# Year 3 Technologies · optional Weeks 3–4 teacher sequence

Five low-material Design and Technologies cards plus five unplugged Digital Technologies algorithm/data cards. Paper algorithms are valuable reasoning but do not demonstrate a running program, account security or digital-tool use.

Each Day 11–20 block is **12 minutes**: notice 2, try/make 7, show 3. Choose what fits the timetable; these are supplements, not a complete subject allocation. Prepare the stated safe materials, give the separate [learner card](LEARNER.md), and retain the [checks and next moves](ASSESSMENT.md) teacher-side. The original [print mat and text route](../print/TEXT-ALTERNATIVES.md) support spoken, visual, tactile and low-print access. Code links are partial and exact in the [crosswalk](../CURRICULUM-CROSSWALK.md).

## Day 11 — Who needs the holder?

**Codes:** `AC9TDE4K01`, `AC9TDE4P01`. **Prepare:** Reused paper/card, no sharp tools or adhesive needed.

1. **Notice · 2 min.** A fictional class wants a reusable paper-card holder so a shared instruction stays visible. Ask whose access needs and waste matter.
2. **Try/make · 7 min.** Write a user need and two design criteria: card visible/readable and holder reusable. Test a fold in scrap card for stability; record what happened.
3. **Show · 3 min.** Name a user, one test observation and an unanswered access question.

**Learner choices:** Fold and touch; draw side view; direct adult to test a model.

**Home/low-material:** Fold a scrap strip and test a blank instruction card.

**Evidence boundary:** A fictional user story cannot stand in for feedback from real users.

## Day 12 — Why does the fold hold?

**Codes:** `AC9TDE4K02`, `AC9TDE4P01`. **Prepare:** Two same-size scrap card strips, flat desk, gentle push only.

1. **Notice · 2 min.** Show an unfolded strip and a triangle-fold strip from identical card. Ask what a push might do to each.
2. **Try/make · 7 min.** Apply a gentle finger push in one direction to both on a flat table. Note bend or collapse without loading heavy objects. Keep strip size/material alike.
3. **Show · 3 min.** State an observed difference and one reason it may not generalise to all materials.

**Learner choices:** Tactile side-view tracing; large printed fold diagrams; child-directed adult push.

**Home/low-material:** Compare two safe folded paper strips; never load books or weights.

**Evidence boundary:** Do not call the paper test an engineering safety certification.

## Day 13 — Draw two decisions

**Codes:** `AC9TDE4P02`, `AC9TDE4P05`. **Prepare:** Blank design sheet and scrap card; no internet design copying.

1. **Notice · 2 min.** Revisit the fictional instruction-card holder. Ask whether a wide base or a back support might work better.
2. **Try/make · 7 min.** Sketch and label two designs with fold lines and card position. Sequence three making steps for the chosen idea. Include an attribution line: ‘my drawing from this task’.
3. **Show · 3 min.** Explain a trade-off between footprint and stability using the Day 12 test only where relevant.

**Learner choices:** Large diagram; tactile folded prototype; oral three-step sequence.

**Home/low-material:** Draw or fold two versions from reclaimed paper.

**Evidence boundary:** A design sketch is not a made product or real user evaluation.

## Day 14 — Make, then observe

**Codes:** `AC9TDE4P03`, `AC9TDE4P05`. **Prepare:** Scrap card and blank insert; flat clear table.

1. **Notice · 2 min.** Ask how to make the selected holder safely and in an order another person could follow.
2. **Try/make · 7 min.** Fold scrap card by the learner's three steps; place a paper instruction card; test whether it remains visible after a gentle table tap. Adult handles any necessary cutting, though no cutting is required.
3. **Show · 3 min.** Show the actual model and mark one step that needed changing.

**Learner choices:** Child-directed adult fold; tactile crease; bold guide lines; no forced fine-motor task.

**Home/low-material:** Fold a no-cut stand from reused paper.

**Evidence boundary:** A single desk test does not prove long-term durability or universal access.

## Day 15 — Check the criteria

**Codes:** `AC9TDE4P04`, `AC9TDE4K01`. **Prepare:** Model and blank criteria mat; optional real user feedback only with consent.

1. **Notice · 2 min.** Use the two criteria from Day 11: visible card and reusable material. Add a newly stated criterion: fits a narrow desk edge.
2. **Try/make · 7 min.** Score the actual model yes/not yet for each criterion, cite an observation, and propose one improvement that reduces waste without claiming a life-cycle result.
3. **Show · 3 min.** Explain which criterion is strongest and which needs another test or user check.

