Grade 04: Computing

In this unit, 'Presentations', you learn to make a short slide presentation with text and pictures. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• See it: watch or try the skill in 'Presentations' on a teacher screen or a safe device.
• Name the parts: write the key words and what each part does.
• Use it: make a short slide presentation with text and pictures. Save your work in a named file or folder.
• Test and fix: run it, find one fault, correct it, and note what you changed.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Plan three slides: The learner must present 'Our Local Birds' in about two minutes. She plans 3 slides: slide 1 the title, slide 2 'Falcon' with one picture and two short points, slide 3 'Flamingo' laid out the same way.
2. Step 2, Title slide: She opens the slide tool, picks the Title layout, clicks the top box and types 'Our Local Birds', then clicks the lower box and types 'By [your name], Grade 4'. The first slide now has a title and a name.
3. Step 3, Add a slide with text: She clicks New Slide, picks Title and Content, types 'Falcon' as the heading, then two bullets: 'Fast flyer' and 'Hunts small animals'. Each bullet has about three words, so the audience reads quickly.
4. Step 4, Insert a picture: On slide 2 she clicks Insert, then Picture, chooses her own drawing 'falcon.png' from the Pictures folder, and drags a corner handle to resize it so it sits at the right without covering the bullets.
5. Step 5, Copy the layout: She duplicates slide 2 to make slide 3, changes the heading to 'Flamingo', the bullets to 'Pink feathers' and 'Stands on one leg', and replaces the picture with flamingo.png. The deck has 3 slides.
6. Step 6, Practise and save: In slideshow mode she presses the right arrow key twice to move through slides 1, 2 and 3, reading each in about 30 seconds, then saves as 'local-birds'. Total talk time is 3 slides at 30 seconds, 90 seconds.
7. Your turn: Make a 3-slide talk on 'My Favourite Food' with one picture. Model answer: slide 1 title and name; slide 2 a food heading, two short bullets and one picture; slide 3 another food or a summary with a picture; save and practise.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Build a short slide presentation with text and pictures: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Coding with blocks', you learn to write a block program with loops and events. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• See it: watch or try the skill in 'Coding with blocks' on a teacher screen or a safe device.
• Name the parts: write the key words and what each part does.
• Use it: write a block program with loops and events. Save your work in a named file or folder.
• Test and fix: run it, find one fault, correct it, and note what you changed.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Goal: The learner wants a sprite to draw a square on the stage using a block-coding tool. A square has 4 equal sides and 4 right angles. He plans to repeat one move and one turn four times.
2. Step 2, Start event: From the Events category he drags 'when green flag clicked' to the coding area. An event block starts the program only when the flag is clicked, so nothing happens until then.
3. Step 3, Pen and loop: Under it he snaps 'pen down' and then a 'repeat 4' block. Inside the repeat he snaps 'move 100 steps' and 'turn right 90 degrees'. Four times: move, turn.
4. Step 4, Predict: The sprite moves 100, turns 90, moves 100, turns 90, moves 100, turns 90, moves 100, turns 90. Total turning is 4 times 90, which is 360 degrees, so it ends facing the way it began.
5. Step 5, Run and check: The learner clicks the green flag. A square with sides of 100 steps is drawn and the sprite ends where it began. If he forgets pen down, the sprite moves but leaves no line, so he checks that block first.
6. Step 6, Add a second event: He adds 'when space key pressed' then 'say Done! for 2 seconds'. Pressing the space bar makes a speech bubble show Done! for 2 seconds. Two events, two separate small programs.
7. Your turn: Draw a triangle with sides of 100. Model answer: when green flag clicked, pen down, repeat 3, move 100 steps, turn right 120 degrees. 3 times 120 is 360, so the sprite finishes facing its starting direction.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Write a block program with loops and events: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Spreadsheets for beginners', you learn to enter data and make a simple chart. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• See it: watch or try the skill in 'Spreadsheets for beginners' on a teacher screen or a safe device.
• Name the parts: write the key words and what each part does.
• Use it: enter data and make a simple chart. Save your work in a named file or folder.
• Test and fix: run it, find one fault, correct it, and note what you changed.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Enter data: The learner surveys 22 classmates about pets. In a spreadsheet she types Pet in A1 and Number in B1, then Cat 6, Dog 9, Fish 4, Bird 3 in rows 2 to 5. Each fact goes in its own cell.
2. Step 2, Check the total: She clicks cell B6 and types =SUM(B2:B5) then Enter. The spreadsheet shows 22. By hand, 6 plus 9 is 15, 15 plus 4 is 19, 19 plus 3 is 22, so the formula and the survey agree.
3. Step 3, Select for the chart: She drags from A1 to B5 to select the labels and the numbers, but not the total row. Including the total would draw a fifth tall bar and mislead readers.
4. Step 4, Insert chart: She clicks Insert, then Chart, and chooses a column chart. Four bars appear: Cat reaches 6, Dog 9, Fish 4, Bird 3. A column chart is good for comparing separate groups.
5. Step 5, Add labels: She clicks the chart title and types 'Pets in Our Class', and sets the vertical axis title to 'Number of children'. Now anyone can read what the bars mean without asking.
6. Step 6, Read the chart: The Dog bar is tallest at 9 and the Bird bar is shortest at 3. Dog beats Bird by 9 minus 3, which is 6. The learner writes under the chart: 'Dogs are the most popular pet.'
7. Your turn: 20 children voted for fruit: Apple 7, Banana 5, Mango 8. Total and chart? Model answer: =SUM(B2:B4) gives 20; column chart of A1:B4; the Mango bar is tallest at 8, Banana shortest at 5.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Enter data and make a simple chart: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Digital citizenship', you learn to show respectful behaviour and spot unsafe messages. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• See it: watch or try the skill in 'Digital citizenship' on a teacher screen or a safe device.
• Name the parts: write the key words and what each part does.
• Use it: show respectful behaviour and spot unsafe messages. Save your work in a named file or folder.
• Test and fix: run it, find one fault, correct it, and note what you changed.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Meet the message: In the class chat the learner sees: 'You won a free tablet! Click this link and type your home address and your password.' It comes from someone she does not know, and she feels a little excited and a little unsure.
2. Step 2, Spot the warning signs: She lists three signs. It promises a free prize, it asks for private details, and the sender is a stranger. A real prize would never ask for a password. That makes this message unsafe.
3. Step 3, Stop and do not click: The learner keeps the link untouched and types no address or password. Clicking can lead to a fake page. Doing nothing is the safest first action, so she stops before anything else.
4. Step 4, Tell a trusted adult: She shows her teacher the message and says, 'I think this is not safe.' Her teacher thanks her, helps report it in the app and blocks the sender. Telling an adult is a strong choice.
5. Step 5, Respectful behaviour: Later one classmate posts a joke about another classmate's drawing. The learner writes, 'I like the colours in your drawing,' and does not join the joke. Kind words online follow the same rules as face to face.
6. Step 6, Check: The learner keeps their password private, did not share their address, reported the unsafe message and spoke kindly. Four good actions. The rule is to think before you click and before you post.
7. Your turn: A stranger says, 'Send me your photo and school name to win a game.' What do you do? Model answer: do not reply, tell a trusted adult, block the sender, because photos and school names are private details.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Show respectful behaviour and spot unsafe messages: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

