Spark
InteractiveDiagram
Routine: See, Think, Wonder
Look at a range of everyday devices such as laptops, tablets, keyboards, and mice. What do you notice, what do you think each one does, and what do you wonder about how they work together?
Student strand
Systems
This strand helps students understand how digital systems work, from familiar devices to networks and operating systems. Across the years, students move from identifying basic hardware to explaining servers, the internet, internal components, and how data travels through systems.
Year 1
About devices.
Content
BeforeAfterSlider
Method: Guided explanation
Teach students to identify common devices, recognise simple peripherals such as a mouse and keyboard, and turn devices on and off correctly. Emphasise correct and confident handling rather than technical detail.
Plenary
DynamicSimulator
Task type: Quick check
Students sort devices by name and use, then identify the correct steps for safe device start-up and shutdown.
Overview
In Year 1, students begin by recognising common digital devices and the basic tools used to control them. They learn what devices are for and how to use simple hardware safely and correctly.
Achievement pathway
- Level 1: Identify laptops and tablets.
- Level 2: Recognise a mouse and keyboard.
- Level 3: Turn a device on and off correctly.
- Level 4: Explain a simple use for a computer.
Independent task
Label a set of classroom devices and explain what each one is used for.
Year 2
About input and output.
Spark
InteractiveDiagram
Routine: Think, Puzzle, Explore
How does a computer know what to do with a click, a key press, or a voice command? What puzzles you about what goes in and what comes out?
Content
BeforeAfterSlider
Method: Guided explanation
Introduce the model of input, process, and output, then connect it to familiar devices such as keyboards, screens, speakers, and printers. Help students categorise devices by their role in a simple system.
Plenary
DynamicSimulator
Task type: Quick check
Students sort common devices into input and output groups and explain how a printer or screen fits into the process.
Overview
In Year 2, students begin to understand that computers take in information, process it, and produce results. They use the idea of input, process, and output to describe what different parts of a system do.
Achievement pathway
- Level 1: Define computer input, process, and output.
- Level 2: Identify input devices.
- Level 3: Categorise input and output correctly.
- Level 4: Explain the purpose of a printer or similar output.
Independent task
Create a simple diagram showing input, process, and output in a familiar digital task.
Year 3
About servers.
Spark
InteractiveDiagram
Routine: See, Think, Wonder
Look at a diagram showing users, devices, folders, and a server. What do you notice about where information is kept, and what do you wonder about how everyone can access it?
Content
ExpandingAccordion
Method: Guided explanation
Teach students that a server stores and shares data or services, such as school files or websites. Link this to searching for a website, using a school network, and navigating a shared folder structure.
Plenary
DynamicSimulator
Task type: Quick check
Students identify a server’s role, recognise that a school network shares resources, and describe where files might be stored.
Overview
In Year 3, students move beyond individual devices and begin to see how schools and websites rely on shared systems. They learn what a server does and how files and websites can be stored and accessed through a network.
Achievement pathway
- Level 1: Use search to find a website.
- Level 2: Recognise the school network.
- Level 3: Explain that a server stores or shares data.
- Level 4: Navigate a network folder.
Independent task
Explain, with a simple diagram or paragraph, how a school server helps people access shared files.
Year 4
About the internet.
Spark
ClickToReveal
Routine: Zoom In
Zoom in on diagrams of networks, web browsers, and messages being sent. What clues help explain how information moves across the internet?
Content
ExpandingAccordion
Method: Guided explanation
Teach students the meaning of network and internet, then connect these ideas to email, web browsing, and online communication. Emphasise that the internet links many networks together rather than being a single machine or place.
Plenary
DynamicSimulator
Task type: Quick check
Students explain the phrase network of networks, identify a browser’s role, and describe a simple message moving between users.
Overview
In Year 4, students begin to understand that the internet is a network of networks. They connect ideas about communication, browsing, and connected systems to explain how online services are reached and used.
Achievement pathway
- Level 1: Define a network.
- Level 2: Explain that the internet is a network of networks.
- Level 3: Send or reply to an email appropriately.
- Level 4: Describe what a web browser does.
Independent task
Create a simple explanation of how someone reaches a website using a browser and the internet.
Year 5
About internals.
Spark
InteractiveDiagram
Routine: See, Think, Wonder
Look at a computer diagram showing internal parts and wireless connections. What do you notice, what might each part do, and what do you wonder about how everything works together?
Content
BeforeAfterSlider
Method: Guided explanation
Teach students to identify components such as the CPU and hard drive, distinguish hardware from software, and understand that systems can connect in different ways such as Wi-Fi or mobile data. Support them in building a mental model of the machine as a working system.
Plenary
DynamicSimulator
Task type: Quick check
Students label internal parts, sort examples into hardware and software, and compare two types of connectivity.
Overview
In Year 5, students look inside digital systems and explore the difference between hardware and software. They learn the roles of important internal components and compare different forms of digital connection.
Achievement pathway
- Level 1: Identify the CPU and hard drive.
- Level 2: Distinguish hardware from software.
- Level 3: Diagram internal parts.
- Level 4: Compare Wi-Fi and 4G or similar connections.
Independent task
Create a labelled system diagram that shows the main internal parts of a computer and their roles.
Year 6
About packets and operating systems.
Spark
ClickToReveal
Routine: Think, Puzzle, Explore
How does a message travel across networks, and what helps a device manage apps, files, and hardware at the same time? What puzzles you about what happens behind the screen?
Content
BeforeAfterSlider
Method: Guided explanation
Teach students that data can be broken into packets to travel across a network, and that an operating system manages tasks, files, and hardware. Use comparisons such as postal systems and email systems to support understanding, then apply this to simple troubleshooting logic.
Plenary
DynamicSimulator
Task type: Quick check
Students explain what a packet is, identify key operating system roles, and reason through a simple troubleshooting scenario.
Overview
In Year 6, students bring together more abstract system ideas. They learn that data travels in packets, operating systems manage devices and software, and troubleshooting requires logical reasoning about how parts of a system interact.
Achievement pathway
- Level 1: Describe data packets simply.
- Level 2: Explain the main roles of an operating system.
- Level 3: Compare postal delivery with digital communication.
- Level 4: Use troubleshooting logic.
Independent task
Explain how data travels and how an operating system helps a computer work smoothly.