Grade 1 CS Curriculum

We make programs to share ideas.

In Grade 1, we start to use algorithms to create programs. In writing, we learn how to use language to share our ideas and tell stories. As programmers, instead of a pencil and paper, we use computers to show our thinking to others. As students learn to use their own words to share ideas in writing, they will create their first programs to show ideas using computers. Students will see how programs are groups of algorithms all put together to accomplish something larger. If algorithms are words and patterns, programs tell stories and share ideas. 

Integrated Lessons

Introduced Vocabulary

This list includes terms that are new to this grade level or build upon what was learned in PreK/K:

• Decomposition (The "Break-Down"): Taking a big task and breaking it into small, manageable parts so it is easier to solve.

• Debug (The "Fix"): Finding and fixing a mistake in a sequence of instructions so that it works the way you want it to.

• Event (The "Trigger"): An action that causes a program to do something, like "When the green flag is clicked, move 10 steps."

• Hardware (The "Physical Parts"): The parts of a computer system you can see and touch, like the screen, keyboard, mouse, or the internal "brain."

• Artificial Intelligence / AI (The "Pattern-Seer"): Technology that looks at lots of information to find patterns and make its own decisions or "guess" what comes next.

• Numeric Data (The "Number-Facts"): Information that uses numbers, like how many inches tall a plant is.

• Non-Numeric Data (The "Word-Facts"): Information that uses words or pictures, like what color a plant’s flowers are.

• Unauthorized Access (The "Stay Out"): When someone tries to get into a device or an account without permission.

Summary of Grade 1 CS Learning Goals

In Grade 1, students move from just following steps to creating and investigating them. They begin to realize that they have the power to "tell" technology what to do and that they can use that power to help their community.

• Students will learn how to break big tasks into small pieces. This is called "decomposition." Students learn to take a big project and identify the smaller, individual parts needed to build a plan (algorithm).

• Students will learn how to turn a plan into "Code." Students practice taking an idea and translating it into a set of commands that a device can understand. They also learn how to find and fix errors (debug) in these instructions.

• Students will learn how "Triggers" make things happen. They explore "Events," which are actions that set off a sequence - like a program starting only when a specific button is clicked or a sound is made.

• Students will learn about Artificial Intelligence. Children start to recognize that some technologies (AI) aren't just following a list of instructions; they use patterns in information to make their own decisions or even create new things.

• Students will learn to be data investigators. Instead of just looking at information, they learn to ask questions that can be answered by collecting data (like counting things or measuring them) and compare those to questions that need a different kind of answer.

• Students will learn how to be their own "Tech Support." Children begin to learn the names of the physical parts of a computer (hardware) and how to keep their accounts safe from people who shouldn't have access to them.

• Students will learn that humans and computers are good at different things. They explore the unique strengths of people versus machines and investigate how new inventions have changed the way we live our daily lives.

TIP: At this level, you can help students practice "decomposition" during writing or art! Ask them, "What are the tiny parts we need to do first to finish this big project?" To practice "events," you can play games like "If/Then"—"If I clap my hands (the event), then you jump!"