1 - Getting Started ~5 mins
Think of a Leap card on a Dublin Bus or Luas stop. You hold the card to the reader. Something beeps. Sometimes a light goes green. What actually happened between the card and the beep?
Hands up: what do you think the machine had to notice, and what do you think it had to decide, before it answered you?
Keep this light. Do not name input, process or output yet. Take three or four quick guesses and leave them hanging. The next steps name the pattern as cards land on the board.
Before the lesson: print enough system cards so each group receives exactly one assigned card. Distribute the three types across the class (supermarket self-checkout, weather app, library self-issue). Leap is for whole-class modelling only and is not a group card. Open the flow-builder interactive on the IWB. Have the Investigation Journal DrawingRecord page ready.
Key question: What had to happen inside the machine between the card and the answer?
2 - Today's Idea: Inputs, Processes and Outputs ~6 mins
Today we will use three words for any device or app that does a job.
Input is what goes in. Process is the hidden work in the middle. Output is what comes back out.
We will place real cards on the board next, and say each word as the card lands. Keep the Leap card example in mind: the card goes in, something hidden happens, then we hear a beep.
Board stays short. Give the three labels only; do not linger on long definitions. Full naming happens in step 3 as each card lands. Only after one full Leap cycle is on the board, add the word system. Use the table below as your reference while you talk.
| Concept | Why it matters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Input — what goes into a system so it can start its job | If nothing goes in, the system has nothing to work with | Holding a Leap card to a reader, scanning a barcode, or typing a place name into a weather app |
| Process — the steps the system follows with the input | The process is the checking, matching or calculating the system does; it is often hidden | The Leap reader checks the card and works out the fare for that journey |
| Output — what the system gives back after processing | The output is how we know the system did its job | A beep and a green light on a bus or Luas validator; rain icons on a phone screen |
| System — parts working together as input, process and output | Seeing the three parts helps us understand everyday Irish technology | A Leap card reader, a supermarket self-checkout, or Met Éireann's weather app |
How to use this beat
Say the three labels once with Leap still only as a hook: input goes in, process is the hidden work, output comes out. Do not force a full spoken model yet. Step 3 places the three cards and is where pupils hear each word locked to a concrete card. Name system only after that full cycle is visible.
Misconception to head off: pupils may call the whole device the output, or call the beep the process. Keep pointing: input is what goes in, process is the hidden work, output is what comes out.
Nature of STEM: systems like Leap and self-checkouts arrived as Irish daily life changed. Naming input, process and output is how engineers and coders talk about any device before they improve it.
3 - Map a Leap Card Reader Together ~8 mins
Look at the Leap card map on the board. Notice the three columns: Input, Process and Output.
Three cards will appear: hold Leap card to the reader, check card and work out the fare, and beep, green light and journey recorded. Call out which column each card belongs in. We will place them together, then check the arrow runs from input through process to output.
When all three sit correctly, those parts working together make a system.
Leap card reader: IPO
One brisk whole-class beat on Leap only. Drive the flow-builder in explore mode. This is where the three words land on real cards.
Minute 1–2 (finished model): Place the three cards yourself so the class sees a complete map. Say each label as the card lands: This card is the input… this is the process, the hidden work… this is the output. On screen the cards are exactly:
- Input: hold Leap card to the reader
- Process: check card and work out the fare
- Output: beep, green light and journey recorded
Only now name the whole map a system. Ask: If we removed the process card, would the output still make sense?
Minutes 3–8 (quick class placement): Clear the columns and rebuild from class suggestions. Keep the pace brisk; do not linger once the three cards sit correctly. Fold the whole class in: watching is participation. Cold-call two pupils who have not spoken yet.
Leap stays whole-class only. Groups will map a different system next, so do not treat this as their investigation.
Worked model (say this aloud once the cards are placed)
The input is the card held to the reader. The process is the hidden bit: the machine checks the card and works out the fare. The output is what we notice: a beep and a green light. Notice the process is the part we cannot see, but without it the light would not make sense. Those three parts working together make a system.
4 - Investigate a Familiar Irish System ~16 mins
Your group gets one system card: a supermarket self-checkout, a weather app, or a library self-issue machine. Read the card together.
On scrap paper, list at least one input, one process and one output for your system.
When your list is ready, say this stem out loud once to each other (practice for sharing later): The input starts…, the process works out…, so the output can…
Before groups start
This beat is card plus scrap paper only. Do not reopen the Leap flow-builder on the IWB; leave the board on the discussion prompts or a blank slide. Give each group exactly one printed system card (full texts below). The three card types are distributed across the class. Leap is not in the pack; it was the whole-class model only. Groups of three or four work well; adjust to your class. Support option: if a group is stuck, let them keep the self-checkout card and use the clue list almost word for word. Pupils who finish early add a second input or output on the same scrap paper, or whisper-check another group's map.
After the list, each group must say the stem once out loud together before you move on. That is practice for the share, not only a later front-of-class line.
System card 1: Supermarket self-checkout
What it is: A till you use yourself in many Irish supermarkets.
What people did before: A cashier scanned every item and took the money.
What changed: Shoppers scan, bag and pay with less staff time per basket.
Clues for IPO: Input ideas: scan a barcode; place an item on the bagging scale; hold or insert a card; enter a fruit code. Process ideas: look up the price; check the weight matches; total the bill; check payment. Output ideas: item name and price on screen; unexpected-item warning; total to pay; receipt printed.
System card 2: Weather app
What it is: An app on a phone or tablet that shows a forecast, such as Met Éireann's service or a similar everyday weather app.
What people did before: Listened to radio forecasts, watched TV weather, or looked at the sky.
What changed: You can check rain, wind and temperature for your place in seconds.
Clues for IPO: Input ideas: open the app; allow location; type a town name; pull to refresh. Process ideas: fetch forecast data; match it to your place; choose icons and numbers to show. Output ideas: temperature; rain icons; wind speed; a warning banner; an hourly or daily chart.
System card 3: Library self-issue machine
What it is: A machine in many school and public libraries where you borrow a book yourself.
What people did before: A librarian scanned each book and stamped the due date.
What changed: You can check out books with a shorter queue at the desk.
Clues for IPO: Input ideas: place the book on the pad; scan a library card; choose borrow on the screen. Process ideas: check the book can be borrowed; match it to the card; update the loan record; unlock the security tag. Output ideas: beep or screen message; due date shown or printed; book ready to take; error if the card or book is not valid.
Circulate look-fors
- Each group names parts in the right input / process / output buckets, not just retells the story of using the device
- Process language sounds like checking, calculating, matching or deciding, not like a button the user presses
- Groups say the stem out loud once: The input starts…, the process works out…, so the output can…
- If a group is stuck, ask: What does the person do first? What must the machine work out? How do you know it worked?
Differentiation: Support groups stick to one clear input, process and output from the clue list (self-checkout is the friendliest scaffold). Stretch groups add a second input and say what fails if that input is missing.
5 - Record Your Input → Process → Output Map ~7 mins
On your Investigation Journal page, draw your system as three clear parts: Input → Process → Output.
Label each part in your own words and put the name of your system at the top. Write the hidden process clearly in the middle so a classmate could read it.
This is the paper DrawingRecord beat. Pupils transfer the rough list into a neat Input → Process → Output map. No typing into the platform.
Look for arrows or a clear left-to-right order, and labels that match the science words from the board. If a map only shows buttons the user presses, ask them to add the hidden process in the middle.
Fast finishers add one sentence under the map: These parts work together by…
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