Edexcel IAL Computer Science – U2.21 Computational thinking in code – Lesson & Worksheet

Bespoke, fully editable lesson for Pearson Edexcel International A Level Computer Science (2026): U2.21 Computational thinking in code. Slides, worksheet and full answers.

Written for Unit 2 Practical Programming, topic 10 Computational thinking and algorithms (specification 10.1.1, 10.1.2, 10.1.3, 10.1.4). Everything is editable, so you can adapt it to your class.

What’s included

• PowerPoint lesson (14 slides) with teacher notes on every slide
• Student worksheet (Word), ready to print or edit
• Answer sheet (Word) with mark-scheme style answers for every question

U2.21 Computational thinking in code

By the end of the lesson students can:

• Use subprograms to hide how a task is done (abstraction)
• Plan a program with comment-first coding (decomposition)
• Reuse solutions and generalise them with parameters

Worksheet sections: A. Key words; B. Comment-first coding; C. Reuse and generalise; D. Exam-style questions; E. Challenge

Every lesson includes

• Learning goals and a starter question
• Clear explanations, diagrams and worked examples (Python 3 throughout, as the specification requires)
• A quick check and a “your turn” task linked to the worksheet
• Exam-style questions with marks, and an exit ticket

Format

• PowerPoint (.pptx) and Word (.docx), fully editable
• Works in PowerPoint and Google Slides
• Calm, muted sixth-form design, consistent across the whole course

These are independent resources written for the Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Level Computer Science specification (Issue 1, first teaching 2026; IAS XCP01, IAL YCP01). They are not produced or endorsed by Pearson.