String manipulation
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can create a program using string handling techniques.
Key learning points
- The contents of a string can be validated.
- The random module can be used to generate random numbers and pick random letters from a string.
- Concatenation is a way of joining strings using the + operator to make a new string.
- Strings can be manipulated using the upper() and lower() string methods to convert the string into upper- or lowercase.
Keywords
Random - a module that can generate random numbers, pick random items or shuffle a list
Concatenation - the process of joining strings together to create a new string
Lower() - a string method that converts all letters in a string to lowercase
Upper() - a string method that converts all letters in a string to uppercase
Common misconception
The random module will only generate random numbers.
The random module can generate random characters as well as numbers.
Teacher tip
For pupils who struggle to understand the strucure of strings, printing out individual letters and forming and slicing words on a table as an unplugged exercise may help visualise the process better.
Equipment
Pupils will need access to a device that can edit and run Python programs. Examples in this lesson use the RPF Code Editor https://oak.link/python-editor
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is a substring?
Q2.What will the following Python code output?
123word = "asparagus"
first_three = word[0:3]
print("sp" in first_three)Code colour
Q3.What is ASCII?
Q4.What does the following code do?
12char = "G"
print(ord(char))Code colour
Q5.Which Python function converts an ASCII value back into a character?
Q6.What does the following Python program do?
12char = input("Enter a character: ")
print(chr(ord(char) + 1))Code colour
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the correct way to join the strings "blue" and "berry" into one word?
Q2.What must you include in your program to use the random library?
Q3.String is joining two or more strings together.
Q4.What will be printed by the following code?
12word = "Pinecone"
print(word.upper())Code colour
Q5.Which of the following correctly selects a random letter from the word "elephant"?
Q6.The random module generates ...
To help you plan your 10 computer science lesson on: String manipulation, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 computer science lesson on: String manipulation, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 computer science lessons from the Programming: strings and lists unit, dive into the full secondary computer science curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.