In Art, students create animations, interactive artwork, photograph filters, and other exciting, artistic projects.
Art is a complete theme designed to be completed over eight, 45-75 minute, sessions. For each Activity, students will watch a series of videos and create one coding project with opportunities to personalize their work using “Add-Ons”, which are mini-coding challenges that build on top of the core project.
Be sure to review the Materials tab for the lesson plan, starter guide, and more.
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In Game Design, students learn basic video game coding concepts by making different types of games, including racing, platform, launching, and more!
Game Design is a complete theme designed to be completed over eight, 45-75 minute, sessions. For each activity, students will watch a series of videos and create one coding project with opportunities to personalize their work using “Add-Ons”, which are mini-coding challenges that build on top of the core project.
Students have practiced creating impressive designs in Artist and navigating mazes in Bee, but today they will use functions to harvest crops in Harvester. This lesson will push students to use functions in new ways by combining them with while loops and if / else statements.
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if / else
This lesson is meant to further push students to use functions in more creative ways. By also using conditionals and loops, students will learn there are many ways to approach a problem, but some are more efficient than others. These puzzles are intended to increase problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
Students will be able to:- recognize when a function could help to simplify a program.- use pre-determined functions to complete commonly repeated tasks.
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Students will be introduced to using functions on Code.org. Magnificent images will be created and modified with functions in Artist. For more complicated patterns, students will learn about nesting functions by calling one function from inside another.
One of the most important components of this lesson is providing students with a space to create something they are proud of. These puzzles progress to more and more complex images, but each new puzzle only builds off the previous puzzle. At the end of this lesson, students will feel confident with themselves and proud of their hard work.
Students will be able to:- categorize and generalize code into useful functions.- recognize when a function could help to simplify a program.
This series brings together concepts from previous lessons and gives students a chance to think critically about how they would solve each problem, but without telling them which concept to apply. Students will review basic algorithms, debugging, repeat loops, conditionals, while loops, and functions.
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It's important for students to remember that computer science provides plenty of opportunities to be creative. Every topic can be combined with another to make something bigger and better. In this lesson, students will use previously learned concepts together, allowing for a "big picture" view of programming projects. This lesson will also bridge any gaps in understanding of when to use certain programming tools over others.
Students will be able to:- recognize which programming concept to use to solve a given problem.- describe the different ways one could solve a given problem.
Over the course of four lessons, students will be building up to programming a project of their own design using either Sprite Lab or Artist as their programming environment. In this portion of the project, students will learn about the design process and how to implement it in their own projects. The lesson guide for all four stages of the process can be found in the first stage of this project process here.
Students may be ready to jump straight into building their projects, but this lesson will help shape their ideas into plans. This structure will keep the dreamers grounded and illuminate a path for those feeling left in the dark.
Students will be able to:- shape ideas into reasonable goals and plans.- recognize any potential obstacles such as time constraints or bugs.
Over the course of four lessons, students will be building up to programming a project of their own design using either Sprite Lab or Artist as their programming environment. Now the students will be given their own space to create their project with either Artist or Sprite Lab. This is likely to be the longest stage of the project. The lesson guide for all four stages of the process can be found in the first stage of this project process here.
This lesson provides students with ample time to build and revise their projects. The trial and error inevitably involved in this lesson will teach problem solving and persistence.
Students will be able to:- use the planned design as a blueprint for creation.- overcome obstacles such as time constraints or bugs.
In computer science, we face some big, daunting problems. Challenges such as finding large prime numbers or sequencing DNA are almost impossible to do as an individual. Adding the power of others makes these tasks manageable. This lesson will show your students how helpful teamwork can be in the industry of computer science.
It's very rare that one computer scientist works completely alone on a project. Even when that does happen, there is always a benefit in numbers. Today, students will learn what it means to crowdsource a project. This activity builds teamwork and creates an efficient environment for students to solve problems.
Students will be able to:- identify a large task that needs to be done.- rearrange a large task into several smaller tasks.- build a complete solution from several smaller solutions.
Using a special set of offline commands, students will design algorithms to instruct a "robot" to stack cups in different patterns. Students will take turns participating as the robot, responding only to the algorithm defined by their peers. This segment teaches students the connection between symbols and actions, the difference between an algorithm and a program, and the valuable skill of debugging.
This unplugged lesson brings the class together as a team with a simple task to complete: get a "robot" to stack cups in a specific design. Students will work to recognize real-world actions as potential instructions in code. The art of following precise instructions will also be practiced, as students work to translate algorithms into code, using the symbols provided. If problems arise in the code, students should work together to recognize bugs and build solutions. This activity lays the groundwork for the programming that students will do throughout the course as they learn the importance of defining a clearly communicated algorithm.
