← Computer Science💻 If-Then DecisionsGrade 3 · Elementary
📖 Read this first — then you'll teach it
🖍️ Highlighted = the heart of it. Build your lesson from these — they're worth 60% on their own. Say them in your words to go past 80!

Every day you make decisions by asking yes-or-no questions. Is it raining? If yes, you grab an umbrella. If no, you leave it at home. Computers make choices the very same way, using something called an if-then decision.

An if-then decision has two parts. The if part is a yes-or-no question. The then part is what the computer does when the answer is yes. It is like a fork in the road where the program picks which way to go.

Here is an example from a game. If your score is more than 10, then you win a gold star. The computer checks your score, and only when the answer is yes does it hand you the star.

But what happens when the answer is no? Programs can have an else path too. If it is dark, then turn on the light, else keep it off. The computer picks one path for yes and a different path for no.

If-then decisions let programs feel smart. A game can decide when you level up, and a robot can decide when to stop. The computer is not really thinking, it is just checking a question and following the matching path.

When you write your own code, you get to invent the questions and the paths. You are teaching the computer how to choose, one yes-or-no question at a time.

🤖 Now your AI tutor asks — write your answer or your thinking:
No wrong answers here — jot what you think. You'll use these when you teach it in Step ②. (Saved automatically.)
🤔What is a yes-or-no question you asked yourself today?
🌳Why is an if-then decision like a fork in the road?
🎮Where in a game could an if-then decision decide what happens next?
💡What would the else path do when the answer is no?
🤖How could a robot use an if-then decision to know when to stop?
✍️Which if-then rule would you write for a program of your own?
✅ Quick check — did it stick?
Get these right and the Teaching Hall opens. Wrong pick? You'll see why — then try again.
The if part of an if-then decision is...
If it is dark, then turn on the light. When does the light turn on?
What does the else path do?
3 more quick checks to go — get them right and you're in. 💪