Lesson 3.6

Overview

Students use and modify a series of simple apps to get familiar with a small set of programming commands. They observe the way the code runs by slowing down the code and compare programs that run all at once to those that respond to user actions like buttons clicks. At the end of the lesson students discuss what they observed and are introduced to some key vocabulary for describing the running of programs.

Purpose

This lesson is written in an Investigate style, a common format of lesson that will be used in the remainder of the programming units. In this kind of lesson students are encouraged to investigate working code and make simple modifications to understand how it works.

This lesson introduces a number of concepts and vocabulary around what programs are and how they run that will need to be reinforced in future lessons.

Standards

CSP Conceptual Framework

AAP-2 - The way statements are sequenced and combined in a program determines the computed result. Programs incorporate iteration and selection constructs to represent repetition and make decisions to handle varied input values.

AAP-3 - Programmers break down problems into smaller and more manageable pieces. By creating procedures and leveraging parameters, programmers generalize processes that can be reused. Procedures allow programmers to draw upon existing code that has already been tested, allowing programmers to write programs more quickly and with more confidence.

CRD-2 - Developers create and innovate using an iterative design process that is user-focused, that incorporates implementation/feedback cycles, and that leaves ample room for experimentation and risk-taking.

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards (2017)

AP - Algorithms & Programming

3A-AP-16 - Design and iteratively develop computational artifacts for practical intent, personal expression, or to address a societal issue by using events to initiate instructions.