Lesson Plan

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Lesson Plan
Grade: Date: 18/01/2026
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.
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
 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.
Lesson Structure:
  1. Do‑now (5'): Quiz on CPU basics and previous lesson on binary numbers.
  2. Mini‑lecture (10'): Introduce instruction components and fixed‑length formats with visual slides.
  3. Guided decoding (12'): Students work in pairs to decode a 32‑bit instruction and write the corresponding assembly.
  4. RISC vs CISC discussion (8'): Whole‑class comparison using a Venn diagram.
  5. Addressing‑mode carousel (10'): Interactive matching activity using printed cards.
  6. Practice programming (10'): Write a short assembly program (load‑add‑store) on the simulator.
  7. Check for understanding (5'): Exit ticket – one sentence summarising the role of the opcode.
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.