iCompute
PRI M ARY COMPUTING CURRICUL UM
iData
Binary Beads
One hour activity adapted for The Hour of Code
www.icompute-uk.com
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Ages%7/11%
Resources:%Resource1;%Worksheet1;%Craft%beads%in%three%colours;%necklace%string%(for%threading%beads);%scissors%
Objectives%%
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To!know!that!computers!count!using!(0!and!1)!!
To!understand!that!0!represents!an!‘off’!state!
and!1!represents!an!‘on’!state!
Success%Criteria%
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Vocabulary%
The!children!decode!and!count!in!binary!from!1!to!26!!
binary;!series;!base;!on;!off!
The!children!assign!a!letter!of!the!alphabet!to!a!5,bit!binary!
number!corresponding!to!its!position!in!the!alphabet!and!
produce!a!bracelet!representing!their!name!
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Step%1%
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Talk!about!why!humans!count!using!tens.!!Ask!whether!the!children!think!it!has!anything!to!do!with!having!10!fingers!
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Tell!the!children!it’s!a!pretty!powerful!way!of!doing!things!because!we!can!still!represent!any!number!or!letter!we!want!to!using!only!0’s!
and!1’s.!
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Ask!five!children!to!come!to!the!front!of!the!class!and!act!as!‘base!values’!and!give!them!each!a!card!(Resource1)!representing!their!value.!!
Ask!the!children!what!they!notice!about!the!numbers!(they!are!each!the!double!of!the!one!before).!What!would!come!next?!
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Explain!that!child1!acts!as!number!1;!child2!as!2;!child3!as!4!and!so!on.!!All!children!are!standing!at!the!start!and!are!given!a!number!card!!
(e.g.!2),!(Resource1).!!All!the!other!children!must!sit!down!(they!are!zero)+leaving!only!the!child!holding!‘2’!standing.!
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Call!out!the!numbers!1,!then!2,!then!4!etc!with!children!standing!up!if!it’s!their!number!and!sitting!down!if!it!is!not!
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Expand!to!getting!the!class!to!call!out!a!mathematical!operation!with!the!base!children!performing!the!calculation!and!representing!their!
answer!in!binary!!(e.g.!28,13)!
Explain!that!computers!do!not!use!10!for!counting!they!use!a!system!called!binary!which!only!uses!0!and!1!as!computers!count!using!the!
principle!of!something!being!‘on’!or!‘off’.!!They!use!electronic!circuits!and!this!(on/off!state)!corresponds!to!an!electrical!current!being!
present!or!not!(1=on;!0=off)!
Invite!the!rest!of!the!class!to!call!out!some!other!numbers!(not!greater!than!31)!and!the!‘base’!children!add!up!their!values!and!stand!
up/sit!down!accordingly!to!represent!the!number!in!binary!form!
www.icompute,uk.com!
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Step%2%
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Display!Worksheet.1!p.1!on!the!IWB!and!work!through!the!first!few!to!encode!the!letters!of!your!own!name!in!
binary!!
Model!how!to!thread!a!particular!colour!bead!(eg.!red!to!represent!0,!black!for!1)!for!the!first!letter!of!your!name!
and!then!clear!bead!to!mark!a!space!between!letters!!(the!seperator!for!5,bit!encloding)!
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Differentiation%
Core%
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Step%3%
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Chn!use!the!alphabet!chart!(Worksheet1!p2)!to!encode!their!first!
Easier: Chn could encode their initials only
names!into!binary!independently!!
The!children!then!use!bead!materials!and!necklace!string!to!
Harder: Children could make a binary necklace encoding, both,
their first name and surname
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construct!a!binary!bracelet!that!represents!their!name.!
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www.icompute,uk.com!
Notes+
Bit+=+1+(0+or+1)+
Byte+=+8+bits+
Kilobyte+(KB)+=+1024+bytes+
Megabyte+(MB)+=+1024+Kilobytes+
Gigabyte+(GB)+=+1024+MB+
Terabyte+(TB)+=+1024+GB+
Extension%
Write a word in binary using the alphabet key (Worksheet1 p1) eg. (00110 00001 00010 for FAB) on the board and challenge the
children to decode the secret message
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Name:&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
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Binary Beads
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B!
0!
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1!
0!
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3!
C!
0!
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1!
1!
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4!
D!
0!
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1!
0!
0!
5!
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0!
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1!
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0!
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7!
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11! K!
0!
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0!
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13! M!
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14! N!
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15! O!
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17! Q!
1!
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18! R!
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21! U!
1!
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22! V!
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23! W!
1!
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24! X!
1!
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Binary Beads
Date:&
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