Written by Mark Dorling and Matthew Walker for Computing at School, this document maps the computer science, information technology and digital literacy strands of the National Curriculum Computing Programme of Study.

Each of the progression pathway statements is underpinned by one or more learning outcomes...

This document, produced by Computing at School, is to support the teaching and learning of computing in primary school. The introduction explains the context of the document with computing being included in the 2014 national curriculum in England.

This book aims to be a gentle introduction to the main concepts of computer programming and the related subject of data structures and algorithms. Rather than focusing on particular programming languages that can appear alien and incomprehensible to beginners, it concentrates on the underlying concepts common to a...

Using sparkles to light the night sky. It is possible to make them ‘twinkle’ or use an LDR so they only light up in the dark.

This unplugged computing activity from the Barefoot Computing project teaches basic algorithms . An algorithm is a precise sequence of instructions or a set of rules for performing a specific task. By teaching this short, unplugged activity...

This unplugged activity uses a large model of a face, operated by several children working together, to teach how ‘emotion’ can be expressed by robots following simple rules. These rules are expressed as IF, THEN, ELSE, statements which, when...

This resource from the MIT team where Scratch originated consists of a teacher guide and student workbook.

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The Crumble “Getting Started” guide includes an overview of the Crumble software and a step-by-step guide to writing your first program. It also covers:

• Sparkle control
• Motor control
• Using inputs (digital and analogue)
• Using variables and maths in your programs

This set of activities introduces children to cryptography techniques, showing how the use of computers can make encryption quicker and more effective. Some notable examples of the use of encryption in history are mentioned, leading to the use of calculation machines for code-making and code-breaking.

A...

Aimed at primary level this resource shows how to incorporate data logging into science lessons. It contains lesson ideas on the topics of sound, habitats, plants and animals in the local environment, light, thermal insulators, separating mixtures, electricity, changing state and sound. The teacher guidance...

This computing resource for primary schools introduces the concept of decomposition through dance. Using combinations of hand-jive, clapping or tutting, the lesson demonstrates how complex sequences of instructions (algorithms) can be broken down into smaller chunks. The children are challenged to look for patterns...

The dice uses sparkles and a code to make them flash randomly. What is the probability of the same numbers being picked and does that mean it is truly random? It is also relevant here to think about nets and dice shape.

A short starter activity for students of all ages. It would make a good introduction to lessons on robotics or artificial intelligence and could spark a discussion on how neural networks might be used to create human-like behaviour. Equally, when discussing HCI design, it might move the debate beyond keyboard and...

An ideal lesson plan for the lead up to fireworks night! This is about making sparkles flash with random intervals and colours. It can also be made more difficult by using LDRs.

This activity introduces the idea of remote observation by asking children to match photographs such as lakes, mountains and cities taken from the ground with early astronaut photographs. Children then compare the images from the ground with the astronaut picture of the same place. This activity is also suitable...