brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/ada-lovelace-first-programmer/
45-minute lesson plan
| Time | Stage | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3′ | Warm-up | Ask the class: “What can computers do today that people in the 1800s could not imagine? Make a list of three things.” Let a few students answer. |
| 3–10′ | Words | Pre-teach the 5 words with the flashcards: algorithm, analytical, visionary, notes, calculation. Say each word, show the meaning, and ask for a quick example. |
| 10–17′ | Video | Play the video (5:10). Students follow the transcript. Play it a second time if needed. |
| 17–25′ | Comprehension | Worksheet C (or the online Story Challenge): check answers together. Ask “How do you know?” |
| 25–33′ | Grammar | ahead of her / his / its time: to say that someone's ideas or an invention were too new for the people of that time; people understood them only later. Show “Her ideas were a hundred years ahead of her time.”, then do worksheet E together. |
| 33–40′ | Worksheet | Students do worksheet A, B and D alone or in pairs. Check with the answer key. |
| 40–45′ | Speaking | In pairs: “Ada called her way of thinking "poetical science": imagination and logic together. Which is more important for an inventor — imagination or logic? Why?” |
Homework: students finish the lesson online (flashcards + Story Challenge). With your class link, you see who finished.
Words and grammar
- algorithm (noun): a list of steps that tells a computer exactly what to do. “She wrote an algorithm for the machine.”
- analytical (adjective): looking at a problem carefully, step by step, and thinking with logic. “She had a sharp, analytical mind.”
- visionary (noun): someone who can imagine the future and has new ideas long before other people. “Today, she is seen as a visionary.”
- notes (noun (plural)): short pieces of writing that explain something or add information to a text. “Her notes were three times longer than the article.”
- calculation (noun): the work of using numbers to find an answer. “The machine could do long calculations without mistakes.”
Grammar: ahead of her / his / its time — to say that someone's ideas or an invention were too new for the people of that time; people understood them only later. “Her ideas were a hundred years ahead of her time.”
Discussion questions
- Ada called her way of thinking "poetical science": imagination and logic together. Which is more important for an inventor — imagination or logic? Why?
- What was the hardest moment in Ada Lovelace's story? What did Ada Lovelace do?
- Make two sentences about your own life with “ahead of her / his / its time”. (From the story: “Her ideas were a hundred years ahead of her time.”)
Student worksheet
A Match the words to their meanings
- algorithm (noun)
- analytical (adjective)
- visionary (noun)
- notes (noun (plural))
- calculation (noun)
- mathematics (noun)
- punch card (noun)
- countess (noun)
- a list of steps that tells a computer exactly what to do
- a woman with a high noble title, or the wife of an earl or count
- short pieces of writing that explain something or add information to a text
- looking at a problem carefully, step by step, and thinking with logic
- the study of numbers, shapes and patterns (short: maths / math)
- the work of using numbers to find an answer
- a card with a pattern of holes that gives instructions to a machine
- someone who can imagine the future and has new ideas long before other people
B Complete the sentences from the story
notes · Countess · punch cards · calculations · analytical · visionary · mathematics · algorithm
- Her mother loved .
- The engine would follow instructions on .
- Ada became the of Lovelace.
- She wrote an for the machine.
- Today, she is seen as a .
- Her were three times longer than the article.
- She had a sharp, mind.
- The machine could do long without mistakes.
C Did you understand?
- Ada grew up with her father, the poet Lord Byron.True / False
- What did Ada plan when she was twelve?
- A new kind of piano
- A flying machine powered by steam
- A book of poems
- A trip around the world
- What did the Analytical Engine use to follow instructions?
- Electricity and screens
- Spoken words
- Punched cards, like a silk loom
- Paper money
- The Analytical Engine was built in 1843.True / False
- How long were Ada's notes?
- Half as long as the article
- One page
- Exactly as long as the article
- Three times longer than the article
- Ada imagined that a machine like this might one day compose music.True / False
D Put the words in order
- ideas / were / her / hundred / ahead / a / Her / years / time / of
E Grammar: ahead of her / his / its time
We use it for to say that someone's ideas or an invention were too new for the people of that time; people understood them only later. be ahead of your time: She was ahead of her time. · be + amount + ahead of … time: Her ideas were a hundred years ahead of her time. · far ahead of … time: The idea was far ahead of its time. · for things: The machine was ahead of its time.
Example from the story: Her ideas were a hundred years ahead of her time.
- People didn't understand her ideas until much later. She was of her time. (ahead / behind / before)
- Babbage's engine was never built. It was ahead of time. (its / it's / his)
- For a girl in 1828, a flying machine was far ahead its time. (of / to / from)
F Your turn
Retell Ada Lovelace's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.
Answer key
A. 1a 2d 3h 4c 5f 6e 7g 8b
B. 1 mathematics · 2 punch cards · 3 Countess · 4 algorithm · 5 visionary · 6 notes · 7 analytical · 8 calculations
C. 1 False · 2 b · 3 c · 4 False · 5 d · 6 True
D. 1 Her ideas were a hundred years ahead of her time.
E. 1 ahead · 2 its · 3 of
Transcript
In 1843, a young woman wrote about a machine that did not exist yet.
She said that one day, it might even make music.
Almost nobody understood her.
Was she just dreaming, or could she see the future?
This is the story of Ada Lovelace.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
Algorithm. An algorithm is a list of steps that tells a computer exactly what to do.
She wrote an algorithm for the machine.
Analytical. An analytical person looks at a problem carefully, step by step, and thinks with logic.
She had a sharp, analytical mind.
Visionary. A visionary is someone who can imagine the future and has new ideas long before other people.
Today, she is seen as a visionary.
Notes. Notes are short pieces of writing that explain something or add information to a text.
Her notes were three times longer than the article.
Calculation. A calculation is the work of using numbers to find an answer.
The machine could do long calculations without mistakes.
Now, one expression: ahead of her time.
If you are ahead of your time, your ideas are too new for the people around you.
People didn't understand her ideas for a hundred years.
Her ideas were a hundred years ahead of her time.
Ready? Let's begin.
Ada was born in London in 1815.
Her father was Lord Byron, one of the most famous poets in the world.
But he left when she was one month old, and she never saw him again.
Her mother loved mathematics.
She did not want her daughter to become a wild, dreamy poet like her father.
So Ada had teachers for mathematics, science and logic.
She grew up with a sharp, analytical mind.
But Ada also loved to dream.
At twelve, she decided she wanted to fly.
She studied birds, tested paper, silk and feathers, and planned a flying machine powered by steam.
For a girl in 1828, the idea was far ahead of its time.
In 1833, at seventeen, she met the inventor Charles Babbage.
At his home, he showed his guests part of a machine made of shining brass wheels.
The machine could do long calculations without mistakes.
Other visitors just stared.
Ada understood how it worked.
Babbage then planned an even greater machine, the Analytical Engine.
It would follow instructions on punched cards, like the looms that wove patterns into silk.
But there was no money to build it, and it was never built.
Like its inventor, it was ahead of its time.
Ada married and became the Countess of Lovelace.
She had three children.
Then, in 1842, an Italian engineer wrote an article about Babbage's engine.
Ada translated it into English, and she added her own notes.
Her notes were three times longer than the article.
In the last one, she showed step by step how the engine could work out a difficult series of numbers.
She wrote an algorithm for the machine.
Many people call it the first computer program.
But her boldest idea was this.
Numbers can stand for other things, like letters or sounds.
So a machine like this, she wrote, might one day compose music.
Babbage was amazed.
He called her the Enchantress of Number.
Ada died in 1852, at only thirty-six.
For about a hundred years, her notes were almost forgotten.
Then the first electronic computers were built.
In 1953, her notes were published again, and people finally understood them.
Today, she is seen as a visionary.
A programming language is named Ada, and every October, Ada Lovelace Day celebrates women in science.
So, was she just dreaming?
No. Her ideas were a hundred years ahead of her time.
Let's review. She wrote an algorithm for the machine.
She had a sharp, analytical mind.
Today, she is seen as a visionary.
Her notes were three times longer than the article.
The machine could do long calculations without mistakes.
And remember: her ideas were a hundred years ahead of her time.
Ada's story teaches us: imagination and logic are stronger together.
Want more interesting lessons?
Go to brightlivesenglish.com.
Please subscribe and learn with us.