Lesson Plan

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Lesson Plan
Grade: 10 Date: 25/02/2026
Subject: Information Communication Technology ICT
Lesson Topic: Be able to use formulae and functions to perform calculations at run time including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, sum, average, maximum, minimum, count
Learning Objective/s:
  • Describe the purpose of runtime calculations in a database.
  • Apply arithmetic operators to create calculated (formula) fields.
  • Use aggregate functions (SUM, AVG, MAX, MIN, COUNT) to summarise data.
  • Identify common pitfalls such as division by zero and NULL handling.
  • Construct a query that combines arithmetic with an aggregate function.
Materials Needed:
  • Projector and screen
  • Computer with database software (e.g., Access or MySQL Workbench)
  • Sample sales database file
  • Worksheet with practice queries
  • Whiteboard and markers
  • Handout of function cheat‑sheet
 Introduction:
Begin with a quick real‑world scenario: a shop owner wants to see today’s total sales without manually adding each receipt. Review that students already know basic arithmetic and have created simple tables in previous lessons. Explain that by the end of the lesson they will be able to build calculated fields and use aggregate functions to get up‑to‑date totals, averages and counts.
Lesson Structure:
  1. Do‑now (5'): Students calculate total sales from a printed list using a calculator – checks prior knowledge.
  2. Mini‑lecture (10'): Explain formula fields, show syntax and a live demo of a calculated Total field.
  3. Guided practice (15'): Students create the Total field in the sample sales table and test with different data entries.
  4. Aggregate functions workshop (15'): Demonstrate SUM, AVG, MAX, MIN, COUNT; students run queries and interpret the results.
  5. Pitfalls & quick‑fire quiz (10'): Discuss division by zero, NULL values, and data‑type issues; finish with a Kahoot exit‑ticket.
Conclusion:
Summarise how calculated fields and aggregate functions provide dynamic insights and reduce errors. Ask each student to write one exit‑ticket query that returns the total sales for a new dataset. For homework, students will design a small database containing at least two calculated fields and three aggregate queries.