Embedded Files
3 January 2023: About this web page
This microsite or single web page has been created as a way of organising all of the teaching materials created and planning records for computer programming lessons taught across the school. It should essentially show what I teach and when. Like a blog, the items will be listed in date order, with the most recent nearest the top. Willow Brook follows the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) 12 principles of Computing Pedagogy is how I teach.
drive.google.com/file/d/1MjgVsDAIsBJcNAfPgbrROrGu-6mAx-40/view?usp=sharing
Mr Allen
3 January 2023 (This introduction updated 21 March 2023)
6 February 2023: Link to the "Today's learning made me feel..." survey form
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdsWtdpjHRIiK-Zbqp-0g9ISdUUJ_QkJtX9R8ozOyTN92s0hA/viewform
22 March 2023: Year 5 Evaluate the quality of my programming.
21 March 2023: Year 4 Using infinite and count-controlled loops print friendly copy of the lesson for learners
This file must be printed in colour to show the Scratch coding blocks correctly.
21 March 2023: Year 4 Using infinite and count-controlled loops.
20 March 2023: Year 3 Design and create a maze based challenge (using 2DIY3D on Purple Mash)
13 March 2023: Year 3 Using the PRIMM method to add functions to their drawing programs.
25 February 2023: Extracts from National Centre for Computing Education Curriculum Map spreadsheets
This document has been produced as part of the 'cycle of learning' for teaching Computing. The document lists the Learning Objectives and Success Criteria from Year 1 to Year 6 for 12 "lessons" which are directly related to the Computer Programming part of the National Curriculum. The format or pressentation of the document is not to the school house style and could be further improved. The document was presented or shared as part of the workshop at the "I Love Computing 2023" Conference held on 25 February 2023.
drive.google.com/file/d/1L-_hDwQREvFuaLMhoy81QjY0jsWF-cVU/view?usp=sharing
1 March 2023: Year 5 Computer Programming: Scratch blocks to learn about conditional functions.
Lesson adapted from the arithmetic quiz game in Year 6 to consolidate understanding of the "if" and "then" conditional function.
27 February 2023: Year 3 Computer Programming: Scratch blocks to control the movement of sprites
Repeating this lesson again from last week following my attendance at the Teach Computing London Hubs Conference on Saturday 25 February where eminent speakers in the field of teaching Computing were sharing their best practice ideas for imparting declarative (the "what" knowledge), procedural (the "how" knowledge) and when (conditional knowledge) where declarative and procedural knowledge were terms used in the Ofsted Research on teaching Computing.
21 February 2023: Year 6 Information Science: finding the mean, median and mode
To support the Year 6 preparation for their end of Key Stage 2 tests in May, the sequence of Information Science lessons has been brought forward from the second half of the Summer Term to this term. The link is to the one page of fourteen simple datasets to enable the children to use a spreadsheet to find the mean, median and mode of each set of data. They will also be able to use the spreasheet to plot and create graphs.
drive.google.com/file/d/1SvVqP1sNyt-DqpPsbvTfgIMYNlwt1Zi8/view?usp=share_link
20 February 2023: Year 3 lesson to create a sequence of commands to produce a given outcome
Following the Half Term break, this lesson is an opportunity to consolidate what was taught during the first half of this term by creating a sequence of code which draws shapes. The presentation includes a slide which lists the Learning Objective and Success Criteria taken from the DfE funded Teach Computing Curriculum Map.
6 February 2023: Year 3 lesson to create a sequence of commands to produce a given outcome
Returning to the sequence of lessons after last week's cross curricular offer to link the Computing lesson with Science and the creation of a leaflet using Canva, this lesson will focus on creating a sequence of commands to produce a given outcome by programming a shark chase game. The presentation sets out the parameters of the game and the sequences of coding required.
31 January 2023: Presentation file for Year 6 lesson coding variables
As the imaginative creativity required to for an original game design can be difficult to establish and secure in the lesson time allowed, this lesson will take the learning back to secure understanding, knowledge and application of variables using Scratch. Building a simple quiz will also enable the children to consolidate their artithmetic knowledge and recall.
30 January 2023: Presentation file for Year 3 lesson using Canva
The opening slide of this presentation explains why the sequence of lessons on Computer programming for Year 3 has been temporarily suspended to accommodate some learning that the Y3 teachers requested to design a leaflet based on what the classes were learning in Science (forces and magnets).
19 January 2023: Presentation file for Year 1 lesson using Scratch Jr
Second of the sequence of lessons. The first unplugged lesson adapted from Kapow Primary was too abstract and needed to be contextualised by using a simple demonstration of how to create an animation using ScratchJr. The presentation includes reference to the Computer Programming Teaching Plan and how the lesson fits into the overall sequence of learning at the school.
17 January 2023: Young Coders Competition in Year 6
To inspire game ideas for the 2023 Young Coders of the Year compeition, the Year 6 classes watched this YouTube video which showed how the games from the 2022 competition looked.
