Session 6: Inside the Computer: Processor, Memory & Storage

At a glance: pupils learn what the processor, memory (RAM) and storage do through the chop bar kitchen, climb the size ladder from bit to terabyte, meet the kinds of storage, file extensions and ZIP files, and write a real spec sheet for their PC. · Time: 90 minutes (adjust the timings if your period is shorter) · Workbook pages: 6

Learning outcomes

By the end of the session, pupils can:

Explain what the processor, memory (RAM) and storage each do, and why unsaved work is lost in a power cut.
Put bit, byte, KB, MB, GB and TB in order and do simple "how many fit?" sums, and name the main kinds of storage and why we keep backups.
Find a PC's processor, RAM and free storage, show file extensions in File Explorer and extract a ZIP file.

Before the session

Check that Settings → System → About and File Explorer → This PC open on each pupil PC. Note the specs of two PCs that differ (for example 4 GB vs 8 GB RAM) for the comparison at the end of Page 5.
Put a study pack ZIP (for example BIH-Tech-Club-Session-06.zip from the site's downloads) in each pupil's Documents or Downloads folder, so every pupil can extract one.
If you have them, bring real parts to pass round: an old RAM stick, an old hard drive, an SSD, a pen drive and a microSD card. Never open a pupil PC to find them.
Test the Inside the Box lab on the projector PC and one pupil PC. Keep the offline pack on USB.
Prepare a "kitchen" at the front: a small stool or tray (worktable), a box of objects across the room (storeroom), and one volunteer cook.

Running order

Time	Activity	Workbook	What the mentor does
0–10 min	Typing warm-up	–	Pupils open the typing trainer (`/typing/`) and do their 10-minute practice at their current stage. Walk round and check posture and home row.
10–22 min	The chop bar kitchen race	Page 1	Run the kitchen game (see Key ideas): a cook with a tiny tray vs a cook with a big table. Then map cook, worktable and storeroom to CPU, RAM and storage.
22–32 min	Memory vs storage and the power cut	Page 2	Walk through Figure 6.1. Ask "Where is your essay while you type?" Link to the Ctrl + S habit. Pupils answer Your Turn a and b.
32–44 min	The size ladder and the sums	Page 3	Climb the ladder with pupils standing on "steps". Teams race the four sums for team points.
44–56 min	Kinds of storage, extensions, ZIP	Page 4	Pass round the real parts. Show extensions on the projector, then every pupil turns them on and extracts the study pack ZIP.
56–64 min	3D lab: Inside the Box	Page 5	Demonstrate lifting out the parts, then pairs run the kitchen with a small and a big worktable and write what changed.
64–80 min	Lab Mission: My PC's spec sheet	Page 5	Pupils fill in the spec sheet. Check the RAM and free-space numbers on each screen. Pairs compare.
80–86 min	Show-and-tell and review	Page 6	Two pupils read out their spec sheets: "Whose kitchen is fastest?" Go through the slow-computer scenarios.
86–90 min	Self-assessment and sign-off	Page 6	Sign off using the evidence below. Award the team points.

Key ideas and how to explain them

The chop bar kitchen: the processor is the cook, RAM is the worktable, storage is the storeroom. The cook can only work on what is on the table. Play it: give one volunteer a tray that holds two objects and another a desk that holds eight; both must "cook" an order of six items fetched from the box across the room. The tray cook walks back and forth and loses. That is too little RAM.
RAM is cleared at closing time: shutting down, or a power cut, wipes the table. Saving copies your work to the storeroom. This is the reason behind the Session 4 Ctrl + S habit.
Bigger storage does not mean faster: a 1 TB drive is a big storeroom, not a faster cook or a bigger table. Speed mostly comes from the processor, enough RAM and an SSD instead of a hard drive.
The size ladder: each step is about 1,000 times bigger (1,024 exactly). Keep the sums to 1 GB = 1,000 MB. All file sizes are approximate and vary.
Two places: important files live in at least two places (a backup). Drives fail and pen drives get lost.
Extensions and ZIPs: the extension tells Windows which programme opens a file. A ZIP is a packed bag: extract it before you use the files inside.
Team points: 1 point per correct sum (Page 3), 2 points for a fully correct spec sheet, 1 point for helping another team extract their ZIP.

