💻 TechnologyLevel 1Lesson 1
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Identify Machines That Can Think and Learn

How to use: Print the PDF before you call your child. Read the lesson once together and talk it through, then the exercises on paper. Correct together with the answer key and the Parent checklist. The next day, your child redoes this lesson here on screen (about 10 minutes) to review it and save progress.

Learning Objectives

  • 1Tell the difference between a smart machine and a regular machine
  • 2Sort each one into the correct group
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Mini Lesson

Some machines can think and make decisions — we call them smart machines. Other machines just do the same job every single time. Can you spot the difference?

What is a smart machine?

  • A smart machine can take in information and make decisions.
  • Example: a voice assistant listens to your question and chooses the right answer.
  • Smart machines follow programs — sets of instructions that help them think.

What is a regular machine?

  • A regular machine always does the same job the same way every time.
  • Example: a toaster just heats bread — it cannot learn or change what it does.

How to tell them apart

  • Ask: "Can this machine learn, answer questions, or make decisions?"
  • Yes → smart machine (robot vacuum, spell-checker, chess computer).
  • No → regular machine (lamp, ceiling fan, hand mixer).
Smart machine vs. regular machineLeft side shows a tablet with a smiling face labeled Smart Machine. Right side shows a toaster labeled Regular Machine. A dotted line divides the two.Hello!Smart Machinecan think!Regular Machinesame job every timeCan it think? Smart machine. No? Regular machine.
A voice-assistant tablet (smart machine) compared with a toaster (regular machine), showing the key difference.
How to identify a smart machineA simple yes/no flowchart: Can it make decisions? Yes leads to Smart Machine. No leads to Regular Machine.Can it make decisionsor learn new things?YESor NO?YESSmartMachineNORegularMachineUse this question every time you see a machine!
A yes/no flowchart for deciding if something is a smart machine or a regular machine.
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Ask yourself: "Is this machine doing the same thing every time, or is it thinking and making choices?

Vocabulary
Machine
A tool with parts that work together to do a jobe.g. A washing machine cleans clothes for us.
Smart machine
A machine that can take in information and make decisionse.g. A robot vacuum is a smart machine because it can find its way around the room.
Decision
A choice you make after thinking about ite.g. The smart speaker made a decision about which song to play.
Program
A set of instructions that tells a machine what to doe.g. Without a program, the smart machine would not know how to answer.
Voice assistant
A smart helper you can talk to that listens and answerse.g. Mom asked the voice assistant to set a timer for the cookies.
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Guided Practice

Pick a word from the Trace menu and pass over the ghost letters with your finger or pen. Tap 🔍 Bigger for a fullscreen practice canvas.

Tracing Pad
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Exercises

Tap a word to select it, then tap a bucket to place it.

🤖 Smart Machine

🔌 Regular Machine

1. What do we call a machine that can think and make decisions?

2. Which of these is a smart machine?

3. What does a regular machine do?

4. Which one is a regular machine?

5. How does a smart machine "think"?

6. Which machine can learn new things?

7. A toaster pops up bread when it gets hot. Is a toaster a smart machine?

8. What is the best question to ask when deciding if a machine is smart?

9. Which of these is a smart machine?

10. Smart machines are different from regular machines because smart machines can:

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Parent Checklist

For the parent: after correcting together, check off what your child has really understood

Lesson 2: Understand How Computers Help People in Daily Life →
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