Session 1: Meet Your Computer
At a glance: pupils can name the parts of their desktop or laptop, start it up safely, control the pointer with a mouse or touchpad, and shut it down the proper way. · Time: 90 minutes (adjust the timings if your period is shorter) · Workbook pages: 6
Learning outcomes
By the end of the session, pupils can:
- Explain Input, Process and Output using the corn mill analogy, and tell hardware from software.
- Say whether their station is a desktop or a laptop and point to its main parts.
- Start up their machine in the correct order and shut it down through Start, Power, Shut down.
- Left-click, double-click, right-click and scroll with a mouse or a touchpad.
Before the session
- Check every station powers on. Note which are desktops and which are laptops so pupils can tick the right box on Page 1.
- Switch on the wall sockets and UPS units yourself, but leave the PCs off so pupils can practise the startup sequence.
- Charge the laptops beforehand. Have one or two chargers ready for flat batteries.
- Make sure the Recycle Bin icon shows on each desktop, because Challenge 2 uses it.
- Open the Explore the Computer lab on the projector PC and test it. Keep a copy on a USB stick in case the internet is down.
- Label desks with station numbers (PC-01, PC-02 …) to match the workbook.
Running order
| Time | Activity | Workbook | What the mentor does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–10 min | Welcome and the corn mill | Page 1 | Act out the corn mill: pour corn in (input), grind it (process), meal comes out (output). Then do hardware vs software. |
| 10–20 min | Desktop vs laptop anatomy and laptop care | Page 2 | Walk round and have pupils touch each part. Demonstrate the three golden laptop care rules with a real laptop. |
| 20–30 min | Safe startup | Page 3 | Pupils follow the column for their machine. Check posture while the machines boot. |
| 30–45 min | 3D lab: Explore the Computer | None | Demonstrate on the projector, then pairs try the missions. |
| 45–55 min | Mouse vs touchpad and cursor shapes | Page 4 | Model each action in the reference table. Pupils copy you. |
| 55–70 min | Practical challenges A, B and C | Page 5 | Circulate. Help pupils who run out of desk or pad space. |
| 70–80 min | Safe shutdown and departure checklist | Page 5 | Everyone shuts down together. Check each station against the checklist. |
| 80–90 min | Review questions and sign-off | Page 6 | Go through the answers aloud. Sign off pupils who have shown the evidence. |
Key ideas and how to explain them
- Input, Process, Output: the corn mill. Corn goes into the hopper, the motor grinds it, meal pours into the basin. Ask pupils which computer part matches the hopper, the motor and the basin.
- Hardware vs software: hardware is the physical body, anything you can touch. Software is the invisible instructions.
- Desktop vs laptop: a desktop is four separate units joined by cables. A laptop is all built together. Both have the same core parts, just in different places (see the location table on Page 2).
- Cursor shapes: the pointer tells you what the computer is doing. If the circle is spinning, the computer is busy, so wait and do not keep clicking.
The 3D lab
Use Explore the Computer. On the projector, demonstrate the first four missions: click the monitor (output), click the keyboard (input), click the system unit (where the processing happens, "like the grinding in a corn mill"), then press the orange "Input → Process → Output" button and follow the glowing ball. In pairs, pupils then switch to the Laptop and click its touchpad, and finish with the safe shutdown mission (power on first, then press "Shut down"). Pairs swap at each mission. The lab's shutdown message repeats the workbook's Start, Power, Shut down rule.
Common mistakes and quick fixes
| Pupils often… | Try this |
|---|---|
| Double-click too slowly, so the icon only gets selected | Say "Click-Click!" fast and keep the mouse completely still between the two clicks. |
| Run out of mouse pad and drag the mouse off the desk | Show the lift-and-reset move from Challenge 1. |
| Press the left touchpad corner when they meant to right-click | Point to the colour match on Figure 1.3: right side means the options menu. |
| Hold the power button down or switch off at the wall to finish quickly | Stop them kindly and repeat the four-step software shutdown. |
When things go wrong
- No internet: nothing in this session needs the internet. Run the 3D lab from your USB copy, or skip it and point to the parts on a real machine instead.
- Not enough PCs: put pupils in pairs or threes. One "driver" uses the mouse while the others give instructions, and they swap after each challenge. Make sure every pupil does the startup and shutdown at least once.
- A PC freezes or the power goes: use it to show why the UPS matters: desktops on a UPS stay on long enough for a calm, safe shutdown, and laptops run on battery. When power returns, use the Page 3 troubleshooting box.
Answer key
Vocabulary match-up
- System Unit / Base: the main processing unit containing the computer's electronic "brain".
- Touchpad: the touch-sensitive surface on a laptop that works like a mouse.
- Monitor: displays documents, pictures and the desktop on its screen.
- UPS: the battery backup that stops computers cutting out during power outages.
- Right-Click: the action that opens a secret options menu for the selected item.
Written review questions
- Packed flat in the base, underneath the built-in keyboard.
- Pulling from one corner can crack the hinge. Lift gently from the centre of the rim.
- Lift the mouse into the air, put it back in the middle of the pad and glide again. On a touchpad, lift your finger, place it in the centre and glide again.
Support and stretch
- Needs more support: work one to one on left-click vs double-click using desktop icons only. Let them say each action aloud as they do it.
- Finished early: ask them to find all four cursor shapes on their screen (for example, the I-beam when they point inside a Notepad window) and teach a partner the startup sequence for the other machine type.
Evidence for sign-off
Before you sign, watch the pupil do all of these:
- Name their machine type and point to the screen, the pointer tool and where the "brain" lives.
- Start up their machine in the right order without help.
- Do a left-click, a right-click (then close the menu with Esc) and a double-click.
- Shut down through Start, Power, Shut down, and complete the departure checklist.
Safety and wellbeing
Pupils should never touch plugs, sockets or the UPS wiring. Only adults switch these on or off. Remind pupils to keep drinks away from keyboards and laptops off soft surfaces. Check posture: backs straight, screens tilted back, no hunching. Some pupils will never have used a computer before, so make it clear that mistakes are normal.