Computer Skills

About this course

Third grade is the first year the course looks under the hood. Your student learns what the CPU actually does, why RAM is like the size of a desk, how storage keeps files when the power is off, and what data is. From there it covers the desktop, files and folders, saving habits, and later in the year operating systems (Windows, macOS, and Linux compared), keyboard shortcuts, the F1 through F12 function keys, adjusting settings, accessibility features for people who have trouble seeing or hearing or moving a mouse, physical care of the machine, and a real troubleshooting method: restart first, check the connections, force-quit a frozen program, then ask a trusted adult rather than clicking everywhere quickly.

Typing expands to the full keyboard. Your student works out from the F and J anchor bumps to the left-hand and right-hand reaches, the bottom row, the number row, Shift, and punctuation, then does timed speed drills, common-word drills, sentences, paragraphs, error correction with Backspace and Delete, and finally typing a properly formatted letter with a date, greeting, body, and closing. The programming unit moves up from block toys to real concepts: algorithms, sequence, loops, conditionals with IF-THEN-ELSE, and debugging (including the 1947 moth story), then into Scratch, where your student plans a project on paper and builds it with a sprite, a background, a loop, and a conditional, testing and fixing it until it runs. The software unit surveys word processors, drawing programs, educational software, spreadsheets with cells and formulas, presentation slideshows, file management in File Explorer or Finder, and printing. Two more units cover digital citizenship and internet safety, adding a digital footprint, copyright and giving credit, strong passwords, recognizing that someone claiming to be a child online may not be, and what to do and say when something goes wrong.

The course runs 72 lessons in 8 units of 9, about 25 minutes each. A lesson opens with a short prayer, gives a page of plain explanation, walks through two or three specific activities at the machine, and ends with a ten-question quiz that grades itself. Each lesson carries a King James verse. To get the full value your family needs a computer with a real keyboard, a word processor and spreadsheet and presentation program (Microsoft Office or the free Google versions are both named, as are LibreOffice equivalents), a drawing program, a printer, and internet access for Scratch, which is free from MIT and runs in a browser. Everything named is either free or commonly already installed. The internet-safety lessons are discussion and rule-setting rather than exercises your student does online alone.

What the course covers

• CPU, RAM, storage, and what data is
• The desktop, files, folders, and saving habits
• Operating systems, settings, shortcuts, and function keys
• Accessibility features and caring for a computer
• Basic troubleshooting when something stops working
• Full-keyboard touch typing, speed drills, and error correction
• Typing paragraphs and a properly formatted letter
• Algorithms, sequence, loops, conditionals, and debugging
• Building a project in Scratch
• Word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and printing
• Digital footprint, copyright, and giving credit
• Passwords, online strangers, and telling a trusted adult

What your student will be able to do

• Explain what the CPU, RAM, and storage each do in plain words
• Touch type letters, numbers, and punctuation across the whole keyboard
• Build and debug a Scratch project using a loop and a conditional
• Create a document, a simple spreadsheet, and a slideshow, then save and print
• Work through a frozen or misbehaving computer with an orderly troubleshooting method
• Create a strong password and explain what a digital footprint is

Scope and sequence

All 8 units of Computer Skills for Grade 3, in the order they are taught.

Every lesson, by title

All 72 lesson titles are listed here — nothing is withheld until you download. Open a unit to read its contents.

One whole lesson, exactly as it comes

This is a real lesson taken from the middle of the course — the teaching text, the practice, the homework, and the first three quiz questions with their answers. It is not a marketing excerpt.

What you will need

Drawn from the materials named across all 72 lessons of this course. Most families already own most of it.