Digital technologies / Year 5 and 6 / Digital Technologies Processes and Production Skills

Curriculum content descriptions

Design, modify and follow simple algorithms involving sequences of steps, branching, and iteration (repetition) (ACTDIP019)

Elaborations
  • following a diagram of a simple method of sorting numbers or words
  • following, modifying and describing the design of a game involving simple algorithms represented diagrammatically or in English, for example creating a flowchart with software that uses symbols to show decisions, processes and inputs and outputs
  • experimenting with different ways of representing an instruction to make a choice, for example branches in a tree diagram or using an ‘IF’ statement (a common statement used to branch) to indicate making a choice between two different circumstances using a spreadsheet or a visual program
  • experimenting with different ways of representing an instruction to make a repetition, for example loops in a flowchart diagram or using a ‘REPEAT’ statement
  • designing the instructions for a robot, for example a robot vacuum cleaner to clean a room
  • using different design tools to record ways in which digital solutions will be developed, for example creating storyboards or flowcharts to record relationships or instructions about content or processes
General capabilities
  • Literacy Literacy
  • Numeracy Numeracy
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
  • ICT capability Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capability
ScOT terms

Decision making,  Design,  Algorithms

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Computational thinking poster

This infographic provides an overview overview of the concepts related to computational thinking.

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Scratch 2.0 tutorial

This tutorial provides step-by-step instructions to support the learning of Scratch, a visual programming language. The tutorial is designed for educators who would like to learn how to use Scratch.

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Visual to text coding: Lesson 3

This is the third in a series of lessons to transition from visual coding to text-based coding with a general-purpose programming language. This lesson may take two to three 45-minute periods. It introduces how to generate and use random numbers.

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Visual to text coding: Lesson 5

This is the fifth in a series of lessons to transition from visual coding to text-based coding with a general purpose programming language. This lesson may take two to three 45-minute periods. It introduces how to create and use arrays (also called lists).

Online

Learning to loop

Students create algorithms with a condition that tells the computer to repeat a sequence of instructions.

Downloadable

DT Challenge - 5/6 Blockly - Smart Garden

Learn how to program a BBC micro:bit using Blockly — no experience required. Learn the basics of programming in Blockly with our full BBC micro:bit simulator. Create a Smart Garden device to monitor the health of your plants, measuring temperature and wiring up a simple soil moisture sensor.

Downloadable

DT Challenge - 5/6 Blockly - Chatbot

Write programs to solve problems with code and create word games! In this DT Challenge, you'll learn how to play Mad Libs, Questions, Taboo, and Word Chain, and even write your very own Pirate Chatbot! Can you fool your friends into thinking they're talking to a real person? Learn how to create a series of word games with ...

Downloadable

DT Challenge - 5/6 Blockly - Intro to Micro:Bit

Learn how to program a BBC micro:bit using Blockly. No experience required. Learn the basics of programming in Blockly with our full BBC micro:bit simulator.

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Visual to text coding: Lesson 12

This is the final in a series of lessons to transition from visual coding to text-based coding with a General Purpose Programming language. See next steps for suggested courses and learning sequences after this lesson. It builds on the coding concept of functions (by introducing the concept of return values. Functions are ...

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Visual to text coding: Lesson 8

This is the eighth in a series of lessons to transition from visual coding to text-based coding with a General Purpose Programming language. This lesson may take two to three 45-minute periods. It brings together skills from the previous lessons to design and develop a Higher Lower game, where the player tries to guess ...

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Visual to text coding: Lesson 9

This is the ninth in a series of lessons to transition from visual coding to text-based coding with a General Purpose Programming language. This lesson may take two to three 45-minute periods. It explores creating powerful programs for managing and analysing data, by combining the previous skills of using loops and working ...

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Visual to text coding: Setting Up

This series of lessons is to help students to transition from visual coding to text-based coding with a general-purpose programming language. This section provides guidance on how to set-up the particular programming environment including Scratch, Python and JavaScript.

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Home automation programming (yrs 5-6)

Investigate home automation systems, including those powered by artificial intelligence (AI) with speech recognition capability. These suggested activities provide a level of differentiation to cater for students’ range of programming skills. They were developed in collaboration with the Digital Technologies Institute.

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Note the music

We can program a computer to play music. Conventionally this is done by hard coding, which is the process of coding all possible expected behaviours. Alternatively, we can train an artificial intelligence (AI) computer about what notes go well with others, so it can play a duet with a human musician. Students can make their ...

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Visual to text coding: Index page

This lesson sequence provides a bridge between visual coding (eg. Scratch) and General Purpose Programming languages (eg. Python or JavaScript). This resource is most suitable if you have never done General Purpose Programming and/or you benefit from slow-paced, step-by-step video tutorials.

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Check out the checkout

This sequence of lessons explores how to incorporate user input, decision-making and loops in programming using the context of a shopping experience, particularly the checkout. It combines data in the form of a barcode and programming choices.

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Sphero: Catch me if you can

By years 5 and 6 many students may have had some experience with a visual programming language such as Scratch or Blockly that is the basis of the Hour of Code. Sphero will take the screen based control of an image to the next level by introducing a robotic device controlled by a visual programming language. This lesson ...

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Describing an everyday object

In this lesson, students act like the inventor of an everyday object that does not yet exist. Students abstract the essential details, and describe what need would be fulfilled by the new object and how, specifically, it functions. They will then translate the description into a format appropriate for modeling the object ...

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Visual to text coding: Lesson 6

This is the sixth in a series of lessons to transition from visual coding to text-based coding with a General Purpose Programming language. This lesson may take two to three 45-minute periods. It builds on the previous introduction to arrays (also called lists) and brings in the length property.

Online

Scratch Creative Computing Guide

There is also a series of units comprising learning activities, paired with assessment activities and templates that can be used to support use of the Scratch (MIT) platform. The Scratch Creative Computing Guide supports assessment activities with visual programming environments.