CBSE Computational Thinking & AI · 2026–27

Class 8 · Artificial Intelligence
Chapter 1 Teaching Pack

AI Project Lifecycle — a complete, print-ready plan for teaching the six stages and the judgement that comes before them.

Complete pack Lesson plan Worksheet + answer key Unplugged activity Project rubric Evidence record
01

Where this chapter sits

Class 8 begins by moving students from recognising examples of AI to planning a complete AI project. Chapter 1 gives them the process they will need whenever they later examine an application or propose a solution. Teach the order securely, but spend more time on the decisions made inside each stage.

#ChapterLearning focusPlace in the sequence
1AI Project LifecycleSix iterative stages; deciding whether AI is necessary; planning data, testing, release and upkeepProcess foundation
2Artificial Intelligence and Its ApplicationsUses of AI in environmental work, automation, healthcare and educationApplies the foundation to domains

The suggested seven-period sequence in this pack is a classroom plan, not a prescribed allocation.

Assessment note Knowing the six names is only the baseline. Look for whether a student can keep them in order, decide when a fixed rule is enough, and send a weak deployed system back to the right earlier stage with a reason.
02

Lesson plan · 7 periods

Period 1 — Start with the honest question: is AI needed?

Put this brief on the board: “At 2:00 p.m., a pump switches off.” Ask teams to design the simplest dependable solution. A timer and a fixed rule will do; learning from examples adds cost without solving a new problem.

Now change the brief: “Before lunch, estimate whether demand will be high or regular using past records.” Fixed rules may provide a baseline, but patterns in data can make an AI approach worth investigating. The correct first move is not “choose a model”; it is define the need and compare it with simple automation.

A test students can reuse If the job is fully described by stable, known rules, begin with automation. Consider AI when the job depends on patterns in examples and must make a prediction or classification. “Uses a sensor” does not by itself mean “uses AI”.

Period 2 — Build the six-stage map

Give six pairs one stage name each. Ask them to stand in the order in which a responsible team would begin work. Then reveal the map below. Do not draw it as a one-way finishing line: feedback from real use is part of the lifecycle.

1 · Define the problem Need, user, outcome 2 · Data collection and preparation Gather, clean, format, label 3 · Model development and training Learn patterns from examples 4 · Model evaluation and refinement Test unseen cases; improve 5 · Deployment Put the tested model to use 6 · Monitoring and maintenance Check, update, retrain feedback from use The order guides the work; evidence can send the team back. Monitoring may expose a weak problem definition, stale data or a model that needs retraining.
The six stages in assessable order. The dashed arrow makes the iterative part visible: release is not the end.

Period 3 — Stages 1–2: define before you collect

Use a canteen question: “Will tomorrow’s lunch demand be high or regular?” At Define the problem, identify the decision, user and useful outcome. At Data collection and preparation, choose relevant past records, then deal with missing, repeated, incorrect or unrelated entries. Labelling each past day “high” or “regular” makes the intended answer explicit.

Where students go wrong: they list every field available. Ask what decision each field helps. Collecting more columns is not the same as collecting better evidence.

Period 4 — Stages 3–4: learning is not testing

At Model development and training, a model uses training examples to learn useful relationships. Keep some examples separate. At Model evaluation and refinement, use those unseen examples to check performance, investigate errors, clean or add data where justified, adjust the model, and train again.

Board check A model gets 18 of 24 test cases correct: 18 ÷ 24 × 100 = 75%. Then ask what this number does not prove. It does not show how the model behaves on every group or future situation, and it is not honest testing if those 24 cases were used for training.

Period 5 — Stages 5–6: real use changes the evidence

Deployment places the tested model in the situation where a user can act on its output. Monitoring and maintenance checks predictions and failures after release, notices when conditions change, fixes errors, adds suitable recent data and retrains when needed.

Ask: “A canteen predictor worked in July but fails during examination weeks. Which stage detects this, and where might the team return?” Monitoring detects the drop. The cause decides the return path: perhaps the problem omitted examination days, the data lacked them, or the model needs retraining and evaluation.

Period 6 — Lifecycle clinic

Read short team statements aloud: “We tested on the same rows used to teach the model”; “We released it, so the project is complete”; “We collected names because the register had them”; “We chose AI before writing the problem.” Pairs identify the faulty stage and repair the plan in one sentence. Insist on a reason, not only a stage name.

Period 7 — Run the unplugged simulation

Use Section 05. It makes all six stages visible on one sheet and forces monitoring evidence to send the plan backwards.

03

Worksheet

Name:   Class & Section:   Date:

A · Recall and check

1Which is the correct first stage of an AI project lifecycle?
(a) Deployment(b) Define the problem(c) Model evaluation and refinement(d) Monitoring and maintenance
2Removing a repeated record belongs to:
(a) Data collection and preparation(b) Deployment(c) Define the problem(d) Monitoring and maintenance
3Which action is part of deployment?
(a) Labelling old records(b) Writing the goal(c) Putting a tested model into use(d) Removing duplicates
4Three months after release, a team checks whether prediction quality has fallen. Which stage is this?
(a) Define the problem(b) Model development and training(c) Deployment(d) Monitoring and maintenance
5A model is correct on 18 of 24 unseen test cases. Calculate its accuracy.
6Why should evaluation use cases that were not used to train the model?

