Computer Science Fundamentals
Computer Science Fundamentals
and
Unplugged Lesson Plans
Computer Science
Fundamentals
Courses A-F
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Curriculum Introduction 3
Who Made This? 3
Who is This For? 4
Which Course is For Me? 4
Course Structure 6
Conceptual Chunks 6
Lesson Structure 6
End of Course Projects (Courses E & F) 7
Technology Requirements 8
Implementation Tips and Considerations 8
Scheduling The Lessons 8
Teaching in the Classroom 8
Grade Specific Classroom 8
Mixed Grade Classroom 9
Using “Centers” or “Stations” 9
Every Now and Again Lessons 9
Navigating the Code.org Website 10
Code.org Site Navigation 10
The Code.org Lesson Plan Structure 11
Getting Help 12
Curriculum Values 13
Computer Science is Foundational for Every Student 13
Teachers in Classrooms 13
Student Engagement and Learning 13
Equity 13
Curriculum as a Service 14
Classroom Practices 16
Lead Learner 16
Pair Programming 17
Authentic Choice 18
Unplugged Activities 19
Bridging Activities 20
Journaling 21
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Student Practices 22
Problem Solving 22
Persistence 22
Creativity 22
Collaboration 22
Communication 22
Standards Mapping 28
Assessments 28
Welcome to Computer Science Fundamentals! This guide has been created to help you navigate the lessons
in Courses A-F. It begins with a brief overview of our entire Computer Science Fundamentals curriculum,
followed by tips and tricks for teaching computer science in the classroom. After this valuable information, you
will find plans and resources that have been created to make it as easy as possible to run lessons for our
newest offerings, Courses A-F.
All curriculum resources and tutorials we author are free to use, under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License and our technology is
developed as an open source project.
Curriculum Introduction
Who Made This?
Launched in 2013, Code.org® is a non-profit
organization dedicated to expanding access to computer
science, and increasing participation by women and
underrepresented students of color. Our vision is that
every student in every school should have the
opportunity to learn computer science. We believe
computer science should be part of core curriculum,
alongside other courses such as biology, chemistry, or
algebra.
At Code.org, we believe in teamwork. That’s why we’ve partnered up with some of the most innovative
elementary computer science educators in the country. Our kick-off crew included Alana Aaron and Lionel
Bergeron from the New York City Department of Education, as well as Bryan Twarek from the San Francisco
Unified School District, Grant Smith of Emerald Data Solutions, Joel Spencer from the Little Rock School
District, and Michael Harvey from Falmouth Elementary School...and that was only the beginning!
Over the course of one year, we successfully designed, implemented, and piloted six modified courses. Our
pilot was opened to our dedicated Computer Science Fundamentals Facilitators, as well as thousands of
engaged educators from around the world. With their help, we were able to create this course in a way that
benefits schools of all different shapes and sizes.
Computer Science Fundamentals courses continue to include lessons on Internet Safety and Digital
Citizenship, thanks to our friends at Common Sense Education.
3
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
As always, it is thanks to our generous donors that we were able to develop and offer this curriculum at no cost
to schools, teachers, or students: Microsoft, Infosys Foundation USA, Facebook, Omidyar Network, Google,
Ballmer Family Giving, Ali and Hadi Partovi, Bill Gates, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, BlackRock,
Jeff Bezos, John and Ann Doerr, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, Quadrivium Foundation, Amazon Web
Services, The Marie-Josee and Henry R. Kravis Foundation, Reid Hoffman, Drew Houston, Salesforce, Sean
N. Parker Foundation, Smang Family Foundation, Verizon.
Who is This For?
Computer Science Fundamentals was built with elementary school educators in mind. Courses A-F have been
specifically tailored to students in Kindergarten through 5th grade, and no prior experience is assumed.
The lessons in CS Fundamentals are presented with the understanding that many teachers will not have any
previous computer science training, and educators are therefore encouraged to learn along with their students.
Which Course is For Me?
Computer Science Fundamentals has three different segments, each serving a different purpose:
● Courses A-F
● Courses 1-4
● The Accelerated Course
Ideal entry points exist at kindergarten, first, and second grades. Suitable entry points have been created in
courses D, E, and F with the addition of age-appropriate introduction lessons that present content from
previous courses at an accelerated pace.
The core content of these courses range from approximately 12 lessons in A & B, to nearly 20 lessons in
Course F, with additional lessons available on the Code.org website to further support specific concepts.
4
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
This series has only two entry points: Course 1 for early readers and Course 2 for readers who can
comfortably sound out words. Each of the latter courses assume complete knowledge of the courses that come
before them.
The core content of these units include roughly 18-20 lessons per course, with additional lessons available on
the Code.org website to further support specific concepts.
Since these courses are being deprecated we do not suggest embarking on this pathway if you have not
already accumulated hours with them, unless you require materials in languages other than English. Those
who currently use them in classrooms can continue to do so without fear that they will disappear in the coming
years.
It’s also a great choice if your elementary school curriculum only has time for one course and you’re working
with older students (4th or 5th grade). Teachers also use this for students who are already comfortable with CS
concepts, or if they pick up on ideas quickly.
CS Fundamentals - Express
One quick course for older students who did not experience CS Fundamentals in elementary school
This course will grow alongside courses A-F, containing the most effective favorites from that series. The
length of this course may fluctuate between 25 and 35 lessons as it evolves.
5
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course Structure
Each Computer Science Fundamentals course is a little bit different, but they all value the method of
introducing concepts with unplugged activities before bringing students to an online workspace.
Conceptual Chunks
The unplugged lessons and online puzzle tutorials are chunked together by shared concepts, where the
unplugged lesson serves as a fun and gentle introduction to a computing concept that is further explored
through coding exercises. This allows each “chunk” to be separated into groups of lessons that can be taught
within a defined time period or as a sub-unit.
See this example from Course C in which the unplugged lesson, Getting Loopy, precedes three online lessons.
Lesson Structure
In addition, Courses A-F have an overarching lesson architecture where concepts are carefully introduced
using a structure that has been tailored to set classrooms up for success. These puzzle progressions start by
introducing ideas in a step-by-step manner, then proceed to a brain-bending challenge before setting students
gently back into a puzzle that perfectly represents the level of understanding that was intended for that series.
6
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
See the diagram below to get a better idea of how complexity changes over the course of an online lesson.
Several concepts also include additional lessons that focus less on skill building and focus more on creative
problem solving. As an example, these lessons might include puzzles with less obvious pathways, a complex
use of concepts, or multiple correct solutions.
In the final two courses in the A-F series, project development takes
the stage. Here, students are encouraged to plan, build, revise, and
present projects of their own. Following a project from inception to
delivery offers an inside look at the software development cycle. This
guided project offers scaffolded rubrics for the benefit of both student
and teacher.
7
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Technology Requirements
A computing device and an Internet connection.
We work hard to build an environment that supports all modern web browsers on desktops and mobile devices.
This includes Internet Explorer 11+ and the latest versions of Firefox, Chrome, Safari.
Our instructional videos may be affected depending on your school's internet filters. If YouTube is blocked at
your school, our video player will attempt to use our non-YouTube player instead. For more details about the IT
requirements for accessing and playing our embedded videos, see our IT requirements page at
https://code.org/educate/it. We’ve made all of our videos available for download using a link located in the
bottom corner. If all fails, some videos have a “Show Notes” tab that provide a storyboard equivalent of the
video.
Implementation Tips and Considerations
This document offers suggestions for implementing an individual CS Fundamentals course in an elementary
school classroom, as well as planning the rollout of all Courses A-F as a pathway across elementary school
grade levels.
While each course is setup to run as one lesson per week for a semester, they can alternatively be run two or
three times a week for about two months, or one lesson every two weeks for a year. Lessons are meant to be
completed in order and can range from as little as 20 minutes to more than 45 minutes if extension activities
are included.
8
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
○ Students should be encouraged to travel from concept to concept with one another, but should
not be made to keep in lockstep puzzle-by-puzzle. Make sure students feel empowered to travel
at their own pace.
○ End of Lesson puzzles should be seen as a great opportunity to showcase the things students
have learned during the day, not as a required assessment for the segment.
9
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
■ If you have another chance to get to the lab, explore other online puzzles with that same
concept. This can be either a second concept lesson on Code.org, or a supporting
lesson from another interface (such as Scratch or the Foos.)
Navigating the Code.org Website
Code.org Site Navigation
Log into Code.org with your teacher account. The website header will help you navigate the site:
Once you’ve assigned CS Fundamentals to your section, click the tile on your homepage to reach the course
overview page. This is your starting point for lesson planning, professional learning, and all the resources you
need to teach the course.
10
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Lesson Length
Lessons in CS Fundamentals are written for a wide variety of classrooms. We generally try to make one lesson
equal to one 30 to 45 minute class period. However some lessons take multiple days, such as projects or
concepts that do not easily break down into separate lesson plans. Many lessons include time estimates, but
these vary based on the age of your students, their background with the material, and their interests.
11
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Getting Help
The curriculum is completely free for anyone to teach anywhere. For
support, click on the menu in the upper right-hand corner of the website.
Here, you’ll find our “Help and support” forum where you can email us or find
how-to articles. You’ll also see a link to our “Teacher community” forums
where you can connect to other teachers for support, teaching tips, or best
practices.
When you’re in a puzzle, you’ll see an additional “Report bug” link for that
puzzle. Thank you for helping us find and fix any issues!
If you are a teacher and you'd like to attend a free training on our K-5
Computer Science curriculum, you can find links to local workshops by
visiting https://code.org/professional-development-workshops.
12
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Curriculum Values
While Code.org offers a wide range of curricular materials across a wide range of ages, the following values
permeate and drive the creation of every lesson we write.
Computer Science is Foundational for Every Student
We believe that computing is so fundamental to understanding and participating in society that it is valuable for
every student to learn as part of a modern education. We see computer science as a liberal art, a subject that
provides students with a critical lens for interpreting the world around them. Computer science prepares all
students to be active and informed contributors to our increasingly technological society whether they pursue
careers in technology or not. Computer science can be life-changing, not just skill training.
Teachers in Classrooms
We believe students learn best with the help of
an empowered teacher. We design our
materials for a classroom setting and provide
teachers robust supports that enable them to
understand and perform their critical role in
supporting student learning. Because teachers
know their students best, we empower them to
make choices within the curriculum, even as we
recommend and support a variety of
pedagogical approaches. Knowing that many of
our teachers are new to computer science
themselves, our resources and strategies
specifically target their needs.
Student Engagement and Learning
We believe that students learn best when they are intrinsically motivated. We prioritize learning experiences
that are active, relevant to students’ lives, and provide students authentic choice. We encourage students to be
curious, solve personally relevant problems and to express themselves through creation. Learning is an
inherently social activity, so we interweave lessons with discussions, presentations, peer feedback, and shared
reflections. As students proceed through our pathway, we increasingly shift responsibility to students to
formulate their own questions, develop their own solutions, and critique their own work.
Equity
We believe that acknowledging and shining a light on the historical inequities within the field of computer
science is critical to reaching our goal of bringing computer science to all students. We provide tools and
strategies to help teachers understand and address well-known equity gaps within the field. We recognize that
some students and classrooms need more supports than others, and so those with the greatest needs should
be prioritized. All students can succeed in computer science when given the right supports and opportunities,
13
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
regardless of prior knowledge or privilege. We actively seek to eliminate and discredit stereotypes that plague
computer science and lead to attrition of the very students we aim to reach.
Curriculum as a Service
We believe that curriculum is a service, not just a product. Along with producing high quality materials, we seek
to build and nourish communities of teachers by providing support and channels for communication and
feedback. Our products and materials are not static entities, but a living and breathing body of work that is
responsive to feedback and changing conditions. To ensure ubiquitous access to our curriculum and tools,
they are web-based and cross-platform, and will forever be free to use and openly licensed under a Creative
Commons license.
14
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Pedagogical Approach To Our Values
When we design learning experiences, we draw from a variety of teaching and learning strategies all with the
goal of constructing an equitable and engaging learning environment.
