Year 8 – Computing systems Lesson plan

Lesson 1 – Get in gear

Lesson 1: Get in gear

Introduction
In this first lesson about computing systems, you will focus on what sets these devices
apart from other purpose-built machinery: it is their ability to execute programs that
allows them to modify their operation and perform different tasks, and thus become our
most versatile ‘tool for thought’.
To develop an understanding of this unique characteristic, learners will compare
calculating machines from the past to modern general-purpose computers. After that,
they will connect the important but perhaps abstract idea of a program to the
applications that they use every day. Finally, they will execute a program themselves,
playing noughts and crosses with a human opponent.
This is a gentle introduction to a broad and technical subject. There is as yet no mention
of how programs are represented, or the hardware that is required to execute them in
practice. This lesson lays the foundation for introducing these concepts.

Learning objectives
● Recall that a general-purpose computing system is a device for executing programs
● Recall that a program is a sequence of instructions that specify operations that
are to be performed on data
● Explain the difference between a general-purpose computing system and a
purpose-built device

Key vocabulary
Computer, system, device, program, software, instructions

Preparation
Subject knowledge:
● You will need a concrete understanding of how general-purpose computers
execute programs.

You will need:

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Year 8 – Computing systems Lesson plan
Lesson 1 – Get in gear

● Slides — note that some slides contain animations

● Activities:
○ The Antikythera mechanism: worksheet and solutions
○ Your software: worksheet and solutions
○ The intelligent piece of paper: handout

Assessment opportunities
Starter activity: You can assess learners’ prior knowledge and gauge how learners
think about modern computing systems.
Activity 2: You can assess whether learners can connect the abstract concept of a
program to their everyday experience.

At a glance
Starter The Antikythera mechanism
activity
Describe the Antikythera mechanism to learners and discuss the similarities
10 mins and differences compared to a modern computer.

Activity 1 The Pascaline, the stepped reckoner, and Babbage’s Analytical Engine

10 mins Similarly, compare calculating machines to modern computers, until you

reach a definition of a computer as a general-purpose programmable
device that processes inputs according to a stored program.

Activity 2 What makes a computer different?

5 mins Discuss how the purpose of general-purpose computers is to execute

programs, and that their ability to do so turns them into machines that can
transform into any other information processing device.

Activity 3 Your software

10 mins Guide learners to connect the abstract references to programs with the
real world, using the ‘Your software’ worksheet.

Activity 4 The intelligent piece of paper (Unplugged)

10 mins Ask learners to use the ‘Intelligent piece of paper’ handout, which contains
instructions for a ‘mechanical’ noughts and crosses player. This will provide
an initial insight into what it means to carry out instructions mechanically.

Plenary Concept map

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Year 8 – Computing systems Lesson plan
Lesson 1 – Get in gear

5 mins Fill in the missing verbs on a concept map, to specify the relationships
between computing systems, programs, instructions, and data.

Outline plan
Please note that the slide deck labels the activities in the top right-hand corner to help
you navigate the lesson.

*Timings are rough guides

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Year 8 – Computing systems Lesson plan
Lesson 1 – Get in gear

Starter The Antikythera mechanism

activity
(Slides 2–4) As learners enter the classroom, use slides 2 and 3 to present the
Antikythera mechanism.
10 mins
Background: The mechanism was retrieved in 1900 from a Roman
shipwreck. It is of Greek origin and it is estimated that it was constructed
around the end of the second century BC. In the past few decades, it has
been receiving more and more attention from researchers. We now know
that it was an analogue computing device capable of predicting solar
eclipses and calculating the positions of known astronomical bodies.
Devices that were similar in complexity were constructed more than 1000
years later. You can find more information in this short video about the
Antikythera mechanism by the Computer History Museum.

Hand out the ‘Antikythera mechanism’ worksheet and ask learners to

‘think, write, pair, share’ (slide 4):
● Would you call the Antikythera mechanism a computer?
● How is the mechanism similar or different to modern computers?

This activity (along with the one that follows, in which additional
mechanisms are presented) is supposed to help learners think critically
about what makes modern computing devices what they are, through
comparisons to computing devices from the past. A historical perspective
will also convey the fact that computing devices have been around for
much longer than electronic computers: they are as old as the need to
perform calculations.

Ask learners to present their answers. Write any relevant points on the
board, divided into similarities and differences. There is no expectation for
learners to provide complete, correct answers; the aim is to encourage
them to give answers that you will synthesise whilst guiding towards the
desired direction.

