Lesson Plan: Computers Today

Date: April 24, 1998

Objectives: The students will

I. compare and contrast computer systems available today.

II. analyze system components to see which system contains the best configuration.

Procedure:

Distribute the article and worksheet entitled "20 Power Desktops." to students who identify themselves as "Veterans" (those who have taken this class earlier in the year). Students identified as "rookies" receive the worksheet and article entitled "A Little Bit About CPUs."

Warm Up Activity (Anticipatory Set): Computer Components

A) Display the transparency that contains these questions for Veterans after they read the whole article. Have students complete the exercise on their own papers.

Place the correct function in the blank next to the component. Some functions are repeated.

B) When students have completed the questions, have them exchange papers and review the answers orally. The correct answers are:

1) F
2) A
3) C
4) F
5) D
6) A
7) E
8) B

Have students double the point values for each correct answer so the total is 16 points possible. Have them place their  score over the number fifteen, allowing for one extra credit point (16/15).

Main Activity (Instructional Input): Article and worksheet: 

Top 20 Power Desktops (Veterans)
A Little About CPUs  (Rookies)

A) Have students complete their respective worksheets.

B) Students must complete their work on their own papers.

C) Collect student work at the end of the period.

Wrap-Up Activity (Closure): You Are The Salesman
 
A) With about 10  minutes remaining, have the veterans choose a sstem they wish to describe to the class. Veterans should agree on which machine to discuss so that no two students have chosen the same system.

B) Have the veterans pretend to "sell" the machine of their choice to the Rookies. Rookies should be encouraged to ask questions of the Veterans as though they were "buying" a machine. They should be allowed to ask the meaning of terms, have the salespeople define terms and describe components, and give their opinions on why they support a specific configuration.

C) When Veterans have completed their sales pitch, have rookies write a short one paragraph description of the system they would buy with a statement saying why.

D) Do not reveal the decisions of the rookies. We'll discuss those topics next week. Collect all student work as well as worksheets.

Evaluation: The lesson will be evaluated by:

I. the accuracy of student's written responses;

II. student's scores on future tests and quizzes.

George Cassutto's Cyberlearning World:
  http://www.cyberlearning-world.com

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