Input and output devices: a KS2 computing game

Input and output devices: a KS2 computing game: what children learn

Computers work with information. Input is information sent into a computer, for example words typed on a keyboard, sound from a microphone or movement picked up by a sensor. The computer processes it, then sends information back out as output, for example text on a screen, sound from speakers, a page from a printer or movement from a motor.

This game asks children to sort devices into input and output devices, and checks the idea that a computer processes information between the two. Devices that do both jobs, like a tablet’s touch screen, are asked about separately, so every sorting question has one right answer. The topic links to programming, where pupils use “various forms of input and output”, such as key presses, sensors, sounds and lights.

This topic covers a Key Stage 2 statutory requirement in the National Curriculum in England (Subject content): pupils should be taught to “use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input and output”. The programme of study sets this for the whole of Key Stage 2, so schools choose when to teach it; we have placed this game in Year 4 (ages 8–9). This game covers the input and output part of the statement.

There is no direct equivalent in the US Common Core State Standards.

How to play

Answer 10 questions before the clock runs out. Tap an answer, or press 1 to 4. Each game has 10 multiple-choice questions and a 150-second timer. A wrong answer shows the correct one before moving on. You earn up to three stars depending on your score.

Step by step

1. Ask which way the information goes. Into the computer? Input. Out of the computer? Output.
2. Use your senses. Output devices make something you can see, hear or feel. Input devices collect something from you or the world.
3. Follow a whole system. An automatic door: the sensor (input) detects you, the computer processes it, the motor (output) opens the door.
4. Spot devices that do both. A touch screen takes taps (input) and shows pictures (output).
5. Program it. In a coding app, use a key press (input) to make a sound play (output).

Worked examples

Common mistakes and how to fix them

• Thinking speakers are input because you plug them in. Plugging in does not decide it. Ask which way the sound travels: from the computer to your ears, so it is output.
• Thinking a webcam is output because it has a light. Its job is to send pictures into the computer, so it is input.
• Forgetting processing. Input does not turn into output by magic. The processor works on it in between.

Activities to try at home

• Go on a device hunt at home and sort what you find into input and output.
• Talk about a games console: which parts are input, which are output?
• Look at a supermarket self-checkout: barcode scanner, screen, speaker, printer.
• Print the game sheet and sort the devices together.

Ideas for the classroom

• Make an input–process–output poster for a real system, such as a pedestrian crossing.
• Use a microcontroller board with a button (input) and a light (output).
• Sort device pictures into two hoops, with a middle area for devices that do both.
• Use the quiz as a quick check before a physical computing project.

Free printable game and worksheet

The free printable starts with a game sheet, such as a colour-by-answer picture, an answer maze or a secret-code joke, followed by a worksheet. Both use the same checked questions as the online game, and the answers are on the last page. Print it, or save it as a PDF from your browser’s print menu.

Open the free printable game and worksheet

Frequently asked questions

Related topics

• Selection and repetition: IF and REPEAT in programs (Year 3 computing) – Is “if it is raining, take an umbrella” selection or repetition? A free KS2 computing game about IF statements and loops, with a printable sheet.
• The internet and networks: routers, servers and the web (Year 5 computing) – Is the web the same as the internet? What does a router do? A free KS2 computing game about networks, servers, URLs and packets.

Back to Year 4 computing