Role of the Teacher
We design curriculum with the idea that the instructor will act as the lead learner. As the lead learner, the role
of the teacher shifts from being the source of knowledge to being a leader in seeking knowledge. The lead
learner’s mantra is: “I may not know the answer, but I know that together we can figure it out.” A very practical
residue of this is that we never ask a teacher to lecture or offer the first explanation of a CS concept. We want
the class activity to do the work of exposing the concept to students, allowing the teacher to shape meaning
from what the students have experienced. We also expect teachers to act as the curator of materials. Finally,
we include an abundance of materials and teaching strategies in our curricula - too many to use at once - with
the expectation that teachers have the professional expertise to determine how to best conduct an engaging
and relevant class for their own students.
Discovery and Inquiry
We take great care to design learning experiences in which students have an active and equal stake in the
proceedings. Students are given opportunities to explore concepts and build their own understandings through
a variety of physical activities and online lessons. These activities form a set of common lived experiences that
connect students (and the teacher) to the course content and to each other. The goal is to develop a common
foundation upon which all students in the class can construct their understanding of computer science
concepts, regardless of prior experience in the discipline.
Materials and Tools
Our materials and tools are specifically created for learners and learning experiences. They focus on
foundational concepts that allow them to stand the test of time, and they are designed to support exploration
and discovery by those without computer science knowledge. This allows students to develop an
understanding of these concepts through “play” and experimentation. From our coding environments to our
non-coding tools and videos, all our resources have been engineered to support the lessons in our curriculum,
and thus our philosophy about student engagement and learning. In that vein, our videos can be a great tool
for sensemaking about CS concepts and provide a resource for students to return to when they want to refresh
their knowledge. They are packed with information and “star” a diverse cast of presenters and CS role models.
Creation and Personal Expression
Many of the projects, assignments, and activities in our curriculum ask students to be creative, to express
themselves, and then to share their creations with others. While certain lessons focus on learning and
practicing new skills, our goal is always to enable students to transfer these skills to creations of their own.
Everyone seeks to make their mark on society, including our students, and we want to give them the tools they
need to do so. When computer science provides an outlet for personal expression and creativity, students are
intrinsically motivated to deepen the understandings that will allow them to express their views and carve out
their place in the world.
15
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
The Classroom Community
Our lessons almost always call for students to interact with other students in the class in some way. Whether
learners are simply conferring with a partner during a warm up discussion, or engaging in a long-term group
project, our belief is that a classroom where students are communicating, solving problems, and creating
things is a classroom that not only leads to active and better learning for students, but also leads to a more
inclusive classroom culture in which all students share ideas and listen to ideas of others. For example,
classroom discussions usually follow a Think-Pair-Share pattern; we ask students to write computer code in
pairs; and we strive to include projects for teams in which everyone must play a critical role.
Classroom Practices
The classroom practices for CS Fundamentals are different strategies that are used repeatedly in many
different lessons and units. These six classroom practices are at the core of the ways the curriculum is
designed as we believe these are best practices that lead to positive classroom culture and ultimately student
learning.
Lead Learner
What is it?
The curriculum has been written with the idea that the instructor will act as the lead learner. As the lead learner
your role shifts from being the source of knowledge to being a leader in seeking knowledge. The lead learner’s
mantra is: “I may not know the answer, but I know that together we can figure it out.” The philosophy of the
lead learner is that you don’t have to be an expert on everything; you can start teaching CS Fundamentals
knowing what you already know, and learn alongside your students. To be successful with this style of
teaching and learning, the most important things are modeling and teaching how to learn.
16
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
to have complete command over every rapidly-changing facet of computer science, no matter how much
experience you have. Rather than feeling daunted, the lead learner welcomes this fact.
We believe that the lead learner technique represents good teaching practice in general. Acting as the lead
learner is an act of empathy toward your students and the challenges they face in learning material for the first
time. One important job of the teacher in the CS Fundamentals classroom is to model excitement about
investigating how things work by asking motivating questions about why things work the way they do, or why
they are the way they are. With your guidance, students will learn how to hypothesize; ask questions of peers;
test, evaluate, and refine solutions collaboratively.
Pair Programming
What is it?
Pair programming is a technique in which two programmers work
together at one computer. The “driver” writes code while the “navigator”
directs the design and setup of the code. The two programmers switch
roles often. Pair programming has been shown to:
● improve computer science enrollment, retention, and students'
performance
● increase students' confidence
● develop students' critical thinking skills
● introduce students to a "real world" working environment
1. Form pairs
2. Give each pair one computer to work on
3. Decide upon initial roles
4. Have students start working
5. Ensure that students switch roles at regular intervals (every 3 to 5 minutes)
6. Ensure that navigators remain active participants
It can be hard to introduce pair programming after students have worked individually for a while, so we
recommend that teachers start with pair programming in the first few plugged lessons. Just like any other
classroom technique, you may not want to use this all the time as different types of learners will respond
differently to working in this context. Once you have established pair programming as a practice early on, it will
be easier to come back to later.
Resources
Code.org also has a feature to help both students get “credit” on their accounts for the work they do
together. Check out the blog on Pair Programming:
teacherblog.code.org/post/147349807334/try-pair-programmingtrack-the-progress-of
Videos:
● For Teachers: youtu.be/sxToW3ixrwo
● For Students: youtu.be/vgkahOzFH2Q
The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) has a great resource about the
benefits of pair programming. Check it out at:
www.ncwit.org/resources/pair-programming-box-power-collaborative-learning
Authentic Choice
What is it?
Authentic choice is the practice of allowing students to decide on the focus of their creation when they are
working on a project. This can be scoped in different ways with different projects, but the central point is to
allow students to work on something they are personally invested in.
In addition, we encourage teachers to help students utilize their new skills in creative ways at the end of each
lesson, using the Lesson Extras option. There, students will find challenge puzzles and open-canvas projects
to use for deeper learning and self-expression.
● Give students time to get creative and find something they are passionate about in the project that they
are working on
● Encourage students to find personally relevant contexts for the work they do
● Try to keep the projects as open to students’ interests as possible while still keeping them focused on
the learning at hand
Unplugged Activities
19
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
student knowledge and understanding in different ways. In addition, unplugged lessons can help build and
maintain a collaborative environment in your classroom. An unplugged environment also can be a good way to
check for student understanding.
Bridging Activities
20
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Journaling
What is it?
In CS Fundamentals, students are encouraged to keep a journal nearby to write down thoughts and answer
questions.
21
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Student Practices
Students in CS Fundamentals work in a wide array of contexts, but these experiences are tied together by a
core set of practices they develop throughout the course. These student practices provide coherence and
serve as helpful reminders of the high-level skills and dispositions they should be continually developing.
Problem Solving
● Use a structured problem solving process (see next section) to help address new problems
● View challenges as solvable problems
● Break down larger problems into smaller components
Persistence
● Value and expect mistakes as a natural and productive part of problem solving
● Continue working towards solutions in spite of setbacks
● Iterate and continue to improve partial solutions
Creativity
● Incorporate your own interests or ideas into your work
● Experiment with new ideas and consider multiple possible approaches
● Extend or build upon the ideas and projects of others
Collaboration
● Work with others to develop solutions that incorporate all contributors
● Mediate disagreements and help teammates agree on a common solution
● Actively contribute to the success of group projects
Communication
● Structure your work so that it can be easily understood by others
● Consider the perspective and background of your audience when presenting your work
● Provide and accept constructive feedback in order to improve your work
22
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Skills and Strategies
Tackling Lesson Progressions
Growth Mindset
Throughout these lessons, it is critical that students understand that nobody is born knowing computer science.
Everyone starts at the beginning, experiences failure, learns from mistakes, then experiences success.
Students should not view frequent programming failures as a sign that they lack talent, but should instead be
proud of their own persistence as they make changes and try again. All computer scientists fail. The best
programmers are the ones who keep trying long enough to learn from the problems that they encounter.
Here are some tips to help your students stay persistent:
● Keep track of what you have already tried
● Figure out what is happening
● Understand what is supposed to happen
● Look at what that tells you
● Make a change and try again
Frustration
Frustration is a natural part of learning. Instead of trying to avoid frustration at Code.org, we embrace it. The
key to persistence is in learning that frustration is a positive sign, not a negative one. When a student gets
frustrated, it means that they are about to learn something new. It can be compared to the pain you feel in your
mouth before you get a new tooth, or the soreness in your muscles before you get stronger. Congratulate
students on recognizing and persevering through
frustration.
23
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Most of our online lessons contain one “challenge” puzzle near the end of the series. This puzzle was carefully
placed to inspire students to practice new concepts in a different way. It will test their persistence, highlight
misconceptions, and hopefully lead them to the “ah-ha” moment that educators love! Additionally, spending a
fair amount of time with the challenge puzzle will help the following levels feel simple in comparison, even
though the levels that follow demonstrate the exact target of understanding expected from a student by the
time they finish each lesson.
In order to provoke those strong accomplishments, challenge levels must all but guarantee that they cannot be
solved quickly. Because of this, they will be far too hard for many students, which means that the messaging of
these challenges is extremely important. Keep these things in mind, and make sure that you review them with
your students before each visit to the computer lab.
● When you get to the challenge puzzle, give it your best try!
● Keep notes as you try to solve the puzzle so that you don’t lose your place or try the same thing over
and over again.
● These puzzles are supposed to be hard. You don’t have to solve it in order to learn from it, but you do
have to try your best!
● Remember that you can come back to the challenge puzzle later. If you start to get frustrated, go ahead
and skip the challenge until you complete the rest of the lesson. You can come back to it when you’ve
finished everything else!
Lesson Extras
Many teachers like to keep their entire class on the same lesson instead of letting students skip ahead to new
concepts. For that reason, we have provided an area at the end of each lesson series where students can use
the concepts that they’ve learned in new and interesting ways. These puzzles are considered “optional.” They
are a sandbox to keep the quickest students challenged and entertained until the end of class. In addition, the
24
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Lesson Extras can be used to add an additional day onto concept lessons, offering the opportunity for students
to come back and create personal and authentic projects with their newest concepts.
Copy/Paste
Though we do not make it obvious, most individual blocks in CS Fundamentals are able to be copied/pasted
within the same level. If you feel that the ability to copy and paste blocks will enhance your student’s learning
experience, then you can share the copy/paste method with them:
1. Highlight the block that you want to copy
2. Press ctrl+c to copy
3. Press ctrl+v to paste
4. Move your pasted block to where you would like it
While this “hack” generally only allows you to copy one block at a time, there is a work around for duplicating
larger chunks of code. All you need to do is pull a statement block (like a loop, conditional, or simple function)
from the toolbox and place all of the code to be copied inside. Now, select the statement block and copy/paste.
All of the code inside will be duplicated. You can now pull the extra code out of the statement block and use it
as desired.
Puzzle/Problem Solving Recipe
Start a Puzzle with Understanding
Often, the quickest way to pass a level is to know where you’re headed from the start. Help students
understand that being successful means taking a look at what is required before dragging anything out to the
workspace. Here are some important questions that students should ask:
● What do the instructions say?
● What am I supposed to do?
● What has already been done?
● Are there any questions that I need answers to?
● Have I solved another problem like this one?
● Can I put the puzzle’s goal into my own words?
Debugging
Small misunderstandings can lead to big problems! Help keep students moving by showing them some basic
debugging skills.
Step Button
Most puzzles in CS Fundamentals have a “Step” button (excluding Artist, Play Lab, and BB-8 levels.)
With the “Step” button, it is possible to go through a program block by block to see what happens each
step of the way. This is a helpful tool when your code moves too quickly to understand where things get
off course.
25
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
To use the “Step” button, simply click on “Step” instead of “Run”. Your code will run exactly one block
before coming to a rest again. To continue through the code, keep pressing “Step” until you have
completed your program, or found your bug!
In Artist puzzles, the “Step” button is replaced by a speed slider. For a similar effect, try moving the
slider to the far left and watching the artist go through each step very slowly.
Example of level with “Step” button. Example of level with speed slider.. Example level with no “Step” button.