B · Name the stage

Write the exact lifecycle stage that best matches each action.

7A team writes who needs the result, what must be predicted, and whether fixed rules would be enough.
8The team gathers bus-arrival records, corrects impossible times and marks delayed trips.
9The chosen model learns from the prepared examples.
10The team checks predictions on held-back trips, studies errors and makes improvements.
11The tested model is connected to the transport office display.
12After a term, the team compares predictions with actual arrival times and updates the system.

C · Apply and explain

13A school bell must ring at fixed times already listed in the timetable. Is AI needed? Give the simplest suitable approach and explain why.
14A library wants to predict whether the next period will be busy or quiet. Name two relevant pieces of past data and one preparation problem the team should check.
15A model had 90% accuracy before deployment. Give one reason the project still needs monitoring after release.
16A team skips “Define the problem” and immediately downloads a large dataset. State two risks this creates.
17Give one example in which evidence from “Monitoring and maintenance” should send a team back to an earlier stage. Name that earlier stage and the action to take.

D · Diagnose a project

18A sports club trains an attendance predictor on five festival-day records, tests it on those same five records, obtains 100%, and deploys it for ordinary school weeks. Identify three lifecycle mistakes and give one correction for each.

E · Think beyond the labels

19A proposal says: “Use a camera and AI to watch a water tank. When the water crosses one marked level, switch off the pump.” Decide whether AI is justified for this stated job and defend your decision. Then add one new requirement that could make learning from data useful, and explain which lifecycle stage must be revisited first.
04

Answer key & teaching notes

QAnswerWhat to watch for
1(b) Define the problemStudents often start with data because it feels practical. The goal and need come first.
2(a) Data collection and preparationRemoving duplicates is preparation; merely gathering records is collection. Both belong to the same stage.
3(c) Putting a tested model into useDeployment does not mean training or testing. It connects the evaluated model to a real user or process.
4(d) Monitoring and maintenanceThe timing clue is “after release”. Checking is monitoring; updating is maintenance.
575%18 ÷ 24 = 0.75, then × 100. Watch for 6/24 = 25%, which is the error rate, not the accuracy.
6To check whether learning works on new cases, rather than measuring recall of training examples.“For fairness” is too vague. Look for the distinction between training examples and unseen test cases.
7Define the problemDeciding whether AI is warranted is part of this stage, before collecting data.
8Data collection and preparationAll three clues belong here: gathering, correcting and labelling.
9Model development and trainingThe word “learns” points to training, but the model must still match the problem defined earlier.
10Model evaluation and refinementAccept the full paired name only; the action includes both checking and improving.
11DeploymentStudents may choose monitoring because a display is visible. The key action is first putting the model into use.
12Monitoring and maintenanceComparing later predictions is monitoring; updating the system is maintenance.
13No. Use a clock or timer with the fixed timetable rules.Fast or automatic is not the same as AI. Full credit requires the stable-rule reason.
14Any two relevant items, such as period number, weekday, timetable, past visitor count or scheduled activity; plus one issue such as a missing, duplicate, incorrect or unlabelled record.Do not reward personal details merely because they are available. Each field should help estimate busy versus quiet.
15Conditions or usage patterns can change, errors can appear in real cases, or performance can fall over time.“To make it better” needs a cause or a check. Accuracy before release is not a permanent guarantee.
16Any two: the data may not answer the real need; unnecessary data may be collected; the output may be unclear; simple automation may have been sufficient; success cannot be judged clearly.Look for consequences of the skipped decision, not generic claims that “the model will fail”.
17Example: predictions weaken after a timetable change, so return to Data collection and preparation, add representative recent records, then retrain and evaluate.Other sound routes are valid. The evidence, earlier stage and corrective action must form one causal chain.
18Three errors: five special-day records are too narrow for ordinary weeks; the test cases were reused from training; 100% on those rows was treated as proof for a different setting. Correct by gathering representative ordinary-week records, holding out unseen test cases, evaluating there, and refining before deployment.Students must provide three mistake–correction pairs. “Use more data” alone misses representativeness and honest evaluation.
19For the stated threshold job, AI is not justified: a level sensor or float switch plus a fixed rule can stop the pump. A new predictive need—such as estimating tomorrow’s water demand from past use and scheduled events—could make learning from data relevant. Revisit Define the problem first, then plan suitable data.This discriminates reasoning from memorisation. A different new requirement is valid only if examples and learned patterns are genuinely useful. More equipment or more complexity is not enough.
Mark the final three for reasoning For Questions 17–19, accept alternatives when the proposed return path follows from the evidence. The strongest answers do not treat AI as the automatic “advanced” choice; they use the simplest adequate method and can state what changed when they revise that judgement.
05

Unplugged activity · “Lifecycle Control Room”

Period 7 · 40 minutes · No devices, internet or lab required · Designed for 40–48 students.