The 3D lab

Inside the Box lets pupils open a system unit and lift out the processor (with its cooler), the memory (RAM), the storage (an SSD and a hard drive), the power supply and the motherboard, then run the chop bar kitchen (cook = processor, worktable = RAM, storeroom = storage) to see why too little memory makes a computer slow. Its three missions are: 1. Open the case and name 4 parts. 2. In the kitchen, overload the worktable and watch the orders slow down. 3. Fix the slow kitchen (close programmes or a bigger table) and compare the speed. On the projector, open the case and lift out each part while asking "Who is this in the kitchen?" Pairs then open programmes until the 4 GB worktable is too full (the cook runs to the storeroom and the chalkboard's orders per minute fall), and fix it by closing programmes or choosing an 8 GB or 16 GB table, comparing the two speeds the lab shows. The ⚡ Lights off (dumsor) button wipes the worktable: a good moment to ask "What was lost? What was safe?" The sentence they write at the top of Page 5 should say that a small worktable means many trips to the storeroom and slow orders. The lab is the only place pupils "open" a computer: make it clear that real cases stay closed.

Common mistakes and quick fixes

Pupils often…	Try this
Mix up RAM and storage because both use GB	Ask "Is it on the table or in the storeroom? Does it survive closing time?"
Think a bigger drive makes a PC faster	Bigger storeroom, same cook, same table. Point to Your Turn b.
Write the drive's total size as free space	In This PC, read the words under the bar: "free of" comes first.
Cannot find About in Settings	It is at the very bottom of System. Or right-click Start → System.
Double-click the ZIP and open files from inside it	Explain the packed bag: files inside a ZIP can look normal but may not save properly. Right-click → Extract All first.
Rename a file and delete its extension	With extensions showing, only change the part before the dot. Ctrl + Z undoes a bad rename.
Multiply GB by 4 instead of dividing	Do one together: 10 GB = 10,000 MB; 10,000 ÷ 4 = 2,500 photos.

When things go wrong

No internet: nothing in this session needs the internet. Use the offline pack for the lab and copy the ZIP from your USB.
Not enough PCs: pairs share a PC and each pupil writes the spec sheet. With very few PCs, read one PC's About page on the projector and have pupils copy it, then check This PC on a second machine.
A PC freezes or the power goes: use it! Ask "What was on the worktable? What survived in the storeroom?" Carry on with Pages 3–4 on paper, and finish the spec sheet when power returns.

Answer key

Your Turn (Page 2) a) Esi lost more: her 20 minutes of typing were only in memory (RAM), which is wiped when the power goes. Kofi lost at most 5 minutes, because each save copied his work to storage. b) No. 1 TB is a big storeroom, but 4 GB of RAM is a small worktable, so the laptop may still be slow when many things are open. Speed depends mostly on the processor, the RAM and the type of drive.

Quick Sums (Page 3)

About 250 songs (1,000 ÷ 4).
About 500 photos (2,000 ÷ 4).
1 GB is bigger (1 GB is about 1,000 MB).
KB, MB, GB, TB.

Inside the Box (Page 5): with a small worktable the cook keeps going to the storeroom, so orders come out slowly; with a bigger table orders are faster.

Spec sheet (Page 5): answers depend on the PC. Check that RAM is in GB (usually 4, 8 or 16), free space is smaller than the total, and the sum is free GB × 1,000 ÷ 4 (for example 120 GB free → about 30,000 photos).

Why is my computer slow? (Page 6)

Close the tabs and programmes she is not using (they fill the worktable).
Move old videos to a pen drive or the cloud and empty the Recycle Bin (a nearly full drive slows Windows and blocks updates).
Ask a technician about replacing the hard drive with an SSD (old hard drives are slow).

Written Review Questions

Memory (RAM) is the worktable: fast and small, holding only what you are using now, and cleared when the power goes off. Storage is the storeroom: big and permanent, keeping files even when the computer is off.
The pen drive could be lost, broken or corrupted, and then the project is gone. He should keep a backup in a second place, such as the PC or the cloud (the two-places rule).

Support and stretch

Needs more support: keep everything in the kitchen. Use the real parts and the front-of-room kitchen before Pages 2–3. Do the sums with counters or drawn photos, and pair the pupil with a confident reader for the spec sheet.
Finished early: open Settings → System → Storage to see what is filling the drive (apps, temporary files, documents). Or open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) → Performance and watch Memory go up as they open more browser tabs (look only, end nothing; Task Manager returns in Session 8).

Evidence for sign-off

The pupil explains processor, RAM and storage using the kitchen, explains why unsaved work is lost in a power cut, gets at least 3 of the 4 sums right, has a complete spec sheet that matches their screen, has file extensions showing and has extracted the study pack ZIP into a normal folder.

Safety and wellbeing

Pupils must never open a computer case, unplug internal parts or touch the power supply: there is mains electricity inside and parts are easily damaged. Only pass round loose parts that are already out of a computer, and check them for sharp edges. Today is a "look, don't change" day in Settings: no renaming PCs or changing system options. Be sensitive in the spec-sheet comparison: some pupils' families have older or no computers at home, so compare the Hub's machines, not homes.