Create with CS

Identify the parts of this rocket to practice decomposition!

Some things you need to know:

• Link to the activity is HERE.

• This activity does not require computers.  

• You could use another shape with smaller sub-shapes (parts) if that other shape/ image is more meaningful to you and your students.  

• Decomposition is a crucial concept in computer science.  In general, it means looking at a larger object or problem in terms of its parts or smaller pieces.

• Here is a link to a large booklet.  This activity was from the decomposition section of this booklet, in case you are looking for more ideas!  

Use Run Length Encoding (the way images are stored in a computer) to create your own emoji!

Some things you need to know:

• Link to the activity is HERE.

• This activity does not require computers.  

• Students can use any two colors to make their images more colorful.  

• If students / you prefer to use an online tool or if you are looking to enhance this activity, piskelapp.com  might help.

• If you like this activity and are looking for more ideas like this one, it is from this larger booklet.  

Create your own Google Logo!  

Some things you need to know: 

• Students do not need to login to participate. 

• Link to the activity is HERE.

• This tutorial is using Scratch inside of a Google environment. There are no chat features; students can only program here. 

• After students complete the initial tutorial, you will want to encourage advanced programmers to do the later “add-ons” like “Spin” or “Change Scene”

Draw a picture or design that explains one thing about next year that is exciting to you!

Some things you need to know:

• Students do not need to login to participate.

• Link to the activity is HERE.

• This is a self-led tutorial that is available in multiple languages.

• Encourage students to use sequence, selection, and iteration in their coding assignment.

  • Sequence: the order that the blocks are placed really matters

  • Selection: statements like “if statements” can make colors change in interesting ways

  • Iteration: using loops like “while” or “for” loops can save time and energy writing repeated lines of code and can help to make your code more readable.

Create a picture or design that explains how you are feeling right now!

Some things you need to know:

• Students do not need to login to participate.

• Here is a link to this student-led activity.

• Teacher notes are here.

• This activity has embedded videos and instructions to help students learn as they go.  

• It is important to note that this is text-based programming so spelling and punctuation really matter.

• Students could work in pairs to complete this or they could work independently.

Create your own PoemPortrait

Some things you need to know:

• Students do not need to login to participate.

• For teachers or students: This article and video explains what a PoemPortrait is and some of the background to this interesting project.

• Students can create their own PoemPortrait here: artsexperiments.withgoogle.com/poemportraits.  

• Students should follow their directions.  They can choose to include their image or not.  

• This is called artificial intelligence, because it is not created by a human.  It is created by a series of computer algorithms who were designed to simulate the process of writing a poem.

• If students want to know more:

  • Here is an article with more details on how this works.

  • Work in this area has been extended to the creation of novels.  There is now an Indie Book Award for AI Generated novels.