Lesson video

Hello.

Welcome to history here at Oak National Academy.

My name is Mr. Newton and I'll be your teacher today guiding you through the entire lesson.

Right, let's get started.

Before we begin today's story, I want you to imagine something with me.

Imagine a world with no computers, no tablets, no phones or games.

Now here's a tricky question.

Do you think someone had to imagine computers before they were ever made?

Today, we are going to learn about Ada Lovelace, a person who loved asking questions, solving puzzles, and imagining things that did not exist yet.

She lived a very long time ago when machines could not think and screens were not even dreamed of.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to describe what Ada Lovelace imagined machines could do.

Right, let's get our brains ready for today's learning.

We're going to learn some important words that will help us to understand the story.

We'll say each word together.

I will say the first word, then it's your turn to repeat it back to me.

Ready?

My turn, idea.

Your turn.

Good, well done.

An idea is a thought for something new.

You might have an idea for a game, a picture, or a story.

Okay, let's go into the second word.

My turn, machine.

Your turn.

Good job.

A machine is an object that does work for us.

A washing machine helps wash clothes.

A calculator helps with numbers.

Okay, my turn.

Inventor.

Your turn.

Excellent.

An inventor is a person who makes something new.

Inventors use ideas to create machines and tools.

My turn, gears.

Your turn.

Good repeating.

Gears are metal wheels with teeth that fit together.

They turn and help machines move.

When one gear turns, another gear turns too and in Charles Babbage's machine, the gears turned one another to add or change numbers.

Okay, last word.

My turn, change maker.

Your turn.

Fantastic.

A change maker is someone whose ideas or actions help make the world a better place.

They don't give up and they try to make things better for others.

Well done for helping me to repeat those important words.

So let's see if we can spot those words in today's lesson.

Today's lesson is called Ada Lovelace, the woman who imagined computers.

And our lesson is split into three parts.

I'll show you what they are so you know what to expect.

First, we'll start with the little girl who loved numbers.

And in this part, we will learn about Ada when she was young.

We'll think about what she liked, what she was curious about, and why numbers were so important to her.

This part helps us to understand where her ideas began.

Next we will move on to working with Babbage.

Here we will learn about a machine and a man Ada worked with.

This is where the story starts to get really interesting.

Finally, we will finish with Lovelace's legacy.

This part helps us think about why Ada is still important today.

We'll see how her ideas helped change the world even long after she was gone.

Right, let's begin the lesson with the little girl who loved numbers.

You may have learned about Al-Razi and Nicolas Copernicus before.

These were clever people from the past who asked big questions and tried to understand the world.

Now today, we are going to learn about someone new.

Her name is Ada Lovelace and she lived over 200 years ago.

So we can see a long black line that goes along this slide.

This is called a timeline.

A timeline shows us time going past, to a long time ago towards the left of the line where you can see the year 800, to more recent times in the year 2000 on the right.

And if you have a look over here on the left, we can see Al-Razi.

He lived around the year 900 and that tells us he lived a very long time ago.

Next along the line, we can see Nicolas Copernicus.

He lived around the 1500s.

He lived later than Al-Razi.

But still a long time before us, over 500 years ago.

And next along the line, closer to today, we can see Ada Lovelace.

She lived around the 1800s.

She lived after Al-Razi and Copernicus, but still long before any of us were born.

So what does this tell us?

It shows us that clever thinkers lived at different times and each one helped people learn something new.

And today, we are zooming in on Ada's part of the timeline when she was a little girl who loved numbers and big ideas.

Let's find out more about her.

In 1820, Ada Lovelace was a young girl living in London.

She had a bright imagination.

When Ada was young, there were no cars, no televisions, and even no electric lights.

Ada lived in a grand London townhouse filled with tall windows, polished wooden floors, and the soft tick-tock of many clocks.

Can you imagine how quiet it must have sounded with no phones buzzing or TVs playing?

Let's take a look at this picture.

This shows London a very long time ago, around the time when Ada Lovelace was a young girl.

What do you notice first?

We can see lots and lots of buildings packed close together.

The houses look tall and narrow and there are no cars anywhere.

Instead, look down at the river.

Can you see the boats and ships floating on the water?

Notice the bridges crossing the river and the winding streets between the buildings?

This city looks very busy, even though it would've sounded very different from today.

Look closely at the sky.

It looks like it's all gray and cloudy, doesn't it?

That helps us imagine the smoke from chimneys and the fires used to keep homes warm.

Now imagine being a child living here, high up in one of those buildings, looking out of a window watching the city move below.

