What is inside a computer? Give your budding computer scientists a worksheet that has them label parts of a computer. They use a link included on the sheet to label basic input/output systems, video cards, drives, case fan, and more....

Good versus bad data. Pairs rate online collections of data representations from good to bad and then suggest ways to improve the visualizations. The class then creates a list of best practices and common errors in data representations...

Students are introduced to the basic parts of a computer, how to maintain an optimal posture and position at the computer workstation and review appropriate computer terminology. They practice keyboard techniques and assess how to...

Stability is key when building a bridge. Scholars explore the forces acting upon bridges through an analysis of Newton's Laws and Hooke's Law. The activity asks individuals to apply their learning by building a bridge of their own.

How do databases store and retrieve information? The activities in the resource provide fundamental concepts of databases by introducing an approach that teaches the basics without using computers. The pupils act as the actual data...

Learners identify various parts of plants and determine which parts people eat. They conduct a celery stalk experiment in which they determine the value and use of the stem, and how it helps the plant to meet its needs. Students use a...

Use your tablets to participate in a culture-sharing project with a class in a foreign country. Your class can communicate and share ideas with a class in another country, swapping information regarding language and culture. Together you...

Let the sun shine as your young coders move the clouds across the sky while practicing animation coding skills in JavaScript. Younger learners may benefit from more guided help or a whole-class discussion before trying this coding...

The second segment of a seven-part series reviews the challenge of determining whether gargling with salt water helps a sore throat. Individuals journal what they know about the challenge and what they are trying to figure out to...

The computer can be a wonderful tool with so many applications. Third graders read a four paragraph procedural text to learn about: central processing unit, memory, input, output. They answer four fill in the blank and multiple choice...

Let's start designing a house. Future architects create floor plans for a house given certain constraints. They calculate the area of each room in the house. This is the 11th lesson in a 15-part unit.

Students discover the different terms and parts of a computer's body.  For this computer basics lesson, students become familiar with the parts of the computer, starting in kindergarten and increasing their knowledge through...

Students identify and spell the parts of a computer work station. They use commands to indicate an action. They complete a web project assignment to complete the lesson.

Prepare young scholars for life in the twenty-first century with this introduction to computer coding formatted as a fun problem solving game, this resource is a great way to develop children's sequential thinking...

Create a list of your favorite foods while you practice writing text in JavaScript. Use fill, textSize, and text functions. This is a quick activity that helps solidify basic skills. Expand with additional challenges...

Animating an object by moving it across a computer screen can be accomplished by drawing the object repetitively, each time adjusting some aspect of the drawing slightly. This activity is an easy introduction to animation in JavaScript,...

Create a small but useful little program that allows you move a dot with your mouse and see the coordinates change as the mouse moves.  Starting with a dot that moves with the mouse, add to this program the text of the points...

Students draw a picture related to the book "Today I Feel Silly" using a computer drawing program. They listen to the story and answer discussion questions, view drawings on the teacher's Paint website, and create an illustration of...

Students create an illustration of their favorite part of the book "The Magic School Bus Gets Cold Feet" using a computer drawing program. They listen to the story and answer discussion questions, view drawings on the teacher's Paint...

Students access a variety of resources on the Internet related to basic computer operations and parts. They examine the parts of a computer and the history of computers, view timelines, play games, and read tips on Internet safety.

Solve a maze ... from a robot's point of view. In the lesson, your scholars build a small, simple maze from cardboard and then find a route from the start point to the finish point. They write an algorithmic process that a robot could...

Students see pictures and learn vocabulary of basic computer hardware and software. In this computers lesson plan, students are shown pictures of a screen, mouse, keyboard, and other computer parts that they should know and fill out a...

Investigate the benefits of using global variables. The seventh installment of a 21-part unit continues the study of variables from the previous lesson. Young computer scientists modify two existing apps by adding variables and learn how...

Who knew sorting could be so much fun? Scholars participate in a sorting activity where they develop questions to place a list of numbers in order. They consider how these questions can be used as an algorithm.