Lesson 2

That Could Be a Computer!

Lesson Overview

In this lesson, students reimagine an everyday object as a computer, identify what problem the computer helps to solve, and decide how it receives input, and how it outputs. They earn their first badge: Impacts of Computing!

Agenda

  1. Warm-up: It's a Computer! Introduce inputs and outputs. (15 minutes)
  2. Main activity: Students choose an item to reimagine as a computer, the problem the computer solves, the input, and the output. They record their thinking on the Design Sheet. (8 minutes)
  3. Debrief: Showcase. Celebrate earning the Impacts of Computing badge. (7 minutes)

Vocabulary

  • hardware - the physical parts of a computer
  • impacts of computing - understanding the way humans design computers affects culture, social interactions, safety, law, and ethics
  • input - ways to enter data into a computer
  • output - information produced by a computer

Standards

  • CA CSS K-2.CS.2 - Explain the functions of common hardware and software components of computing systems.
  • CA CSS K-2.IC.18 - Compare how people lived and worked before and after the adoption of new computing technologies.

Additional Resources


Teacher-Created Resources

coming soon!