Lesson Plan
Planning a SDAIE Lesson
How Computers Work
(The Organizational Structure of
Computers)
Focus Question: (What concepts do you
want to teach in this lesson?)
- How is the computer organized
into different parts?
- What do each of the parts do,
and how do they work?
- If I open up a computer, how
do I know what part is what?
- If I read an ad in the
newspaper, how do I know what it is saying (what does all that jargon mean)?
Outcomes: (What will the students be
able to do at the conclusion of the lesson?)
- Know the vocabulary words
associated with computers.
- Know the five categories of
personal computer organization.
- Give examples of, or show on a
computer the various parts.
- Know the names of the parts of
the computer and what each organizational part does.
- Describe how each of the parts
of the computer work.
- Describe how each of the parts
of the computer function in relation to each other.
- Understand the computer jargon
in a computer advertisement.
Target Vocabulary: (What words do the
students need to know to understand the concepts?)
- Hardware
- Bus
- CPU
- Main Memory (RAM and ROM)
- Auxiliary Memory
- Input / Output devices
Primary Sources: (What photos, diaries,
first-hand accounts will you use?)
- Scanned images and clip art of
the parts of a computer.
- First hand accounts will also
include some history of parts of computers.
Visuals: (What pictures, realia,
charts, maps, etc. will you use?)
- A PowerPoint Presentation
projected on the screen (8 ft. x 8 ft.) with a computer projector (an
example of computer output itself).
- Handout with copies of the
slides of the PowerPoint Presentation.
- Scanned images and clip art of
the parts of the computer.
- Organizational charts for the
parts of the computer.
- Physical parts of a computer
that has been taken apart.
- Two similar computers will be
passed around the room. One with the cover removed and all the parts
connected and in their proper place. A second similar computer has been
taken apart, and each piece will be passed around the room as each piece is
discussed in the PowerPoint presentation.
- There will be video clips
projected on the screen as well that show the parts of the computer working
(for example a floppy disk drive with the cover off accessing data on a
floppy disk, animations of how the CPU works, etc.).
- Some of the parts of the
computer passed around the classroom will be "antique" in terms of
computer years.
- Computer advertisements.
Procedure
Motivation: (How will you start your
lesson?)
- K
E W L chart
- What they Know about
how computers work.
- What they Want to learn
about how computers work.
- Students will also give Examples
of the parts of the computer.
- Taking apart a computer to
examine the various parts.
- The L part of the chart
(what they learned will be completed as we discuss each part of the
computer) will be ongoing throughout the lesson.
- A "hierarchy chart"
will also be filled out by students to show relationships and examples of
each of the parts of the computer.
Vocabulary: (How will you teach and
reinforce the target vocabulary?)
- Pictures
- Clip Art
- Video clips
- Realia
- Hands on (passing around
computer parts).
Instruction: (What activities will you
assign to insure understanding? How will interactive learning accommodate
different learning styles, etc.?)
This is a lesson takes about a week to finish or longer, depending on what
students want to learn. Day one starts with a KEWL chart.
- K
E W L chart for formative and
summative assessment. The class will break up into groups of 4-6 students.
They will each have a K E W L chart, and there will be a K E W L chart at
the front of the class.
- Each group will fill in what
they already know about how computers work (this will tie in to their prior
learning of using computers: this is a class where students learn to use
various computer software programs in class or to write their own computer
programs.)
- Each group will then choose a
representative to go to the front of the class and write what they already
know about how computers work.
- Each group will also fill in
what they want to Learn about how computers work.
- Each group will then choose a
representative to go to the front of the class and write what they would
like to learn about how computers work.
- Each student in each group
will be given handout of the PowerPoint Presentation with space to take
notes. This presentation will also be displayed at the front of the room
using a computer projector.
- Brief portions of the
PowerPoint presentation will discuss parts of the computer using audio,
visuals, and video footage.
- The presentation will be
stopped periodically, and the realia (various parts of the computer) will be
passed around the room for students to examine.
- The realia will be passed
around to each group, so they can examine for themselves the role of each
part of the computer being discussed.
- This process (steps 7-9) will
be repeated until the end of the PowerPoint Presentation.
- Students will work in the
groups to add to the "E" portion of the K E W L chart. They will
give examples of each part of the computer as we discuss them.
- Students will work in the
groups to add to the "L" portion of the K E W L chart as we finish
each day’s lesson.
- In all the group work listed
above, the instructor will circulate throughout the classroom to ask and
answer questions and observe student work.
- Group work: Students will
create a hierarchical chart to show the relationship of the parts of the
computer to each other in addition to the KEWL chart.
- Individual work: Students will
find 3 computer advertisements in newspapers or magazines, or online for
homework and bring to class to discuss as it relates to the lesson.
These activities will accommodate all learning styles (and use all the senses
except taste). The group activities will allow for peer teaching and usage of L1
languages, and will also lower the Affective Filter.
Integrating Language: (How will you
include reading, writing, listening, speaking into your lesson?)
- Using the K E W L chart and
working in groups, the students will write, listen to me and to each other,
and speak to me (as I circulate between the groups) and each other.
- They will also read the
PowerPoint Presentation.
- They will search through
newspaper, magazine, or online advertisements for 3 computer systems from
three different stores.
Assessment: (How will you check for
understanding and mastery?)
- K E W L chart (formative and
summative)
- Hierarchical chart to show
the relationships of the parts of the computer to each other.
- Observation of the students
as they work in their groups (as I walk around the classroom from group to
group: formative).
- Group and Individual student
work (identifying and describing how computer parts work): formative.
- Summative assessment ( Unit
Test )
Independent Work: (What will follow-up
activities will you assign?)
- Individual student work:
reviewing the PowerPoint Presentation.
- Reading the textbook on how
computers work.
- Finding 3 advertisements from
three different "stores" of computer prices describing the
components that come with the computer system.