Coding can be a useful tool to help students better understand the content knowledge (Waterman, Goldsmith, & Pasquale, 2019), gives students another way to demonstrate their understanding of the knowledge, and provides a way for students to develop their computational thinking skills (Waterman et al., 2019). Barr & Stephenson (2011) outlines nine computational thinking concepts and capabilities that could be implemented in the elementary classroom to promote computational thinking and develop problem solving skills. They are data collection, data analysis, data representation, problem decomposition, abstraction, algorithm & procedures, automation, parallelization, and simulation. You may already be introducing your students to some of these computational thinking concepts and capabilities through unplugged activities. Click on the buttons to view some different ways that I have used coding activities to engage my students in these computational thinking concepts and capabilities in my elementary mathematics and science classroom.
Barr, V., & Stephenson, C. (2011). Bringing computational thinking to K-12: What is involved and what is the role of the computer science education community?. Acm Inroads, 2(1), 48-54.
Waterman, K. P., Goldsmith, L., & Pasquale, M. (2020). Integrating computational thinking into elementary science curriculum: An examination of activities that support students’ computational thinking in the service of disciplinary learning. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 29(1), 53-64.