Finger/Paper Tracing
For puzzles that don’t have a “Step” button, students can find a great amount of help looking through
their program on their own.
The ability to predict what a program will do is an amazing skill, but it takes a lot of practice. Students
can find opportunities to grow in this area by using finger tracing and/or paper tracing as they code in
CS Fundamentals.
● Finger Tracing
○ Use your finger to point to the first block on the screen. What does everything look like?
What values do the variables hold (if there are any)? What happens to that landscape
after the current block is executed?
○ Drop your finger to the next block and ask the same questions.
○ Can you run through the whole program and predict the outcome?
● Paper Tracing
○ Draw a line down the center of your paper
○ On one side, write the code for your program
○ On the other side, write notes on the starting state of the program: Where are the
characters? What are the values of the variables? Anything else to note?
○ Now look at the first line of your program. What changes when it is executed? Write the
new details in your notes area.
○ Continue to run through the written code until you reach the end. Is everything as you
expected?
26
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Critical Questions
If looking through your code does not provide the answers you need, you will have to dig a little more
deeply. These questions will help students to highlight the clues provided by their program when things
are not working:
● What does it do?
● What is it supposed to do?
● What does that tell me?
● Is it right at the first step?
● Is it still right at the second step?
● Where is the first place that it goes wrong?
With this system (3/3/Me) students are asked to tackle a problem with three different solutions before asking
peers for help. Once their classmates get involved, they should try three more solutions together before
involving a teacher. At that point, as an educator, you should ask them to put in words what they tried and what
that told them. Also ask them if they have narrowed down any places where the problem is not. If they have
not yet solved their problem, guide them in trying a few additional options.
In all cases, make sure that you and your class are familiar with the right way to help a student:
● Don’t sit in the classmate’s chair
● Don’t use the classmate’s keyboard or tablet
● Don’t touch the classmate’s mouse
● Make sure the classmate can describe the solution to you out loud before you walk away
If, after all of this, issues still persist, you might consider filing a bug report with Code.org.
Rethinking Classroom Strategies
Ditch the Uniformity
Students learn at different rates. They also come into technology with vastly different skills. Trying to keep
everyone on the same page will alienate both the bottom third and top third of learners. Take the pressure off
of everyone by having a list of “approved” activities to focus on when they’ve finished their class exercise.
These should include the Lesson Extras at the end of each CS Fundamentals lesson.
Frequent Breaks
Teachers are used to helping their class get very focused and encouraging students to work quietly until an
activity is done. In computer science, students often benefit from small and frequent breaks, even if it’s just
switching to a new activity for a few minutes. Try having a student write a sentence or two about what they’re
trying to do or keep a notebook, like a biologist or chemist might.
27
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Collaborate
It’s really hard for a programmer to “cheat”. Collaboration is a requirement out in the real world. This means
helping one another solve problems, researching issues on the internet, and looking at what others have done
in similar situations. The only bad method is claiming another’s work as your own.
Don’t be a Know-It-All
We often think that being a teacher means being an expert. In computer science, it’s really much more
important to be a cheerleader. Let the students know that it’s possible for them to quickly become better at this
than you are. Foster determination. Encourage students to monitor themselves and find answers for one
another. Let them figure things out for themselves, then let them teach you.
Standards Mapping
CS Fundamentals was written using both the K–12 Computer Science Framework [https://k12cs.org] and the
draft CSTA standards as guidance. Because the revised CSTA standards have not been finalized as of June
2017, we are waiting to publish formal standards mapping documents for CS Fundamentals to ensure that we
have an opportunity to address any changes that may appear in the final draft. Once the CSTA standards have
been finalized and published, we will complete a full pass to articulate, on a course and lesson level, our
mapping to not only the the CSTA standards, but also to select ISTE, Common Core Math, Common Core
ELA, and NGSS standards. Once this mapping has been completed, it will be available in the lesson plans and
at code.org/csf/standards.
Assessments
When educating students, we find that assessments are often needed for a couple of different reasons: to
check for comprehension and to determine grades. At Code.org, we believe that you know your students best.
That’s why we do not attempt to make any determination of what they should receive as a letter grade. Instead,
we provide teachers with assistance in collecting examples of student comprehension. The ability to see
where a student is succeeding and where they need help is fundamental to providing the opportunity to tailor
their learning experience. That’s why there’s an ever-evolving teacher dashboard to highlight the work done by
your class sections. Keep an eye on the Code.org blog [http://blog.code.org] for more information on changes
and improvements.
Please note, we have provided assessment worksheets with each unplugged activity, and “assessment”
puzzles for many online lessons. For more information on assessing student work using those items, see the
thread on our teacher forum at http://forum.code.org/t/assessment-in-csf.
28
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Outline of Courses A-F
Course A Overview (Ages 5+)
Course A offers computer science curriculum for beginning readers around the kindergarten age range.
Students will learn to program using commands like loops and events. The lessons featured in this course also
teach students to collaborate with others meaningfully, investigate different problem-solving techniques, persist
in the face of difficult tasks, and learn about internet safety. By the end of this course, students create their
very own custom game or story from Play Lab that they can share.
Course A Lesson Sequence
Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are in bolded text.
2 Persistence & When students run into a barrier while answering a question or
Frustration: Stevie and working on a project, it’s so easy for them to get frustrated and give
the Big Project up. This lesson will introduce students to the idea that frustration can
be an important part of learning. Here, frustration is presented as a
step in the creative process, rather than a sign of failure.
3 Real-Life Algorithms: In this lesson, students will relate the concept of algorithms back to
Plant a Seed everyday, real-life activities by planting an actual seed. The goal
here is to start building the skills to translate real-world situations to
online scenarios and vice versa.
4 Learn to Drag and Drop This lesson will give students an idea of what to expect when they
head to the computer lab. It begins with a brief discussion
introducing them to computer lab manners, then they will progress
into using a computer to complete online puzzles.
5 Programming Unplugged: The bridge from algorithms to programming can be a short one if
Happy Maps students understand the difference between planning out a
sequence and encoding that sequence into the appropriate
language. This activity will help students gain experience reading
and writing in shorthand code.
29
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
6 Programming in Maze In this series of online puzzles, students will build on the
understanding of algorithms, debugging, and general computer
literacy. Featuring characters from the game Angry Birds, students
will develop sequential algorithms to get the bird to the pig without
crashing into walls or TNT. Debugging puzzles have also been
mixed into this stage for added practice with problem solving and
critical thinking.
7 Common Sense In collaboration with Common Sense Education, this lesson helps
Education: students learn that many websites ask for information that is private
Going Places Safely and discusses how to responsibly handle such requests. Students
also find out that they can go to exciting places online, but they need
to follow certain rules to remain safe.
8 Loops Unplugged: Loops can be a very helpful and powerful tool in programming. To
Happy Loops understand how helpful loops are, students will be driven to want an
easier way to solve mundane problems.
9 Loops in Collector Building on the concept of repeating instructions from ‘Happy Loops’,
this stage will have students using loops to collect treasure more
efficiently on Code.org.
10 Loops in Artist Returning to loops, students learn to draw images by looping simple
sequences of instructions. In the previous plugged lesson, loops
were used to traverse a maze and collect treasure. Here, loops are
creating patterns. At the end of this stage, students will be given the
opportunity to create their own images using loops.
11 Events Unplugged: Events are a great way to add variety to a pre-written algorithm.
The Big Event Sometimes you want your program to be able to respond to the user
exactly when the user wants it to. That is what events are for.
12 Events in Play Lab In this online activity, students will have the opportunity to learn how
to use events in Play Lab and to apply all the coding skills they've
learned to create an animated game. It's time to get creative and
make a story in the Play Lab!
30
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course B Overview (Ages 6+)
Course B was developed with first graders in mind. Tailored to a novice reading level, this course also
assumes limited knowledge of shapes and numbers.
At the moment, Course B closely parallels Course A, but provides more complex unplugged activities and
more variety in puzzles. Students will learn the basics of programming, collaboration techniques, investigation
and critical thinking skills, persistence in the face of difficulty, and internet safety. At the end of this course
students will create their very own custom game from Play Lab that they can share with a link.
Course B Lesson Sequence
Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are in bolded text.
1 Debugging: Unspotted This lesson will guide students through the steps of debugging.
Bugs Students will learn the mantra: "What happened? What was
supposed to happen? What does that tell you?"
2 Persistence & When students run into a barrier while answering a question or
Frustration: Stevie and working on a project, it’s so easy for them to get frustrated and give
the Big Project up. This lesson will introduce students to the idea that frustration can
be an important part of learning. Here, frustration is presented as a
step in the creative process, rather than a sign of failure.
3 Real-Life Algorithms: In this lesson, students will relate the concept of algorithms back to
Plant a Seed everyday, real-life activities by planting an actual seed. The goal
here is to start building the skills to translate real-world situations to
online scenarios and vice versa.
4 Learn to Drag and Drop Learning to drag and drop online gives students an idea of what to
expect when they head to the computer lab. It begins with a brief
discussion introducing them to computer lab manners, then they will
progress into using a computer to complete online puzzles.
5 Common Sense In collaboration with Common Sense Education, this lesson helps
Education: students learn about the similarities of staying safe in the real world
Your Digital Footprint and when visiting websites. Students will also learn that the
information they put online leaves a digital footprint or “trail.” This
trail can be big or small, helpful or hurtful, depending on how they
manage it.
31
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
6 Programming Unplugged: Using a predefined symbol key, your students will figure out how to
My Robotic Friends guide one another to accomplish specific tasks without using any
verbal commands. This segment teaches students the connection
between symbols and actions, the difference between an algorithm
and a program, and the valuable skill of debugging.
7 Programming in Maze In this series of online puzzles, students will build on the
understanding of algorithms, debugging, and general computer
literacy. Featuring characters from the game Angry Birds, students
will develop sequential algorithms to get the bird to the pig without
crashing into walls or TNT. Debugging puzzles have also been
mixed into this stage for added practice with problem solving and
critical thinking.
8 More Programming in Maze In this lesson, students will use their newfound programming skills in
more complicated ways to navigate a tricky course.
9 Loops Unplugged: Here, students learn the simplicity and utility of loops by
My Loopy Robotic Friends “programming” their friends using the language from ‘My Robotic
Friends’. Once loops are introduced, students find that they can build
big structures faster.
10 Loops in Collector Building on the concept of repeating instructions from ‘My Loopy
Robotic Friends’, this stage will have students using loops to collect
treasure more efficiently on Code.org.
11 Loops in Artist Returning to loops, students learn to draw images by looping simple
sequences of instructions. In the previous online lesson, loops were
used to traverse a maze and collect treasure. Here, students use
loops to create patterns. At the end of this stage, students will be
given the opportunity to create their own images using loops.
12 Events Unplugged: Events are a great way to add variety to a pre-written algorithm.
The Big Event Sometimes you want your program to be able to respond to the user
exactly when the user wants it to. That is what events are for.
13 Events in Play Lab In this online activity, students will have the opportunity to learn how
to use events in Play Lab and apply all of the coding skills that
they've learned to create an animated game. It's time to get creative
and make a story in Play Lab!
32
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course C Overview (Ages 7+)
Course C was developed for students in and around the second grade. It uses a limited understanding of
shapes and elementary math concepts.
Students will create programs with loops, events, and conditionals. They will translate their initials into binary,
investigate different problem-solving techniques, and discuss how to respond to cyberbullying. By the end of
the course, students will create interactive games that they can share. Each concept in Course C is taught
from the beginning, graduating toward experiences that allow for growth and creativity to provide all students a
rich and novel programming experience.
Course C Lesson Sequence
Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are in bolded text.
2 Programming in Maze Featuring characters from the game Angry Birds, students will develop
sequential algorithms to move a bird from one side of the maze to a pig
at the other side. To do this they will stack code blocks together in a
linear sequence to move straight and turn left or right.
4 Real-Life Algorithms: In this lesson, students will relate the concept of algorithms back to
Paper Airplanes everyday activities. After discussing algorithms, students will make
paper airplanes using an algorithm built by a classmate. The goal here
is to start creating the skills to translate real world situations to online
scenarios and vice versa.
