Ada Lovelace Lesson Plan

Learning Objectives: To develop and practise academic reading skills: scanning, transferring information to a timeline, identifying connections Skill/Grammar: Reading, Vocabulary Preparation Time: 0 minutes Completion Time: 45 minutes Age/Level: Upper Secondary/Intermediate Resources: Ada Lovelace Worksheet, Ada Lovelace Answer Key

Warm-Up (5 minutes)
1 Ask students to describe the first computer they ever used and say how it is different from ones we use today. Then ask what computers had looked like before that. Students should pay particular attention to size in their descriptions of the first computers. Also elicit that the early computers were not personal computers. 2 Allow students to discuss in groups and make guesses, especially in relation to the dates.

Reading (20 minutes)

3
Key: 3 a Charles Babbage, b 1837, c early 1940s, d Ada Lovelace, e 1843

To encourage scanning, give students a time limit of three minutes to complete this activity.

Elicit that dates are much easier to scan for than ages because numbers stand out against the text. Point out that the dates are not in chronological order in the text but that a timeline must be. Ask them what kind of reading they should be doing when they are creating the timeline. Elicit that they have scanned for the date but need to read the sentences around the date more carefully.

Key: 4 1815 Ada was born in London 1816 Adas parents separated 1824 Adas father died 1833 Ada met Charles Babbage 1837 Babbage began work on plans for the Analytical Engine 1843 Ada published a description of the Analytical Engine 1843 Ada developed a computer programming language 1852 Ada died

Author: Joanne Yanova r: Jones. Katie Pearson

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Ada Lovelace Lesson Plan

1871 Babbage died Early 1940s first computers were built 1980s Programming language developed for the US Department of Defence and named after Ada.

5
Key: 5

Students will be able to explain many of the connections from their timelines.
Composing music Ada predicted that computers would be able to compose music Mathematics Adas mum taught her to love mathematics Charles Babbage Ada wrote a description of the Analytical Engine; she understood the importance of his invention; she wrote a language which could be used to program his Analytical Engine. The English poet, Lord Byron He was Adas father The US Department of Defence They use a programming language named after her Modern computers she understood that computers would one day have the power to change the world

Vocabulary (10 minutes)

7 Students use the context and their knowledge of word parts to put the words in the correct columns. Point out that ing is not always the sign of an adjective. Program is not the American spelling of programme TV programmes in the UK have a different spelling, but computer programs are spelt the same in the UK and the US. Elicit that a programmer is a person but that a calculator is not. Discuss how the -able suffix gives the meaning of something which can be. Elicit other words with this ending: breakable, washable, understandable, reasonable, etc. Elicit that -ific indicates a word is an adjective. Elicit other words with this ending, e.g. horrific, pacific, terrific, specific.
Key: 7 noun programmer computing computer science verb program calculate adjective programming programmable calculating scientific

Author: Joanne Yanova r: Jones. Katie Pearson

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Ada Lovelace Lesson Plan

Closure (10 minutes)
8 In groups, students brainstorm a list of things we can do with computers, or things we can do more easily or quickly with them. Encourage students to think of positive things as well as negative ones. Create a class list then ask students to classify the things in the list as positive or negative. Elicit whether the impact on the way we live has been positive or negative.

Author: Joanne Yanova r: Jones. Katie Pearson

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