This highly interactive lesson that requires the pupils to work in teams and use computational thinking skills to solve a range of puzzles. This activity perfect for pupils about to learn Python programming and you want to show the importance of computational thinking skills. **This resource was shortlisted for the Teach Secondary Awards, a very rare honor for an independent resource creator. ** Your class need to work together to escape a locked laboratory in a spaceship and start the engines to avoid being sucked into a black hole by completing different challenges which will use a variety of computational thinking skills. They are given most of the lesson to work together and at the end of the lesson, time is dedicated to discuss the computational thinking skills they used during the activity. This gives them a practical application for the computational thinking theory rather than using the tired old “making a jam sandwich” or “getting up in the morning” scenarios which are commonly used. This activity is not a handout driven escape room, it involves using an interactive PowerPoint presentation and physical tasks that moves away from pupils filling in yet another worksheet, to working together in a team to solve interesting and challenging puzzles. Pupils enjoy the lesson and are fully engaged whilst developing the key computational thinking skills of decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction and algorithms. Please note: This lesson does require teachers to prepare some props beforehand and it is highly recommended the teacher reads through the teacher’s instructions and creates the props well before they want to use the lesson. Also please note that this resource does not work with Google Slides. Written primarily for key stage 3, this activity can be used in a variety of situations: Introducing pupils to computational thinking skills before they are introduced to a text-based programming language Used as an end of term fun lesson which still has an education element A fun activity to use on a year 6 transition day Allow your new year 7s to get to know their new classmates and grow team sprit Helping a reluctant class see the benefits of learning programming skills . What are you waiting for? Download this interactive escape room NOW, to help students learn about computational thinking skills in a fun and memorable lesson they will love and remember. You may also be interested in my Computational Thinking Worksheets which you can buy from here.

OCR ALevel/AS Level Computer Science (KS5) 6 Lessons that cover the beginning of Unit 2.1 Elements of Computational Thinking: 2.1.1 Thinking Abstractly 2.1.2 Thinking Ahead 2.1.1 Thinking Abstractly Lessons: Lesson 1 - The nature of abstraction & The need for abstraction Lesson 2 - The difference between an abstraction and reality & Devise an abstract model for a variety of situations 2.1.2 Thinking Ahead Lessons: Lesson 1 - Identify the inputs and outputs for a given situation (including those in descriptive, diagrammatical and pseudocode contexts) Lesson 2 - The need for reusable program components Lesson 3 - Determine the preconditions for devising a solution to a problem & The nature, benefits and drawbacks of caching Lesson 4 - Create an abstract model for a text-based game, Use your abstract model to produce success criteria, Develop your game using a range of programming techniques, Test & Evaluate the success of your program against your success criteria Lessons include: Teacher Slides Powerpoint Student Worksheets (Word Documents or Powerpoint) Student Exam Questions (Word Documents or Powerpoint) Starter Activities & Plenary Questions (Powerpoint or Word Documents)

Based around an introduction to algorithms, a total of 5 lessons are included in this package. Aimed at GCSE Computer Science, the 5 lessons are aimed at promoting an introduction to algorithms using decomposition. Every lesson comes complete with a teachers PowerPoint, iterative starter activities, lesson resources and an ‘Independent Learning Time’ section (this is aimed at allowing students to work independently to consolidate their understanding). Answers to flowchart and pseudo code tasks are included on the PowerPoints. Lesson 1: Introduction to algorithms using flowcharts, starts off with basic flowcharts based on easy scenarios and builds up to looking back at sound storage and representing this process as a flowchart. Lesson 2: Looking at more complex flowcharts to represent algorithms, focusing more on selection and iteration within algorithms. Independent Learning Activity includes exam questions for students to decompose problems and represent as flowcharts. Lesson 3: The focus of this lesson is to allow students time to work independently at solving complex algorithms as flowcharts. Using sequencing, selection and iteration a range of exam questions are included. Class activities are included beforehand to recap the learning of flowcharts. Lesson 4: An introduction to pseudo code - links the understanding of what pseudo code is to Python code which students may have come across beforehand from their NEA. Different examples of how code should be constructed are included. Several flowcharts are included on the PowerPoint which students then need to turn into pseudo code. Sequencing and selection are focused upon in this lesson. Lesson 5: Developing students understanding further using sequencing, selection and iteration. WHILE loops are demonstrated of how to construct a loop in pseudo code. Students will spend their time working on problems and trying to decompose these into pseudo code. Extension questions are included for the HAL students / students needing extra or more challenging work.

Complete collection of Scheme of work, lesson plans, Power Points and homework for Year 7 introduction to computing and ICT. Includes: Topic 1 - Introduction & using computers safely and effectively • 7 Lessons, Power Points, Assessment, Homework and Pupil Progress Diary Topic 2 - Introduction to coding through Scratch • 5 Lessons (can be stretched depending on pupil progress), Power Points, Assessment, homework and Pupil Progress Diary Topic 3 - Spreadsheet Modelling • 6 Lessons, Power Points, Assessment, homework and Pupil Progress Diary All lessons are ready to teach and require minimal, if any preparation (may need tweaking to work with your school system) - everything is provided! Pack includes a scheme of work with lesson objectives and lesson overview and how these lessons fit into and satisfy the new National Curriculum for Computing. Ideal resource for non-specialists to follow, or for a specialist to pick up and run with. Feel free to adapt the resources as needed. All lessons are ready to teach. Year 8 and Year 9 packs also available, as is a bundle of all three.

