grades 3-5.
When your students identify a problem, explore it with AI_Challenge_Helper, design an app, build it, test it, and submit it, they're hitting standards in these categories:
Technology Standards (T.3-5.1 through T.3-5.22)
Empowered Learner (T.3-5.1 through T.3-5.4)
Digital Citizen (T.3-5.5 through T.3-5.10)
Knowledge Constructor (T.3-5.11 through T.3-5.12)
Innovative Designer (T.3-5.13 through T.3-5.15)
Computational Thinker (T.3-5.16 through T.3-5.18)
Creative Communicator (T.3-5.19 through T.3-5.20)
Global Collaborator (T.3-5.21 through T.3-5.22)
Computer Science Standards (CS.3-5.1 through CS.3-5.14)
Computer Systems and Computational Thinking (CS.3-5.1 through CS.3-5.3)
Networks and Cyber Infrastructure (CS.3-5.4 through CS.3-5.6)
Data and Information (CS.3-5.7 through CS.3-5.8)
Programming and Algorithms (CS.3-5.9 through CS.3-5.11)
Impacts of Computing (CS.3-5.12 through CS.3-5.14)
Bottom line: This isn't a supplement. This is standards-aligned work that counts.
Why This Matters for Your Classroom
West Virginia expects all grade 3-5 teachers to integrate technology and computer science into instruction. Policy 2510 makes this clear: you're responsible for classroom instruction that integrates these standards "foundational skills, literacy, learning skills and technology tools."
The Presidential AI Challenge is a concrete, scaffolded way to do exactly that. By grade 3-5, students can tackle more ambitious problems and take more ownership of the design process. This challenge grows with them.
Full Details: How Each Standard Gets Addressed
Technology Standards
Empowered Learner (T.3-5.1 through T.3-5.4)
What the standard says: Students should explore age-appropriate technologies that assist learning, organize information using digital resources, evaluate digital sources for accuracy and credibility, and learn proper keyboarding techniques.
How the challenge addresses it:
Your students navigate AI_Challenge_Helper—a technology platform designed for their age level. They use it to explore their problem, research solutions, and organize their thinking. As they work, they're evaluating suggestions from the AI: "Does this make sense? Is it accurate? Can we trust this idea?" They're typing and using digital tools, developing keyboarding skills naturally through a purpose-driven task rather than isolated practice. The tool itself becomes evidence that they can evaluate whether a digital resource is useful for their learning goal.
What you might say to a colleague or family member: "In grade 3-5, we expect kids to be more independent with technology and more critical about what they find online. This challenge does both. Students use a technology tool to solve a real problem and learn to question whether AI suggestions actually fit their needs. That's digital literacy."
Digital Citizen (T.3-5.5 through T.3-5.10)
What the standard says: Students should demonstrate responsible technology use, practice safe and ethical behavior online, collaborate through technology, understand online identity and permanence, protect personal data, and respect intellectual property.
How the challenge addresses it:
The Presidential AI Challenge builds digital citizenship into every step. Your students learn from day one: no personal information in the Poe chat. They discuss online safety and ethical use. They collaborate respectfully in the chat, learning how to share ideas and build on each other's thinking. When they see the Poe chat will be part of their submission (viewable by judges), they understand the permanence of what they share online. When you require parental consent, you're teaching that families are involved in digital decisions. When you cite your tools in the final submission, you're modeling intellectual property respect and teaching that creators deserve credit.
What you might say: "Digital citizenship isn't abstract for these kids anymore. They're experiencing it. They learn what to share and what not to share online. They see that what they post online is permanent. They understand that the tools they use belong to someone and need to be credited. This is real digital citizenship, not a lecture."
Knowledge Constructor (T.3-5.11 through T.3-5.12)
What the standard says: Students should create original work through age-appropriate technology and digital resources, and demonstrate creativity through technology (digital storytelling, portfolio creation, digital media displays).
How the challenge addresses it:
Your students are creating an original app—a digital product that solves a real problem. They're not following a template or completing a worksheet. They're designing something new. The app itself is their creative work. The demo video they record is digital storytelling—explaining their thinking and their solution in a compelling way. This is authentic creation, not busywork.
What you might say: "By grade 3-5, we expect kids to create original digital products. This challenge is exactly that. They're designing and building an app that didn't exist before. They're using technology as a creative tool, not just a consumption tool."
Innovative Designer (T.3-5.13 through T.3-5.15)
What the standard says: Students should select appropriate technology tools to solve problems, create a product using a step-by-step process, and transfer learning to different tools and environments.
