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YEAR 8
PROBLEM SOLVING: ALGORITHMS, DECOMPOSITION AND ABSTRACTION

ALGORITHMS

Reference Objective Notes and guidance

Be able to code an algorithm in both a visual and
PS8.1A This is an overarching statement that runs through many of the other objectives.
textual language.

ABSTRACTION

Reference Objective Notes and guidance

Use computational abstractions that model the Pupils should be shown how the abstraction works and it why it is an abstraction of a real-world problem.
PS8.2A state and behaviour of real-world problems and They should be able to alter variables within abstractions, make predictions and describe the effect. Pupils
physical systems. should be able to disregard those parts of a problem that are unnecessary and focus on the key information.
Be able to program abstractions of real-world
PS8.2B Pupils should be shown how the abstraction works and it why it is an abstraction of a real-world problem.
examples.

PROGRAMMING AND DEVELOPMENT

PROGRAMMING CONSTRUCTS

Reference Objective Notes and guidance

For example, some languages automatically declare the type, other languages require the type to be declared
PD8.1A Understand and use variables and type declarations.
along with the variable name.
PD8.1B Understand and use sequence, selection and iteration.

STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS

Reference Objective Notes and guidance

Understand and use Lists: items, indices, replacing
list items, slicing. Records / one dimensional arrays.
PD8.2A
Understand and use methods: append, insert, sort. Add examples (inc traversing lists) at pdf stage.
Traversing lists (see iteration).

PD8.2B Understand and use subprograms. Procedures only: i.e. not passing data into and out of them.
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LOGICAL OPERATORS

Reference Objective Notes and guidance

PD8.3A Understand and use logic operators. AND, OR, NOT.

ERRORS

Reference Objective Notes and guidance

Be able to locate and fix syntax and logic errors in Pupils could be given ‘buggy’ code and asked to find and fix the ‘bug’ (error).
PD8.4A
a program. Or pupils might alter a program to create a bug (error), then pass it on to a partner to fix.

DATA AND REPRESENTATION

BINARY

Reference Objective Notes and guidance

Understand how to perform simple binary It is not necessary to cover the concept of overflow errors, although this would make an interesting
DR8.1A
arithmetic (addition). extension task.
Understand how bitmap images are represented
DR8.1B Pixels, resolution, colour depth (max 2 bits).
in binary.
Understand and be able to create a binary word to
DR8.1C Pixels with colour depth of max 2 bits (two-tone).
represent a simple bitmap image.
Understand and be able to create a simple bitmap
DR8.1D Pixels with colour depth of max 1 bit (black & white).
image that is represented by a binary word.
Units of storage are defined by the International Electrotechnical 3.3.4 Commission (IEC) -
bit, byte
Understand and use the terms describing capacity
DR8.1E and
of storage.
kibibyte (KiB), mebibyte (MiB), gibibyte (1GiB)
(These are base-2 units, unlike those used for data transfer, which are base-10.)
1 KiB = 210 bytes = 1024 bytes
Be able to convert between binary and denary
DR8.1F 1 MiB = 220 bytes = 1 048 576 bytes
multiples of values for storage.
1 GiB = 230 bytes = 1 073 741,824 bytes
e.g.
Understand that file storage is measured in bytes
DR8.1G The average file size of a music file is 4MiB.
and be able to calculate storage requirements.
Calculate how much storage would be required to store [x] music files.
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COMPUTERS: HARDWARE, PROCESSING AND SOFTWARE

SOFTWARE

Reference Objective Notes and guidance

Know that an operating system provides the
CO8.1A
interface between the machine and the user.
CO8.1B Understand the purpose of systems/utility software. Managing files, compression, backing up, anti-malware (antivirus, anti-spyware).
Understand that applications software (apps) Including office-productivity tools and presentation software, web authoring, image and sound editing.
CO8.1C
allows the user to carry out particular tasks.

COMMUNICATION AND NETWORKS

THE WORLD WIDE WEB

Reference Objective Notes and guidance

CN8.1A Understand the components of the WWW. Covering: web server URLs, ISP, HTTP, HTTPS, HTML.

THE INTERNET

Reference Objective Notes and guidance

Understand the role of components used to
CN8.2A Covering: modem, router, switch, wireless access point (WAP).
access the Internet and how these are combined.