16 January 2023: Shapes using Scratch
Following the introduction to Scratch, this Microsoft PowerPoint presentation provides a more detailed explanation of how using four of the motion blocks, pen extension blocks and a nested loop to program an equilateral triangle and square. The presentation includes a challenge to create a short animation by repeating the pattern similar to the "mystic rose" effect.
11 January 2023: Year 5 Skills and Knowledge Evaluation Record
The "I know that..."; "I know how..." and "I known when..." statements adapted from the Kapow Primary Scheme of works for the first unit of teaching Computer Programming. Although the statements and word bank have been taken from the Kapow Primary Y3 "Programming Scratch" unit, some learners are significantly less familiar with using Scratch despite its introduction to them in Year 4 (2021/22). In order for them to successfully participate in the Young Coders 2023 Challenge, the sequence of learning has been scaffolded to secure their understanding of the coding platform.
docs.google.com/document/d/1PdvVrAET_jwcE4lxlyB-hcvado7MD0a7D9ge_wAdgOY/edit?usp=sharing
9 January 2023: Pseudocode template
‘Pseudocode’ is based on computer programming languages. Unlike a real programming language which has to follow a specific technical structure or programming type, whoever is writing the pseudocode uses short, easy to understand expressions. Pseudocode is meant to be a set of instructions in their simplest form which can then be easily turned into a computer program. The template has been designed to follow a line text coding or programming structure.
docs.google.com/document/d/1PdvVrAET_jwcE4lxlyB-hcvado7MD0a7D9ge_wAdgOY/edit?usp=sharing
9 January 2023: Year 1 Skills and Knowledge Evaluation Record
The "I know that..."; "I know how..." and "I know when..." statements adapted from the Kapow Primary Scheme of Works for the first of two units teaching Computer Programming.
drive.google.com/file/d/1yhqxPLIKAkyy1aUmLhiEevlUYi7Y5zen/view?usp=sharing
4 January 2023: Stop Robot!
Extract of the picture book by Adam Bestwick to introduce robotics to Nursery and Reception. Linked to the learning point that for computers and robots to operate correctly requires instructions that the technology is able to understand. In the story, the robot is instruction to "stop".
drive.google.com/file/d/1Mzx1-_C5KybtkVL2vKKBR5unNXA4Pc3d/view?usp=sharing
3 January 2023: Introductory Practical Guide to Scratch for teachers and adults
PowerPoint presentation with slide numbers 2, 3 and 8 for showing the class some information about Scratch for those who have never previously used the website before (Year 3).
3 January 2023: Young Coders Competition 2023 with National STEM Learning Centre (East Midlands Hub)
This is the second year in a row that our school have directly approached to be involved with organising entries for the Young Coders Competition. The theme for 2023 is "A future in STEM". The aim is to create a computer game using Scratch to teach other children about any job in STEM that you find interesting. The closing date for the competition is Friday 26th May 2023. The standard for the 2022 competition was high but certainly achievable within the experience and skills of all of us at Willow Brook. The competition links directly to the computer programming learning targets in the National curriculum for Years 4 to 8. All the children taking part will qualify for a Bristish Science Association CREST Award.
3 January 2023: Computer Programming Teaching Plan
This document was originally written in September 2022. It sets out the "intent" for teaching Computer Programming at the school. The document also includes lesson by lesson sequences of expected outcomes for every year group which have been meticulously mapped to the National Curriculum Programme of Study for Computing. The document has a year to year progression map as well as listing "Essential Minimum Expectations" assessment criteria written as learner friendly "I can..." statements. These "I can..." statements have been based on the Target Tracker Assessment database used by the school.
drive.google.com/file/d/1wiKQkx5Nj3Fc6_mwKSyz2tLkehccLMVQ/view?usp=sharing
3 January 2023: Computer Programming Vocabulary Bank
Key terminology taken from the Computing at School Barefoot Computing Scheme of Work.
docs.google.com/document/d/1u-BRt7CQ0M3IkOA9h03UyvaYnUxOfEcTBbI-fOtC35g/edit?usp=sharing
24 February 2022: National Curriculum > Computing > KS2 > Programming and Physical Computing
Part of the Scheme of Work documentation where the overarching statement published in the 2014 National Curriculum for programming and physical computing has been broken down into Learning Intentions or framed into the Learning Questions listed. The Learning Intentions have been in part derived from the learning endpoints alongside action research produced by the Computing at School network, the DfE funded National Centre for Computing Education and a project called Barefoot Computing. Established in 2014, Barefoot Computing was initially DfE funded and had support from large corporate sponsors. The programme is now managed by the Computing at School network and its Barefoot Ambassadors volunteers.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Ouv_MFdWMP0plR2QQA7lN4j5mB13hs-C/view?usp=sharing
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