Cover lesson · Computer Science · Year 8 · Intermediate
LNF: Literacy → Reading → Reading strategies
Name: Class: Date:
What this practises: reading strategies in Computer Science. Pupils skim a client’s email for gist, scan it for details, read it closely to separate background from requirements, and turn it into a numbered checklist and questions for the client. This builds towards GCSE Computer Science Unit 2, Section 2.1.1 Investigation, where learners “analyse a set of requirements” from a scenario. No programming is needed.
Print: this sheet, one per pupil, and the stimulus sheet “Ysgol Cwm Ogwr: the canteen ordering app brief”, one per pupil if possible, because pupils write on it. Pupils need two colours of highlighter or pen. No computers are needed.
Run: 5 min Step 1, skim (time the 2 minutes) · 8 min Step 2, scan · 12 min Step 3, close reading · 8 min Step 4, inputs, processes and outputs · 10 min Step 5, questions for the client · 9 min Step 6, the checklist · 3 min success criteria. Total 55 minutes.
Collect: this sheet and the annotated stimulus. The worked example has every answer and a model checklist.
Before a programmer writes any code, they read the client’s brief very carefully. If they miss one requirement, the program is wrong, however good the code is. Today you will read a brief from a canteen manager in three different ways, then turn it into a checklist a programmer could work from.
Skimming means reading quickly for the main idea. Read only the subject line and the first sentence of each paragraph. Your teacher will time 2 minutes. Then turn the sheet over and answer from memory.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Who is the client? | |
| What does she want? | |
| What problem will it solve? |
Scanning means running your eyes over the text to find one fact, like looking up a name in a list. Write the answer and the paragraph number (P1 to P8) where you found it.
| Question | Answer | Paragraph |
|---|---|---|
| How many pupils are in the school? | ||
| What time do orders close? | ||
| How many extras can one pupil order? | ||
| What is the most a free school meals deal can be worth? | ||
| When does the kitchen need its list? | ||
| When should the first version be ready? |
Now read every word of the email. On the stimulus sheet, highlight in one colour every requirement (something the app must, should or could do). Highlight in another colour the background (facts that explain the problem). Look for the words must, should and would be nice: they tell you how important each requirement is.
Sort the requirements into the table. Write the paragraph number after each one.
| Must (the app is useless without it) | Should (important, but the app still works) | Could (nice extra) |
|---|---|---|
(b) Write down two pieces of background that are not requirements. Why does the programmer still need to know them?
Use the useful words at the bottom of the stimulus. Find at least 2 of each in the brief.
| Inputs | Processes | Outputs |
|---|---|---|
Some parts of the brief are vague, which means a programmer could read them in more than one way. For example, “quick”: how quick?
(a) Find two more vague words or phrases. Write them here with the paragraph number.
(b) Write three questions a programmer would need to ask Mrs Lloyd before starting. Each question should be about something the brief does not tell you.
(c) Read what pupils said to the school council. Which comment gives the programmer a new idea that is not in the email? What is the idea?
Write a numbered checklist of at least 8 requirements. Write each one as a short sentence starting “The app…”. Each one must be something a tester could check with a yes or no. Put the must requirements first.