| Lesson Plan |
| Grade: |
Date: 05/03/2026 |
| Subject: Computer Science |
| Lesson Topic: Understand the instruction set |
Learning Objective/s:
- Describe the three main components of an instruction (opcode, operand(s), addressing mode).
- Explain how fixed‑length instruction formats are encoded in binary.
- Compare RISC and CISC design philosophies and their impact on instruction sets.
- Identify common addressing modes and determine how they retrieve operands.
- Decode a simple 32‑bit binary instruction and translate it into assembly language.
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Materials Needed:
- Projector or interactive whiteboard
- Slide deck showing instruction formats and tables
- Handout with sample instruction set and binary examples
- Laptop with an assembler/simulator IDE
- Worksheets for decoding exercises
- Whiteboard and markers
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Introduction:
Begin with a quick recall question about what a CPU does, then show a short animation of the fetch‑decode‑execute cycle. Explain that today’s success criteria are to read binary instruction fields and understand why different instruction sets exist.
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Lesson Structure:
- Do‑now (5'): Quiz on CPU basics and previous lesson on binary numbers.
- Mini‑lecture (10'): Introduce instruction components and fixed‑length formats with visual slides.
- Guided decoding (12'): Students work in pairs to decode a 32‑bit instruction and write the corresponding assembly.
- RISC vs CISC discussion (8'): Whole‑class comparison using a Venn diagram.
- Addressing‑mode carousel (10'): Interactive matching activity using printed cards.
- Practice programming (10'): Write a short assembly program (load‑add‑store) on the simulator.
- Check for understanding (5'): Exit ticket – one sentence summarising the role of the opcode.
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Conclusion:
Recap the key points: instruction fields, addressing modes, and the RISC/CISC trade‑off. Collect exit tickets and remind students to complete the worksheet at home, which includes additional binary‑to‑assembly translations.
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