Students will be able to:- reframe a sequence of steps as an encoded program.- identify and address bugs or errors in sequenced instructions.
In this set of puzzles, students will begin with an introduction (or review depending on the experience of your class) of Code.org's online workspace. There will be videos pointing out the basic functionality of the workspace including the Run, Reset, and Step buttons. Also discussed in these videos: dragging Blockly blocks, deleting Blockly blocks, and connecting Blockly blocks. Next, students will practice their sequencing and debugging skills in a maze.
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We recognize that every classroom has a spectrum of understanding for every subject. Some students in your class may be computer wizards, while others haven't had much experience at all. In order to create an equal playing (and learning) field, we have developed this "Ramp Up Stage" for Course E. This can be used as either an introduction or a review of how to use Code.org and basic computer science concepts.
Students will be able to:- order movement commands as sequential steps in a program.- modify an existing program to solve errors.- break down a long sequence of instructions into the largest repeatable sequence.
New and unsolved problems are often pretty hard. If we want to have any chance of making something creative, useful, and clever, then we need to be willing to attack hard problems even if it means failing a few times before we succeed. In this lesson, students will be building a structure with common materials. The structure will be tested on its ability to hold a textbook for more than ten seconds. Most students will not get this right the first time, but it's important they push through and keep trying.
This lesson teaches that failure is not the end of a journey, but a hint for how to succeed. The majority of students will feel frustrated at some point in this lesson, but it's important to emphasize that failure and frustration are common steps to creativity and success.
Students will be able to:- outline steps to complete a structural engineering challenge.- predict and discuss potential issues in structure creation.- build a structure based on a team plan.- revise both the plan and the structure until they satisfy the challenge.
Debugging is an essential element of learning to program. In this lesson, students will encounter puzzles that have been solved incorrectly. They will need to step through the existing code to identify errors, including incorrect loops, missing blocks, extra blocks, and blocks that are out of order.
Students in your class might become frustrated with this lesson because of the essence of debugging. Debugging is a concept that is very important to computer programming. Computer scientists have to get really good at facing the bugs in their own programs. Debugging forces the students to recognize problems and overcome them while building critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Students will be able to:- predict where a program will fail.- modify an existing program to solve errors.- reflect on the debugging process in an age-appropriate way.
In this lesson, students will take control of the Artist to complete drawings on the screen. This Artist stage will allow students to create images of increasing complexity using new blocks like move forward by 100 pixels and turn right by 90 degrees.
move forward by 100 pixels
turn right by 90 degrees
Building off of the students' previous experience with sequencing, this lesson will work to inspire more creativity with coding. The purpose of this lesson is to solidify knowledge of sequencing by introducing new blocks and goals. In this case, students learn more about pixels and angles using the new blocks, while still practicing their sequencing skills. Also, students will be able to visualize new goals such as coding the Artist to draw a square.
Students will be able to:- create a program to complete an image using sequential steps.- break complex shapes into simple parts.
Building on the initial "My Robotic Friends" activity, students learn to use loops when programming their robots in order to build bigger structures more efficiently.
This lesson serves as a reintroduction to loops, using the now-familiar set of "robot" programming instructions. Students will develop critical thinking skills by looking for patterns of repetition in the movements of classmates and determining how to simplify those repeated patterns using loops.
Students will be able to:- identify repeated patterns in code that could be replaced with a loop- write instructions that use loops to repeat patterns.
Watch student faces light up as they make their own gorgeous designs using a small number of blocks and digital stickers! This lesson builds on the understanding of loops from previous lessons and gives students a chance to be truly creative. This activity is fantastic for producing artifacts for portfolios or parent/teacher conferences.
This series highlights the power of loops with creative and personal designs. Offered as a project-backed sequence, this progression will allow students to build on top of their own work and create amazing artifacts.
Students will be able to:- identify the benefits of using a loop structure instead of manual repetition.- differentiate between commands that need to be repeated in loops and commands that should be used on their own.
In this online activity, students will have the opportunity to push their understanding of loops to a whole new level. Playing with the Bee and Plants vs. Zombies, students will learn how to program a loop to be inside of another loop. They will also be encouraged to figure out how little changes in either loop will affect their program when they click Run.
