Computer Guts

Name: Eddie Peloke

School: John Fuller Elementary

Grade level: Fifth Grade

Work phone number and e-mail: 356-5381 e_peloke@unixserv.kennett.kl2.nh.us

Lesson Description: This lesson will attempt to help the students develop a working perspective and understanding of the internal system of a computer and the related hardware systems. As a result of this lesson, students will have a working understanding of the computer components, a common language for identifying components, and an ability to clearly articulate the functioning of the computer as a machine.

Subject Area(s): Technology, Mathematics, Language Arts

Standards Addressed:

Language Arts:

Standard 2-Students will demonstrate the interest and ability to write effectively for a variety of purposes and audiences.

Standard 3- Students will demonstrate the interest and ability to speak purposefully and articulately, as well as listen and view attentively and critically.

Standard 5- Students will demonstrate competence in using the interactive language process of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing, to gather and organize information in a variety of subject areas.

Mathematics:

Standard la Students will use problem-solving strategies to investigate and understand increasingly complex mathematical content.

Standard lb Students will use mathematical reasoning.

Standard 2a Students will communicate their understanding of mathematics.

Standard 2b Students will recognize, develop, and explore mathematical connections.

Standard 3c Students will compute.

Standard 3d Students will use mental computation and estimation skills and strategies and know when it is appropriate to do so.

Standard 8a Students will use a variety of tools from discrete mathematics to explore and model real-world situations.

Resources Needed: Complete computer system

various loose computer parts

Part I
The Classroom Computer

1. Ask the students to take out a sheet of paper and write a few paragraphs or draw a diagram explaining how they think a computer works. Ask them to tell what is inside a computer that makes it work that way.

2. Ask the students to share paragraphs and diagrams and discuss with the class which ones they think are correct and why.

3. After the class has discussed how they think a computer works, explain to them the various parts of a computer and how they all work together. If you feel comfortable with your computer, you may want to open your classroom computer and show them all of the parts.

4. Once the students have an idea of how the classroom computer works, pass around some of the extra loose parts and let the students "investigate" them with their eyes and hands.

5. When you feel the students have a good understanding of the classroom computer, ask them to write a few paragraphs of how a computer works. Once they are finished you can ask them to compare this writing to their earlier piece to see what they got right and what misconceptions they might have had.

6. Tell the students to collect various computer advertisements that they see over the next few days. Have them compare the different computers listing the different components of each. After they have compared the various prices, ask them to choose which computer is the best for the price. Have them explain their reasoning.

7. Once the students have learned how much a new computer will cost them, allow them to visit websites such as pcconnection.com and computershopper.com. Ask them to find all the individual pieces they would need to build their own computer. Have them add the various prices of each part and decide if it is better to build your own, or buy one already built. Remind them to take into account warranties that might come with pre-build computers.

Part 2
The School Network

1. If possible, walk your students down to your school's network center. The heart of your schools network may be in the computer lab, supply closet, etc.

2. Show the students the various wires leading into and out of the network center. Explain to your students that these are the lines the classroom computers us to access to school "network center"

pencils
paper
tags
poster board

Teacher Preparation:
Time: 30-60 minutes.

Become familiar and comfortable with your computer and its parts. Use tags to label the various parts of your classroom computer. Set out loose computer parts and if possible tools to allow the students to take apart the parts.

Background information: A computer consists of many different parts. One of the main parts is called the motherboard. The motherboard is the "brain" of the computer. It is what all of the other parts plug into. The motherboard contains various switches which are used by the manufacturer or computer builder to tell the motherboard what type of computer processor is being used on that particular computer. The motherboard then acts as the brain by taking in information from the user via input devices such as the keyboard and mouse and sending this information to where it needs to go. The motherboard then decides if the information is displayed on the monitor, stored, printed, sent through the modem etc. The motherboard is where you will find the processor which is covered by a cooling fan. Not all computers have the same parts but most of them will have these basic elements:

*These are just some of the internal parts. If needed you could review the monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

These are just some of the parts of a computer. You may wish to also discuss these parts:

DVD Drive
Tape Drive
USB port
Video Card
Zip Drive

Student Directions: