Memory and Storage
Computer Science Fundamentals Grades 9–12 3-day lesson 26 deliverables In this computer science lesson, students learn how memory and storage do different jobs. They decide whether things live in memory or in storage, then help customers with a slow computer, a full drive or lost work and log each fix.
● Instant download · Lifetime access · Editable & print-ready
Print + digitalPDF, PowerPoint, Word & Google
Answer keysA key for every page
Built-in assessmentExit tickets + lesson quiz
45-minute daysEvery day planned and timed
A short browser game practices this lesson with new examples. Students play on a computer or tablet, with no account and nothing to install. Use it with the lesson or instead of the paper activity.
Play itWhat does this lesson cover?
Many students think memory and storage are the same thing, or that a bigger drive fixes any slow computer. This lesson corrects both ideas with customer problems that students must solve. They learn when to close programs, when to free up space and how to bring back a deleted file.
The lab on Day 2 has an online version that uses Tech Shop, our online game, in the Speed and Space level. It practices deciding if a computer's problem is memory or storage, then freeing RAM, freeing space, saving or bringing a file back. Every online version comes with a paper version, so no internet is needed. Our game is free, with no accounts or sign-ins.
Speed and Space
Students help six customers with a slow computer, a full drive or lost work, and log each fix, on paper or in the Tech Shop game.
Everything that's included
00 Start Here
- READ FIRST: every file in the lesson and when you use it
- Teacher guide and pacing: the plan for each day, what to print and how to grade
- Skills map: which standards each day teaches
01 Present
- One editable PowerPoint deck for all three days, 25 slides, with speaker notes
- Slide script: the speaker notes, printed
- Bell ringers: a short warm-up for each day
02 Student Handouts
- Guided notes for all three days, in PDF and editable Word, with the word bank on the page
- Vocab slip: the lesson's words and what they mean, on one page
03 Labs
- Speed and Space: help six customers with a slow computer, a full drive or lost work, and log each fix, on paper or in the Tech Shop game
04 Activities
- Where Does It Live? Decide if each thing lives in memory or in storage, and explain why
- The Step Counter: explain what a step-counting app keeps and loses when a phone dies, on paper
05 Assessment
- Exit tickets, one per day: quick questions that show who needs more help
- Lesson quiz: 10 multiple-choice questions and 2 written answers about all three days
06 Answer Keys
- 5 answer key files: a key for each day (its bell ringer, notes and exit ticket) and the activity and lab keys, plus the quiz key
Digital: Google Forms™ + Google Slides™
- 4 Google Forms™ of the exit tickets and the quiz, ready to copy into your Drive
- The multiple choice grades itself, and you grade the written answers
- A Google Slides™ copy of the deck, with the same slides and speaker notes, for Google Classroom™
Online: Tech Shop
- Tech Shop, Speed and Space level: the online version of the Day 2 lab
- Every online version has a paper version, so no internet is needed
- Free to play, with no accounts or sign-ins
Why teachers love this lesson
Students decide before they fixFor each customer, students first decide if the problem is memory or storage. Then they choose the fix and explain why it helps.
It connects hardware to programsStudents see that an app holds its data in memory while it runs and must save it to storage before the power goes off.
Print and digitalEvery page is a print-ready PDF, and the Google Forms™ and Google Slides™ let you teach the same lesson in Google Classroom™.
Real online activitiesStudents can use Tech Shop on a computer or tablet, and every online version has a paper version that works with no internet.
A key for every pageEvery day has its own answer key, and every written question has a sample answer and what to look for.
Every day fits a 45-minute classEach day's plan is timed activity by activity against real reading and writing speeds.
What Teachers Say
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How do I get the files after I buy?
Instant download right after checkout: PowerPoint and Word files you can edit, print-ready PDFs, and links that copy the Google Forms™ and Google Slides™ into your Drive.
Can I buy the whole unit or course instead?
Yes. This lesson is part of the Unit 1 bundle and the complete Computer Science Fundamentals course. Both cost less than buying the lessons one at a time.
Is this AP Computer Science?
No. It is a full-year, non-AP intro course for grades 9 to 12. For AP, see AP Computer Science Principles and AP Computer Science A.
What formats are the files in?
Every page is a print-ready PDF. The slides are an editable PowerPoint and the guided notes an editable Word file. The exit tickets and the quiz also come as Google Forms™, and the deck as Google Slides™.
Which standards does it cover?
Written for Florida's Advanced Information Technology course (9007610). The skills map in the lesson shows which standards each day teaches.