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....

What can a mural teach pupils about computer science? The lesson has scholars create a mural on a wall to learn about bitmap and vector graphics. Along the way, they learn about the graphics coordinate system.

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...

Explore decision-making logic in programming computer games. The 10th installment of a 21-part unit teaches scholars how to apply conditional statements and Boolean expressions. They use these concepts to create a "Guess My Number" game...

Introduce event-driven programming. Young computer scientists learn the meaning of event-driven programming and how it is different from previous styles of programming. They play a card game to simulate the challenges that occur in this...

Students research a country. In this research and computers lesson, students select a country and research various aspects about it including the capital city, the flag and fun facts. Students create slides about their country and then...

Strut your stuff, just on a computer and not on a fashion runway. Scholars program a fashion show animation using block-based computer coding. They learn how to apply different code blocks in writing their programs.

Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...

While the content of this lesson is more specific to the first grade, the directions given to work on a PowerPoint are well written. These directions could be used by anyone, with any content. Younger learners may need help reading the...

Learning how to write computer code has never been so much fun! Given control of their very own robots, children create simple programs in order to solve a series of challenges and develop their problem solving skills.

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...

Teach your class how to get out of a cell — or break in. The third installment in a seven-part series introduces the class to cell membranes and their functions. The lesson plan includes information to present to the class,...

Students explore computer science by participating in mini activities. In this graphic design lesson, identify the different components on a personal computer and define their purpose. Students utilize Microsoft Paint to create a digital...

Fourth graders read the book, Good Dog by Alexandra Day. For this writing lesson, 4th graders re-write the story from a chosen character's point of view. This lesson can be used with many other wordless picture books.

Fourth graders investigate some of the basic functions of using Microsoft Word. The teacher uses a LCD projector to give instruction and guide the lesson. They practice finding the menu screens to perform basic editing and command...

Learners use unitedstreaming and Google Earth to investigate World War II and All Quiet on the Western Front. In this novel and technology lesson, students view a video about the novel using unitedstreaming video, visit the given...

I can get more water to stay on a penny than you can! Collaborative pairs determine the volume of liquids that can be contained on the surface of copper pennies and plastic coins. The pairs analyze their results using graphs and go on to...

Eighth graders research life on the Titantic using the Internet. They write journal entries from the point of view as a Titanic passenger. They write a friendly letter and a busines letter.

Building an accelerometer app for your Android device. Groups develop an app that uses the accelerometer on an Android device. The purpose of the activity is to reinforce the programming design. The post activity assessment challenges...

Scholars use a playing card activity to help them develop a program to find the minimum value of a list. They learn to use for loops to write code that will process lists. 

Students write their own fables. In this writing fables lesson, students use handheld computers to write a fable. The class designs a spreadsheet to organize common elements of fables. Students also edit each others' work.

Scholars learn how to make a digital canvas and fill it with artwork by creating a drawing app using the canvas element. The activity requires learners to previous knowledge of arrays and return commands to draw images.

Scholars explore compound conditional logic and learn to use the Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT within conditional statements by incorporating these operators to improve a previously created app.

Your routers don't seem to be routing correctly. To figure out why, pupils act like routers, talk to their direct connects in order to determine as much information about the simulated network as possible. As they learn more about...