Similarities: The mechanism receives input (the user sets a date by

rotating a crank), the input is processed (through the interconnected
gears), and output is produced (displaying it to the user using dials and
indicators). The mechanism automates an information processing task,
and in this sense, it is similar to a modern computer.

Differences: The mechanism is purpose-built to perform a set of

prescribed functions. Its operation is hardwired and cannot be modified,
in contrast to modern general-purpose computers, which are
programmable.

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Year 8 – Computing systems Lesson plan
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Learners’ answers may not refer to that point exactly, but may revolve
around it. They may, for example, point out that it can’t play games or
surf the web. However, modern computers are not built specifically to
perform these functions; these are only some of the functions that they
can perform because they are programmable.

Learners may also point out that the device is mechanical instead of
electrical or electronic. The underlying technology is significant, but it is
not a defining difference. As learners will find out in the next activity, the
Analytical Engine was also mechanical, but “the logical structure of the
Analytical Engine was essentially the same as that which has dominated
computer design in the electronic era” (source).

Briefly summarise any relevant points that were made during the
discussion. You will be able to present a more detailed overview of
conclusions at the end of the next activity.

Activity 1 The Pascaline and the stepped reckoner

(Slides 7–11)
Hold a discussion as in the previous activity. Display slide 7 to present
10 mins learners with two examples of calculating machines, which are the
mechanical equivalents of pocket calculators. As before, ask them to
think about the similarities and differences between these devices and
modern computers.

Automating the process

Display slide 8, which includes an extract from Leibniz’s own description of

his calculating machine. Read the extract to the learners and ask them if
they understand what he is suggesting. To help them, ask them to
imagine a situation where the calculating machine’s operator would have
to perform a series of operations. In the extract, Leibniz is essentially
describing a machine that could be “arranged”, i.e. programmed, so that
it performs the necessary operations automatically. This idea is the
bridge to modern computers.

Babbage’s Analytical Engine

Next, display slide 9 and describe the Analytical Engine. Explain that the
engine was designed, but that only parts of it were ever built.
Nevertheless, it is a landmark in computing history, as it is the first
instance of a general-purpose computing machine that can be
programmed to perform different sequences of operations, i.e. to
automate different tasks.

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Year 8 – Computing systems Lesson plan
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A definition of a computer

Display slide 10 to provide a summary of the important ideas from these

first two activities. Move on to slide 11, to explain how our definition of a
computer for this unit will include general-purpose programmable
devices that process their inputs according to a stored program.

Activity 2 What makes a computer different?

(Slides 12–18)
Display slide 12, which shows a quote from a book about computers from
5 mins the 1980s. The author describes purpose-built devices that can perform a
single task and then contrasts them with computers, claiming that they
don’t have “a specific, well-designed purpose”. Read the passage to the
learners, and ask them what they think of this claim (slide 13).

The truth is that computers do have a specific purpose (slide 14). In a

sense, they are purpose-built as well: their purpose is to execute
programs. However, their ability to do so turns them into machines that
can transform into any other information processing device.

Use slides 15 to 17 to illustrate this point. A computer running an

astronomy program can transform itself to provide the functionality of
the Antikythera mechanism (slide 15). A computer running a basic
calculator program can provide the functionality of the intricate stepped
reckoner (slide 16). A computer running a chess program can provide the
functionality of an electronic chess machine (slide 17).

Display slide 18 to highlight the most important points. Explain that

computers are not meant to simply replace existing machines, providing
their functionality in an all-in-one package; as modern, general-purpose
computers are programmable, they have the potential to provide the
functionality of machines that we are not able to construct, given the
restrictions of the physical world — for example, think of all the virtual
worlds that we encounter in games — and most importantly, they have
the potential to provide functionality that we haven’t even conceived of
yet.

Activity 3 Your software

(Slides 19–23)
Display slide 19 to start connecting the abstract references to programs
10 mins with the real world: learners use a program for every task that they
perform on their computing devices. Explain that the word ‘software’ is
essentially synonymous with ‘programs’. Also, clarify that any use of the
word ‘computer’ refers to any sort of general-purpose programmable

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Lesson 1 – Get in gear

computing device. Mention that the programs that they use on mobile
devices are often referred to as ‘apps’.

