EDUCATOR PORTAL

GETTING STARTED

Lesson Materials

Learning Objectives

1. Engage prior knowledge in computing systems
2. Understand that every component of a computer interface has a purpose
3. Define a blueprint and practice how to read exploded diagrams visuals as a set of instructions

Lesson Preperation

• Review all lesson resources.
• Put students in groups, recommended 2:1 but 3:1 can be successful as well.
  Example Teamwork Chart
• Have students find a place to spread out the Piper blueprint and additional sketching materials.
• Provide drawing paper (or other surfaces such as dry erase tables, posters and panels) and sticky notes, colored pencils or markers for each group.
• Pull out blueprints and batteries from boxes and prepare to distribute them to teams. Batteries will need to be charged before Phase 2.
• Have your students complete the Pre Self-Assessment shared with you following Piper professional development. If you did not receive copies of this survey, email us at: educators@playpiper.com
• Prepare to show a hi-res version of the blueprint on a projector or monitor.

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PIPER 5E INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL

Engage

Introduction (5 - 15 Minutes) Start the lesson with this question on the board/projector: “What purpose does technology play in our lives?”

Show students the Ted Talk on the invention of the washing machine. Ask: “How did the invention of this technology change the speaker’s life? What technology has had this kind of impact on your life? What technology do you use the most at school?”

The goal is to get students considering the importance of computers in their lives.

Guiding questions that can be displayed or handed out:

• How do computers improve our lives (make our lives easier or safer)?
• How do you think the world has changed since computers were invented?
• Have you heard your parents or grandparents talk about what it was like before they had these devices?
• Computers now touch every aspect of our lives. What advantages have computers given us?

Engaging Prior Knowledge Ask students: “What components make up a computer? Draw what you think is inside of a computer.” See samples pictures below. Pre is a picture created before they complete the Piper program, Post is a picture created after the Piper experience.

After students draw, tell them to Think, Pair & Share. Think-Pair-Share (TPS) is a versatile cooperative learning activity suitable for any subject and class size. Instructors pose a question, students first THINK independently, then discuss their responses with a nearby peer (PAIR).

Introduce the Piper experience to the students: “When an engineer wants to know how something works, they tend to start inside. You will begin by building a working computer to learn what is inside and how it works. Then, we will learn to code through games and projects on that computer.”

“You’ll be building the computer from parts in a box, including constructing the case, connecting the components, and working as a team to be an engineer and solve problems that you encounter. We were given one very important tool in the box (hold up example): this engineering blueprint. How will you use the blueprint to learn how a computer works?”

Explore

Main Activity (80% of class time) Students should study the blueprint in order to:

• Read exploded diagrams
• Recognize labels on the blueprint
• Name the computer components
• Make the correct connections
• Organize of parts before building
• Use a screwdriver and fastening hardware

Display the blueprint with a projector for when students have questions and direct students to look at their own blueprint:

• How do we read the diagrams on the blueprint?
• What is our plan for building the computer as a group using this blueprint?

Discussion Questions You can display these guiding questions on the board/projector.

• Looking at the blueprint, how do you know the order of steps to build the computer? (Point out the numbers on the blueprint). Why do we follow a sequence? What might happen if we go out of order?
• What clues are you seeing on this blueprint? What is in the center section?
• What does this word inventory mean? (point to word - it is a list of parts) What is it telling us? How do we know how many parts we have of each? (point to number in bottom right of box)
• Are there different sizes of screws? What are the sizes? What is the ratio of the small to the large one? How do you know when to use which one? Do they have a special label?
• What tool do you use to put in a screw?

Explain

Lesson Debrief (Time: 10-15 minutes)

Use Lesson 1.1 Slides to debrief with the teams.

This will help guide students as they complete the first column of their graphic organizer.

Students will be answering the following questions on their graphic organizers:

• “Looking at the blueprint, how do you know the order of steps to build the computer?”
• “List the parts used in the blueprint.”
• “List some differences and similarities between parts.”

Elaborate

Class Discussion (Time: 5-10 minutes) Teacher-led Discussion:

• Role Assignment - Explain that as part of teams there are roles they will each play. Potential role assignment suggestions: Blueprint Architect reads blueprint and helps interpret what it means, Parts Manager tracks and distributes inventory, Engineer builds the unit. (If you have more than 3 team members, create other roles).
• Emphasize that each student in a team should have a chance to play each role every day. Set norms, roles and responsibilities of setup, organization, safety, and cleanup.

Example:
If students are in teams of 2 or 3, then you might have one student be responsible for taking notes as they build while the other student is responsible for ensuring no parts go missing. If 3 students, then 1 might be in charge of directing the group and keeping them focused.

Evaluate

Closing Activity (15-20% of class time)

Students share their roles and responsibilities for each member of their team. (Middle column of visual organizer.)

At the end of this lesson, have student take the Assessment.

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PHASE RESOURCES

Career Connections

Graphic Organizer

Term Glossary

View Full Glossary

Standards Alignment

Beginning with phase 1, all phases will align with standards that apply to all the lessons in the phase. For this phase the CA 2019 K-12 Computer Science Content Standards, 2017 Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) K-12 Computer Science Standards (csteachers.org/standards) and K–12 Computer Science Framework (k12cs.org) informed the development and alignment of the lessons that follow. Use them with daily or weekly agendas and planning. Phase 1 is where the learners first build a Piper kit.

We are excited to be aligned with the following standards.