MetaPet for Schools
Overview and Australian Curriculum Alignment
Audience: classroom teachers, curriculum leaders, assistant principals, principals
Recommended year levels: Years 3-6
Delivery shape: 7 sessions of about 15-20 minutes
Teacher load: no student accounts, no setup-heavy admin, no marking required
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What This Sequence Is
MetaPet is a short classroom sequence built around a digital companion. Students read the companion's visible state, test actions, notice patterns, and explain how simple system rules create visible changes over time.
The sequence is designed to support:
Digital Technologies
Health and Physical Education wellbeing learning
Personal and Social capability
It is suitable for:
a Digital Technologies mini-lesson
a STEM block
a wellbeing session
a relief lesson
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What Students Learn
By the end of the sequence, students will:
explain that a digital system responds to inputs and changes state over time
Sessions: 1, 2, 4
Codes: AC9TDI4K01, AC9TDI4P02, AC9TDI6P02
read the signals a system shows and use them to make a reasoned choice
Sessions: 1, 2, 3
Codes: AC9TDI4K03, AC9TDI4P04, AC9TDI6K03
describe simple if-then rules, cause and effect, and patterns in a system
Sessions: 4, 7
Codes: AC9TDI4P02, AC9TDI6P05, AC9TDI6P06
use classroom wellbeing language to name a signal, a response and a settling strategy
Sessions: 2, 5
Codes: AC9HP4P05, AC9HP6P05, AC9HP4P08
work with others to compare observations, justify a design choice and reflect on responsible digital use
Sessions: 3, 5, 6, 7
Codes: AC9HP4P03, AC9HP6P03, AC9HP6P08
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Australian Curriculum V9.0 Alignment
Digital Technologies: Years 3-4
| Code | Focus | What it looks like in MetaPet |
| --- | --- | --- |
| AC9TDI4K01 | Explore digital systems and peripherals for a range of purposes | Students identify the device as a digital system and explain how it displays companion state and accepts input |
| AC9TDI4K03 | Recognise different types of data and how the same data can be represented differently depending on purpose | Students read colour, icon, text and mood labels as different ways of representing the same state |
| AC9TDI4P02 | Follow and describe algorithms involving branching and iteration | Students describe "if this state is low, then this action helps" and repeat a care loop |
| AC9TDI4P04 | Implement simple algorithms as visual programs involving control structures and input | Students observe how button inputs trigger rule-based changes in the companion state |
Digital Technologies: Years 5-6
| Code | Focus | What it looks like in MetaPet |
| --- | --- | --- |
| AC9TDI6K03 | Explain how digital systems represent data using numbers | Students connect visible companion state to underlying tracked values and explain why different outputs come from the same stored state |
| AC9TDI6P02 | Design algorithms involving branching and iteration | Students predict which sequence of actions should stabilise a companion state and explain their reasoning |
| AC9TDI6P05 | Implement algorithms as visual programs involving control structures, variables and input | Students test how repeated inputs and changing state values affect outcomes over time |
| AC9TDI6P06 | Evaluate solutions against criteria, user stories and broader impact | Students reflect on whether the companion supports calm, clear, useful classroom learning |
Health and Physical Education: Years 3-4
| Code | Focus | What it looks like in MetaPet |
| --- | --- | --- |
| AC9HP4P03 | Practise personal and social skills in relationships | Students work in pairs, take turns, and compare observations respectfully |
| AC9HP4P05 | Identify emotional responses and practise regulation strategies | Students name companion feelings and connect them to calming or recovery actions |
| AC9HP4P08 | Apply health-enhancing behaviours for wellbeing | Students discuss routines, balance, and actions that support calm and recovery |
Health and Physical Education: Years 5-6
| Code | Focus | What it looks like in MetaPet |
| --- | --- | --- |
| AC9HP6P03 | Select, use and refine personal and social skills | Students collaborate on explanations, negotiate action choices, and present findings |
| AC9HP6P05 | Analyse emotional responses and propose regulation strategies | Students explain how responses affect behaviour and suggest strategies for self-management |
| AC9HP6P08 | Analyse health-enhancing behaviours for wellbeing | Students discuss how routines, balance and reflection support individual and group wellbeing |
General Capability Link
The sequence also supports Personal and Social capability, especially:
self-awareness
self-management
social awareness
social management
This is useful when the sequence is positioned as both Digital Technologies learning and classroom wellbeing practice.
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How Teachers Can Use It Quickly
Digital Technologies mini-lesson: use Sessions 1 and 3
Wellbeing session: use Session 2
Digital citizenship lesson: use Session 5
STEM block: use Sessions 4, 6 and 7
Relief or one-off lesson: use Session 1 on its own - it is complete by itself
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What Teachers Need to Know Up Front
Each session is designed for about 15-20 minutes
Students can work individually or in pairs
The sequence uses light reflection, not formal grading
The classroom version requires no student account setup; classroom record contents stay in the browser during routine use, under supervising-adult control
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What It Costs
The complete core experience is A$0 for every school, permanently. There is no
licence, no per-student price, no expiring trial and no paid classroom tier.
A school that contributes nothing receives the same seven sessions, the same
child-facing Field Mode, the same printable fallback and the same teacher and
governance packs. No hardship form, no justification, no reminders.
Schools that can contribute may do so voluntarily on an adult-only page.
Contribution status is never visible to students and never changes the
child-facing experience.
> Free to use. Contribute if you can. No child priced out.
Contributions are not described as tax-deductible donations; that legal status
has not been established.
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Curriculum Source Notes
This package was written against Australian Curriculum V9.0 and the ACARA planning documents for:
Digital Technologies Years 3-6
Health and Physical Education Years 3-6
Mental health and wellbeing curriculum connections
Use this document as the leadership and planning summary, then move to the lesson cards.