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Wireless Technologies

Sixth graders learn that the devices around them talk without wires in several different ways, from Wi-Fi to Bluetooth to GPS, and match each wireless technology to the job it does.

Grade 6Wireless Technologies50 minutes1 class periodCSTA / ISTEExplicit teaching4 StandardsCSTA
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Name wireless technologies.
  • ✓Match each to a job.
  • ✓Compare their range.
  • ✓Match tech to use.
Essential Question

Your phone reaches the internet, connects earbuds, finds your location, and taps to pay, all without wires. Which wireless technology does each job, and how far does each reach?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Match the Technology · Interactive

Match the Technology

Project this and match each wireless technology to what it does — tap a technology, then tap its job.

📶 Match each wireless technology to what it doesTry it
Technology
What it does
Tap a wireless technology, then tap what it does and about how far it reaches.
The Lesson · Explicit teaching

50 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Hook — Talking Without Wires

5 min

Your phone reaches the internet, connects to earbuds, finds your location, and taps to pay, all without a single wire. Those are different wireless technologies. Which does which?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a wireless connection.
  • Ask what it does.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Think.
  • Share.
  • Get ready.
2

Use — Match the Technology

12 min

Students match each technology to its job.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Match the Technology.
  • Match each pair.
  • Note what it does.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Match.
  • Say.
  • Note it.
3

Modify — Which Would You Use?

13 min

Students choose a technology for a task.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a task, like sharing a photo nearby.
  • Say which technology fits.
  • Say why.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name.
  • Say.
  • Say.
4

Create — My Device Map

15 min

Students map a device's connections.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Pick a device you use.
  • List its wireless connections.
  • Say what each one is for.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Pick.
  • List.
  • Say.
5

Reflect — Connections All Around

5 min

Students reflect on wireless technologies.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • What does Wi-Fi do that Bluetooth does not?
  • Which technology finds your location?
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Say it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards and the ISTE Standards for Students.

CSTA
2-NI-04

Model how information is broken into packets, transmitted, and reassembled across networks.

CSTA
2-CS-01

Describe how external parts of computing devices connect to shared services and networks.

CSTA
2-NI-05

Explain how physical and digital measures protect information sent over a network.

ISTE
1.1.d

Empowered Learner: understand the technology systems that connect devices.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Technology + job cards.
  • Sentence frame: “___ is used to ___ .”
  • Match one pair at a time.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
  • Match one technology together.
  • Match one fully before the next.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Order the technologies by range.
  • Pick the best technology for several tasks.
  • Explain why Ethernet can be faster than Wi-Fi.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 📶Technology + job cards
  • 💻Match the Technology
  • 📱A device to point out its connections
  • ✏️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

wirelesssending data through the air instead of through a cableWi-Fiwireless internet across a home, school, or buildingBluetootha short-range link between nearby devicescellular datainternet for a phone over the mobile network, like 4G or 5GGPSa system of satellites that finds your locationNFCnear-field communication, which works at a touchrangehow far a wireless signal can reachEtherneta wired connection using a cable
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What does Wi-Fi do that Bluetooth does not?
Wi-Fi connects devices to the internet across a whole building; Bluetooth only links nearby devices over a short range.
QUESTION 2
Which wireless technology finds your location?
GPS, which uses satellites to pinpoint where you are.
QUESTION 3
Which technology would you use for tap-to-pay?
NFC, which works at a touch over a very short distance.

Create: my device map.

Have students pick a device, list its wireless connections, and say what each is for, so the invisible links become clear. A printable wireless-technologies worksheet is in the Computer Science library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Wireless TechnologiesFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Wireless TechnologiesQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Wireless TechnologiesPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: Bluetooth, cellular data, Ethernet, GPS, NFC, range, Wi-Fi, wireless
  1. internet for a phone over the mobile network, like 4G or 5G
  2. a system of satellites that finds your location
  3. how far a wireless signal can reach
  4. a wired connection using a cable
  5. a short-range link between nearby devices
  6. near-field communication, which works at a touch
  7. sending data through the air instead of through a cable
  8. wireless internet across a home, school, or building

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What does Wi-Fi do that Bluetooth does not?
  2. Which wireless technology finds your location?
  3. Which technology would you use for tap-to-pay?
Answer key — Part A: 1) cellular data · 2) GPS · 3) range · 4) Ethernet · 5) Bluetooth · 6) NFC · 7) wireless · 8) Wi-Fi
Part B: 1) Wi-Fi connects devices to the internet across a whole building; Bluetooth only links nearby devices over a short range. 2) GPS, which uses satellites to pinpoint where you are. 3) NFC, which works at a touch over a very short distance.