5 Programming in Collector Students will continue to develop their understanding of algorithms and
debugging in this series of puzzles by creating sequential algorithms to
pick up treasure with a new character, Laurel the adventurer.
33
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
6 Programming in Artist In this lesson, students will take control of the Artist to complete
drawings on the screen. This Artist stage will allow students to create
images of increasing complexity using new blocks like `“move forward
by 100 pixels`” and `“turn right by 90 degrees.`”
7 Getting Loopy Loops are a handy way to repeat actions a certain number of times. In
this lesson, students will dance their way to a better understanding of
how to use repeat loops.
8 Loops in Maze Building on the concept of repeating instructions from “'Getting Loopy”',
this stage will have students using loops to traverse mazes more
efficiently than before.
9 Loops in Artist Watch student faces light up as they make their own gorgeous designs
using a small number of blocks and digital stickers! This lesson builds
on the understanding of loops from previous lessons and gives
students a chance to be truly creative. This activity is fantastic for
producing artifacts for portfolios or parent/teacher conferences.
10 Loops in Harvester In the preceding stage, students used loops to create fantastic
drawings. Now they're going to loop new actions in order to help the
harvester collect multiple veggies growing in large bunches.
11 Events Unplugged: Students will soon learn that events are a great way to add flexibility to
The Big Event a pre-written algorithm. Sometimes you want your program to be able
to respond to the user exactly when the user wants it to. Events can
make your program more interesting and interactive.
12 Build a Flappy Game In this special stage, students get to build their own Flappy Bird game
by using event handlers to detect mouse clicks and object collisions. At
the end of the level, students will be able to customize their game by
changing the visuals or rules.
13 Events in Play Lab In this online activity, students will have the opportunity to learn how to
use events in Play Lab and to apply all the coding skills they've learned
to create an animated game. It's time to get creative and make a game
in Play Lab!
34
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
14 Common Sense This lesson helps children to recognize that it is essential to tell a
Education: Screen Out trusted adult if something online makes them feel angry, sad, or
the Mean scared.
Students learn that other people can sometimes act like bullies when
they are online. They will explore what cyberbullying means and what
they can do when they encounter it. After reading a scenario about
mean online behavior, students discuss what cyberbullying is, how it
can make people feel, and how to respond. Finally, they use their
knowledge to create a simple tip sheet on cyberbullying in their
journals.
15 Binary Bracelets Binary is extremely important in the world of computers. The majority
of computers today store all sorts of information in binary form. This
lesson helps demonstrate how it is possible to take something from
real life and translate it into a series of ons and offs.
35
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course D Overview (Ages 8+)
Course D was created for students who read at roughly a third grade level. Angles and mathematical concepts
are introduced with helpful videos and hints.
The course begins with a review of the concepts found in Courses A, B, and C. This review helps introduce or
refresh basic ideas such as repeat loops and events. Students will develop their understanding of algorithms,
nested loops, while loops, conditionals, and events. Lessons on digital citizenship are also included. This
course is crafted to build a strong foundation of basic concepts before opening up to a wide range of new and
exciting topics.
Course D Lesson Sequence
Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are in bolded text.
2 Introduction: Remembering In this set of puzzles, students will begin with an introduction (or
Ideas from Course C review depending on the experience of your class) of Code.org's
online workspace. There will be videos pointing out the basic
functionality of the workspace including the “Run”, “Reset”, and
“Step” buttons. Also discussed in these videos: dragging, deleting,
and connecting Blockly blocks.
3 Events in Bounce In this online activity, students will learn what events are and how
computers use them in programs. Students will work through
puzzles, making their programs react to events (like arrow buttons
being pressed.) At the end of the puzzle, students will have the
opportunity to customize their game with different speeds and
sounds.
36
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
4 Nested Loops in Maze In this online activity, students will have the opportunity to push their
understanding of loops to a whole new level. Playing with Bee and
Plants vs Zombies, students will learn how to nest loops. They will
also be encouraged to figure out how little changes will affect their
program when they click "Run".
5 Nested Loops in Artist Students will create intricate designs using Artist in this set of
puzzles. By continuing to practice nested loops with new goals,
students will see more uses of loops in general. This set of puzzles
also offers more potential for creativity, with an opportunity for
students to create their own design at the end of the stage.
6 Nested Loop Projects in Now that students know how to layer their loops, they can create so
Artist many beautiful things. This lesson will take students through a series
of exercises to help them create their own portfolio-ready images.
7 Debugging Unplugged: This activity will begin with a short review of 'Graph Paper
Relay Programming Programming', then will quickly move to a race against the clock as
students break into teams and work together to write a program one
instruction at a time.
8 Debugging in Collector In this online lesson, students will practice debugging in the Collector
environment. Students will get to practice reading and editing code
to fix puzzles with simple algorithms, loops and nested loops.
9 While Loops in Farmer By the time students reach this lesson, they should already have
plenty of practice using repeat loops, so now it's time to mix things
up by learning a new structure, the `while` loop.
10 Conditionals with Cards This lesson demonstrates how conditionals can be used to tailor a
program to specific information. We don’t always have all the
information we need when writing a program. Sometimes you will
want to do something different in one situation than in another, even
if you don't know what situation will be true when your code runs.
That is where conditionals come in. Conditionals allow a computer to
make a decision, based on the information that is true each time
your code is run.
11 Conditionals in Bee Up until this point students have been writing code online that
executes exactly the same way each time it is run - reliable, but not
very flexible. In this lesson, your class will begin to code with
conditionals, allowing them to write programs that functions
differently depending on the specific conditions the program
encounters.
37
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
12 Conditionals & Loops in In this stage, students will be pairing together two key concepts:
Maze loops and conditionals. This set of puzzles bridges the gaps in
understanding that occur when working on puzzles that use multiple
kinds of blocks. By bringing two ideas together, students will create
more complex code that shows both impressive creativity and critical
thinking!
13 Conditionals & Loops in Students will practice while loops, until loops, and if / else
Farmer statements. All of these blocks use conditions. By practicing all
three, students will learn to write complex and flexible code.
14 Common Sense In collaboration with Common Sense Education, this lesson helps
Education: students learn to think critically about the user information that some
Digital Citizenship websites request or require. Students learn the difference between
private information and personal information, distinguishing what is
safe and unsafe to share online.
15 Build a Play Lab Game In this online activity, students will have the opportunity to learn how
to use events in Play Lab and to apply all of the coding skills they've
learned to create an animated game. It's time to get creative and
make a game in Play Lab!
16 Binary Images Though many people think of binary as strictly zeros and ones,
students will be introduced to the idea that information can be
represented in a variety of binary options. This lesson takes that
concept one step further as it illustrates how a computer can store
even more complex information (such as photos and colors) in
binary, as well.
17 Binary in Artist Binary is extremely important in the world of computers. The majority
of computers today store all sorts of information in binary form. In
this lesson, students will build binary images in Artist by translating
0s and 1s to offs and ons (or blacks and whites).
38
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course E Overview (Ages 9+)
Created with fourth grade students in mind, this course begins with a brief review of concepts previously
taught in courses C and D. This introduction is intended to inspire beginners and remind the experts of the
wonders of computer science. Students will practice coding with algorithms, loops, conditionals, and events
before they are introduced to functions. At the end of the course, students will have the opportunity to create a
capstone project that they can proudly share with peers and loved ones.
Course E Lesson Sequence
Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are in bolded text.
2 Introduction (Course Warm In this progression, students will begin with an introduction (or
Up) review depending on the experience of your class) of Code.org's
online workspace. Students will learn the basic functionality of the
interface including the “Run”, “Reset”, and “Step” buttons. Dragging,
deleting, and connecting Blockly blocks is also introduced in the
beginning video. In the puzzles, students will practice their
sequencing and debugging skills in Maze and Artist.
3 Intro to Conditionals This lesson introduces students to while loops and if/else
statements. While loops are loops that continue to repeat
commands as long as a condition is true. While loops are used
when the programmer doesn't know the exact number of times the
commands need to be repeated, but the programmer does know
what condition needs to be true in order for the loop to continue
looping. If/Else statements offer flexibility in programming by running
entire sections of code only if something is true, otherwise it runs
something else.
39
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
4 Common Sense Developed by Common Sense Education, this lesson is about the
Education: difference between information that is safe to share online and
Personal and Private information that is not.
Information
As students visit sites that request information about their identities,
they learn to adopt a critical inquiry process that empowers them to
protect themselves and their families from identity theft. In this
lesson, students learn to think critically about the user information
that some websites request or require. They learn the difference
between private information and personal information, as well as
how to distinguish what is safe or unsafe to share online.
5 Build a Star Wars Game In this lesson, students will practice using events to build a game
that they can share online. Featuring R2-D2 and other Star Wars
characters, students will be guided through events, then given
space to create their own game.
6 Functions Unplugged: One of the most magnificent structures in the computer science
Songwriting world is the function. Functions (sometimes called procedures) are
mini programs that you can use over and over inside of your bigger
program. This lesson will help students intuitively understand why
combining chunks of code into functions can be such a helpful
practice.
8 Functions in Bee In the second round of practice with online functions, students will
navigate complex paths, collect plenty of nectar, and make tons of
honey.
9 Functions in Farmer Students have practiced creating impressive designs in Artist and
navigating mazes in Bee, but today they will use functions to harvest
crops in Farmer. This lesson will push students to use functions in
new ways by combining them with while loops and if/else
statements.
10 Determine the Concept This lesson brings together concepts from the previous lessons and
gives students a chance to think critically about how they would
solve each problem, but without telling them which concept to apply.
Students will review basic algorithms, debugging, repeat loops,
conditionals, while loops, and functions.
40
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
11 Build a Play Lab Game This lesson features Play Lab, a platform where students can create
their own games and have interactions between characters and
user input. Students will work with events to create keyboard
controls. This set of puzzles will also loosely guide students through
game development, but with freedom to add their own ideas.
12 Explore Project Ideas The next four lessons provide an opportunity for students to put their
coding skills to use in a capstone project. This project will help
individuals gain experience with coding and produce an exemplar to
share with peers and loved ones. Intended to be a multi-lesson or
multi-week experience, students will spend time exploring,
brainstorming, learning about the design process, building, and
presenting their final work.
This first week, students will play with pre-built examples of projects
in both Artist and Play Lab for inspiration.
13 The Design Process In this portion of the project, students will learn about the design
process and how to implement it in their own projects.
14 Build Your Project Now the students will be given their own space to create their
project with either Artist or Play Lab. This will be the longest portion
of the project.
15 Present Your Project Finally, students will be able to present their finished work to their
peers or share with their loved ones with a special link.
16 The Internet Even though many people use the internet daily, not very many
know how it works. In this lesson, students will pretend to flow
through the internet, all the while learning about connections, URLs,
IP Addresses, and the DNS.
41
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course F Overview (Ages 10+)
The last course in CS Fundamentals was tailored to the needs students in the fifth grade.
In these lessons, students will create programs with different kinds of loops, events, functions, and
conditionals. They will also investigate different problem-solving techniques and discuss societal impacts of
computing and the internet. By the end of the curriculum, students create interactive stories and games
that they can share with their friends and family.
Course F Lesson Sequence
Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are in bolded text.
1 Algorithms Unplugged: This lesson shows us something important about algorithms. As long
Tangrams as you keep an algorithm simple, there are lots of ways to use it.
However, if you want to make sure everyone produces the same
outcome, then your algorithm needs more detail. Students will learn
the difference between a detailed and general algorithm while playing
with tangrams.
2 Introduction (Course Warm In this lesson, students will be introduced to sequences, loops, and
Up) nested loops to prepare them for more complicated concepts in the
later part of the course. This "ramp up" lesson equalizes the playing
field between the experts and the beginners in your class.
3 Common Sense Students consider that while they are enjoying their favorite websites
Education: they may encounter messages from other kids that can make them
The Power of Words feel angry, hurt, sad, or fearful. They explore ways to handle
cyberbullying and how to respond in the face of upsetting language
online.