Hand out the ‘Your software’ worksheet and ask learners to carry out the
tasks. This will help them understand the role and purpose of programs,
and also address some subtle points and common misconceptions:

Programs vs data: Both programs and data are represented as

sequences of binary digits and stored as files in secondary memory.
Learners sometimes find it hard to distinguish between the two. Point out
that documents, spreadsheets, images, videos, etc. are not programs.
They do not perform a specific task. On the contrary, a program is
required to view them or edit them (and there are plenty available for
each one of those tasks).

Web-based and cloud-based applications: Learners may be familiar

with programs that are web-based or cloud-based, such as online office
suites. Explain that programs are still at work here, and it is programs that
the user is interacting with, however, these programs are not all
necessarily executed on the user’s computer.

Operating systems: Operating systems will be addressed in more detail

in Lesson 3, however, this activity provides a good opportunity for you to
mention them and give a brief introduction to what they are.

Use slides 21 to 23 to provide answers.

Activity 4 The intelligent piece of paper (Unplugged)

(Slides 24–25)
This activity is based on an activity by cs4fn.
10 mins
The ‘Intelligent piece of paper’ handout contains instructions for a
‘mechanical’ noughts and crosses player. Anyone following these
instructions, whether they are a human or a machine, cannot be defeated
in the game (as long as they play first).

This activity will allow learners to gain an insight into what it means to
carry out instructions mechanically, and it will provide a point of
reference for the lessons that follow.

Pair learners and provide one handout per pair. Display slide 24 and
explain the activity. Tell learners to play a few games of noughts and
crosses, taking turns to act as the machine that plays according to the
instructions in the handout. If you like, start with a demonstration: ask for
two volunteers to come to the front of the classroom, and ask them to

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Lesson 1 – Get in gear

play, with one of them following the instructions on the handout.

Note: One of the primary goals of the original ‘Intelligent piece of paper’
activity is to spark a discussion around artificial intelligence. You will
return to this aspect of the activity in Lesson 5.

Plenary Concept map

(Slides 26–27)
Display slide 26 to present learners with an incomplete concept map, and
5 mins ask them to fill in the missing verbs that specify the relationships between
computing systems, programs, instructions, and data.

This may be the first time that learners have encountered a concept map,
so take the time to explain it to them. Trace the connections that link a
concept to another, through a verb, thereby forming simple propositions.
Essentially, this resembles a fill-in-the-gaps exercise, where the sentences
are arranged visually in a graph.

Display slide 27 to provide the answer.

Homework There will be no homework for this lesson. However, you could encourage
learners to do further research. You could suggest the resources
referenced in the ‘Background information’ section to help them get
started.

You could also encourage learners to improve the intelligent piece of

paper: as it is, the piece of paper cannot lose, but there is a case where it
concedes a draw when it can, in fact, win. Learners could also work out a
similar set of instructions for the player that goes second.

Pedagogy
It is important to convey that the story of computing is not about machines, it’s about
people inventing machines that can improve their lives. These lessons aim to help
learners understand how the machines work, however, the people involved will feature
prominently. Encourage learners to conduct further research into these figures; they are
certainly inspiring, and there is a wealth of information available.
For example, you could mention that Pascal invented his calculating machine in order to
help his father, who was a state financial commissioner, with performing tax calculations.
Similarly, Leibniz was fully aware of his machine’s potential to help “all who are engaged
in computations”, and he explicitly named financial managers, merchants, surveyors,

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Lesson 1 – Get in gear

geographers, navigators, astronomers, and mathematicians.

Learners will often wonder how it is possible that a certain individual made a particular
invention. It is worth pointing out to them that breakthroughs don’t simply happen out of
nowhere. In most cases, small steps taken in the past are brought together into a giant
leap. As Isaac Newton famously said, “If I have seen further it is by standing on the
shoulders of Giants”.

Background information
● Crash Course Computer Science is a set of short videos that provide a
comprehensive overview of the field. The episodes entitled Early computing and
Electronic computing are especially relevant to this lesson.
● The ‘Revolution’ exhibition by the Computing History Museum is available online,
providing an overview of the history of computing, with a wealth of annotated
photographs and videos. For this lesson, the sections entitled Calculators,
Punched Cards, and The Art of Programming are especially relevant. Learners
may also enjoy the section entitled Computer Games.

Resources are updated regularly — the latest version is available at: ncce.io/tcc.

This resource is licensed under the Open Government Licence, version 3. For more information on this
licence, see ncce.io/ogl.

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