Term 4 — Lessons 11–13

Building a Rock, Paper, Scissors game on your micro:bit, organising your files properly, and using spreadsheets to plan a real budget.

Lesson 11 — Rock, Paper, Scissors

What you'll achieve: build a working Rock, Paper, Scissors game on your micro:bit using a shake gesture and random numbers.

micro:bitMakeCode
Random number
A number picked unpredictably by the computer, like a virtual dice roll.
Gesture
A movement the micro:bit's accelerometer can detect, like a shake.
Else if
An extra condition checked only when the first IF was false.

I Do

Watch your teacher use the on shake gesture block together with a pick random 0 to 2 block, so each number stands for rock, paper or scissors.

We Do

As a class, plan the logic together: IF the number is 0, show a rock icon; else if the number is 1, show a paper icon; else, show a scissors icon.

You Do

  1. Build the on-shake random choice programme using if / else if / else.
  2. Choose icons or letters to represent rock, paper and scissors.
  3. Test it by shaking your micro:bit several times.
  4. Stretch: add a score variable that goes up every time you beat a partner.

Before You Go

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Lesson 12 — File Management & Digital Skills

What you'll achieve: organise your OneDrive files into a sensible, clearly-named folder structure for the rest of the year.

OneDriveBrowser
File name
The label given to a saved file — should be short, clear and meaningful.
Folder structure
The way folders are organised and nested to keep files easy to find.
Version
A particular saved copy of a file, often shown by a date or a number like v2.

I Do

Watch your teacher show a messy OneDrive full of files named "Untitled1", "asdf" and "New Document (3)" — spot the problems together.

We Do

As a class, agree on file naming rules: no spaces or symbols, use hyphens or underscores instead, and include useful words and dates.

You Do

  1. Look through your own OneDrive Computing folder.
  2. Rename any badly-named files using the class rules.
  3. Design a folder structure: one folder per term, with sub-folders per topic if needed.
  4. Move your existing files into the new structure.

Before You Go

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Lesson 13 — Spreadsheets for Real Life

What you'll achieve: plan a class party on a £200 budget, using a formula and conditional formatting to flag overspending.

Excel
Budget
A plan for how much money you can spend.
Conditional formatting
A rule that changes how a cell looks, like its colour, depending on its value.
Multiplication formula
A formula like =B2*C2 that multiplies two cell values together.

I Do

Watch your teacher set up a party planning spreadsheet with item, cost each and quantity columns, and write a multiplication formula to calculate the total cost per item.

We Do

As a class, add a running total using =SUM and discuss what should happen if it goes over £200.

You Do

  1. Plan your own class party items within a £200 budget.
  2. Write a multiplication formula (cost × quantity) for each item.
  3. Use =SUM to calculate your running total.
  4. Add conditional formatting so the total turns red if it goes over £200.
  5. Adjust your quantities until you're within budget.

Before You Go

What did you learn today? Explain in your own words.

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