Divide and conquer

This activity provides a mathematical problem that is solved in a simple way. It relates to the way algorithms are used in search engines and links to problem solving in maths. The context is that of Santa trying to find his socks in one of 1024 boxes, which a...

Autosub 6000 Ocean Floor Mission

This resource is part of the Polar Explorer Resource Collection https://www.stem.org.uk/polar-explorer-educational-resources.

In this resource learners will use Scratch, to debug and then...

Solar System Simulation Activity

This activity introduces children to simulations - modelling or acting out real-world, or maybe imaginary, situations. Linking to the teaching of space, it asks what factors need to be considered when simulating the solar system. Out of these, the children then decide what the most important things to include in...

Make a Game Project

In this multi-lesson project pupils design and code a computer game. It uses a rainforest theme but can be adapted to any topic, with learners of varying age or ability. The project includes: *Decomposition of the elements of a game *Designing the game *Creating assets for the game, such as background images and...

Animated Poem Decomposition Activity

This cross-curricular computing / ICT activity helps children to understand decomposition. They choose a poem and create an animation using Scratch; this encourages them to think deeply about the poem, and to explore the tools available. Children break the poem into pieces (decomposition), then plan the animation...

Viking Raid

This paired-programming activity from the Barefoot Computing project focusses on sequences in algorithms and programs.

Children create an animation of a Viking raid – ideally they will have previously studied Vikings but this is not crucial. A Scratch file is provided for the children to build on, containing...

Binary bracelets

This resource introduces binary data to students via the creation of bracelets which display their name in binary. This lesson helps to demonstrate how it is possible to take something that we know and translate it into a series of ons and offs (ones or zeroes). The resource contains a lesson plan and related...

Computational thinking

A comprehensive guide taken from the Quickstart guide to what computational thinking is and what it might look like in the primary classroom. It involves classroom activities which include:

• Writing algorithms and looking for patterns (generalisations) in comparison to other students’ algorithms.
...

Real-life algorithms: plant a seed

A lesson plan that takes the students through the algorithm to plant a seed. It consists mainly of a worksheet task to correctly sequence the steps in planting a seed, in doing so they must discard any superfluous information. The idea is then that they give their algorithm to another child for that child to follow...

Explaining data packets

An unplugged activity that simulates how data travels around the internet in packets. It involves cutting up pictures into ‘packets of data’ and then sending them to other students for them to reassemble the picture.

Gary Setchell is the author of this resource.