Lesson Plan

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Lesson Plan
Grade: Date: 17/01/2026
Subject: Computer Science
Lesson Topic: Understand the program development life cycle
Learning Objective/s:
  • Describe each stage of the Program Development Life Cycle and its purpose.
  • Explain how to translate a problem statement into a design using pseudocode or a flowchart.
  • Apply testing techniques to verify program correctness and identify defects.
  • Evaluate a completed program against original requirements and suggest maintenance improvements.
Materials Needed:
  • Projector or interactive whiteboard
  • Slide deck summarising PDLC stages
  • Handout with PDLC summary table
  • Computers with an IDE (e.g., Python)
  • Sample problem sheet (average scores)
  • Sticky notes for group brainstorming
 Introduction:
Begin with a quick poll: how many students have written a program that didn’t work as expected? Review that systematic planning prevents such issues. Today we will explore the Program Development Life Cycle, and by the end you will be able to map a real‑world problem through each stage and produce a working solution.
Lesson Structure:
  1. Do‑Now (5’) – Students list common reasons their code fails; share briefly.
  2. Mini‑lecture (10’) – Overview of PDLC stages with slide deck.
  3. Guided activity (15’) – In pairs, complete the PDLC worksheet for the “average scores” problem (problem definition and analysis).
  4. Design sprint (10’) – Groups draft pseudocode/flowchart for the problem; teacher circulates.
  5. Coding demo (10’) – Teacher live‑codes the algorithm in Python, highlighting naming and comments.
  6. Testing practice (10’) – Students create test cases (normal, boundary, error) and run them on the demo program.
  7. Evaluation & reflection (5’) – Discuss how the results meet the original requirements and note any needed revisions.
  8. Exit ticket (5’) – Write one PDLC stage where you anticipate needing the most support next lesson.
Conclusion:
Summarise how each PDLC stage builds on the previous one to produce reliable software. Students complete an exit ticket identifying the stage they found most challenging. For homework, they will document the full PDLC for a simple calculator program.