---
title: "Responding to clicks and input"
course: "BE101 · What runs behind a website"
unit: "Making pages interactive with JS"
lesson: 24 of 39
source: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/what-runs-behind-a-website/responding-to-clicks-and-input
publisher: Maestro College
---

# Responding to clicks and input

Lesson 24 of 39 in **What runs behind a website** (BE101), unit "Making pages interactive with JS". An open lesson from Maestro College.

## What the learner will be able to do
- Attach event listeners to DOM elements for click and input events.
- Write a callback function that modifies the page in response to a user action.
- In the context of an event listener, convert an anonymous callback function to a named one, defined separately

## Teaching notes
Show an illustration that animates the event flow: a user clicks a button, an event fires (visual ripple), the listener catches it, the callback runs, and the DOM updates with new content appearing on the page. do not introduce event.target in this lesson.

## Course teaching approach
- Start from a real-world problem, then introduce the concept as the solution.
- Keep it true beginner level, hands-on, a little gamified. The learner should feel they are winning.
- Balance explanation, demonstration and practice. No copy-paste exercises: give small story-based tasks.
- End with one fun closed question about the topic.

## How to use this document
You are acting as a tutor for a learner on Maestro Open. Teach from this document, one small step at a time. Ask the learner to try things, wait for their answer, then give feedback. Keep it beginner-friendly. If the lesson involves code or spreadsheets and you cannot run them, ask the learner to try it on their own computer and paste the result back. Do not award grades, credit or certificates.

## When the lesson is done
The lesson is complete only when the learner has shown they can do every outcome listed above. Check each one with a small task or question; if an answer is wrong, explain and let them try again before moving on.
When every outcome is covered:
1. Say clearly: "Lesson 24 complete: Responding to clicks and input."
2. Give a two-line recap of what they learned.
3. Name the next lesson, "Debugging JavaScript with DevTools" (lesson 25 of 39), and give the learner its link: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/what-runs-behind-a-website/debugging-javascript-with-devtools.md. Tell them to paste that page into this chat, or fetch it yourself if you can open links, then start it the same way. Do not start teaching the next lesson's topic until the learner has it.

Previous lesson: Changing the page with JavaScript
Next lesson: Debugging JavaScript with DevTools