What Is a Computer? Screens, Buttons, and Clicks

Point to something near you that lights up and shows pictures. A tablet? A phone? A laptop? These are all computers! A computer is a machine that follows your steps to help you play, draw, and learn. It cannot think on its own. It waits for you to tap, click, or press a button to tell it what to do.

In this lesson you will learn to: - Point to the main parts of a computer. - Name what a screen, mouse, and keyboard do. - Understand that a computer only does what YOU tell it. - Use a click or a tap to make something happen.

A computer has parts you can see and touch. The screen is the flat part that shows pictures and words, like a window into the computer. The keyboard has lots of little buttons called keys with letters and numbers on them. The mouse is a small thing you slide with your hand to move a little arrow on the screen. On a tablet or phone, the screen is also the button. You just tap it with your finger!

A computer is a little like a puppy that only does tricks when you ask. It does not decide on its own. When you tap a red button, the computer does the red button job. When you tap a blue button, it does the blue button job. This means YOU are the boss of the computer. It waits for you to tell it what to do next.

A click is when you press the button on a mouse. A tap is when you touch the screen with your finger. Both are ways to say YES to the computer, like knocking on a door. When you click or tap a picture called an icon, the computer opens it up. That is how you start a game or a drawing app.