4 Events in Ice Age In this lesson, students are guided through a story featuring
characters from Ice Age. Students will work with events and loops to
make characters move on the screen, and will get the chance to
create their own game or story after the guided levels.
5 Conditionals in Minecraft This lesson gives students a chance to learn and practice
conditionals. It features characters and settings from Minecraft, and
students will complete tasks such as mining and building structures
using their programs.
42
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
6 Variables Unplugged: Variables are used as placeholders for values such as numbers or
Envelope Variables words. Variables allow for a lot of freedom in programming. Instead
of having to type out a phrase many times or remember an obscure
number, computer scientists can use variables to reference them.
This lesson helps to explain what variables are and how we can use
them in many different ways. The idea of variables isn't an easy
concept to grasp, so we recommend allowing plenty of time for
discussion at the end of the lesson.
7 Variables in Artist In this lesson, students will explore the creation of repetitive designs
using variables in the Artist environment. Students will learn how
variables can be used to make code easier to write and easier to
read. After guided puzzles, students will end in a freeplay level to
show what they have learned and create their own designs.
8 Variables in Play Lab Students will get further practice with variables in this lesson by
creating scenes in Play Lab. Students will work with user input to set
the values of their variables, then get space to create their own
mini-project with variables.
9 For Loops Unplugged: We know that loops allow us to do things over and over again, but
For Loop Fun now we’re going to learn how to use loops that have extra structures
built right in. These new structures will allow students to create code
that is more powerful and dynamic.
10 For Loops in Bee Featuring Bee, this lesson focuses on for loops and using an
incrementing variable to solve more complicated puzzles. Students
will begin by reviewing loops from previous lessons, then walked
through using for loops to more effectively solve complicated
problems.
11 For Loops in Artist In this lesson, students continue to practice for loops, this time with
Artist. Students will complete puzzles combining the ideas of
variables, loops, and for loops to create complex designs. At the end,
they will have a chance to create their own art in a freeplay level.
12 Functions Unplugged: One of the most magnificent structures in the computer science world
Songwriting with is the function. Functions (sometimes called procedures) are mini
Parameters programs that you can use over and over inside of your bigger
program. This lesson will help students intuitively understand why
combining chunks of code into functions is such a helpful practice,
and how they can use those structures even when chunks of code
are slightly different.
43
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
13 Functions in Bee This lesson teaches students how to create simple functions using
our sophisticated “modal” function editor, preparing the way for them
to incorporate parameters in future lessons.
14 Functions with Parameters In this lesson, students continue working with functions with and
in Artist without parameters. Students will get the chance to create their own
drawings with and without parameters, before modifying functions in
a freeplay level.
15 Functions with Parameters This lesson features the bee environment, and continues along the
in Bee concept of functions with parameters from the previous Artist stage.
Students will practice writing and using functions to follow complex
paths and collect patterns of nectar and honey.
16 Explore Project Ideas The next five lessons provide an opportunity for students to put their
coding skills to use in a capstone project. This project will help
individuals gain experience with coding and produce an exemplar to
share with peers and loved ones. This is intended to be a
multi-lesson or multi-week project where students spend time
brainstorming, learning about the design process, building, and then
presenting their final work.
This first week, students will play with pre-built examples of projects
in both Artist and Play Lab for inspiration.
17 The Design Process In this portion of the project, students will learn about the design
process and how to implement it in their own projects.
18 Build Your Project Now the students will be given their own space to create their project
with either Artist or Play Lab. This will be the longest portion of the
project.
19 Revise Your Project Now that the projects are built, students are given the opportunity to
get feedback from peers and revise their projects.
20 Present Your Project Finally, students will be able to present their finished work to their
peers or share with their loved ones with a special link.
44
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Courses A-F Additional Supplies List
Most of the unplugged lessons in Courses A-F require only paper and writing instruments. We have included
here a list of courses where lessons
Course A
❏ Marble Run - Tape, cardboard, other misc. supplies for building, kid friendly marbles (or round cereal)
❏ Real-Life Algorithms: Plant a Seed - Dirt, seeds, paper cups
❏ Scissors for each student
Course B
❏ Marble Run - Tape, cardboard, other misc. supplies for building, kid friendly marbles (or round cereal)
❏ Real-Life Algorithms: Plant a Seed -Dirt, seeds, paper cups
❏ My (Loopy) Robotic Friends - Plastic cups
❏ Scissors for each student
Course C
❏ Building a Foundation - Gumdrops and toothpicks or marshmallows and popsicle sticks
❏ Real-Life Algorithms: Paper Airplanes - Paper for airplane construction
❏ Binary Bracelets - Markers (Optional: beads and pipe cleaners)
❏ Scissors for each student
Course D
❏ Conditionals with Cards - Deck of cards, or something similar
❏ Digital Citizenship - Cubecraft superheros (see resources for more details)
❏ Binary Images - Optional: Objects with two opposites such as a large coin or a lamp that turns on or
off
❏ Scissors for each student
Course E
❏ Dice Race - Dice
❏ Crowdsourcing - Deck of cards, or something similar and a jar full of small items (buttons, beads,
beans, etc)
❏ Scissors for each student
Course F
❏ Envelope Variables - Envelopes
❏ For Loop Fun - Dice
❏ Scissors for each student
45
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
46
CS Fundamentals Teacher Lesson Plans
Course A 49
Debugging (Unspotted Bugs) 50
Marble Run Debugging 53
Stevie and The Big Project 57
Build a Marble Run 61
Real-Life Algorithms: Plant a Seed 69
Programming Unplugged: Happy Maps 75
Common Sense Education: Going Places Safely 83
Loops Unplugged: Happy Loops 88
Events Unplugged: The Big Event 102
Course B 108
Debugging (Unspotted Bugs) 109
Marble Run Debugging 112
Stevie and The Big Project 116
Build a Marble Run 120
Real-Life Algorithms: Plant a Seed 128
Common Sense Education: Your Digital Footprint 134
Programming Unplugged: My Robotic Friends 149
Loops Unplugged: My Loopy Robotic Friends 164
Events Unplugged: The Big Event 173
Course C 179
Building a Foundation 180
Real-Life Algorithms: Paper Airplanes 184
Getting Loopy 189
Events Unplugged: The Big Event 195
Common Sense Education: Screen Out the Mean 201
Binary Bracelets 214
Course D 220
Algorithms Unplugged: Graph Paper Programming 221
Debugging Unplugged: Relay Programming 231
Conditionals with Cards 240
Common Sense Education: Digital Citizenship 246
Binary Images 251
CS Fundamentals Teacher Lesson Plans
Course E 256
Dice Race 257
Common Sense Education: Personal and Private Information 263
Functions Unplugged: Songwriting 276
The Internet 284
Crowdsourcing 294
Course F 298
Algorithms Unplugged: Tangrams 299
Common Sense Education: The Power of Words 306
Variables Unplugged: Envelope Variables 321
For Loops Unplugged: For Loop Fun 327
Functions Unplugged: Songwriting with Parameters 334
CS Fundamentals Course A
Course A
49
This lesson will guide students through the steps of debugging. Students
will learn the mantra: "What happened? What was supposed to happen? Express that they have noticed when something
What does that tell you?" goes differently than what is expected.
Identify what the expected result was before an
error occurs.
Determine and describe the difference between
Research shows that some students have less trouble debugging a
what was expected and what actually happened
program than writing one when they first learn to code. In this lesson, we
in the event of an error.
introduce the idea of debugging in a real world sense.
The goal in this lesson is to teach students steps to spot a bug and to
increase persistence by showing them that it's normal to find mistakes. In
Review the Unspotted Bugs Story (
later lessons, students will debug actual programs on Code.org.
)
Pre-read Unspotted Bugs to identify appropriate
questions for your classroom
Follow instructions in the
to make a Marble Run
(which will be arranged incorrectly at the start)
Give a to each student
- Online Story
50
Goal: Help students understand the steps involved in debugging.
Page 3: What do you notice in the picture? What’s wrong with the flower? (It’s upside down!) What’s wrong with the clock? (The
hands aren’t in the center) Why do you think there is something wrong with these items?(Because there are bugs on them!)
Page 7: What’s wrong with the picture? (The lamp is upside down) Why is that? (There’s a bug)
Page 11: What’s wrong in this scene? (The car doesn’t have wheels!) Why? (Because there are bugs on it!)
What did JD find when he went looking for the bug? What was wrong? What does this mean? (JD found an upside down tree.
This is wrong because the tree trunk should be touching the ground! This means there is a bug on the tree!)
- Say it with me: Purr-siss-tense. Not giving up. Persistence works best when you try things many different ways,
many different times.
Goal: Help students think critically about the difference between what is happening and what is expected.
Now that students have been introduced to the idea of looking for problems, they can try to apply it to more places in the real world.
This next activity gives them practice looking for bugs in Marble Runs (a project that they will be working with next week.)
Grab your sample marble run (built from our plans, or something similar.) Show the students how each piece works, then
demonstrate putting them together (but put them together incorrectly, to prevent the ball from flowing properly from A to B.
The goal of this exercise is to help the students identify when something goes wrong, so if they don’t catch it the first time, run it
again, and again. It can help to make exaggerated frustration faces when the ball doesn’t do what you would like it to do.
51
Let the students share hypotheses about what is going
Lesson Tip
wrong, and how to fix it. Students should feel free to try
things that you know will be incorrect. If students misidentify
solutions, use the bug finding formula on their configurations.
Great! You all are so good at this, maybe you can help me
Repeat until you get a working run.
with my own problem!
Encouragement is key here. If things don’t work right away, See, I have this marble run that I made. It comes in two
praise the class for being so persistent and choosing not to pieces. When I put the ball in here (input A) it’s supposed to
give up. If they start to get frustrated, encourage them to come out here (output A). When I put the ball in here (input B)
persist a bit longer, promising them that they will get it soon if it’s supposed to come out here (output B). Now, when I slide
them together, I should be able to put the ball in here (input A)
they just hang in there.
and have it come out here (output B). But it doesn’t work,
watch.
[Slide the pieces together with output B facing output A.]
Watch what happens. [Drop ball at input A and notice that it
does not come out output B.]
BUG!
Goal: Students will start to understand the importance of the
activity they just completed by reflecting on it verbally, then What happened?
through drawing in their journals. The ball fell on the table.
What was supposed to happen?
It can be distracting to a learner when they have unanswered The ball was supposed to drop from A into B.
questions or doubts. To end this lesson, we’ll give everyone
What does that tell you?
the chance to get those out so that they can reflect on what
they’ve been taught. You should turn B around so that the ball goes into the right
place!
Encourage students to share their thoughts and questions
either with the whole class or with an elbow partner.
Lesson Tip
Once they’ve had time to ponder their own thoughts, get the
students thinking about the purpose of the lesson that they
just learned. Why did you do this activity? How will it help What do you think we learned in this lesson?
them later? Can they think of buggy things that they’ve seen
Debugging
in the real world?
How to solve a problem
Students should finish by drawing or writing in their journal. How to make a marble go
Possible topics include: How do you think that can help us in other places?
Lesson Tip:
Take your students outside. Do you see any signs of bugs?
The signs of real-live bugs won’t be as dramatic as upside
What are they? Now look closer... can you find the actual
down trees, but it might be dead leaves, spots on flowers, or
bug? slime on the
sidewalk. Have the students brainstorm these before going
outside to look for them.
52
If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes,
U
T Marble Run
Teacher Prep Teacher Prep Guide
This guide will provide assistance through a set of two lessons using a Marble Run contraption.
The first portion of this kindergarten series is the debugging lesson, where students will help
you debug your Marble Run. In order to do this, you need to have a broken prototype that can
be fixed in a predictable way. This guide will suggest an easy step-by-step solution, and give
you tips for making a creation using your own design.
For the second half, we are going to ask students to do something incredibly challenging in
order to stretch their understanding and aptitude for persistence. This guide will provide
additional suggestions and resources to keep the project grade appropriate.
Stage 1: Debugging
The Rules:
The rules of the student version of the Marble Run activity are pretty simple:
1) Build two Marble Runs.
