New ReviewIntroduce young computer scientists to the field of artificial intelligence with a short video that provides an overview of the three types of IA: narrow intelligence (weak AI), artificial general intelligence (strong AI), and artificial...

Let the resource quench your thirst for knowledge, like a vending machine that dispenses drinks. Future computer scientists develop an algorithm to identify the fewest number of coins that a vending machine could use in creating change....

In what direction is our wired world going? Scholars prepare to interact with the technology of the future using a video from a series that focuses on media literacy. The narrator proposes viewers keep a skeptical mind as they interact...

And we're on the road to learning! An engaging instructional activity asks learners to apply three different algorithms to calculate the shortest route for a road trip. Using the cost of gas as a motivator, scholars determine the best...

Charge it! Young scholars learn the mathematics associated with UPC codes, credit card numbers, and ISBN numbers. They apply algorithms and algebraic equations to verify the validity of these codes.

100 floors, 100 Faberge eggs, one thief, and one escape vehicle. Young logicians put together what they know to determine how a thief can safely drop a fragile Faberge egg out a window of the city museum into her waiting truck and escape.

Like all other sciences, computer science has many branches. An informative video provides a brief overview of computer science. It breaks the discipline into three major areas: theoretical computer science, computer engineering, and...

Chances are you benefit from computer algorithms every day. Viewers learn about algorithms and how they can be useful in sorting. They watch as the narrator sets up and uses a selection sort, a merge sort, and a graph search algorithm in...

Two methods are always better than one! The eighth installment in this series asks pupils to convert decimals to fractions using two approaches. Individuals first use the more traditional approach of long division and then use reverse...

Scholars use a playing card activity to help them develop a program to find the minimum value of a list. They learn to use for loops to write code that will process lists. 

Combat crime with computers. The lesson teaches young computer scientists about decision trees and how to use them. They consider telecommunications subscriptions and how decision trees can help detect fraud.

Learn how to find things quickly and efficiently on the Internet. The lesson teaches how search engines work and how to efficiently use them. It includes an activity where groups develop search queries to find sites using given criteria.

Solve a maze ... from a robot's point of view. In the lesson, your scholars build a small, simple maze from cardboard and then find a route from the start point to the finish point. They write an algorithmic process that a robot could...

Who knew sorting could be so much fun? Scholars participate in a sorting activity where they develop questions to place a list of numbers in order. They consider how these questions can be used as an algorithm.

Cooperation is important in human relationships and in computing. Scholars learn the meaning of concurrency and take part in an activity simulating concurrency in computing. They also perform simulations to solve the dining philosophers...

Use hosiery to teach computer science. Scholars use socks to develop a set of algorithms. They find ways to find a particular sock from a set and ways to sort socks. Finally, they use their algorithms to consider time complexity.

Which search engine is best? The last lab in a unit of five leads the class to investigate search engines. Working in groups, individuals read and discuss articles related to searching the Internet. Pupils develop suggestions that would...

Introduces the class to the idea of searching a list by building a script. Learners modify a guessing game script that will find a number in a list. 

The final performance task for the unit requires class members to utilize what they have learned to create a personal digital scene. Groups work together to develop a scene and then, using top-down design, break the scene into manageable...

The pupils practice modifying parameters in a function to add variations to their under the sea scene. The resource also introduces random number functions that alter the scene every time the program runs.

Let me break it down for you! Introduce your class to a way of breaking up a complicated task into its component pieces. Individuals draw a complex figure using JavaScript and then break it down to help determine the functions needed in...

LEGO see if you can recreate my design. Individuals build an arrangement from LEGO blocks and write directions for someone else to follow in order to recreate the arrangement. Pairs then swap directions and try to replicate the original...

This optional lesson plan introduces the class to the idea of a minimum spanning tree. The activity focuses on determining an algorithm that will find the most efficient path in a network to transfer data.