This is the kind of place where Ada lived.

Outside, horse drawn carriages rumbled over cobblestone streets.

Those are bumpy stone roads and the air carried the smoky smell of coal fires rising from chimneys all along the busy road.

Inside her warm upstairs room, Ada would sit by the window with a notebook.

We can picture her curled up thinking hard, pencil in hand.

She watched the city smoke curl into the sky, twisting above the rooftops like long gray ribbons.

Can you make a ribbon shape with your hands?

Below, she could see people hurrying along the streets.

Chimney sweeps with blackened faces, shopkeepers opening creaky shutters, and children skipping around puddles left from last night's rain.

What do you like to do when you see a puddle?

Splash?

The city Felt alive, noisy, and bustling, but Ada's room was quiet and still.

Sometimes a quiet place helps us think, doesn't it?

Okay, let's check your understanding.

Who is the small girl in the story?

Is it, A, Ada Lovelace, B, Mary Poppins, C, Queen Victoria?

Pause the video, choose your correct answer, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct answer was A, Ada Lovelace.

Okay, let's continue.

Up in her peaceful window seat far above the busy street, Ada dreamed about patterns and puzzles.

Ada loved numbers and ideas, and even as a girl, she dreamed of patterns and inventions.

On the left, we can see a painting of Ada when she was a young girl.

Ada loved numbers the way some children loved music or painting.

As her pencil scratched lightly across the page, she didn't just solve maths problems.

She imagined wonderful, impossible things that made her heart flutter with excitement.

Ada grew up in a time when most people believed girls should not study maths or science.

Many thought it was too difficult or not proper.

That doesn't seem fair, does it?

But Ada's mother believed that her daughter's sharp mind needed room to stretch just like muscles need exercise.

So she encouraged Ada's curiosity, giving her books, extra teaching, and time to follow her wondering thoughts.

Ada wondered about everything, bird's wings, how do they stay up in the air?

Flying machines.

Could people ever truly fly?

Engines and numbers.

So many questions.

Her brain was always busy.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

And what I want you to do here is fill in the blank, and I've got a sentence here with a blank section, and I want you to choose the words to put into that blank.

So the sentence is, Ada loved blank and had a strong imagination.

And I've given you three words you can choose from to put into that blank.

Numbers, cakes, or football.

So pause the video, choose one of those words and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct Word was numbers.

So let's see how that sentence should have looked.

Ada loved numbers and had a strong imagination.

Okay, what I want you to do now is turn to your partner and discuss this question.

Why do you think Ada loved numbers so much?

Pause the video, have a quick discussion, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and hopefully had some great discussions there.

Let's see some of the things you might have said.

So you might have said something like, "Ada loved numbers so much because she enjoyed solving puzzles and making patterns.

" You might have also said something like, "Because numbers made her excited and happy.

" Okay, great.

Let's move on to task A.

And I want you to look carefully at the three pictures on the slide.

Each picture tells us something different about Ada.

Let's look at them one at a time.

The first picture is a hot air balloon.

The second picture shows a piece of paper with some sums on it, and the third picture shows a notebook and pencil.

Now what I want you to do is explain what each picture tells us about Ada.

And to help you to do that, you can use this sentence starter to help.

So sentence starter is the beginning of a sentence that helps us know what to say next.

Let's read the sentence starter together.

The picture of the blank shows that Ada blank.

So I want you to fill in those blanks and finish the sentence, and you can do that for each picture.

Listen to my example, the picture of the sums shows that Ada loved.

.

.

Then you can complete the rest of the sentence there.

Now it's your turn.

Pause the video.

Have a go at the task and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done having a go at that task.

Now remember, even if your answers look different to what I have here, that's okay.

If your answer made sense and helped explain what the picture tells us about Ada, then you were doing the class correctly.

Now let's look at some answers you may have given.

The picture of the hot air balloon shows that Ada wondered about flying machines and inventions.

This is a great answer because it links the picture to Ada's imagination.

Hot air balloons help us think about flying and dreaming up new ideas.

Okay, let's move on to the second picture, which was the sums.

So you might have said something like, "The picture of the sums shows that Ada loved numbers and maths," and the third picture was the notebook.

And you could have said something like, "The picture of the notebook and pencil shows that Ada wrote down her ideas and solved problems.

" This is a strong explanation because notebooks are used to thinking, writing, and working things out.

Great, so we found out that Ada was curious, imaginative, and loved thinking about patterns and ideas even when she was very young.

Now let's move on to the next part of the story.

We are now going to move on to working with Babbage, and this is the part where Ada grows up and meets Charles Babbage, who is building a very unusual machine.