On the slide: L1 Basic · What a computer does

Notes: Name the four jobs of a computer: input, process, output and storage. Notes: use a washing machine or a phone and label each job with a sticky note; no screens are needed. Learners say which part is the input and which is the output.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Steps and algorithms

Notes: Describe an algorithm as ordered steps and put a set of steps in the right order. Notes: cut up the steps for making a sandwich and mix them; learners order them and find what breaks if two swap. Work unplugged. Safe knife use is for an adult only.

This course: Grade 04 Computing is at this level. Its units include Presentations; Coding with blocks; Spreadsheets for beginners; Digital citizenship.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Code loops and variables

Notes: Write a short program that uses a variable and a loop to give a predicted output. Notes: for i in range(1,6), print the square of i. The output is 1, 4, 9, 16, 25 and their total is 55. Learners predict the output first, then run and compare. Take breaks to rest eyes.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Binary and image size

Notes: Apply binary and storage sums to convert numbers and estimate file size. Notes: 45 in binary is 101101, since 32 plus 8 plus 4 plus 1 is 45. A raw picture of 800 by 600 pixels at 24 bits needs 1,440,000 bytes. Learners check by working back from binary to decimal.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Network transfer and security

Notes: Analyse how data moves over a network and compare protections against common threats. Notes: a 50 MB file is 400 megabits; at 20 megabits per second the transfer takes 20 s. Learners work out the time on a slower link and list two safe habits for passwords and updates.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Complexity and search

Notes: Apply Big O reasoning to compare linear and binary search. Notes: a sorted list of 1,000,000 items needs at most 20 comparisons by binary search, since 2 to the 20 is 1,048,576, instead of up to a million for linear search. Learners trace a search on 16 numbers by hand.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Secure system design

Notes: Evaluate a small system for security risk and design controls. Notes: a 12-character password from 62 symbols holds about 71.5 bits of entropy, since 12 times log2 of 62 is 71.45. Learners rank threats, choose controls, and test only on systems they own or have written permission to test.