Year 5 Flat-file databases worksheet

“Paper database cards” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 5 computing unit “Flat-file databases”, for children aged 9 to 10, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 19 to 24 of the year, 6 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Paper database cards

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 5 · Computing · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can explain why every record uses the same fields, and when a tick box is enough.

A Look back3 min

1.
The robot starts on the top-left square. Circle the arrows that take it to the star.
→ →↓ ↓→ ↓
2.
A rock blocks the middle-left square. Circle the arrows that take the robot to the star without touching the rock.
↓ ↓→ ↓ ↓ ←→ ↓ ← ↓↓ → ↓
3.
Join each word to its meaning.
algorithmbugdebug
a mistake in the stepsfind and fix a mistakea set of steps to follow

B Watch me, then you4 min

Sam is making animal cards. Every card has a field called Has wings?. Sam decides what kind of box it needs.

A stack of plain paper cards beside a pencil on a wooden table

Watch me

Has wings? is a question with a yes or no answer.

A tick means yes, and an empty box means no.

So a tick box is enough for this field.

Now you

1.
Sam adds the field Number of legs to every card. What kind of answer does it need, and why?

C Your turn6 min

Think about whether each field's answer is yes or no, or whether it needs words or a number.

1.
Write each field under the right heading.
Can swim?NameHas wings?
Tick box Words or numbers
2.
Write each field under the right heading.
Can fly?Number of legsFavourite colourHas a tail?
Tick box Words or numbers
3.
Ali's cat card has a Has fur? field. Ali's fish card does not. What goes wrong when Ali sorts all the cards using that field?
4.
Join each field to the kind of answer it needs.
Can fly?Number of legsName
a worda ticka number

Say it out loud: What made a field need a tick, and what made a field need words or numbers?

D Spot the mistake3 min

A plain paper record card with one small empty box at its side

Kit says: “A tick in a box is not real data, so every card needs words in every box.”

1.
Is Kit right? Explain in one sentence.

E Think deeper4 min

Imagine a database of snails in a garden.

A snail on a wet leaf in a garden after rain

1.
Make up a record card for a snail with four fields. Use one tick box field and one words or numbers field. Then explain why every card in the database must use the same fields.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Paper database cards · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. → → If they chose ↓ ↓, the robot went down. The star is on the top row, so the arrows must go right. Ask your child which way the star is from the robot.

2. → ↓ ↓ ← If they chose → ↓ ← ↓ or ↓ → ↓, the robot would land on the rock in the middle-left square. Ask your child to trace each arrow with a finger before choosing.

3. algorithm → a set of steps to follow; bug → a mistake in the steps; debug → find and fix a mistake If debug is joined to a mistake, remind your child that a bug is the mistake and debugging is the search for it and the fix.

B

1. Look for: Says it needs a number, because the answer is not just yes or no. If your child says a tick box, ask whether one tick could show a spider's 8 legs. It needs a number.

C

1. Tick box: Can swim?, Has wings? · Words or numbers: Name If Can swim? went under Words or numbers, ask your child whether the answer could just be yes or no. A yes or no answer fits a tick box.

2. Tick box: Can fly?, Has a tail? · Words or numbers: Number of legs, Favourite colour If Number of legs went under Tick box, ask your child whether a number like 4 is a yes or no answer. It is a number, so it needs writing down.

3. Look for: Says the fish card cannot be sorted by that field, so every card needs the same fields. If your child says nothing goes wrong, ask which pile the fish card goes in when it has no Has fur? box.

4. Can fly? → a tick; Number of legs → a number; Name → a word If Name is joined to a tick, ask your child whether a name can be shown by a yes or no box. It needs a word.

D

1. Look for: A tick in a box is valid data, so records do not need words in every field. If they agree with Kit, say that a tick meaning yes tells you something, just as a word does. Ask your child to show one tick box field.

E

1. Look for: A snail card with at least one tick box field and one words or numbers field, and a reason that all cards need the same fields so they can be sorted and searched.

Words to use

Say“Which fields need a tick, and which need words or numbers? How do you know?”

Instead of“Fill every box with a sentence so the card looks finished.”

After the sheet

Make 5 cards for pets or toys at home, each with the same 3 fields. Sort the cards into two piles using one field, then count each pile together.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

5 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Let the sort do the searching(with a plan)
Searching and sorting data(with a plan)
AND and OR searches(with a plan)
Choosing the right chart(with a plan)
Databases in real life(with a plan)

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