So years later, when Ada became a young woman, she met a clever inventor named Charles Babbage.

Charles Babbage was a very famous inventor who loved to show visitors his curious and wonderful machines.

Inventors are people who make new things.

Can you think of an invention?

Hmm?

Babbage had built a strange looking invention made of shiny metal gears and spinning wheels with tiny metal teeth.

Imagine something clanking and clicking like a giant clock.

Have a look at this picture.

On one side, we can see Charles Babbage standing next to his machine.

The machine is full of gears, wheels, and metal parts all stacked up high.

You can imagine it turning, clicking, and clanking as the parts move together.

Now look at Ada.

She's looking closely at the machine trying to understand how it works.

Charles Babbage's machine worked a bit like a giant calculator to solve number problems.

Even though only a small part had ever been made, Babbage's Number Engine seemed like a first step toward a machine with a clever mind.

Babbage was a big dreamer.

He imagined an even greater engine, one that could follow steps and work through problems all by itself.

What if a machine could follow instructions?

Ada was fascinated by the machine and quickly understood how it worked.

Her number loving brain lit up.

Babbage was impressed by how well she could talk about his Number Engine, so he invited her to help explain it to others.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

Who invented the Number Engine?

A, Ada Lovelace, B, Charles Babbage, C, chimney sweep.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Welcome back and well done If you knew the correct answer was B, Charles Babbage invented the Number Engine.

Okay, let's have another check.

Charles Babbage invited Ada to help him.

Why do you think he chose Ada?

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Welcome back, and well done if you knew it was because she understood how its machine worked and could explain it well.

Okay, let's continue.

Ada began writing notes.

Pages and pages filled not only with maths but with imagination.

In these notes, she explained how the machine could follow steps to solve a problem like a cooking recipe.

First, put this in, then that.

Her clear writing helped more people understand how the machine might work.

But Ada's most special gift was her imagination.

Have a look at this picture.

We can see Ada sitting at a desk writing carefully in a notebook.

Look above her head.

We can see music notes floating in the air.

That helps us imagine that Ada is thinking about patterns, not just numbers, but sounds and ideas too.

We can also see lines and shapes, almost like a map or a puzzle.

These shapes show us that Ada is thinking about steps, connections, and how things fit together.

She wasn't just writing, she was dreaming, planning, and inventing ideas in her mind.

Ada imagined how a machine could solve problems and even create hinting at the first ideas of a computer.

She wondered if the machine could do much more than just add or subtract.

She believed that if it followed the right instructions, it could make patterns, create music, or work with symbols as well as numbers.

It might even help people with new kinds of work.

Ada was imagining an early idea of a computer, even though no computers existed yet.

That's an amazing thing to imagine, isn't it?

Ada wondered could a machine think not like a person thinks, but in its own special way?

If you gave a machine the right instructions step-by-step, it could work out problems by itself.

It would almost be like the machine was thinking through what to do next.

That was a very big, brave idea for her time.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

And what I want you to do is fill in the blank.

Ada was imagining an early idea of a blank, even though none had been built yet.

And I've given you three words and you need to choose one of them to fill in your blank.

So your words are computer, castle, or rocket.

Pause the video, choose your word, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

And well done if you knew the correct word was computer.

So let's see how the sentence should have looked.

Ada was imagining an early idea of a computer, even though none had been built yet.

Okay, great.

We're now going to do task B.

And this task is all about matching.

That means we are going to read an action and decide who it belongs to.

At the top of the table we have two people, Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage.

On the left of the slide, we have a list of actions.

Your job is to decide did Ada do this or did Charles Babbage do this?

Now remember, Ada and Charles worked together, but they did different jobs.

Let's read the actions slowly and carefully one at a time.

Built a machine with gears.

Hmm, who built the machine?

The inventor or the person who explained the machine to other people?

Okay, let's look at the next action.

Wrote clear notes.

Imagined new possibilities.

Invited the other person to help.

Dreamed of building a bigger, smarter engine.

Dreamed that the machine could make patterns or music.

Remember, it's okay to change your mind if you think of a better answer.

That's what good learners do.

When you're ready, we'll check the answers together and talk about why each action matches each person.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Welcome back and well done for having a go at that task.

Now remember, if your answers are a little different from the ones I have here, that's okay.

What matters is that you were thinking carefully about what each person did and could explain your ideas.

Now let's look at some answers you may have given.

First, let's look at Ada Lovelace.

Ada wrote clear notes, imagined new possibilities, and dreams that the machine could make patterns or music.