2) Each Marble Run should have at least 3 pieces.
3) Marble Run 1 should take a marble at Start height and finish at Middle height.
4) Marble Run 2 should take a marble at Middle height and finish at End height.
5) Put the two Marble Runs together and watch the marble go from Start to End .
There are a couple of additional rules to adapt this to be effective for the lesson on debugging:
1) The teacher’s contraption must not work to begin with.
2) The fix for the issue should be detectable by following the marble’s path and determining
where the change from “expected” to “unexpected” occurs.
The Set-Up:
Use the Marble Run Ruler (provided on page 2) to determine the starting and ending height
for each of the two components, we will call those Component A and Component B.
Component A needs to take in a marble (Input A) at a height that falls somewhere within the
highlighted “Start” region. It should then return the marble (Output A) at a height somewhere
within the highlighted “Middle” region.
Component B should take a marble (input B) at a height that falls somewhere within the high-
lighted “Middle” region. It should then return the marble (Output B) at a height somewhere
within the highlighted “End” region.
Two simple ways for a teacher to initiate an easy-to-fix failure would be:
A) Have two working components, but connect them in an incorrect way
B) Have Component A release the marble lower than Component B can receive it
Proceed to the teacher guide for Stage 2 for more information on building a Marble Run that
falls into either of those categories.
Revision 160921.1a
53
Start Start
Middle Middle
End 54
End
U
T Marble Run
Teacher Prep Teacher Prep Guide
The Set-Up:
Set-up of the student resource area is crucial. Supplies should be plentiful and easy to locate.
In addition to the classroom norms (cardstock, tape, safety scissors) volunteers can also
donate extra items if given enough notice (paper cups, cereal boxes, and the like).
For further support, place a stack of copies of “Marble Run Hints” (pages 7 & 8) for students to
find. You do not need to let the class know that those are available. Students will feel more
like they have “discovered” something if the teacher is not involved in the process.
The Build:
We have provided tutorials on four relatively simple pieces that are quite helpful for this
project. These peices are:
• Tube (fig. 1) - A piece of paper that has been rolled into a cylinder
• Ramp (fig. 2) - Paper folded in a zig-zag fashion to provide a ramp with attaching flaps
• Bridge (fig. 3) - Paper where two sides have been folded into the center to create a bridge
• Cone (fig. 4) - Paper rolled first into a cylinder, then tightened at the bottom and
loosened at the top. Once the basic cone has been created, secure with tape, then
cut the top and bottom to customize.
A low-frills example contraption can be created using the steps that follow.
Component A:
1) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in half lengthwise, then cut one of those
halves lengthwise again. Fold both of the quarter strips bridge style.
2) Lay the bridges on their sides and tape free edges together to form a square or
rectangle.
3) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in quarters (length, then width). Roll two of
the pieces along the long edge and two along the short edge, then secure with
tape, to make a total of 4 tubes.
4) Tape the long tubes to the back of the square case from step 2, and the short
tubes should be taped in front.
55
U
T Marble Run
Teacher Prep Teacher Prep Guide
Component A (continued):
5) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in half widthwise. Fold one piece in half
lengthwise, then fold the long edges back out toward the crease to make a
ramp.
6) Tape the edges of the ramp to the tops of the posts. This gives your main
marble path, but it’s not quite tall enough.
7) Add a cone at the intake point, and you’ll be set!
Component B:
8) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in half widthwise and roll one of the pieces
along the short side, to make an 8.5” tube. Secure with tape.
9) Cut the tube at a point anywhere from 2” - 4” at about a 45 degree angle.
10) Rotate one of the pieces to form an elbow, and tape back together.
11) Cut a 1“ strip from the remaining 8.5” x 5.5” cardstock half (lengthwise) and
make a bridge to use as a triangular base for the tube to sit in.
12) Use the remaining cardstock to make an input cone for the top of Component B.
Trim tube and cone to get appropriate height.
Note: It is highly unlikely that your students will come up with anything this clean and
stable. That is OKAY! The version here is meant to be messed with and reused.
56
Big Project
This lession can be done over one or two class sessions. If you have more
time, feel free to draw out the building and revising phase of the Marble
Run activity. Pre-read "Stevie and the Big Project" to identify
appropriate questions for your class.
Follow instructions in the
to make a Marble Run.
The goal of this lesson is to help students realize that failure and
Print copies of the (page 2
frustration are common when working on projects, but that doesn't mean
of teacher guide) for each student or pair of
that they should give up.
students.
In this lesson, students will develop an understanding of what it means to Prepare a resource station with cardstock, safety
be frustrated while working on a large project. It's possible that not every scissors, tape, and anything else you think might
student will experience frustration with this activity, but there are many be fun for students to build with. Include a stack
opportunities to open a discussion about moments in the past where of the pages from the
students have felt frustrated but nevertheless persisted. Teacher Prep Guide, but do not advertise their
existence.
(Optional) Allow students to bring cardboard,
popsicle sticks, string, or other tidbits from home
to add to the resource station.
Make sure each student has a
.
- Online Story
This lesson begins with a story. Students will be introduced to How would you feel if you were given a project that feels
several ideas on persistence and frustration through relatable much harder than what you are used to?
struggles by fictional characters, including the idea that Do you think it’s okay to try something new, even if it
frustration is not a sign that someone should instantly give doesn’t work out the first time?
up. Why do you think Stevie smashed her project?
This book can be presented in several ways, including: Do you think that helped her or hurt her when it comes
to reaching her goal?
Circled up story time
What do you think Stevie should have done instead of
Projected with document camera / smartboard
breaking her project?
Pair share with students at their computers
Can somebody explain what frustration is?
Use the reading techniques that work in your classroom:
How do you think you can know when you are frustrated?
If your students like to discuss things that happen as they
What face do you make when you are frustrated?
appear in the book, be sure to stop your class after large plot
How can you make yourself feel better when you start to
areas like when Stevie breaks her structure, or when Laurel
get frustrated?
explains frustration.
We all get frustrated sometimes. Does that mean that
If your students like to sit through a whole story and discuss we should give up?
at the end, read through the book, then prompt their memory
Can someone tell me what persistence is?
with some “Remember when…” type questions.
Why is it hard to learn if you're not persistent?
Can you tell me why you might be tempted not to be
persistent?
- Say it with me: Purr-siss-tense. Not giving What happened when Stevie decided to be persistent?
up. Persistence works best when you try things many Do you think you can be persistent?
different ways, many different times.
- Say it with me: Frus - straight - ted. Feeling
annoyed or angry because something is not the way you want it.
- First Attempt in learning. When you try to do something, but you don't do it quite right.
Goal: This activity is meant to highlight and normalize the feeling of frustration, while giving students a chance to be persistent.
It is vitally important that students understand that this activity is meant to help them learn about frustration and persistence. This is
not one of those times when we allow students to experience something, then give it a name afterward. Students need to know that
they will be feeling some emotions, and that those emotions are okay.
Take a moment to relate the next activity back to the book that you just read. The class might be excited that they get to try the
same project that Stevie did, but they might also be apprehensive at the thought of tackling something difficult.
Encourage your students to have their Think Spot Journals around during the activity so they can use them to plan, solve, and voice
concerns.
58
Time to be an engineer!
Lesson Tip
Break students up into pairs and have them quickly come up
with a team name. This should help to unify them in their
work. Now, we’re going to do something very fun, and very
challenging! I am going to let you all try to make a Marble Run
Next, point out the resource station that you have set up with
of your own!
all of the supplies and goodies that students will have access
to. Make sure you are very clear about whether they are This is to be challenging. That’s part of the fun!
Your Marble Run probably won’t work right the first time, and
limited only to the items in the resource station or whether
that’s
they are allowed to ask for other items for their creation. alright. The goal for this game is to practice being persistent.
Give students checkpoints for this activity. Make sure that Remember, Stevie showed us that this might be difficult, and
they know that there is no penalty for not finishing on time. sometimes difficult things are frustrating. It is okay if you get
frustrated during this activity. Most of us probably will at some
Preplanning is optional, since prediction is not often a point. How should we handle those feelings?
kindergartener’s strong suit.
Count to 10
The first attempt at building will likely be hectic and a bit Take deep breaths
sloppy, but it should give students access to the feelings and Journal about them
opportunities for persistence that are being studied in this Talk to a partner about them
lesson. Ask for help
Can you put into words what you are feeling right now?
Stevie would be so proud of you. What do you think Laurel
and Jorge would say if you told them how you feel?
Goal: Allow students to reflect on the emotions and
What would it be called if you said out loud that you are
processes experienced during the lesson.
frustrated, but decided to keep working anyway?
Do you feel like you can be persistent with me today?
Finish out this lesson by asking students to spend some time
in their Think Spot Journal.
Add a third piece to the beginning of the Marble Run. Can students start a marble up even higher and get it to flow through the
rest of their contraption? 59
Talking through frustration. Can students think of things that they can say to classmates to help them be persistent when they are
frustrated?
60
U
T Marble Run
Teacher Prep Teacher Prep Guide
This guide will provide assistance through a set of two lessons using a Marble Run contraption.
The first portion of this kindergarten series is the debugging lesson, where students will help
you debug your Marble Run. In order to do this, you need to have a broken prototype that can
be fixed in a predictable way. This guide will suggest an easy step-by-step solution, and give
you tips for making a creation using your own design.
For the second half, we are going to ask students to do something incredibly challenging in
order to stretch their understanding and aptitude for persistence. This guide will provide
additional suggestions and resources to keep the project grade appropriate.
Stage 1: Debugging
The Rules:
The rules of the student version of the Marble Run activity are pretty simple:
1) Build two Marble Runs.
2) Each Marble Run should have at least 3 pieces.
3) Marble Run 1 should take a marble at Start height and finish at Middle height.
4) Marble Run 2 should take a marble at Middle height and finish at End height.
5) Put the two Marble Runs together and watch the marble go from Start to End .
There are a couple of additional rules to adapt this to be effective for the lesson on debugging:
1) The teacher’s contraption must not work to begin with.
2) The fix for the issue should be detectable by following the marble’s path and determining
where the change from “expected” to “unexpected” occurs.
The Set-Up:
Use the Marble Run Ruler (provided on page 2) to determine the starting and ending height
for each of the two components, we will call those Component A and Component B.
Component A needs to take in a marble (Input A) at a height that falls somewhere within the
highlighted “Start” region. It should then return the marble (Output A) at a height somewhere
within the highlighted “Middle” region.
Component B should take a marble (input B) at a height that falls somewhere within the high-
lighted “Middle” region. It should then return the marble (Output B) at a height somewhere
within the highlighted “End” region.
Two simple ways for a teacher to initiate an easy-to-fix failure would be:
A) Have two working components, but connect them in an incorrect way
B) Have Component A release the marble lower than Component B can receive it
Proceed to the teacher guide for Stage 2 for more information on building a Marble Run that
falls into either of those categories.
Revision 160921.1a
61
Start Start
Middle Middle
End 62
End
U
T Marble Run
Teacher Prep Teacher Prep Guide
The Set-Up:
Set-up of the student resource area is crucial. Supplies should be plentiful and easy to locate.
In addition to the classroom norms (cardstock, tape, safety scissors) volunteers can also
donate extra items if given enough notice (paper cups, cereal boxes, and the like).
For further support, place a stack of copies of “Marble Run Hints” (pages 7 & 8) for students to
find. You do not need to let the class know that those are available. Students will feel more
like they have “discovered” something if the teacher is not involved in the process.
The Build:
We have provided tutorials on four relatively simple pieces that are quite helpful for this
project. These peices are:
• Tube (fig. 1) - A piece of paper that has been rolled into a cylinder
• Ramp (fig. 2) - Paper folded in a zig-zag fashion to provide a ramp with attaching flaps
• Bridge (fig. 3) - Paper where two sides have been folded into the center to create a bridge
• Cone (fig. 4) - Paper rolled first into a cylinder, then tightened at the bottom and
loosened at the top. Once the basic cone has been created, secure with tape, then
cut the top and bottom to customize.
A low-frills example contraption can be created using the steps that follow.
