How to make flowcharts for programming

In this activity, students will learn how to make flowcharts for programming.

Programs can be written as flowcharts using symbols, or by using actual program code. In this activity, students will write a program using both methods.

This is one of a set of resources developed to aid the teaching of the secondary national curriculum, particularly KS3, supporting the teaching in design and technology (DT) and engineering.

Activity: Writing flowchart programs to meet a given design brief

This activity asks students to complete our writing a program for a system handout. The handout contains three tasks:

Task 1: Read the design brief for a child’s night light and then analyse the brief by answering a series of questions related to the brief.

Task 2: Write a flowchart to meet the needs of the design brief. Students should use the flowchart symbols listed in the handout to complete this task.

Task 3: Reflect on what has gone well during the activity and what could be improved.

Download our activity overview and presentation for a detailed lesson plan on how to write a flowchart program.

Example of flowchart for programming

Here is a an example of a simple flowchart that can be used for programming:

The engineering context

Programming is an essential skill in the 21st century world. From mobile phones and computers to cars and passenger jets, our everyday lives are shaped by systems that have been programmed. In fact, almost all modern electronic systems and products have been programmed to perform different tasks.  These systems keep us safe, get us to work, school or on holiday and allow us to communicate with our friends and family.

Suggested learning outcomes

By the end of this lesson students will be able to understand that programs can be written as flowcharts. They’ll also be able to write a flowchart program to meet a given design brief.

Download our activity sheet and other teaching resources

The activity sheet includes teachers’ notes, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs.

Download our classroom lesson plan and presentation below.

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