Ada Lovelace Lesson Plan

Ada Lovelace Lesson Plan

Author: Joanne Yanova Page 1 of 33r: Katie Jones.© Pearson PHOTOCOPIABLE

Preparation Time: 0 minutesLearning Objectives: To develop and practise

academic reading skills: scanning, transferring

information to a timeline, identifying connections Completion Time: 45 minutes

Skill/Grammar: Reading, Vocabulary Age/Level: Upper

Secondary/Intermediate

Resources: Ada Lovelace Worksheet, Ada Lovelace Answer Key

Warm-Up (5 minutes) 1 Ask students to describe the first computer they ever used and say how it is different

from ones we use today. Then ask what computers had looked like before that.

Students should pay particular attention to size in their descriptions of the first

computers. Also elicit that the early computers were not personal computers.

2 Allow students to discuss in groups and make guesses, especially in relation to the

dates.

Reading (20 minutes) 3 To encourage scanning, give students a time limit of three minutes to complete this

activity.Key:

3 a Charles Babbage, b 1837, c early 1940s, d Ada Lovelace, e 1843

4 Elicit that dates are much easier to scan for than ages because numbers stand out

against the text. Point out that the dates are not in chronological order in the text but

that a timeline must be. Ask them what kind of reading they should be doing when

they are creating the timeline. Elicit that they have scanned for the date but need to

read the sentences around the date more carefully. Key: 4 1815 – Ada was born in London

1816 – Ada’s parents separated 1824 – Ada’s father died

1833 – Ada met Charles Babbage 1837 – Babbage began work on plans for the Analytical Engine 1843 – Ada published a description of the Analytical Engine 1843 – Ada developed a computer programming language 1852 – Ada died



1871 – Babbage died Early 1940s – first computers were built 1980s – Programming language developed for the US Department of Defence and named after Ada.

5 Students will be able to explain many of the connections from their timelines. Key: 5 Composing music – Ada predicted that computers would be able to compose music

Mathematics – Ada’s mum taught her to love mathematics Charles Babbage – Ada wrote a description of the Analytical Engine; she understood

the importance of his invention; she wrote a language which could be used to program his Analytical Engine.

The English poet, Lord Byron – He was Ada’s father The US Department of Defence – They use a programming language named after her

Modern computers – she understood that computers would one day have the power to change the world

Vocabulary (10 minutes) 7 Students use the context and their knowledge of word parts to put the words in the

correct columns. Point out that –ing is not always the sign of an adjective. ‘Program’

is not the American spelling of ‘programme’ – TV programmes in the UK have a

different spelling, but computer ‘programs’ are spelt the same in the UK and the US.

Elicit that a ‘programmer’ is a person but that a ‘calculator’ is not. Discuss how the

-able suffix gives the meaning of ‘something which can be’. Elicit other words with this

ending: breakable, washable, understandable, reasonable, etc. Elicit that -ific

indicates a word is an adjective. Elicit other words with this ending, e.g. horrific,

pacific, terrific, specific. Key: 7

noun verb adjective programmer program programming computing calculate programmable computer calculating science scientific



Closure (10 minutes) 8 In groups, students brainstorm a list of things we can do with computers, or things we

can do more easily or quickly with them. Encourage students to think of positive

things as well as negative ones. Create a class list then ask students to classify the

things in the list as positive or negative. Elicit whether the impact on the way we live

has been positive or negative.

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Ada Lovelace Lesson Plan