These answers make sense because Ada was very good at explaining ideas and imagining what machines could do in the future.

She used her imagination to think beyond what the machine already did.

Right, now let's look at Charles Babbage.

Charles Babbage built a machine with gears, invited the other person to help, and dreamed of building a bigger, smarter engine.

These answers fit because Charles Babbage was the inventor.

He built the machine and wanted to make it even bigger and better.

So what does this tell us?

It shows us that Charles Babbage built the machine.

Ada Lovelace helped explain it and imagine new ideas.

They worked together, but they had different roles.

Okay great, now we're going to move on to the next part of task B.

This question asks us to think a little deeper.

How did Ada and Charles help each other?

That means we're thinking about teamwork.

You are going to talk to your partner and explain what you think.

There is no writing just yet.

This is a talking and thinking task.

To help you explain your opinion, you can use these sentence starters.

Remember, sentence starters are the beginning of a sentence that help us know what to say next.

Let's read the sentence starters together.

Charles helped Ada by blank, and that's where you need to complete the rest of the sentence.

Let's have a look at the next sentence starter.

Ada helped Charles by blank.

Finally, together they blank.

When you're talking to your partner, take turns speaking, listen carefully, and use ideas from the story.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Welcome back and well done having a go at that task.

And I want you to remember something important.

There isn't just one perfect answer.

If you listen to your partner, shared your ideas, and explained your thinking, then you did this task really well.

So you may have discussed the following, that Charles helped Ada by inviting her to see his machine and teaching her about how it worked.

For the next sentence starter, you could have said, "Ada helped Charles by writing clear notes that explained his machine to other people.

" And finally, together they imagined what machines could do in the future.

Great.

We've reached the final part of the lesson.

We've already learned about Ada, the little girl who loved numbers, then we explored working with Babbage, where Ada met the famous inventor, Charles Babbage, and was inspired by his Number Machine.

So we can now move on to Lovelace's legacy.

The word legacy means what someone leaves behind after they are gone.

It's how people are remembered and why they still matter today.

So in this part of the lesson, we are going to think about how Ada's ideas carried on and why people still talk about her today.

Ada followed her curiosity even when others said girls shouldn't study science.

Few women studied science then, but Ada did.

Many people believed girls should not explore numbers, machines, or inventions.

Ada loved learning and she didn't let those old beliefs stop her.

She kept asking questions, kept imagining, and kept working.

That's called perseverance, not giving up.

Okay, let's check your understanding and I want you to fill in the blank for this sentence.

Few women studied blank, but Ada did.

And I've given you three words to choose from.

Science, sandwiches, swimming.

Pause the video, choose your word, and then come right back.

Okay welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct word was science.

Let's see how the sentence should have looked.

Few women studied science, but Ada did.

Ada imagined ideas that helped shape the computers we use today.

Ada never saw a real computer in her lifetime, but the seeds she planted grew long after she was gone.

Today, every computer, tablets, or robot carries a little bit of Ada's imagination inside it.

Because she dared to see what others could not, Ada became a change maker, opening the door to a world she only dreamed about.

Have a look at the photograph on the left.

This is a statue of Ada Lovelace.

A statue is something people build to remember someone important.

People don't get statues just for any reason.

They get statues when they have done something that changed the world.

This statue reminds us of Ada's legacy.

Her legacy is what she left behind, her ideas, her thinking, and her imagination.

So when we see this statue, it's like the world saying, "Thank you, Ada.

Your ideas still matter.

" And that is why we still remember Ada Lovelace today.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

What did Ada's ideas help inspire?

A, chocolate factories, B, playground swings, C, today's computers.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct answer was C, today's computers.

Did Ada build the first real computer?

A, no but she imagined what computers could do.

B, yes, she built it in her room.

C, yes, she built it with Charles Babbage.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answer was A, no but she imagined what computers could do.

Why could you say a computer has Ada's ideas inside it?

Tell your partner your thoughts.

Pause a video, have a quick discussion, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and hopefully you had some great discussions.

And maybe you said something like this, "A computer has Ada's ideas inside it because Ada imagined how machines could follow instructions.

" Okay, great.

Now we are going to do task C.

And this task is all about remembering Ada's story.

We are going to use our bodies, our voices, and our memories to help us.

You are going to tell Ada's story to your partner using actions as you speak.

Actions help our brains remember, so don't be shy.

Let's look at the sentence starters together.

These will help you tell the story in the right order.

The first sentence starter reads, "When Ada was a little girl, she loved blank.

" So here you might make a small thinking pose.

