Studio warm-up: the algorithm before the screen
Ākonga break a familiar task into ordered, unambiguous steps on paper, then keep that written algorithm beside them for the rest of the unit as the thing their Scratch code must faithfully implement.
- Coding Studio move: Written algorithm card, kept and revised across the build
- Evidence it produces: An ordered step list a classmate can follow without asking a question
Lesson 1: What is Computational Thinking? Unplugged Algorithms & Decomposition
Developing computational thinking through Scratch block coding, algorithms, and Te Ao Māori perspectives.
🎯 Ngā Whāinga Akoranga | Learning Intentions
The four pillars of computational thinking (Decomposition, Pattern Recognition, Abstraction, Algorithm Design), and how algorithms provide step-by-step instructions.
Decompose everyday tasks (e.g. making a sandwich, navigating a maze) into discrete steps, write unplugged algorithms, and debug classmate algorithms.
🎥 Media Anchor & Pedagogical Scaffold
Lesson in Action: Algorithms — An Unplugged Activity
Video Clip: Students collaboratively design algorithms to "program" a teacher to perform line-drawing tasks — a real classroom unplugged activity.
🧠 1. Before Viewing (Activate & Predict)
How do computers follow instructions so precisely, and what happens when an instruction is vague or out of order?
👁️ 2. During Viewing (Watch With a Job)
- Watch how students write step-by-step instructions for the teacher to follow — notice what happens when instructions are ambiguous or missing a step.
- What makes a "good" algorithm? Look for: precise action words, correct order, and no assumed knowledge.
- After watching, write your own algorithm for a simple task (e.g. making toast) and swap with a classmate to test it.
🗣️ 3. After Viewing & Kaiako Move (Process & Apply)
Kaiako Move: Conduct 'Robot Teacher' unplugged activity where students write instructions for the teacher to make a jam sandwich without making mess.
Immediate Task: Complete Section 1 of your Digital Tech Logbook: Unplugged Algorithm Design & Debugging Sheet.
⚡ Whakaoho | Do Now: Robot Rules (10 mins)
Paper only today — no devices out. In pairs, take turns being the robot: one writes three instructions for walking from the door to their seat, the other follows them literally, with no common sense allowed. Keep the paper; you will debug those instructions in Activity 1.
📖 Activity 1: Robot Teacher — Debug the Sandwich Algorithm (25 mins)
Write an algorithm for making a jam sandwich, one instruction per strip of paper. The teacher executes the instructions literally — butter in the hand, bread on the floor, jam before bread — and the class debugs the algorithm between runs until the sandwich is actually made. Then decompose one step further: break your worst instruction into two single-verb instructions and renumber the sequence. Nothing is built on a computer today; the logbook sheet is the artefact.
📝 Activity 2: Digital Tech Logbook & Code Reflection (20 mins)
Draft your formal Digital Tech Logbook entry for Lesson 1. Apply exact programming vocabulary (e.g., algorithm, decomposition, precision, ambiguity, instruction, order) to explain your code decisions.
🏫 Kaiako Planning & Pedagogy Notes
Year 7 Curriculum Alignment: Unplugged algorithms and decomposition lay the Computational Thinking foundations (NZC Technology; Te Mātaiaho Phase 3) that Lesson 2's first Scratch scripts build on.