Big Idea:

Making paths and writing codes to describe them

Expectations:

C3. Coding: solve problems and create computational representations of mathematical situations using coding concepts and skills

• Coding Skills: C3.1 solve problems and create computational representations of mathematical situations by writing and executing code, including code that involves sequential and concurrent events

teacher background

Students may benefit from prior experience with:

• giving directions

• using positional language (right, left, up, down)

• measuring length with cubes

Key concepts

• In coding, a sequential set of instructions is executed based on the order of instructions given (e.g., a pixelated image stops its motion and then changes colours).

• Concurrent events are when multiple things are occurring at the same time (e.g., a pixelated image is changing its colours while moving).

• Sometimes concurrent programs need to use time delays or wait blocks. For example, to ensure that two pixelated images do not collide on the screen, or, similarly that robots do not collide in real life, one may need to pause while the other passes.

• Some sequential events can be executed concurrently if they are independent of each other (e.g., two pixelated images are moving across the screen at the same time).

Note

• Coding can support the development of a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts.

• Coding can provide an opportunity for students to communicate their understanding of mathematical concepts.

• Coding can include a combination of pseudocode, block-based coding programs, and text-based coding programs.

• Students can program for various agents, such as a pixelated image on a screen, a classmate acting out the code when appropriate, or a physical device (e.g., robot, microcontroller).

Go on a gallery walk to see the different paths students made and the corresponding codes. Have students check the codes and explain how they know whether they are correct. Help students see that many paths are possible. Have students share the strategies they used to write the code for the path from B to A (e.g., starting from scratch, or reading the code from A to B backward and changing the positional words to their opposites). Discuss how students found different paths (e.g., removing all trains of cubes and starting over, or moving cubes from one train to another).

Highlight for Students

• We can write a code to describe movement from one point to another.

• There are many possible paths to move from one point to another.

Accommodations: Use Master 59b, where A and B are closer together.

Extension: Use Master 59c and have students write codes to describe the paths from C to A and from C to B.

Combined Grades Extension: Students place a ruler along the cubes, measure the paths, and then write codes involving centimetres (e.g., 10 cm right, then 12 cm up).

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SEL Self-Assessments (English) and Teacher Rubric

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