What are instructions?

Instructions are like recipes for your brain to follow when it wants to do something.

Imagine you have a toy robot that can move around. When you press a button on its body, the robot starts walking forward. That’s because inside the robot, there's a special list of steps, called instructions, telling it exactly what to do.

Think of instructions like directions for your favorite game. If you're playing "Follow the Leader," and the leader says, “Jump up and down,” that’s an instruction for you to follow. The robot follows its instructions in the same way: each step tells it something specific to do, just like each direction in the game.

You use instructions all the time! When you read a book, you're following the instructions the author wrote. When you cook a meal, you follow the instructions on the package. Even when you put your shoes on, you’re following instructions, step by step!

So whether it’s a robot walking forward or you putting on your socks, instructions help everything happen in order!