Session 1 · DESIGN: Explore
Pressure, flow and push-back
- 10 minWater-pipe model: voltage is pressure, current is flow, resistance is a narrow pipe. Act it out with a skipping rope loop.
- 20 minResistor lab: read colour codes, then test LED brightness with 220 Ω, 1 kΩ and 10 kΩ resistors. Record.
- 15 minMeet the micro:bit: find its inputs (buttons, light, temperature, tilt) and outputs (LEDs, pins, speaker). Code a button that shows an icon.
- 5 minPūkeko asks one question about which input your context needs.
Session 2 · DESIGN: Sketch
System diagram and specification
- 10 minInterview your user or read the user profile. What must the system do? When? Where?
- 20 minDraw a system diagram: input, process, output blocks, then split each into subsystems (power, sensor, decision, alert).
- 15 minWrite a specification: 'must alert within 5 seconds', 'must run for a weekend on batteries', 'must not give false alarms'.
- 5 minShare with another team for one question and one suggestion.
Getting started
Use the three-box system diagram template.
Stretch
Use V = I × R to work out the current through an LED circuit with a 3 V supply and a 150 Ω resistor.
Checkpoint
An annotated system diagram with at least three subsystems, and a written specification.
Activities for this week
- Resistor colour code lab: How do resistors control how much current flows, and how do you read their value?
Useful this week
- Electricity: electrons, insulators and conductors ↗ Why some materials let current flow and others stop it.
- Resistors ↗ How resistors control current, with colour codes explained.
- micro:bit features ↗ Every input and output on the board, in one place.
- Electricity and sensors ↗ How sensors turn changes in the world into electrical signals.