At Home

You Are a Computer!

Your child can use their imagination or get as creative as they desire and even dress up to look and act like a computer! Once they assume the role of a computer, their task is to search for information using images and articles from magazines, retrieve data from magazines, copy, modify, delete, and store information in an organized manner as a computer would. You can help your child learn how to find and organize the data into folders, envelopes, or any other system that resembles a computer’s storage. You can also help them modify or copy the information.

Materials

Various magazines, mailers, or info with pictures of articles to clip
Scissors
File folders
Envelopes
File box or another location to neatly sort and store file folders
Glue stick or tape
Printer (if available)
Paper, index cards, or poster board for creating collages or new modified images

Instructions

Gather magazines, flyers, catalogs, mailers, or images and articles from the web.
Ask your child to cut out chosen materials (images, text, etc.)
Ask your child to sort the information they have chosen and explain why they chose the categories for the images and articles.
Determine if an image or body of text can be filed in more than one place. If so, make a copy of the original image to file in the additional folder.
To modify an image, allow your child to create a collage on an index card or sheet of paper to create a new picture that fits a new category.
File all the “data” in the appropriate folders (or envelopes) marked with a proper title.
As you progress through the activity, remind your child to stay in character as a computer. They can use a funny digital voice or move with stiff mechanical movements and verbalize what they are doing. Example: “I am now retrieving data,” “copying data,” “creating a folder,” “modifying data,” “storing data.”
Discuss how these actions work on a home computer, email system, tablet, Google Drive, or whatever platform is most comfortable for them to work with.

Why is this a great thing to do?

Teaches children the basic functions of computers.

Encourages creativity.

Teaches children about sorting, categorizing, and organizing.

Develops observational skills.

Develops analytical thinking skills.

Develops fine motor skills.

Talk About

“How would you retrieve data on a computer?”

“What other things can you “retrieve?” What happens when you retrieve your dog? Or your ball from the next-door neighbor's yard?” (You get it back)

“How many types of storage can you think of? How are these kinds of storage like computer storage?”

“What are some ways to modify things? Cars? Guitars? Words? Clothes?”

“What happens when you don’t organize and store things properly?”

Tips & Extensions

While assembling the mosaic of the Mona Lisa, read a fun biography about Leonardo da Vinci such as the one by Brad Meltzer titled “I Am Leonardo da Vinci.”

Depending on how your child learns best, use as many resources as you can access to explain how the internet and networking works. YouTube, web-based diagrams, and books with visual representations of how digital information is sent can be fun and useful. For example, here is one that has a visual description of how the internet works.

One of the printable projects included a fee, but any image of a work of art (in coloring book format) can be found on the internet and used for this activity

Vocabulary

Retrieve

To gain access to information (data) that is on a hard drive or another area of the computer

Data

Information: facts or statistics collected for reference or analysis

Delete

To remove data from a computer’s memory

Storage

Keeping retrievable data on a computer or another electronic system; memory

Modify

To change or alter something from one form to another by adding or subtracting from it

Search

To look for information by using a search engine (World Wide Web)

Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) Standards

1B-NI-05

Model how information is broken down into smaller pieces, transmitted as packets through multiple devices over networks and the internet, and reassembled at the destination.