Component A:
1) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in half lengthwise, then cut one of those
halves lengthwise again. Fold both of the quarter strips bridge style.
2) Lay the bridges on their sides and tape free edges together to form a square or
rectangle.
3) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in quarters (length, then width). Roll two of
the pieces along the long edge and two along the short edge, then secure with
tape, to make a total of 4 tubes.
4) Tape the long tubes to the back of the square case from step 2, and the short
tubes should be taped in front.
63
U
T Marble Run
Teacher Prep Teacher Prep Guide
Component A (continued):
5) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in half widthwise. Fold one piece in half
lengthwise, then fold the long edges back out toward the crease to make a
ramp.
6) Tape the edges of the ramp to the tops of the posts. This gives your main
marble path, but it’s not quite tall enough.
7) Add a cone at the intake point, and you’ll be set!
Component B:
8) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in half widthwise and roll one of the pieces
along the short side, to make an 8.5” tube. Secure with tape.
9) Cut the tube at a point anywhere from 2” - 4” at about a 45 degree angle.
10) Rotate one of the pieces to form an elbow, and tape back together.
11) Cut a 1“ strip from the remaining 8.5” x 5.5” cardstock half (lengthwise) and
make a bridge to use as a triangular base for the tube to sit in.
12) Use the remaining cardstock to make an input cone for the top of Component B.
Trim tube and cone to get appropriate height.
Note: It is highly unlikely that your students will come up with anything this clean and
stable. That is OKAY! The version here is meant to be messed with and reused.
64
U
T Marble Run
Teacher Prep Teacher Prep Guide
Step 1: Fold strips “bridge style” Step 2: Tape ends of folded strips
together to make a base.
Step 3: Roll quartered paper into Step 4: Tape tubes inside case.
tubes and secure with tape. Make sure to tape them near the
top for height.
Step 5: Make a ramp from a half Step 6: Tape ramp to base and
sheet of cardstock. check height.
65
U
T Marble Run
Teacher Prep Teacher Prep Guide
Step 7: Add cone to finish Step 8: Roll 1/2 sheet into tube to
Component A. start on Component B.
Step 9: Cut tube at an angle. Step 10: Tape tubes back together
to make an elbow.
Step 11: Make a base from a thin Step 12: Add a cone to the top and
strip of cardstock. trim pieces to size.
66
U
H Marble Run Hints
Handout Student Handout
Tube
Ramp
Bridge
Cone
67
U
H Marble Run Hints
Handout (Continued)
Tube Ramp
or
Ramp Bridge
or
Bridge Tube
or
Cone Tube
or
68
In this lesson, students will relate the concept of algorithms back to
everyday, real-life activities by planting an actual seed. The goal here is to Decompose large activities into a series of
start building the skills to translate real-world situations to online scenarios smaller events.
and vice versa. Arrange sequential events into their logical order.
In this lesson, students will learn that algorithms are everywhere in our Watch the .
daily lives. For example, it is possible to write an algorithm to plant a seed. Prepare supplies for planting seeds. You'll need
Instead of giving vague or over-generalized instructions, students will seeds, dirt, and paper cups for each student or
break down a large activity into smaller and more specific commands. group.
From these commands, students must determine a special sequence of Print one
instructions that will allow their classmate to plant a seed. for each student.
Print one
for each student.
Make sure each student has a
.
- Teacher Video
-
Worksheet
- Assessment
( | )
69
This lesson has one vocabulary word that is important to review:
Ask your students what they did to get ready for school this morning.
Give them a couple of examples, such as making breakfast, tying shoes, and brushing teeth.
Let's try doing this with a new and fun activity, like planting a seed!
Lesson Tip
70
Ask the students to go back to their desks to reflect individually on what they learned. Write a couple of the questions up above on a
whiteboard. Ask the students to discuss these in their journal. Sample prompts include:
Hand out the and allow students to complete the activity independently after the
instructions have been well explained.
This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
71
Name: Date:
U Real-Life Algorithms
Unplugged Plant a Seed Worksheet
You can use algorithms to help describe things that people do every day. In this activity,
we will create an algorithm to help each other plant a seed.
Cut out the steps of planting a seed below, then work together to glue the six the correct
steps, in order, onto a separate piece of paper. Trade your finished algorithm with another
person or group and let them use it to plant their seed!
PUT GLUE ON SEED FILL POT WITH SOIL POKE HOLE IN SOIL
WATER POT COVER SEED WITH SOIL POUR SODA POP IN POT
Revision 140710.1a
72
U Name: Date:
Real-Life Algorithms
Unplugged
Assessment Worksheet
An algorithm is a list of steps that you can follow to finish a task. We follow
algorithms every day when it comes to activities like making the bed, making
breakfast, or even getting dressed in the morning.
Connie the Coder just woke up and is still feeling very sleepy. Can you put together
some algorithms to help Connie get ready for the day?
1 2 3
Help Connie Brush her Teeth:
E
LU
G
1 2 3 4
Help Connie Plant a Seed:
E
LU
G
1 2 3 4 5 6
Revision 140710.1a
73
U Name: Date:
Real-Life Algorithms
Unplugged
Assessment Worksheet
These items are out of order. To help Connie, cut out each picture and rearrange
them into the right sequence in the category above.
Putting on Shoes
Brusing Teeth
Plant a Seed
FILL POT PUT POT IN PUT SEED IN POKE HOLE WATER POT COVER SEED
WITH SOIL SUNLIGHT HOLE IN SOIL WITH SOIL
Revision 140710.1a
74
The bridge from algorithms to programming can be a short one if students
understand the difference between planning out a sequence and encoding Translate an algorithm into a program.
that sequence into the appropriate language. This activity will help Decode and run a program created by someone
students gain experience reading and writing in shorthand code. else.
This unplugged lesson brings together teams with a simple task: get the Watch the .
"flurb" to the fruit. Students will practice writing precise instructions as they Print out for
work to translate instructions into the symbols provided. If problems arise each group.
in the code, students should also work together to recognize bugs and Print out
build solutions. for each group.
Make sure each student has a
.
- Worksheet ( | )
- Manipulatives
( | )
- Teacher Video
( | )
75
Goal: This portion of the lesson will set the stage for making the connection between an algorithm and a program.
This is where we introduce the activity. In your , there are single and double step maps. Show the students that
the point of these maps is to figure out how to get the Flurb to the fruit. Students should then use their words to solve these puzzles
in small groups. Example algorithms include:
Show students how to represent the algorithms that they just created using arrows (either drawn, or cut from the
). Have a short discussion about how quick and easy this “code” makes the process of getting the Flurb where it
needs to be.
: an algorithm that has been encoded into something that can be run by a machine.
Goal: Happy Maps Programming will help students translate an algorithm into code.
Now that the students have had some practice encoding algorithms, have them work on some larger maps.
When it’s time to wind down class, ask students if they can tell the difference between an algorithm and code.
Both are a list of steps, but code (a program) has been encoded in a way that can be run by a machine (or a kindergartener!)
Do you think that someone who spoke another language would be able to run your program? Why or why not?
Students should be encouraged to capture their thoughts in their journal after each activity (with text or images.)
Choose a journal prompt that will help students remember the purpose of this exercise. These could include:
In this game, we made programs for to run. What else can read a program?
How did you know if there was a bug in your program?
Create a life-size grid on the rug with tape and have student bring stuffies to school. Now students can program friends to move
their actual stuffies as directed in the programs.
Have students create their own maps for other students to solve using programs.
77
1 Happy Map 1
Revision 161003.1a
2 Happy Map 2
Revision 161003.1a
78
3 Happy Map 3
Revision 161003.1a
4 Happy Map 4
Revision 161003.1a
79
5 Happy Map 5
Revision 161003.1a
6 Happy Map 6
Revision 161003.1a
80
5 Happy Map Blank
Revision 161003.1a
81
Name: Date:
U
Happy Maps Game Pieces
Unplugged
Revision 140428.1a
82
In collaboration with , this lesson
helps students learn that many websites ask for information that is private Understand that being safe when they visit
and discusses how to responsibly handle such requests. Students also websites is similar to staying safe in real life
find out that they can go to exciting places online, but they need to follow Learn to recognize websites that are safe for
certain rules to remain safe. them to visit.
Recognize the kind of information that is private
and understand that it should never be shared
online.
Common Sense Education has created this lesson to teach kids the
importance of being safe online. By relating places in the real world to
websites on the internet, students will make important connections
between safe websites and safe places in their own neighborhood. Watch the
.
Prepare to show the
.
Live access or print-off of sign-
up page (Click “New Player,” select an age, and
then select “I’m a Girl” or “I’m a Boy.”).
Print one for
each student.
Make sure each student has a
.
- Teacher Video
- Lesson Video
- Assessment
- Website
( | )
83
This lesson has one new and important word:
A name you make up so that you can see or do things on a website, sometimes called a “screen name”
Invite students to talk about places they have visited on a class field trip.
If students have limited experience with field trips, provide some examples of the types of places they could visit as a class,
such as museums, science centers, or zoos.
Have students choose a place they would like to go on a class field trip.
Have students take an imaginary field trip to their chosen place.
Narrate the preparations while having students pantomime what’s happening – For example: put on your jacket; climb on/off
the bus; get your ticket checked; go inside.
Have students describe what they think they might see and do once they arrive.
Let the students sit back down, then ask: "What do you need to do to stay safe when you visit new places?"
Play .
What three rules does Jeremiah follow when he goes places online?
Access sign-up page live, or project a print-out on the board for the class to see.
Invite students to give examples of information that they should keep private.
Write down their responses on the board or chart paper so that you can return to them later in the lesson.
Make sure they understand that private information includes the following:
full name
age
address
telephone number
email address (or parents’ email addresses)
where they go to school or after school
where their parents work
Encourage students to discuss why it is important to keep this information private.
Stress that it is never safe to give out private information to people they don’t know.
84
Students should always ask a parent or caregiver before they give out private information to anyone.
Refer back to the sign-up page.
Ask "Do you think you should use your real name, or something that includes your real name, when you make up a
username?"
Guide students through the following rules and tips for creating usernames:
Include the name of something that will help you remember your username, like your favorite animal, character, or toy. You might
have to combine this with other words or numbers.
If the username you create is already taken, you will have to come up with another one.
Write down your username and password and, with the help of a parent, find a safe place to keep it in case you forget them.
What information should you always keep private when you are using the computer?
What rules should you follow when you make up a username?
What can the Internet be used for?
What rules do we have for visiting places online?
85
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been
well explained.
This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
Visit to learn more about how you can keep your students safe in this digital age.
86
Name: Date:
U Keep It Private
Unplugged Learning to be Safe and Responsible Assessment
Just because you can share something online doesn’t mean that you should!
2) Can you spot the private information? Mark “X” through the information that you should
not share with people you do not know well.
3) On the back of this paper, draw something that you enjoy and want to share on the
Internet.
Revision 140701.1a
87
Loops are a very helpful and powerful tool in programming. To understand
how helpful loops can be, students will need to be driven to want an easier Identify repetitive code and convert a series of
way to solve mundane problems. multiple actions into a single loop.
Decode loops into a series of multiple actions.
- Worksheet ( | )
- Worksheet
- Manipulatives
( | )
-
Manipulatives
( | )
88
Goal: This portion of the lesson should help students see that there is an easier way to handle repetitive code than to brute force a
solution with dozens of the same symbols.
Recall the 'Happy Maps Programming' activity with your students. Recall the limited pieces that they had to work with (up, down,
left, right). Then, pull up one of the new -- and much longer -- .
Can your students help you program these maps? It takes a while, doesn’t it? What can you do if you run out of arrow pieces?
Give students the opportunity to brainstorm shorter ways to relay the code that they’re creating. (This bit can be skipped over if your
students start saying things like: “Move forward 6 times.” Since that will open the discussion about how to show “six times” with
symbols.)
Once students have put together the idea of “repeating” code, give them the vocabulary around it. Make sure to share with them
that often the terms “repeat something” and “loop something” will be used interchangeably in Code Studio.
