What is top-down?

Top-down is when you start with the big picture and work your way down to the little details.

Imagine you're building a treehouse in your backyard. Instead of starting by nailing together each tiny piece of wood, you first think about what the treehouse should look like, how big it will be, where it will sit on the tree, and who will use it. You decide it needs a roof, a floor, and maybe even a ladder. Once you have that big picture in mind, you break it down into smaller parts: first the roof, then the floor, and finally the ladder. That’s top-down thinking, starting from the top (the big idea) and moving down to the details.

Think of it like stacking blocks. If you're building a tower, you might start by deciding how tall it should be. Then you figure out how many blocks you'll need for each layer. You don’t worry about the shape of each block right away, you just know you’ll need more blocks as the tower gets taller. That’s top-down planning in action!