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Parts of a Computer

Computing · Year 1–Year 4

Name the parts of a computer, then look inside the box.

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About the parts of a computer

A computer on a desk with six things to name: the screen, the keyboard, the mouse, the speakers, the webcam and the box itself. Tap one and the board writes its name at the side and says what it is for. Nothing is typed and nothing is dragged.

Then the box opens. The second board is the inside of the same computer a class has just named: the processor, the memory, the storage, the fan and the circuit board they all sit on. Press Next at the end of the first board and it carries straight on into the second.

The label is the real word and the picture-word is the line underneath, so the board says “Processor” and then “the computer’s brain”. A label is the vocabulary being taught, and a child copying “the brain” into their book has written down the metaphor rather than the word their scheme uses.

Memory and storage are the pair worth spending a minute on, because they are the two a class mixes up: memory holds what the computer is working on right now and forgets it when the power goes off, and storage keeps your work when the computer is turned off.

The labels are off to begin with, so the picture is a question. Show all puts every name up at once, and Hide takes them off again for testing.

How to use it on your whiteboard

  1. 1Tap something on the desk. Its name appears at the side and what it does is written underneath.
  2. 2Tap it again to take the label off.
  3. 3Tap Next to work along the desk in order, and again at the end to open the box.
  4. 4Press Show all to put every name up at once, and Hide to take them off.
  5. 5Ask the class which parts they could not use the computer without.

Questions

What is the difference between memory and storage?
Memory holds what the computer is working on at this moment and loses it when the power goes off. Storage keeps things when the computer is turned off, which is why your work is still there in the morning. It is the one pair in this tool worth asking a class about twice.
Why does it say “processor” rather than “the brain”?
Because the label is what a class copies down, and “the brain” is a picture rather than a name. The metaphor is the first thing the line underneath says, so both are on the board: the word their scheme uses, and the thing that makes it make sense.
Is it a desktop or a laptop?
A desktop, on purpose. A laptop has the screen, the keyboard, the mouse pad and the speakers built into one object, so there is nothing separate to name. On a desk they are six things a class can point at one at a time.
Are those all the parts inside a computer?
No, and no board could be. These are the five a primary scheme names: the processor, the memory, the storage, the fan and the circuit board. A real computer also has a power supply, ports, cables and often a separate graphics card.