Unit 11: Grade 6 Lessons

This lesson helps to explain what variables are and how we can use them in many different ways. The idea of variables isn't an easy concept to grasp, so we recommend allowing plenty of time for discussion at the end of the lesson.

In this task, students must determine how four grandchildren should combine their money to purchase a gift (art supplies) for their Nana/grandma. The grandchildren in the story are different ages and have different amounts of money they earn or already have. The students must come up with a recommendation about how to share the cost of the present. The plan must be fair and usable in other similar situations. Students are asked to report out plan with a group poster and whole class discussion. Content standards include operations with whole numbers and money, multistep problem solving and rounding with money.

In this week long mini-unit, students create a pseudocode for the actions to determine which integer is greater than another, then identify the Scratch coding blocks that will carry out these actions. They can remix a sample Scratch project or programme their own from a starter Scratch project. The use of a number line in the coding projects gives a visual representation to the integers.

Note: For teachers not familiar with Scratch coding, instructions are included to assist your teaching of these lessons.

In this week long mini-unit, students create a pseudocode for the actions to determine the actions used when using an "input/output machine" then identify the Scratch coding blocks that will carry out these actions. They can remix a sample Scratch project or programme their own from a starter Scratch project. This lesson focuses on developing your students' understanding of positive and negative integers.

Note: For teachers not familiar with Scratch coding, instructions are included to assist your teaching of these lessons.