AI Blocks › Teach and train people
History source simplifier
Paste a primary source and the learners' age. Get a shorter, simpler version that keeps what they need to analyse.
History source simplifier is a free AI skill for the job "Teach and train people". Give the instructions to an AI assistant that supports the required files and tools, then review its output.
Free · No account · CC BY SA 4.0 licence · Made by Gareth Manning
Made by Gareth Manning. See the original on GitHub; we copied it as it is, with its licence.
What it does
A shorter, easier version of a primary source that still works as evidence. Paste a document and say how old your learners are. You get a version they can read, with the parts they need for analysis left in. The skill keeps the full source note: author, date and where it came from. It keeps the writer's voice and any loaded words, then shortens sentences instead of swapping vocabulary. Hard words go in a word bank at the bottom with plain definitions, never explanations of what the writer meant. Every cut is marked with brackets, and the note says the text is adapted. Key passages can appear in both forms side by side.
You give it
- The original source text
- Learners' age or reading level
- Skills you want them to use on it
- Target length (optional)
- Other sources it will be compared with (optional)
You get
- An adapted source with marked cuts
- A word bank of plain definitions
- Notes on what was changed
- A list of features kept for analysis
Use it when
- A source is too hard or long for your class.
- You want to keep loaded words so learners can analyse them.
- You have learners with English as an extra language and need glossing.
- You need an honest, marked adaptation instead of a rewrite.
How to use it
- Add it to your AI once: download it and add the folder to Claude, ChatGPT or Codex as a skill.
- Ask for the job in your own words. Your AI opens the skill when it fits.