What is a System?
He aha te pūnaha? • Introduction to Systems Thinking
"Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi"
With your food basket and my food basket, the people will thrive
Systems are about connections — when different parts work together, something greater emerges.
🎯 Learning Intentions
By the end of these lessons, students will be able to:
- Define what a system is
- Identify the components, connections, and purpose of systems
- Recognise systems in everyday life
- Begin to think about how parts of a system affect each other
Success Criteria
- I can explain what makes something a system
- I can identify at least 5 systems around me
- I can break down a system into its parts, connections, and purpose
📖 Lesson 1: Discovering Systems 60 min
Hook: The Bicycle Challenge (10 min)
🚲 Think-Pair-Share
Show a picture of a bicycle. Ask students:
- What parts can you see?
- How do these parts work together?
- What happens if you remove the chain?
Key insight: The bicycle only works when all parts are connected and working together. That's a system!
Direct Teaching: What is a System? (15 min)
Definition: A system is a set of connected parts that work together to achieve a purpose.
All systems have three things:
Components
The parts
Connections
How parts relate
Purpose
What it achieves
Activity: Systems Scavenger Hunt (25 min)
🔍 Find Systems Around You
In pairs, students identify as many systems as they can in and around the classroom/school.
For each system, record:
- Name of system
- Components (parts)
- Connections (how parts work together)
- Purpose (what it does)
Challenge: Find at least 10 systems!
Examples of Systems
School
Bus Network
Forest
Computer
Healthcare
Family
Wrap-up: Gallery Walk (10 min)
Groups share their systems with the class. Discuss: Which systems were most surprising?
📖 Lesson 2: How Systems Work 60 min
Review: Quick Check (5 min)
Students write: What are the three things all systems have?
Activity: The Human Body System (20 min)
🫀 Mapping Connections
Work in groups to map out the human body as a system:
- List the major systems (circulatory, respiratory, digestive, etc.)
- Draw arrows showing how these systems connect
- What happens if one system fails? Trace the effects.
Key discussion: No system works alone. They all depend on each other.
New Concept: Feedback Loops (15 min)
Sometimes, the output of a system becomes input again. This is called a feedback loop.
Example - Heating System:
- Room is cold → Heater turns ON
- Room gets warm → Heater turns OFF
- Room cools down → Heater turns ON again
This is a balancing feedback loop — it keeps things stable.
Example - Social Media:
- Post gets likes → Algorithm shows it to more people
- More people see it → More likes
- More likes → Even more visibility
This is a reinforcing feedback loop — it amplifies change.
Activity: Find the Feedback (15 min)
🔄 Feedback Loop Hunt
In pairs, identify feedback loops in these systems:
- Population and food supply
- Rumours and belief
- Practice and skill
- Trust and cooperation
Which are balancing? Which are reinforcing?
Exit Ticket (5 min)
Write one thing you learned, one question you still have, and one example of a feedback loop you've noticed in your own life.
👩🏫 Teacher Notes
Differentiation:
- Support: Provide a systems template with prompts; work in mixed-ability pairs
- Extension: Challenge students to find systems within systems (nested systems)
Common Misconceptions:
- Students may confuse "system" with "machine" — emphasise that social and natural systems count too
- Students may not see invisible connections — scaffold with guiding questions
Assessment:
- Formative: Scavenger hunt results, exit tickets
- Check understanding of three system elements before moving on
📎 Resources Needed
- Bicycle image or actual bicycle
- Systems scavenger hunt worksheet
- Large paper for systems mapping
- Markers/pens
- Exit ticket slips
📺 Related Videos
🌿 Mātauranga Māori Lens
In te ao Māori, the concept of whakapapa represents the interconnected relationships between all things — people, land, water, ancestors, and future generations. This is a form of systems thinking that has guided Māori for centuries, mapping cause and effect across time. The concept of kaitiakitanga (environmental guardianship) is itself a feedback loop: understanding what happens when you take from an ecosystem informs how you care for it.
Curriculum alignment
- Te Mātaiaho (2025) · Social Sciences · Phase 3 (Years 7–8) · Civics and Society (Knowledge): “A constitution sets out the rules for how a country is governed.”
- NZC (2007) · Social Studies · Level 4: “Understand how formal and informal groups make decisions that impact on communities.”
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Differentiation: Provide sentence starters or word banks to scaffold access. Extend capable learners with real-world NZ examples. Support ELL students by pre-teaching key vocabulary.
Inclusion: ELL support via vocabulary scaffolds. Accessible for neurodiverse learners through clear structured tasks.