How the challenge addresses it:
This is where grade 3-5 students really shine. They identify a school-wide or community problem (not just a classroom problem like K-2). They work through a design process with more independence and depth. They select AI_Challenge_Helper because it fits their need. They follow steps: Problem → Exploration → Design → Build → Test → Submit. As they work, they're learning that the same design thinking applies to different problems and different tools. They're becoming designers, not just users.
What you might say: "The innovation standard for 3-5 expects students to tackle bigger problems and work more independently. This challenge does that. Kids see a problem in their school or community, they design a solution, they build it, and they see it through to completion. That's what an innovative designer does."
Computational Thinker (T.3-5.16 through T.3-5.18)
What the standard says: Students should research information using technology, deepen learning across content areas through technology, and graph data using a spreadsheet and produce reports explaining their analysis.
How the challenge addresses it:
When students use AI_Challenge_Helper to explore their problem, they're researching. They're asking questions, evaluating suggestions, and thinking critically. They're learning to use technology as a thinking tool. If their app collects or displays data (like feedback from testing, user preferences, or survey results), they're working with data in a structured way. They can graph testing results or user feedback to show whether their app works. They can write about what the data shows them.
What you might say: "Computational thinking means using technology to think deeper and solve harder problems. In grade 3-5, kids should be able to research, analyze data, and explain what they learned. This challenge does all of that. They research their problem, they collect data from testing, and they explain what they discovered."
Creative Communicator (T.3-5.19 through T.3-5.20)
What the standard says: Students should communicate with others through email or digital resources, and utilize embedded digital tools for feedback.
How the challenge addresses it:
Your students communicate in the Poe chat—sharing ideas, asking questions, responding to AI suggestions, and building on each other's thinking. This is digital communication in action. The demo video is another form of communication: explaining their app and why it matters to an audience. When they test their app with classmates and collect feedback, they're using digital tools to gather input. They might revise based on feedback before submitting. They're learning that communication is iterative and that feedback makes work better.
What you might say: "By grade 3-5, kids should be comfortable using different digital tools to communicate and get feedback. The Poe chat, the demo video, and the feedback from testing are all forms of digital communication. They're learning that sharing ideas online and listening to feedback makes their work stronger."
Global Collaborator (T.3-5.21 through T.3-5.22)
What the standard says: Students should connect with others and explore different points of view using technology, and explore multiple ways to share ideas considering the expected audience.
How the challenge addresses it:
Your class collaborates together using AI_Challenge_Helper. When you submit to the Presidential AI Challenge, you're connecting with a national community. Your app could eventually be used by people outside your classroom. Your Poe chat and submission show real student voices and real student thinking. Students learn to consider their audience: "Who will use this app? What do they need to understand? How should we explain it?" They're thinking globally and collaboratively, not just locally.
What you might say: "This challenge is bigger than your classroom. You're solving a problem that others face too. When you submit your work, you're part of a national initiative. You're learning that technology lets you connect with people beyond your community and share solutions that matter."
Computer Science Standards
Computer Systems and Computational Thinking (CS.3-5.1 through CS.3-5.3)
What the standard says: Students should verbalize problem-solving steps, work together in teams to solve problems, and identify components and functions of technology.
How the challenge addresses it:
Your students work through the challenge as a team (whole class, small group, or pairs depending on your setup). They verbalize their problem-solving out loud and in the Poe chat: "What's the problem? What would help? How should the app work?" They see how their design instructions become a working app—learning that computers execute the steps people give them. They're learning the fundamental concept that technology is built by humans to do what humans ask it to do.
What you might say: "Computational thinking starts with being able to explain your thinking clearly. In this challenge, kids work together, talk through their problem, and see their ideas turn into a working app. They learn that clear thinking leads to clear instructions, and clear instructions lead to working technology."
Networks and Cyber Infrastructure (CS.3-5.4 through CS.3-5.6)
What the standard says: Students should identify components and functions of computers and technology, utilize digital tools for connecting people through networks, and understand online safety.
How the challenge addresses it:
Your students use an Internet-based platform (Poe/AI_Challenge_Helper) and see how it connects them to a resource designed by an organization in Hampshire County that helps them design. They're experiencing how networks function to connect members of the community to each other and to external entities. They learn and follow online safety rules: no personal information, thoughtful use, responsible behavior. They understand that being online requires safety awareness. The parental consent process involves families in understanding how networks and technology work.
What you might say: "Kids see how the Internet connects them to tools and information. They also learn that being online has safety rules. By grade 3-5, they should understand both—how networks help us and how to stay safe on them."
Data and Information (CS.3-5.7 through CS.3-5.8)
What the standard says: Students should collect and organize data using digital tools and analyze, interpret, and communicate data to support or refute a claim.
How the challenge addresses it:
If students build an app that collects, organizes, or displays information (a list of problems, user preferences, survey results, a schedule, etc.), they're working with data. When they test their app, they collect data: "Did this work? Do kids understand it? What should we change?"