Hmm?

Or pretend to write, or speak about how you love numbers and ideas.

Let's look at the next sentence starter.

Ada met a famous inventor called blank.

Next sentence, Ada wondered if the machine could blank.

And finally, Ada became a change maker because blank.

Now remember, when you're talking to your partner, take turns, use the sentence starters, and use actions to help you remember.

It doesn't have to be perfect.

Just do your best to tell the story in your own words.

Pause the video, Have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Welcome back and well done having a go at that task.

And remember, if your actions or words looked a bit different from someone else's, that is absolutely okay.

What matters is that your actions matched the meaning and helped you to tell Ada's story.

So you might have used actions like these.

So when you said, when Ada was a little girl, she loved.

.

.

Some of you could have pretended to write numbers in a notebook, or you might have said that Ada loved numbers and imagining all the patterns and puzzles she could make in her notebook.

For the next starter, Ada met a famous inventor called.

.

.

Some of you could have pretended to shake hands with an imaginary person.

Or you might have said that Ada met a famous inventor called Charles Babbage whose the machine inspired her to think about how the gears and wheels could follow steps to solve problems.

For the next sentence starter, Ada wondered if the machine could.

.

.

Some of you could have put your hand on your chin and look up, hmm, thinking.

Or you might have said that Ada wondered if the machine could make patterns, create music, or work with symbols.

And for the final sentence starter, Ada became a change maker because.

.

.

Some of you could have spread your arms wide to show something big and important.

Or you might have talked about how Ada became a change maker because she had brave ideas that helped inspire the computers we use today.

Well done.

All of these actions helped you to tell the story of Ada Lovelace in the right order.

That's fantastic storytelling and brilliant remembering.

Now we're going to do the second part of task C.

This time, you are going to draw or write about one way life is different today because of Ada's ideas.

You don't need to do lots.

Just one clear idea is perfect.

Let's think about the question together.

What machines do we have now that Ada only dreamed about?

You might think about computers, tablets, phones, robots, machines that help us learn, play, or talk to people far away.

You can choose how you show your idea.

You can draw a picture or you can write a sentence and to help you, you can use these sentence starters.

Let's read them together.

In Ada's time, people didn't have blank.

Today we use computers to blank.

Ada imagined machines that could blank.

And now we have blank.

One machine we have today is blank, which helps us blank.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Welcome back, and well done for having a go at that task.

And remember, your work will not all look the same.

If your picture or sentence showed one clear way life is different today because of Ada's ideas, then you did this task really well.

Now let's look at some example answers.

Some of you may have written, "In Ada's time, people didn't have computers or tablets like we do today.

" For the next one you could have written, "Today, we use computers to play games, learn new things, and talk to people.

" And for the next sentence starter you could have written, Ada imagined machines that could follow instructions and make patterns.

And now we have computers that can do all of those things and more.

And finally, one machine we have today is a tablet, which helps us learn, draw, and read stories.

All of these answers show something really important.

Even though Ada Lovelace lived a very long time ago, her ideas helped shape the world we live in today.

That means her legacy is still with us, in our classrooms, our homes, and the machines we use every day.

If you chose to draw one way life is different now because of Ada's ideas, you may have drawn something similar to this.

This drawing shows two different times.

On one side it says, "In Ada's time," and here we can see a person with a pencil and a notebook doing sums by hand.

That tells us that long ago when Ada was alive, people had to write everything down.

They didn't have machines to help them work things out quickly.

Now let's look at the other side where it says, "Today.

" And here we can see a person using a laptop.

That shows us how life is different now.

Today, machines can help us do maths and learn and solve problems much faster.

This drawing is a great example because it compares the past and the present and it helps us understand why Ada's ideas were so important.

Okay, great.

Let's sum up today's lesson.

Ada Lovelace, the woman who imagined computers.

In this lesson, we have learned that Ada loved numbers and used her imagination to explore new ideas.

She met the inventor Charles Babbage, and saw his machine with shiny gears.

His invention inspired Ada.

Ada imagined an early idea of a computer.

She wrote notes explaining how machines could follow instructions to solve problems and make patterns.

Ada became a change maker whose ideas shaped modern computers.

Few women studied science then, but Ada did.

Well done everyone.

And today you've learned the story of Ada Lovelace, someone who asked questions, loved learning, and used her imagination to think about the future.

We saw how big ideas can begin in quiet moments with curiosity and wonder.

We learned that even when something doesn't exist yet, it can still be imagined.

Thank you for listening, thinking, and Learning so brilliantly today.

I'll see you again soon.