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Coding: Teaching Coding in the K-12 Classroom
Coding: Teaching Coding in the K-12 Classroom
Explore helpful resources to get you started teaching coding with your elementary, middle or high school students. Plan, teach and reflect on your first coding lesson.
Your Techpedition:
Your Techpedition:
Coding: Teaching Coding in the K-12 Classroom
Coding: Teaching Coding in the K-12 Classroom
In this quest we will explore helpful resources to get you started teaching coding activities with your elementary, middle or high school students. Completion of this quest will include teaching and reflecting on your first coding lesson.
Research Lesson Resources
Research Lesson Resources
Use the video and links below to research resourses for your coding lessons. Keep in mind that your first lesson will need to start with a general introduction of computer programming. The video below gives a brief summary of several different coding websites and apps that are user friendly for students and make coding fun.
Made especially for younger students, Scratchjr.org, helps kids create stories, animation and games using code. Scratch Jr. can be accessed on the computer or via app on a tablet.
Developed by MIT, Scratch.mit.edu helps students create stories, animations and games using code. Scratch can be accessed on the computer or via app in a tablet.
Code.org Code Studio Code.org provides a variety of coding tutorials for all ages.
CodeHS is a comprehensive teaching platform for helping schools teach computer science. We provide web-based curriculum, teacher tools and resources, and professional development.
Watch
Watch
Watch some of the videos on the YouTube Coding Playlist. Consider which video might help inspire your students to learn to code. You may want to include a video as part of your introduction to coding in your first coding lesson
Consider Unplugged Activities
Consider Unplugged Activities
Consider including an "unplugged" coding activity in your lesson that doesn't use computers. How can you use movement and directional phrases to teach coding language? Here's an example activity that works for all ages to introduce coding language:
Tell the students you are a robot. They must use coding language to get you to move from one part of the room to a designated spot across the room. If your classroom floor has squares, use these to count steps. If there are no squares on the floor, just count steps. Ask your students to give you commands to get to the the designated spot. This might sounds like this:
Move forward 3 steps.
Turn right.
Move forward 9 steps.
Turn left.
Move forward 1 step.
As the robot, be sure to move based only on their commands. If their commands cause you to bump into the wall or a chair, pretend to bump into the wall or chair. They will need to problem solve to move you around the barrier. They may even need to hit the imaginary "Reset" button. Emphasize that programming is all about problem solving and learning from mistakes. After they "program" you correctly, ask for student volunteers for the class to program. Make the goal more difficult by adding more obstacles in the path.
Teach
Teach
Now that you have explored several resources to use when teaching coding in the classroom, consider which videos, apps and websites will best meet the needs of your learners as they begin to learn coding. Make a plan for your first coding lesson. Teach it! Be sure to take a snapshot of your lesson. Reflect: What went well? What will you do differently next time? How could you incorporate coding activities regularly in your classroom?
Submission Details:
After teaching your first coding lesson, reflect on the following questions. Submit a brief reflection of your lesson and a snapshot of your lesson in this Google Doc -
What went well? What will you do differently next time? How could you incorporate coding activities regularly in your classroom?
Congratulations You Completed the Coding Techpedition!
Congratulations You Completed the Coding Techpedition!
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