Step-by-Step Instructions
Step-by-step instructions for everyday tasks (making a sandwich, brushing teeth); that if instructions are wrong or missing, things go wrong; computers follow instructions exactly
What a learner can do afterwards
- Write or describe step-by-step instructions for a simple everyday task
- Predict what goes wrong if a step is missing or in the wrong order
- Explain that a computer follows instructions exactly — it cannot guess what you meant
The lesson
Instructions are steps that tell you what to do. Good instructions come in order, one step at a time.
Mia forgot to write add toothpaste in her list. Her helper skipped that step completely. The teeth did not get clean.
A computer does exactly what you type. It cannot guess what you meant. Write every single step!
Good instructions have every step, in the right order.
Watch it
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.