What you need

Eight sheets of used-on-one-side paper, six small paper slips per group, pens or pencils, the blackboard and chalk. Make eight groups of five or six. Each group needs a reader, scribe, timekeeper and three stage checkers; double up roles in groups of five.

The shared brief

Write this on the board The canteen wants to predict High or Regular lunch demand before cooking. Past records can include the menu, weekday, scheduled school event and actual demand label. The aim is to reduce both shortage and leftover food.

How it runs

  1. Order the map — 5 minutes. Each group writes one exact stage name on each of six slips, mixes them, then arranges them in order. Check all maps together before continuing.
  2. Challenge the need — 5 minutes. Groups write one simple rule-based baseline, such as planning from the fixed weekly menu, and one reason patterns in past demand might add value. A group may recommend testing the baseline first.
  3. Plan the work — 12 minutes. Divide the large sheet into six boxes. Under each exact stage heading, write one concrete team action. Require an unseen test set at Stage 4 and a named canteen user at Stage 5.
  4. Audit another team — 6 minutes. Pass each sheet clockwise. The receiving group circles one weak or missing action and writes the stage that should repair it.
  5. Release the monitoring card — 6 minutes. Write on the board: “After Saturday clubs begin, the system repeatedly predicts Regular when demand is High.” Groups draw a feedback arrow from Stage 6 to an earlier stage and write the corrective action beside it.
  6. Debrief — 6 minutes. Ask three groups to defend different return paths. Returning to Stage 2 for representative Saturday records is sensible; returning to Stage 1 is also sensible if Saturday users were outside the original problem. The evidence must determine the route.
The moment the concept lands Ask: “Why is the feedback arrow more useful than simply writing ‘improve the AI’?” Students should say that the observed failure points to a specific earlier decision, so the correction can be planned and tested.
Practical notes Keep students seated; only the sheets move. If time is short, skip oral reports and read two contrasting feedback arrows yourself. Do not turn the activity into a vote for AI: a team that argues the rule-based baseline is adequate has made a valid Stage 1 judgement if its reason fits the brief.
06

Project brief & rubric

This is a planning project, not a software build. It assesses whether students can make connected lifecycle decisions before tools distract them.

Brief given to students “Canteen Demand Planner” — In a team of three or four, prepare a two-page proposal for a system that predicts High or Regular lunch demand before food is prepared. First propose a fixed-rule baseline and decide whether an AI approach is worth investigating. Then map an AI option through the six exact lifecycle stages in order. Include: the user and intended outcome; relevant non-personal data; one cleaning or labelling decision; separate training and unseen test data; how percentage correct would be measured; how a canteen worker would use the output; what would be monitored; and one feedback arrow to an earlier stage. Do not collect real student names or records for this planning task.

Submission

Two A4 pages or one chart, plus a two-minute team viva. Every member must be able to explain the AI-versus-automation judgement and one feedback route.

Criterion4 — Exceeds3 — Meets2 — Approaching1 — Beginning
Problem and AI judgementPrecise user, outcome and success check; compares a credible baseline and gives a conditional, evidence-based verdictClear problem and user; compares automation with AI and gives a sound reasonProblem is broad or comparison is weak; verdict has limited supportStarts with AI without defining the need or considering a fixed-rule option
Lifecycle order and completenessAll six exact stages in order, with connected actions and a justified feedback routeAll six exact stages in order, with a relevant action at eachOne stage is missing, misplaced or only namedSeveral stages are missing, reordered or confused
Data, training and evaluationRelevant fields, preparation and labels; clearly separate sets; metric and error analysis fit the predictionSuitable data and preparation; training and unseen test cases are separate; percentage correct is plannedSome useful data, but preparation or honest testing is unclearData is unrelated, or training and evaluation are treated as the same task
Deployment, monitoring and maintenanceUser action, failure checks, changed conditions and corrective update are specific and linkedReal user and use are clear; performance is checked and an update is plannedRelease is described, but later checking or maintenance is vagueStops at deployment or assumes performance will remain unchanged

Suggested total: 16 marks. Record the four criterion scores separately so the feedback shows which lifecycle decisions need work.

07

Evidence record

Keep one completed record per class for this chapter, with the selected samples named below. This page records what was taught and assessed; it is not a review or endorsement.

FieldRecord
School 
Class & section 
Chapter taughtAI Ch. 1 — AI Project Lifecycle
Periods used 
Dates 
Teacher 
Activity conductedLifecycle Control Room (unplugged group simulation)
Assessment usedCanteen Demand Planner, rubric-scored
Students assessed 
Common misconception noticed 
Follow-up taught 
Samples retained☐ 3 marked proposals   ☐ 3 completed worksheets   ☐ 1 group lifecycle sheet
Teacher’s note 
Teacher signature & date 
Suggested evidence check In the retained samples, look for the ordered six stages, the automation comparison, separate training and test cases, and a feedback arrow with a reason. These four features show more than a copied list of stage names.