Computational Thinking Activity #1

What does it mean to decompose?

Andrea Tate – 3rd grade class

Lesson Plan credit: https://educators.brainpop.com/lesson-plan/computational-thinking-lesson-plan-

decompose/?bp-jr-topic=computational-thinking
(slightly modified to fit my class needs)

This BrainPOP-based vocabulary activity teaches students what it means to be a computational thinker, going
into depth about the first step of computation thinking: decomposition. Students will learn that in order to
effectively solve a problem, you must break it down into smaller parts. This activity will be completed during
our vocabulary block (30 minutes) over 1-2 days.

Lesson Objectives:
1. Students will be able to break a task into smaller parts.
2. Students will be able to identify steps to solve the problem.

Materials:
 BrainPOP video: https://jr.brainpop.com/artsandtechnology/technology/computationalthinking/
 Pizza picture
 Whiteboard
 Apple TV
 Writing notebooks
 Pencils

I do:
 Have a discussion about computational thinking. Ask students what they know, make a list on the
whiteboard. Explain that computational thinking is a method for solving problems by first breaking
them down, and then using smaller steps to solve it.
 Write the word “decompose” on the whiteboard. Think-Pair-Share what decompose means. Create
another list on the whiteboard.
 Show pizza image on TV. Ask students to Think-Pair-Share the steps for making a pizza.

We do:
 Have partner students write down their pizza-making steps in their writing notebooks.
 Ask students, are the steps in sequence? What would happen if we didn’t make the pizza in sequence?
 Think-Pair-Share: Did you just decompose? How did you break down this pizza into smaller parts?
 Think-Pair-Share: What other things can we decompose into smaller steps? (Examples: Peanut butter
and jelly sandwich, how to ride a bike, etc.)
 Watch BrainPOP video and watch how Annie and Moby decompose their own problem to find a
solution: https://jr.brainpop.com/artsandtechnology/technology/computationalthinking/

Two do:
  In writing notebooks, write down how Annie and Moby decomposed their steps. Did it work? Did they
solve their problem?

Assessment activity:
 Allow students to choose their partners. Assign each student the number 1 or the number 2. Tell all
number 1 students that they have a job: to teach their partner a SECRET HANDSHAKE! Their handshake
must have the following:
o 4 steps
o Must teach to partner number 2 step by step
 After all handshakes have been learned, have each partnership share it with the class
 Ask number 1 students: What was it like to teach your partner the handshake? Explain what you did to
make sure they could learn it.