Objective: 

Students will analyze key lines of dialogue and incidents in a short story or drama to explore how these elements propel the action or reveal character traits. They will create flowcharts to represent these decisions and outcomes using computational thinking concepts like conditionals and nested structures.

Materials Needed: 

• Short story or drama excerpts

• Paper

• Markers

Steps:

• Introduction: 

  • Students discuss how certain lines of dialogue or events in a story lead to decisions that drive the plot or reveal important character traits. 

  • Explain that these decisions can be modeled with flowcharts, similar to how programmers use conditional statements (if-then-else) to guide actions in programs.

• Group Activity: 

  • In pairs, students will select a scene and identify key decisions made by characters based on dialogue or events. 

  • They will then create flowcharts to map out how these decisions lead to different outcomes or revelations about the characters. 

  • For example, a flowchart might show how a character’s choice to trust someone (or not) leads to new plot developments.

• Presentation: 

  • Each group will present their flowchart and explain how they used conditionals to model the choices characters made, discussing how different decisions would lead to alternate outcomes.

Equity and Access: 

Provide pre-drawn flowchart templates for students who need extra support.

Real-World Application: 

Connect this exercise to decision-making in everyday life, highlighting how we constantly make choices based on conditions, much like programming logic.

CS Practice(s): 

• Recognizing and Defining Computational Problems: Students identify and model key decision points in literature as conditional problems that drive the plot forward.

Standard(s):

• CA CCSS ELA-Literacy RL.8.3

• CA CS 6-8.AP.10

Objective: 

Students will compare the structure of two different texts and use programmable robots to model how characters’ actions are based on conditions within the story. They will use nested conditionals and control structures to represent the different plot paths taken by characters.

Materials Needed: 

• Programmable robots (e.g., Dash or Sphero)

• Laptops/tablets

• Two different short stories or scenes with contrasting structures

Steps:

• Introduction: 

  • Students discuss how two stories or scenes might use different structures (linear vs. non-linear, flashbacks, etc.) to shape meaning and style. 

  • Introduce programmable robots as a way to model how different character choices in each text lead to various outcomes.

• Programming the Robots: 

  • In small groups, students will first analyze the structure of the two texts and identify key decisions made by the characters. 

  • They will then program robots to represent these actions using nested conditionals. 

  • For example, a robot might follow a specific path if a character chooses to act bravely or take a different path if they hesitate, simulating the divergent plotlines of each text.

• Testing and Refining: 

  • After running their programs, students will observe how their robots’ behavior reflects the structure and style of the texts. 

  • They will modify their code to better represent the decision points and outcomes in each story.

Equity and Access: 

Provide pre-programmed robots with adjustable conditions for students who need additional help.

Real-World Application: 

Discuss how coding languages use conditions to determine outcomes, similar to how authors use structure and character decisions to shape stories.

CS Practice(s): 

• Creating Computational Artifacts: Students program robots with nested conditionals to model different plot paths and outcomes based on character actions in two contrasting texts.

Standard(s):

• CA CCSS ELA-Literacy RL.8.3

• CA CS 6-8.AP.12