They analyze this data and make decisions based on it. They communicate their findings in the demo video and narrative: "We tested with 10 kids, and 8 of them understood how to use the app, so we know it works."
What you might say: "In grade 3-5, students should be able to work with real data and explain what it means. This challenge does that naturally. They organize information in their app, test it, collect feedback, and explain what the feedback tells them."
Programming and Algorithms (CS.3-5.9 through CS.3-5.11)
What the standard says: Students should analyze and write steps to solve problems, understand decomposition (breaking problems into smaller parts), and design, create, test, and debug procedures.
How the challenge addresses it:
The entire challenge is an exercise in algorithms and decomposition. Your students take a big problem and break it into smaller steps: What's the problem? What's the solution? What should the app do? How should it work? What should happen when someone clicks this button? They write (or describe) these steps in the Poe chat. AI_Challenge_Helper turns those steps into code. They test the app—debugging means finding what doesn't work and fixing it. They see the full cycle: plan → build → test → refine.
What you might say: "Programming is about breaking a big idea into clear steps. This challenge teaches that without requiring kids to write code. They design the steps, the AI builds the code, and they test whether it works. By the end, they understand that all software is built this way—as a series of clear instructions."
Impacts of Computing (CS.3-5.12 through CS.3-5.14)
What the standard says: Students should research how technology has changed over time, identify ways technology can assist daily life, and brainstorm ways to improve technology for people with diverse needs.
How the challenge addresses it:
Your students are learning that technology is created by people to solve real problems. They're becoming creators, not just consumers. During the challenge, you can discuss: "How has technology helped us solve problems in our school? How is our app helping?" They're thinking about accessibility: "Will this app work for everyone? What if someone has trouble reading? What if someone uses a different device?" They're learning to design inclusively. By the end, they understand that technology isn't magic—it's a tool people create, and people have a responsibility to make it work for everyone.
What you might say: "By grade 3-5, kids should understand that technology changes over time and that people create it to help solve problems. This challenge shows them that they can be those people. They're also learning to think about whether their solutions work for everyone, which is what responsible technologists do."
How to Use This Guide
For a parent who asks: "Why are you spending class time on this AI project?"
Use this: "The Presidential AI Challenge is how we're teaching West Virginia's required standards for technology and computer science. Every standard gets addressed. It's not extra—it's core instruction, just delivered in a way that makes sense and matters to kids."
For a skeptical colleague: "Isn't this just a trend? Won't it distract from real learning?"
Use this: "I thought that too, but I looked at the standards. The challenge hits every single standard in WVBE Policy 2520.14. It's not a trend—it's required content. This is just a more effective way to teach it than worksheets or isolated lessons."
For an administrator who asks: "How does this align with our standards?"
Use this: Send them this guide. Show them the standard codes and descriptions. This challenge comprehensively addresses all of WVBE Policy 2520.14 for grades 3-5. It's not supplemental; it's standards-based instruction.
For yourself (as you plan): Use the Technology and Computer Science standards your students need to strengthen most. This guide gives you multiple entry points. Highlight the standards you want to emphasize, and use those talking points as you facilitate the challenge.
What Makes grade 3-5 Different from K-2
The Presidential AI Challenge adapts for 3-5 learners:
Bigger problems: K-2 tackles classroom issues. 3-5 tackles school-wide or community problems.
More independence: K-2 needs heavy guidance and scaffolding. 3-5 students can direct more of the process themselves.
Deeper design thinking: 3-5 students can explore multiple solutions and make reasoned choices. They can explain why they chose their approach.
More sophisticated apps: 3-5 apps can do more complex things—collecting data, making decisions, providing personalized responses.
More ownership: By 5th grade, students can see their work as a real contribution, not just a classroom activity.
The standards reflect this progression. Grade 3-5 standards expect more independence, more critical thinking, and more sophisticated use of technology. The challenge supports this growth naturally.
The Bottom Line
The Presidential AI Challenge isn't supplemental. It's a comprehensive, standards-aligned way to teach the technology and computer science standards West Virginia requires for 3-5. Your students are learning real skills, tackling real problems, and meeting real standards.
By 3-5, they're ready for more independence and bigger challenges. This initiative respects that growth while keeping them supported and scaffolded.
That's why it's worth 2-3 hours of class time over a few weeks. You're not adding something extra. You're teaching what you're already required to teach, just in a way that's more engaging and more effective.
Ready to get started?
Questions? Use the chat box on the Hampshire County AI website, or reach out to your school's technology coordinator.
Your grade 3-5 students are ready to solve problems that matter. West Virginia's standards say so.
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