Introduce the concept of spreadsheets by playing a round of battleships with this data handling KS2 lesson plan…
Data handling in computing can often be overlooked, but it’s an important part of the KS1 and 2 curriculum. Furthermore, data handling skills provide so many cross-curricular links, the obvious example being numeracy (coordinates, for example).
This lesson is a fun way to introduce spreadsheet modelling skills to KS2 pupils before they progress to adding data and creating charts.
Data handling KS2 learning objectives
- Understand that a spreadsheet is made up of cells and that each cell has a reference
- Select a specific area of cells
- Adjust the colour and outline of a cell
- Find the correct cell reference when asked
- Type letters into cells
Starter activity
To begin, introduce the concept of the game battleships. Explain that it’s a two-player game where each player guesses where the ships are on the other player’s grid, using coordinates to make their guess.
Give pupils the opportunity to play the game in pairs, using a small five-by-five grid. Write A-E along the top and 1-5 down the side. Children must draw one small boat (contained inside one square) and a larger boat spanning three squares.
They can now take it in turns to call out a coordinate to find their opponent’s ships. Pupils will need to mark their own hits and misses on their grid. The first player to sink all of the enemy ships wins
Adam Foster is an experienced primary school computing teacher and education author. He launched iLearn2.co.uk in 2016 to help teachers and pupils with primary computing skills. Follow Adam on Twitter at @ilearn2primary.