In this introduction to nested loops, students will go outside of their comfort zone to create more efficient solutions to puzzles. In earlier puzzles, loops pushed students to recognize repetition. Here, students will learn to recognize patterns within repeated patterns to develop these nested loops. This stage starts off by encouraging students to try to solve a puzzle where the code is irritating and complex to write out the long way. After a video introduces nested loops, students are shown an example and asked to predict what will happen when a loop is put inside of another loop. This progression leads to plenty of practice for students to solidify and build on their understanding of looping in programming.
Students will be able to:- break complex tasks into smaller repeatable sections.- recognize large repeated patterns as made from smaller repeated patterns.- identify the benefits of using a loop structure instead of manual repetition.
Now that students know how to layer their loops, they can create so many beautiful things. This lesson will take students through a series of exercises to help them create their own portfolio-ready images using Anna and Elsa's excellent ice-skating skills!
In this series, students will get practice nesting loops while creating images that they will be excited to share. Beginning with a handful of instructions, students will make their own decisions when it comes to creating designs for repetition. They will then spin those around a variety of ways to end up with a work of art that is truly unique.
Students will be able to:- describe when a loop, nested loop, or no loop is needed.- recognize the difference between using a loop and a nested loop.- break apart code into the largest repeatable sequences using both loops and nested loops.
This lesson demonstrates how conditionals can be used to tailor a program to specific information. We don’t always have all of the information we need when writing a program. Sometimes you will want to do something different in one situation than in another, even if you don't know what situation will be true when your code runs. That is where conditionals come in. Conditionals allow a computer to make a decision, based on the information that is true any time your code is run.
One of the best parts of teaching conditionals is that students already understand the concept from their everyday lives. This lesson merges computer science into the real world by building off of their ability to tell if a condition is true or false. Students will learn to use if statements to declare when a certain command should be run, as well as if / else statements to declare when a command should be run and what do run otherwise. Students may not recognize the word conditionals, but most students will understand the idea of using "if" to make sure that some action only occurs when it is supposed to.
Students will be able to:- define circumstances when certain parts of a program should run and when they shouldn't.- determine whether a conditional is met based on criteria.- traverse a program and predict the outcome, given a set of input.
This lesson introduces students to while loops and if / else statements. While loops are loops that continue to repeat commands as long as a condition is true. While loops are used when the programmer doesn't know the exact number of times the commands need to be repeated, but the programmer does know what condition needs to be true in order for the loop to continue looping. If / Else statements offer flexibility in programming by running entire sections of code only if something is true, otherwise, it runs something else.
If / Else
A basic understanding of conditionals is a recommended prerequisite for Course E. We created this introduction to give a review for the students already familiar to conditionals and allow practice for the students that are just learning. If you find that the understanding of conditionals varies widely in your classroom, we recommend a strategic pairing of students when completing this online lesson.
Students will be able to:- define circumstances when certain parts of a program should run and when they shouldn't.- determine whether a conditional is met based on criteria.
In this lesson, students will practice using events to build a game that they can share online. Featuring R2-D2 and other Star Wars characters, students will be guided through events, then given space to create their own game.
CS Fundamentals is not simply about teaching computer science, it is about making computer science fun and exciting. In this series, students will learn about events using popular characters from Star Wars. These puzzles blur the lines between "learning" and "fun". Also, students will learn to recognize regular programming practices in games so that when they play games at home, they can see common computer science principles being used.
Students will be able to:- create an animated, interactive game using sequence and events.- identify actions that correlate to input events.
One of the most magnificent structures in the computer science world is the function. Functions (sometimes called procedures) are mini-programs that you can use over and over inside of your bigger program. This lesson will help students intuitively understand why combining chunks of code into functions can be such a helpful practice.
The use of functions helps simplify code and develop the students' ability to organize their program. Students will quickly recognize that writing functions can make their long programs easier to read and easier to debug if something goes wrong.
Students will be able to:- locate repeating phrases inside song lyrics.- identify sections of a song to pull into a function.- describe how functions can make programs easier to write.
Students will begin to understand how functions can be helpful in this fun and interactive Minecraft adventure! Students will discover the versatility of programming by practicing functions in different environments. Here, students will recognize reusable patterns and be able to incorporate named blocks to call pre-defined functions.
Students will be able to:- use functions to simplify complex programs.- use pre-determined functions to complete commonly repeated tasks.
In this activity students work in small groups to write the steps to an everyday task or the steps in a "how to" scenario. The steps the groups write serve as an algorithm. The groups will then swap their writing for the teams to now "debug" each other's work to make the steps more precise.
This activity was demonstrated during the Exploring Today's Classroom (ETC) Summit.
