Grade 6 · STEM Skills and Connections · STEM Inputs and Investigations

Design a Responsive Habitat Monitor

Digital systems can obtain input from sensors, buttons, files, or people. Engineers choose inputs that provide useful evidence for the system's purpose.

Visual model

See how the ideas connect

Look · connect · explain

Compare ways to obtain input

Use input data in code

Test and communicate a design

STEM Inputs and Investigations

Start at the centre. Follow each line and explain how that idea belongs to STEM Inputs and Investigations.

For students

Notice, predict, explain

Choose one part of the model. Predict how it connects to another part, then use the lesson evidence to explain your thinking.

For teachers

Pause for science talk

Show the model before the explanation. Ask “What do you notice?” and “What might change?” Then revisit student ideas after the worked example.

The big idea

The input method shapes what a system can learn

Reliable systems match each question with an appropriate input, process the data with clear rules, and test whether the output supports a real decision.

Work it through

Monitor a schoolyard habitat

Step 1 A light sensor and temperature sensor collect repeated environmental measurements.
Step 2 Students use a form to record observations that sensors cannot identify, such as the species they see.
Step 3 Code combines the numeric and user inputs, flags unusual conditions, and stores results for comparison over time.
Step 4 Testing with known inputs reveals errors and helps the team improve its rules and communication.

For parents and educators

Ontario curriculum alignment

Grade 6 Science and Technology · Strand A: STEM Skills and Connections

View supported expectations

A1.3 · Engineering Design

Use an engineering design process and associated skills to design, build, and test devices, models, structures, and/or systems.
A1.5 · Communicating Findings

Communicate findings using science and technology vocabulary and formats appropriate for specific audiences and purposes.
A2.1 · Obtaining Input

Write and execute code in investigations and when modelling concepts, with a focus on obtaining input in different ways for a variety of purposes.
A2.2 · Technology Impacts

Identify and describe impacts of coding and emerging technologies on everyday life, including skilled trades.
A3.1 · Occupational Applications

Describe practical applications of science and technology concepts in various occupations, including skilled trades, and how these applications address real-world problems.