CONNECTIVITY

Reference Objective Notes and guidance

Be able to select the appropriate wireless
CN8.3A communication method for a particular task and Including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC.
justify the choice.

SECURITY

Reference Objective Notes and guidance

Understand that data is vulnerable to cyber-attack
CN8.4A Including unpatched software, portable storage devices and eavesdropping.
because of technical weaknesses.
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PRIVACY

Reference Objective Notes and guidance

Understand how technology allows individuals’
CN8.5A Including CCTV, identification cards, GPS data, electronic eavesdropping.
movements and communications to be monitored.

SAFE AND RESPONSIBLE PRACTICE

ONLINE RESPONSIBILITY

Reference Objective Notes and guidance

Understand the environmental impact of the
SR8.2A
manufacture, use and disposal of technology.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

APPLICATION OF IT

Reference Objective Notes and guidance

Be able to select, use, and combine multiple
IT8.1A Spreadsheet and graphics.
applications.
IT8.1B Be able to work across a range of devices. Including mobile and desktop devices.
Data can be collected from primary (e.g. photos taken by the pupil, data gathered from surveys, or sensors)
IT8.1C Be able to collect data. and secondary sources (e.g. image searches online, data gathered using APIs such as the People In Space
API (http://api.open-notify.org/astros.json) or the Star Wars API (https://swapi.co/).
IT8.1D Be able to analyse data. Process the data collected in order to find patterns and trends.
Graphics should be well designed and should be of an appropriate format, file size and resolution for the
Be able to produce digital products that are well intended use. Spreadsheets should be easy to navigate, notice/edit key variable values and understand the
IT8.1E
designed and consider usability. purpose of key function/formulae (perhaps using comments), have graphs and charts that are well formatted
and present information in a clear manner. Use of formulae and functions should be efficient in their design.
Be able to enter, organise, develop, refine and
Each application will have a set of editing functions. Pupils should be able to apply those that are appropriate
IT8.1F format information, applying editing techniques
to meet the needs of the user/task/brief.
to meet needs.
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Be able to produce information that is fit for

IT8.1G Graphics and the information in spreadsheets should meet the requirements of the task.
purpose and audience.
Be able to work accurately and proofread, using
IT8.1H
software facilities where appropriate for the task.

SOFTWARE SKILLS

SPREADSHEET

Reference Objective Notes and guidance

Currency, percentage, decimal places, date, row height, column width, merge/split cells, cell borders, cell
SS8.1A Format a worksheet.
shading, hiding rows and columns.
Understand and use formulae that include multiple
SS8.1B Add, subtract, multiply, divide.
arithmetic operators, percentage.
SUM, AVERAGE, MAXIMUM, MINIMUM, COUNT, LENGTH
SS8.1C Understand and use functions. Links to work on functions (PD8.2D) and abstraction, as these are subprograms which carry out processes
and hide the detail of these from the user.
SS8.1D Understand and use multiple worksheets. Including cross-sheet referencing.
SS8.1E Understand and use sorting. Ascending>Descending and Descending>Ascending, sorting on single and multiple columns, sorting a range.
SS8.1F Understand and use filtering. Filtering on one or more criteria across one and multiple columns of data.
SS8.1G Understand and use graphs and charts. Pie chart, line chart, bar/column chart, scatter graph.
Select an appropriate graph/chart and format it
SS8.1H Type, title, axis labels, legends.
effectively.

GRAPHICS

Reference Objective Notes and guidance

Bitmap images are created by individually assigning a colour to each pixel used in the image.
SS8.2A Explain features of image types: bitmap, vector. Vector images are created by using coordinates between two or more points.
Links clearly to Data Representation sections DR8.1B, DR8.1C, and DR8.1D.
Could introduce Run Length Encoding for the compression element of this objective.
Resizing would cover the differences between bitmap and vector and how they each deal with resizing,
Understand and use compression, resizing, use
SS8.2B including the benefits of vectors rather than bitmaps in terms of file size and resolution. The expansion of the
for web.
benefits and drawbacks on file size is the use of each for web graphics and this links clearly to understanding
developed in Year 7 regarding bandwidth and transmission speeds (CN7.1D and CN7.1E).