I had my first programming class in 1979 and we used TRS80 Level II Basic. I was in 8th grade and the concept of a variable representing a value was being taught in programming, and also in algebra class. We drew diagrams on the blackboard to illustrate that each variable was associated with some location in the computer's memory, and the computer's memory was storing a value. A simple program changed a certain value for each statement, and we "played computer" by walking through the program, and writing variables' values on the blackboard.

We did simple programs like

10 FOUR = 5

20 FIVE = 6

30 PRINT FOUR + FIVE

We also did flow chart diagrams, IF conditionals, and some elementary logic.

Since I was taking the course just at the beginning of the PC era, I had barely used a computer prior to taking this class, as my elementary school days preceded the widespread penetration of the home PC. Perhaps I was fortunate in this respect.