JSS 1 First Term

Lesson objectives

By the end of the week, learners should be able to:

1. Distinguish hardware from software and give three examples of each.
2. Classify hardware as input, processing, output, storage or communication devices.
3. Distinguish system software from application software, with two examples of each.
4. State five functions of an operating system.
5. Explain the role of peopleware in a computer system.
6. Sort a mixed list of twenty items into hardware and software correctly.

Key vocabulary

• Hardware: the physical parts of a computer that can be touched.
• Software: the programs and instructions that tell the hardware what to do.
• System software: programs that run and manage the computer, such as the operating system and utilities.
• Application software: programs that help the user perform a task, such as a word processor or spreadsheet.
• Operating system (OS): software that manages hardware, files, memory, users and running programs.
• Firmware: instructions stored permanently on a chip, such as the start-up program.
• Utility program: a small tool for maintenance, such as antivirus or disk cleanup.
• Peopleware: the people who design, build, operate and use computer systems.

Common misconceptions

• "Windows is an application." Windows is system software. Microsoft Word is the application.
• "Software is something you can hold, like a CD." The disc is hardware. The program on it is software.
• "RAM stores my files." RAM holds work in progress and is cleared at shutdown. Files belong in secondary storage.

Teacher activities

1. Starter: hold up a keyboard and a printed screenshot of a word processor and ask the class which item is hardware, which is software and why.
2. Present the hardware categories with one example each and a quick physical demonstration: keyboard input, monitor output, flash drive storage.
3. Explain the role of the operating system in managing hardware, files, memory, users and programs, and list its functions on the board as learners name them.
4. Model the classification of four tricky items (printer driver, antivirus, mouse, Windows) with reasons.
5. Set the twenty-item sorting task in pairs, then take answers from pairs who must justify two entries.
6. Close by naming the peopleware roles in the room: learner, teacher, technician and programmer.

Student activities

1. Answer the starter and state their reason.
2. Copy the five hardware categories and add two examples to each.
3. List five operating-system functions in their own words.
4. Complete the twenty-item hardware and software table.
5. Identify the OS on the machine in front of them, or from a screenshot, and name one application installed on it.
6. Write one sentence on what would happen to a school computer laboratory without a technician.

Practical / learning evidence

A two-part chart: Hardware sorted into five categories with two examples each, and Software sorted into system and application with three examples each. Plus a twenty-item classification table with a reason column for the four most difficult items.

Resources and preparation

Keyboard, mouse, flash drive, monitor cable and a printed screenshot of a desktop. If a laboratory is available, let learners check the installed OS and one application. Blank classification tables. Offline route: printed labels and screenshots. The sorting task needs no device. Do not let learners install or uninstall anything.

Assessment for learning

Mark the twenty-item table for accuracy and require a reason for at least four entries. Ask learners to name an OS function without prompting. Watch for "Windows is an application" and correct it with the system and application distinction in the same lesson.

Inclusion and homework

Provide the twenty items in larger print and allow learners to sort them physically into two envelopes. Extend confident learners by asking them to explain why a phone needs an operating system. Homework: list three application programs on any phone or computer you can access and state the task each one performs.