This pack consists of 37 editable homework/classwork activities that can be used to support your delivery of the Computer Science GCSE course. In addition, the homework bundle also contains a suggested mark scheme for each activity. Unit 1.1 · Components of a CPU · CPU Performance · Embedded Systems Unit 1.2 · ROM & RAM · Flash Memory & Virtual Memory · Data Capacity · Storage Comparison · Data Storage · Compression Unit 1.3 · LANS & WANS · Wired & Wireless Networks · Star & Mesh Topology · Network Protocols · The Concept of Layers Unit 1.4 · Malware · Network Threats · Network Vulnerabilities Unit 1.5 · Operating Systems · Utility Software Unit 1.6 · The Impacts of Technology · The Digital Divide · Legislation + Proprietary and Open Source Software Unit 2.1 · Decomposition & Abstraction · Flowcharts & Programs · Sorting Data · Sorting & Searching Programs Unit 2.2 · Selection · Iteration · Arrays (Lists) · Functions Unit 2.3 · Authentication · Maintainability · Testing Unit 2.4 · Boolean Logic & Truth Tables · Logic Gates Unit 2.5 · Programming Languages · IDEs

28 page revision booklet for the Pearson Edxecel GCSE Computer Science 1CP2 (2020) Paper : Principles of Computer Science. Provided electronically to allow booklet printing or electronic distribution via a VLE, Teams, or similar platforms to allow online learning and independent revision. Covers all specification areas including: Topic 1: Computational thinking. Understanding of what algorithms are, what they are used for and how they work. The ability to follow, amend and write algorithms; the ability to construct truth tables. Topic 2: Data. Understanding of binary, data representation, data storage and compression. Topic 3: Computers. Understanding of hardware and software components of computer systems and characteristics of programming languages. Topic 4: Networks. Understanding of computer networks and network security. Topic 5: Issues and impact. Awareness of emerging trends in computing technologies, and the impact of computing on individuals, society and the environment, including ethical, legal and ownership issues. Check out my shop for GCSE Edexcel, OCR and AQA specification resources along with other computing products

This unit of work introduces students within KS3 to the concepts of computational thinking by helping Rob-bot the robot make a jam sandwich. Through the activity, students will learn about decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction and algorithm design (through both basic flowcharts and pseudo code). They will also lean about the importance of debugging their algorithms. The duration of this work usually takes between 2-3 hours to complete, so is perfect as an introductory unit to computational thinking and programming. ***Please leave a review!***

Develop your students problem solving skills with this resource! Learn about and break codes used across the ages including: Caeser Cypher Polybius Square Pigpen Cypher Braille Morse Code Also learn about how cryptanalyst Alan Turing shortened the length of World War II and saved millions of lives in the process! Includes both student PowerPoint work book and Teacher solutions. Final consolidation exercise includes differentiated challenges!

A full set of revision mind maps covering all of the key content for the AQA GCSE Computer Science course. Large parts of this also apply to other exam board specifications. Features 90 separate slides covering topics such as algorithms, logic, binary representation, hexadecimal, encryption/huffman coding/runtime encoding, hardware/software, ethics etc.

Get your students into the right mindset from the off with these fantastic starter activities! With 20 different puzzles for your students to try and solve, there are enough activities to cover a full 8 week term! This resource includes a range of puzzles such as code breaking, symbol grids, number pyramids, understanding algorithms and many more! Solutions included!

A3 2.1 Elements of Computational Thinking Knowledge Organiser Suitable for OCR A-Level Computer Science H446. Includes relevant information on all parts of the specification including: 2.1.1 Thinking abstractly 2.1.2 Thinking ahead 2.1.3 Thinking procedurally 2.1.4 Thinking logically 2.1.5 Thinking concurrently Can be used as a revision tool, as part of a lesson, or as a differentiated resource. Suitable for printing or use online with Teams, Google Classroom and VLEs. Can also be scaled up or down to A4/A2/A1 when printing. Please click here to visit my shop for more revision and teaching resources for AQA, OCR and Pearson Edexcel at both GCSE and A-Level.

This Unit of Work includes 10 lessons worth of Microbit programming skills and knowledge. Each lesson has a PowerPoint presentation to go with it, with all other resources also included as Word documents. All resources including PowerPoints are numbered to make it easier to follow the unit, and there is also a teacher’s guide included. The Unit begins with an introduction to Microbits, and concludes with revision, end of unit test and DIRT reflection lesson. Topics included are Variables, Selection, Iteration, and various programming challenges in the form of games that the students can create. It also includes the Microbit Board Game project that takes 2 lessons, which is also available from the Programmer’s Paradise shop on TES Resources. A homework is also included, where the students can create a program using printed code blocks, cut and stick them onto the other half of the paper. This can be used after the first couple of lessons, or later if they are less familiar with the concepts.

Covers all of the items from the specification in section 2.1 computatonal thinking,abstracton, decompositon, algorithmic thinking, standard searching algorithms, binary search, linear search, standard sortng algorithms, bubble sort, merge sort, inserton sort,how to produce algorithms using, pseudocode, using flow diagrams,interpret, correct or complete algorithms. And Trace Tables. Workbook includes coded python activities. I have added the code for these, and answers to questions, into the notes sections at the bottom of the slides, you may want to remove these before sharing with students. I could do with some feedback.

Students decode definitions related to computational thinking: Algorithms, Patterns, Decomposition and Abstraction.

Activities to enable students to develop and demonstrate an understanding of Decomposition, Pattern Recognition and Abstraction to solve problems.

A simple poster to help explain the four concepts of Computational Thinking: Decomposition, Pattern Recognition, Abstraction and Algorithm Design! Computational Thinking is a skill set that can be used across the curriculum, not just within computer science! The logical approach to solving a problem means that it’s application can be used to develop and improve students ability to deal with difficult problems in a more rational way. The aim of my posters is to make you realise that many of the brilliant tasks that teachers facilitate week in, week out actually include computational thinking. It’s just a matter of making it more explicit!