Objective: 

Students will create a storyboard to visually represent their program development process, using annotated images and journal entries to explain the choices made at each stage.

Materials Needed: 

• Large paper, markers

• Sticky notes for annotations

• Journals

Steps:

• Introduction: 

  • The teacher introduces the concept of visually presenting the process of program development through storyboards. 

  • Students learn they will create a storyboard that illustrates key moments in the creation of their program, using annotations and journal entries to explain their decisions.

• Activity: 

  • In groups, students create a storyboard that outlines the major steps in developing their program, such as brainstorming ideas, identifying problems, and testing their solutions. 

  • For each step, they draw a scene and add sticky notes with brief annotations to explain what decisions were made and why. 

  • Students reflect on their journal entries to incorporate details about challenges and successes. 

  • After completing their storyboards, they add key visuals to enhance their presentation, such as arrows showing the flow of steps.

• Presentation: 

  • Each group presents their storyboard to another group, explaining how they developed their program, describing key choices they made, and reflecting on challenges they encountered. 

  • Students use their annotations and visuals to enhance the clarity of their explanation.

Equity and Access: 

Provide pre-labeled storyboard templates for students needing extra guidance and encourage mixed-ability group collaboration.

Real-World Connection: 

Relate the storyboard process to how designers and engineers use visual aids like diagrams and storyboards to communicate project development in real-world industries such as film, app development, and engineering.

CS Practice(s): 

• Communicating About Computing: Students explain their program development process through annotated storyboards and journal reflections. 

• Creating Computational Artifacts: Students organize, design, and present their computational decisions visually.

Standard(s): 

• CA CCSS for ELA-Literacy SL.4.5

• CA CS 3-5.AP.19

Objective: 

Students will use Scratch or another coding platform to create and present a program, documenting and justifying their design choices using code comments, videos, and annotated screenshots to explain their process.

Materials Needed: 

• Computers

• Video recording tools (tablets, smartphones)

• Presentation software

Steps:

• Introduction: 

  • The teacher explains that students will create a program in a coding platform and present their development process using videos, code comments, and annotated screenshots. 

  • Students will describe the design choices they made, why they added certain code blocks, and how they tested their program.

• Activity: 

  • In pairs, students use a coding platform to develop a simple program, such as animating a character through a scene. 

  • As they code, they document their process by adding comments to explain the purpose of each block of code. 

  • They also record short video clips to explain key decisions and challenges. 

  • Once the program is complete, students take screenshots of their code and annotate the images to highlight important steps in their design process. 

  • These annotations, combined with videos and code comments, will be used to create a final presentation.

• Presentation: 

  • Each pair presents their program, using their videos and annotated images to explain how they developed the program, what changes they made during debugging, and why they chose specific blocks of code. 

  • They discuss how code comments helped them stay organized throughout the development process.

Equity and Access: 

Provide pre-coded coding templates for students who need additional support and pair students with varying levels of coding experience for collaboration.

Real-World Connection: 

Discuss how professional software developers use code comments, documentation, and presentations to communicate their design choices and ensure that their work can be understood and improved by others.

CS Practice(s): 

• Communicating About Computing: Students document and present their program development using videos, code comments, and annotated screenshots. 

• Testing and Refining Computational Artifacts: Students describe how they iteratively improved their program by testing and debugging.

Standard(s): 

• CA CCSS for ELA-Literacy SL.4.5

• CA CS 3-5.AP.19