**Learner choices:** Three tactile criteria tiles; yes/not-yet table; oral design review.

**Home/low-material:** Judge the paper model against written criteria; no shopping required.

**Evidence boundary:** Invented criteria are practice, not proof of real community needs.

## Day 16 — A user story for a shelf

**Codes:** `AC9TDI4P01`, `AC9TDI4P02`. **Prepare:** Original fictional labels, blank paper boxes; no actual school data.

1. **Notice · 2 min.** Fictional user Nia wants a clear sequence to return a borrowed card to the right labelled box. Ask what the algorithm must do.
2. **Try/make · 7 min.** Write ‘As Nia, I want… so that…’ and three ordered instructions: read label, compare, place. Walk a paper token through the steps.
3. **Show · 3 min.** Explain what the sequence does if the labels match and what is still missing if they do not.

**Learner choices:** Token path; verbal steps; large-print numbered cards.

**Home/low-material:** Use paper labels and a token; no device or account.

**Evidence boundary:** Paper sequence shows algorithm reasoning, not a running visual program.

## Day 17 — If a label differs

**Codes:** `AC9TDI4P02`, `AC9TDI4P03`. **Prepare:** Three original paper label cards; no live account.

1. **Notice · 2 min.** The card says BLUE; two boxes say BLUE and GREEN. Ask what comparison the rule needs.
2. **Try/make · 7 min.** Create a branch: IF card label = box label, place; ELSE keep searching or ask an adult. Test the algorithm with BLUE and GREEN paper tokens.
3. **Show · 3 min.** Show both branch outcomes and compare with the earlier sequence.

**Learner choices:** IF/ELSE tactile cards; spoken role-play; drawn flow arrows.

**Home/low-material:** Use household blank coloured shapes or words on scrap paper.

**Evidence boundary:** Unplugged branching does not prove a digital program was implemented.

## Day 18 — Repeat without losing a step

**Codes:** `AC9TDI4P02`. **Prepare:** Three original labelled tokens and two paper boxes.

1. **Notice · 2 min.** Three returned cards need checking. Ask whether writing the same compare step three times is necessary.
2. **Try/make · 7 min.** Make a repeat rule: for each card, read its label, scan boxes, place on match, otherwise ask. Run all three paper tokens, including one nonmatch, and mark each iteration.
3. **Show · 3 min.** Tell how many times the repeated check ran and what happened to the nonmatch.

**Learner choices:** Numbered tokens; finger tracing; adult acts as the paper robot.

**Home/low-material:** Use pencil circles instead of cards; no device required.

**Evidence boundary:** A paper loop demonstrates logic, not executed software.

## Day 19 — Same data, different display

**Codes:** `AC9TDI4K03`, `AC9TDI4P03`. **Prepare:** Invented counts, blank table, three paper shapes.

1. **Notice · 2 min.** Fictional shelf count: blue 2, green 1. Ask which display helps a new user find a category quickly.
2. **Try/make · 7 min.** Represent the same two counts as a labelled table and as three colour-free shape tokens. Compare what each displays clearly; include text labels so colour is not required.
3. **Show · 3 min.** Verify both representations still show 2 and 1, then name a purpose for each.

**Learner choices:** Tactile counters; large print table; spoken category/count pairs.

**Home/low-material:** Represent invented book counts with marks and words.

**Evidence boundary:** The numbers are fictional and reveal no real borrowing data.

## Day 20 — A new user tests the rule

**Codes:** `AC9TDI4P01`, `AC9TDI4P02`, `AC9TDI4P05`. **Prepare:** Original paper labels only; no live system or pupil records.

1. **Notice · 2 min.** Fresh fictional user story: ‘As Ori, I need to sort three labels, including one with no box, so I do not guess.’
2. **Try/make · 7 min.** Give a new set A, B, C with only A and C boxes. Trace sequence, branch and repeat for all cards. Compare the result with the user story and change one unclear instruction.
3. **Show · 3 min.** State where B goes and why; tell the changed step to a partner or adult.

**Learner choices:** Paper robot; tactile letter cards; diagram; oral/AAC explanation.

**Home/low-material:** Use letter tokens and two paper boxes.

**Evidence boundary:** This assessment covers unplugged algorithms, not implementation or secure account use.

Original SubjectNest cards © NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd 2026, [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); credit, link and note changes.
