Coding
With technology changing every industry on the planet, computing knowledge has become part of a well-rounded skill set. But fewer than half of all schools teach computer science! Good news is, we’re on our way to change this. If you heard about the Hour of Code last year, you might know it made history. 100 million students have now discovered how accessible and fun computer science can be by doing just one Hour of Code.
The Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics. Learn more at http://HourofCode.com or try an hour yourself to learn more about the world of computing!
Code.org Links
Grade 2 -
1. Go to www.code.org and click the 'sign in' button.
2. Choose 'Continue with Google'.
Grade 3 - https://studio.code.org/sections/HFXJVJ
Grade 4 - https://studio.code.org/sections/DXYFZD
Grade 5 - https://studio.code.org/sections/YZTMTF
Grade 6 - https://studio.code.org/sections/TFXGRR
Grade 7 - https://studio.code.org/sections/VBPCMR
Grade 8 - https://studio.code.org/sections/CBFTXC
Kindergarten
Kodable - A beginning programming activity with no required reading or language. It is the PERFECT starting point for Kindergarten or non-readers.
Feel free to reach out to gain access to your child's account in grades 1 and 2.
Extra Kindergarten Extension Activity:
In a world filled with captivating creatures and bright colors, 4-6 year olds will join a monkey on a mission to collect bananas and unlock treasure chests. All the while, they will explore and learn the basics of code as they use blocks to program a monkey's journey through the world.
Grade 1
Kodable - A beginning programming activity with no required reading or language. It is the PERFECT starting point for Kindergarten or non-readers.
Feel free to reach out to gain access to your child's account in grades 1 and 2.
Extra Grade 1 activities:
CodeSpark Academy with the Foos: Program lovable Foos to solve puzzles. Then enter Foo Studio to make and share games. Everyone everywhere can learn to code with The Foos award-winning “no words” interface. Play now!
Puppy Adventure - Pixel the puppy was enjoying a nice day out with his family, but they forgot to put him in the car and left without him! Can you program Pixel to find his way home? In each puzzle, you'll navigate Pixel to avoid obstacles so he can get back home to his family.
The Grinch Game - Learn to program drones and a high tech sleigh with coding magic to capture presents and navigate down the mountain to return Christmas to Whoville.
Minecraft Adventurer - This is a little more challenging than what we have been working on with our Code.org activities, but the commands are very similar, so it should be an easy transition.
Wayfinding with Moana Help Moana find her way. This is a fun and easy transition if you have been participating in lessons on Code.org already.
Run Marco - Another favorite of mine! If you have done at least a little bit of block coding before you should be comfortable starting this challenge. Guide Marco - the main character - through each level by giving him step-by-step instructions in the form of the visual programming language used by the Hour of Code.
Lightbot- A great starter programming activity! Takes a small bit to get used to it, but once you've got it, you're golden!
Make a Flappy Game - Use drag-and-drop programming to make your own Flappy Bird game, and customize it to look different (Flappy Shark, Flappy Santa, whatever). Add the game to your phone in one click.
Check out this piece on the value of teaching Computer Science: Closing the Gender Gap in the Tech Industry
"Closing The Gender Gap In The Tech Industry." Cbsnews.com. N. p., 2019. Web. 6 Mar. 2019.
A great short video interview with a 14-year-old programmer (he is now 21 working on a PhD in Machine Learning and Evolutionary Computation)