Unit at a glance
10 lessons, 450 minutes of teaching
Scheme of work
The lessons in order
| Ref | Lesson pack | Structure | Worksheet | Quiz | Lab tab |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | The CPU and Von Neumann architecture Every program you run is carried out by the central processing unit, one tiny instruction at a time. | Rally Robin | 6 Q, 15 marks | 6 MCQ | tab 1 |
| 3.1 | The fetch-decode-execute cycle A CPU does one simple thing billions of times a second: it fetches an instruction from memory, works out what it means and carries it out. | Think-Pair-Share | 6 Q, 15 marks | 6 MCQ | tab 2 |
| 3.1 | Cores, cache and clock speed Two laptops can have very different speeds even with the same amount of RAM. | Mix-Pair-Share | 6 Q, 14 marks | 6 MCQ | tab 3 |
| 3.1 | Instruction sets and embedded systems A CPU only understands a fixed list of machine code commands: its instruction set. | Rally Robin | 6 Q, 14 marks | 6 MCQ | tab 4 |
| 3.2 | Input and output devices A computer is useless if it cannot take in data or show what it has done. | Corners | 6 Q, 16 marks | 6 MCQ | none |
| 3.2 | Sensors and how they are used A sensor lets a computer notice what is happening around it: how hot, how bright, how wet or how close. | Frayer Model | 6 Q, 16 marks | 6 MCQ | none |
| 3.3 | Primary storage: RAM and ROM Primary storage is the memory the CPU can use directly. | Connect-Extend-Challenge | 6 Q, 16 marks | 6 MCQ | none |
| 3.3 | Magnetic, optical and solid-state storage Your photos, games and homework must survive when the computer is switched off, so they live in secondary storage. | Anticipation / Reaction Guide | 6 Q, 17 marks | 6 MCQ | none |
| 3.3 | Virtual memory and cloud storage Open enough browser tabs and your RAM fills up, yet the computer keeps going. | Cooperative Concept Mapping | 6 Q, 16 marks | 6 MCQ | none |
| 3.4 | NICs, MAC addresses, IP addresses and routers To join a network a computer needs the right hardware and two kinds of address. | Think-Pair-Share | 6 Q, 17 marks | 6 MCQ | tab 3 |
Each pack holds the plan, worksheet and quiz for its lesson. Teach the rows in order; the lab tabs match the student lessons.
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