Robot Says What?

Overview

This 40-minute hands-on lesson introduces Year 1 students to the fundamental digital technologies concept of input and output using playful, kinaesthetic learning. Students will explore how input (instructions or commands) and output (actions or responses) are used in everyday digital systems — all without using actual digital devices. The lesson is designed to align with the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies – Foundation to Year 2 (F–2).

---

Curriculum Alignment

Learning Area: Digital Technologies
Year Level: Year 1
Strand: Processes and Production Skills
Content Description:

• ACTDIP004: Identify and explore digital systems (hardware and software components) for a purpose
• ACTDIP005: Recognise and explore patterns in data and represent data as pictures, symbols and diagrams.

General Capabilities Addressed:

• Critical and Creative Thinking
• ICT Capability
• Personal and Social Capability

---

Learning Intentions

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Identify digital systems and describe how they have inputs and outputs.
• Understand that an input is something we "do" to a system (tell it, press it, etc.) and an output is what the system "does" back (shows, makes sound, moves).
• Work collaboratively in groups to simulate a digital system using their bodies.

---

Success Criteria

Students will: ✅ Use clear language to describe input and output.
✅ Participate in the dramatisation and mat game to demonstrate input/output.
✅ Work effectively in groups, taking turns and following instructions.

---

Resources Needed

• Large label cards: “INPUT” and “OUTPUT” (laminated or written in bold) x 8 each
• Simple “instruction cards” (e.g., clap twice, jump up, spin, say “Hello”) x 12
• Pipe cleaners or small robot headbands (optional, fun touch!)
• iPad/laptop available for demo (optional – to show real devices if needed)
• Whiteboard and marker
• Bluetooth speaker (optional, to play robo-sound when students respond)

---

Vocabulary

• Input: What you do to a device (like pressing a button)
• Output: What the device does back (like playing a sound)
• Device: Something that uses input and gives output (like a toaster, computer, robot)

---

Lesson Breakdown (40 minutes)

⏱️ 5 min – Welcome & Warm-Up

Gather students on the mat.

Hook:
Teacher says, “Has anyone here ever used a toaster, computer, or remote control?” (Hands raised)

Explain:
➤ "All machines or devices use something called input (what we tell them to do) and output (what they do back)."
➤ “Think of a robot! If I say ‘Clap twice,’ and it claps twice, what was the input? What was the output?”

Do a few examples together on the mat:

• Say “Touch your nose” → Students touch noses
• Say “Say moo like a cow” → Moo!

Label these as input and output as they occur – hold up the laminated card each time.

---

⏱️ 10 min – Group Activity: 'Be the Robot!'

Divide the class into 6 groups of 4–5 students
Each group gets:

• 1 “robot” (student wearing a robot headband or pipe cleaner antennas)
• 2 “instruction/information cards”

Instructions:

• One student gives an input (e.g., “jump three times” or “say beeeeep!”)
• The “robot” gives an output by following the command
• After two turns, swap the “robot” so each student gets a turn

Teacher and support staff circulate, prompting students to say, “The input is…” and “The output is…”

Encourage students to observe how the robot 'responds' to what they tell it — this is real-world input/output thinking.

---

⏱️ 8 min – Whole Class Game: 'Human Computer'

Mat-Based Activity

Form a large circle on the mat.
One student becomes the “computer” (stands in the middle).
Others each say a simple input (e.g., clap, wave, roar).
BUT — the computer can only react with one specific output (e.g., spin slowly, say “yes,” raise arms).

Trick: The class must figure out which inputs cause that output — they are “debugging”!
Repeat with different “computers” and outputs.

---

⏱️ 10 min – Connecting to Real Tech

Show a Tablet or Digital Device (real is best, or draw one)

• Ask: “When I press this button (input), what happens?”
  ➡ Display changes, sound plays, etc. (output)

Go through a few examples:

• Taking a photo
• Speaking to Siri or Google Assistant
• Playing music by pressing play
• Turning on a fan or TV from a remote

Let students call out more devices with input and output at home or in class.

---

⏱️ 5 min – Reflect & Exit Ticket

Back to the mat:

Ask:

• “What is input?”
• “What is output?”
• “Who can tell me a machine that uses input and output?”

Exit Ticket (as students leave mat/table): Each student tells you either:

1. A device and its input/output
2. One thing they did today where they were the robot!

---

Differentiation

• Support: Use picture cards to show input/output (e.g., finger pressing button, robot moving). Group with learning support staff or peer helper. Use simpler inputs like 'wave’ or ‘smile’.
• Extend: Encourage students to create their own robot with two inputs and predict the outputs. Challenge with conditional responses: “If I say hello, wave twice. If I roar, clap.”

---

Assessment (Formative)

🧐 Observe during group activity:

• Correct identification of inputs and outputs
• Ability to follow multi-step instructions
• Participating in group roles

📘 Exit reflections assess understanding in student voice

---

Teacher Tips

❗ Tip: Celebrate mistakes as “bugs in code” and let students troubleshoot
🧠 Tip: Use follow-up language like “What was your input just now?” during future class routines
🎵 Optional: Set the tone with robot sound effects during mat games to create engagement

---

Future Connections

This lesson sets the stage for exploring:

• Algorithms: Step-by-step instructions
• Simple visual coding games (Beebots, Scratch Jr.)
• Real-life digital systems in the classroom and home

---

🎉 Big Idea Recap:

The robot listens to what we tell it (input), and then acts or responds (output).
We give computers commands, and they DO something back.

Let’s keep being amazing robots and brilliant input-creators! 🤖