Now that students are familiar with the ability to repeat lots of code using a single loop, select an XL map and let them help you
code the situation. Do this as many times together as a class as you need, then set students off in groups to solve some problems
on their own. You will also need to add the Happy Maps Game Pieces Bonus Pack to adapt this activity for loops.
Make sure to walk around and have students run through their code with you watching. Are there any bugs? Use the debugging
questions to help them find a solution.
Ask students to draw a feeling face in the corner of their journal page to remind them how they felt about this lesson.
89
Have the students write or draw something in their journal that will remind them later what loops are. Prompts include:
What does "repeat" mean to you?
Draw a picture of you repeating something.
Create a life-size grid on the rug with tape and have student bring stuffies to school. Now students can program friends to move
their actual stuffies as directed in the programs.
Have students create their own maps for other students to solve using loops.
Draw a program on the board that uses several sets of repeated commands and have students take turns coming to the front to
swap symbols for repeat loops.
90
1 Happy Map 1
Revision 161003.1a
2 Happy Map 2
Revision 161003.1a
91
3 Happy Map 3
Revision 161003.1a
4 Happy Map 4
Revision 161003.1a
92
5 Happy Map 5
Revision 161003.1a
6 Happy Map 6
Revision 161003.1a
93
5 Happy Map Blank
Revision 161003.1a
94
1 Happy Map XL 1
2 Happy Map XL 2
95
3 Happy Map XL 3
4 Happy Map XL 4
96
5 Happy Map XL 5
6 Happy Map XL 6
97
5 Happy Map XL Blank (left)
98
Happy Map XL Blank (right)
Revision 161003.1a
99
Name: Date:
U
Happy Maps Game Pieces
Unplugged
Revision 140428.1a
100
Name: Date:
U Happy Maps
Unplugged Game Pieces Bonus Pack
repeat
repeat
repeat
repeat
Revision 140428.1a
101
Events are a great way to add variety to a pre-written algorithm.
Sometimes you want your program to be able to respond to the user Recognize actions of the teacher as signals to
exactly when the user wants it to. That is what events are for. initiate commands.
Practice differentiating pre-defined actions and
event-driven ones.
Today, students will learn to distinguish events from actions. The students
will see activities interrupted by having a 'button' pressed on a paper
remote. When seeing this , the class will react with a unique action. Watch the .
Events are widely used in programming and should be easily recognizable Print one
after this lesson. .
Print
for each student.
Make sure every student has a
.
- Teacher Video
- Worksheet
- Assessment
( | )
102
This lesson has one new and important vocabulary word:
In earlier lessons, we created algorithms that allowed us to control a friend or Flurb for several steps at a time. It was fun and
useful, but what happens when you don’t know everything that you want your friend to do in advance? This is where events come
in!
104
Hand out the assessment activity and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
explained.
This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
Assign each student an event to watch out for, and an appropriate reaction to that event. Chain the actions so that each child's
reaction becomes an event that triggers the reaction of another student. Keep assigning until everyone has something to do and
everyone makes someone react.
Break the class up into groups. Using the Events Controller, assign each group a different reaction to the same button. Do this for
all three buttons, then watch the chaos!
105
U The Big Event
Event Controller
Revision 140709.1a
106
Name: Date:
U The Big Event
Unplugged Controlling by Events Assessment
You’ve been given a magical controller that changes the picture on the frame on your desk.
Take a look below to see what each button does. Can you figure out which series of button
events will cause your frame to show the pictures on the right? Draw a line from each set
of pictures to the button combination that causes it. The first one has been done for you.
Revision 160511 . 1a
107
CS Fundamentals Course B
Course B
108
This lesson will guide students through the steps of debugging. Students
will learn the mantra: What happened? What was supposed to happen? xpress that they have noticed when something
What does that tell you? goes differently than what is expected.
Identify what the expected result was before an
error occurs.
Determine and describe the difference between
Research shows that some students have less trouble debugging a
what was expected and what actually happened
program than writing one when they first learn to code. In this lesson, we
in the event of an error.
introduce the idea of debugging in a real world sense.
The goal in this lesson is to teach students steps to spot a bug and to
increase persistence by showing them that it s normal to find mistakes. In
Review the Unspotted Bugs Story (
later lessons, students will debug actual programs on Code.org.
).
Pre-read Unspotted Bugs to identify appropriate
questions for your classroom.
ollow instructions in the
to make a Marble Run
(which will be arranged incorrectly at the start).
Give a to each student.
- nline Story
- Student ideo
109
Goal: Help students understand the steps involved in debugging.
Page 3: What do you notice in the picture? What’s wrong with the flower? (It’s upside down!) What’s wrong with the clock? (The
hands aren’t in the center) Why do you think there is something wrong with these items?(Because there are bugs on them!)
Page 7: What’s wrong with the picture? (The lamp is upside down) Why is that? (There’s a bug)
Page 11: What’s wrong in this scene? (The car doesn’t have wheels!) Why? (Because there are bugs on it!)
What did JD find when he went looking for the bug? What was wrong? What does this mean? (JD found an upside down tree.
This is wrong because the tree trunk should be touching the ground! This means there is a bug on the tree!)
- Say it with me: Purr-siss-tense. Not giving up. Persistence works best when you try things many different ways,
many different times.
Goal: Help students think critically about the difference between what is happening and what is expected.
Now that students have been introduced to the idea of looking for problems, they can try to apply it to more places in the real world.
This next activity gives them practice looking for bugs in Marble Runs (a project that they will be working with next week.)
Grab your sample marble run (built from our plans, or something similar.) Show the students how each piece works, then
demonstrate putting them together (but put them together incorrectly, to prevent the ball from flowing properly from A to B.
The goal of this exercise is to help the students identify when something goes wrong, so if they don’t catch it the first time, run it
again, and again. It can help to make exaggerated frustration faces when the ball doesn’t do what you would like it to do.
110
Let the students share hypotheses about what is going
Lesson Tip
wrong, and how to fix it. Students should feel free to try
things that you know will be incorrect. If students misidentify
solutions, use the bug finding formula on their configurations.
Great! ou all are so good at this, maybe you can help me
Repeat until you get a working run.
with my own problem!
ncouragement is key here. If things don’t work right away, See, I have this marble run that I made. It comes in two
praise the class for being so persistent and choosing not to pieces. When I put the ball in here (input A) it’s supposed to
give up. If they start to get frustrated, encourage them to come out here (output A). When I put the ball in here (input B)
persist a bit longer, promising them that they will get it soon if it’s supposed to come out here (output B). Now, when I slide
them together, I should be able to put the ball in here (input A)
they just hang in there.
and have it come out here (output B). But it doesn’t work,
watch.
Slide the pieces together with output B facing output A.
Watch what happens. Drop ball at input A and notice that it
does not come out output B.
BUG!
Goal: Students will start to understand the importance of the
activity they just completed by reflecting on it verbally, then What happened?
through drawing in their journals. The ball fell on the table.
What was supposed to happen?
It can be distracting to a learner when they have unanswered The ball was supposed to drop from A into B.
questions or doubts. To end this lesson, we’ll give everyone
What does that tell you?
the chance to get those out so that they can reflect on what
they’ve been taught. ou should turn B around so that the ball goes into the right
place!
ncourage students to share their thoughts and questions
either with the whole class or with an elbow partner.
Lesson Tip
nce they’ve had time to ponder their own thoughts, get the
students thinking about the purpose of the lesson that they
just learned. Why did you do this activity? How will it help What do you think we learned in this lesson?
them later? Can they think of buggy things that they’ve seen
Debugging
in the real world?
How to solve a problem
Students should finish by drawing or writing in their journal. How to make a marble go
Possible topics include: How do you think that can help us in other places?
Lesson Tip:
Take your students outside. Do you see any signs of bugs?
The signs of real-live bugs won’t be as dramatic as upside
What are they? Now look closer... can you find the actual
down trees, but it might be dead leaves, spots on flowers, or
bug? slime on the
sidewalk. Have the students brainstorm these before going
outside to look for them.
111
If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes,
U
T Marble Run
Teacher Prep Teacher Prep Guide
This guide will provide assistance through a set of two lessons using a Marble Run contraption.
The first portion of this kindergarten series is the debugging lesson, where students will help
you debug your Marble Run. In order to do this, you need to have a broken prototype that can
be fixed in a predictable way. This guide will suggest an easy step-by-step solution, and give
you tips for making a creation using your own design.
For the second half, we are going to ask students to do something incredibly challenging in
order to stretch their understanding and aptitude for persistence. This guide will provide
additional suggestions and resources to keep the project grade appropriate.
Stage 1: Debugging
The Rules:
The rules of the student version of the Marble Run activity are pretty simple:
1) Build two Marble Runs.
2) Each Marble Run should have at least 3 pieces.
3) Marble Run 1 should take a marble at Start height and finish at Middle height.
4) Marble Run 2 should take a marble at Middle height and finish at End height.
5) Put the two Marble Runs together and watch the marble go from Start to End .
There are a couple of additional rules to adapt this to be effective for the lesson on debugging:
1) The teacher’s contraption must not work to begin with.
2) The fix for the issue should be detectable by following the marble’s path and determining
where the change from “expected” to “unexpected” occurs.
The Set-Up:
Use the Marble Run Ruler (provided on page 2) to determine the starting and ending height
for each of the two components, we will call those Component A and Component B.
Component A needs to take in a marble (Input A) at a height that falls somewhere within the
highlighted “Start” region. It should then return the marble (Output A) at a height somewhere
within the highlighted “Middle” region.
Component B should take a marble (input B) at a height that falls somewhere within the high-
lighted “Middle” region. It should then return the marble (Output B) at a height somewhere
within the highlighted “End” region.
Two simple ways for a teacher to initiate an easy-to-fix failure would be:
A) Have two working components, but connect them in an incorrect way
B) Have Component A release the marble lower than Component B can receive it
Proceed to the teacher guide for Stage 2 for more information on building a Marble Run that
falls into either of those categories.
Revision 160921.1a
112
Start Start
Middle Middle
End 113
End
U
T Marble Run
Teacher Prep Teacher Prep Guide
The Set-Up:
Set-up of the student resource area is crucial. Supplies should be plentiful and easy to locate.
In addition to the classroom norms (cardstock, tape, safety scissors) volunteers can also
donate extra items if given enough notice (paper cups, cereal boxes, and the like).
For further support, place a stack of copies of “Marble Run Hints” (pages 7 & 8) for students to
find. You do not need to let the class know that those are available. Students will feel more
like they have “discovered” something if the teacher is not involved in the process.
The Build:
We have provided tutorials on four relatively simple pieces that are quite helpful for this
project. These peices are:
• Tube (fig. 1) - A piece of paper that has been rolled into a cylinder
• Ramp (fig. 2) - Paper folded in a zig-zag fashion to provide a ramp with attaching flaps
• Bridge (fig. 3) - Paper where two sides have been folded into the center to create a bridge
• Cone (fig. 4) - Paper rolled first into a cylinder, then tightened at the bottom and
loosened at the top. Once the basic cone has been created, secure with tape, then
cut the top and bottom to customize.
A low-frills example contraption can be created using the steps that follow.
Component A:
1) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in half lengthwise, then cut one of those
halves lengthwise again. Fold both of the quarter strips bridge style.
2) Lay the bridges on their sides and tape free edges together to form a square or
rectangle.
3) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in quarters (length, then width). Roll two of
the pieces along the long edge and two along the short edge, then secure with
tape, to make a total of 4 tubes.
4) Tape the long tubes to the back of the square case from step 2, and the short
tubes should be taped in front.
114
U
T Marble Run
Teacher Prep Teacher Prep Guide
Component A (continued):
5) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in half widthwise. Fold one piece in half
lengthwise, then fold the long edges back out toward the crease to make a
ramp.
6) Tape the edges of the ramp to the tops of the posts. This gives your main
marble path, but it’s not quite tall enough.
7) Add a cone at the intake point, and you’ll be set!
Component B:
8) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in half widthwise and roll one of the pieces
along the short side, to make an 8.5” tube. Secure with tape.
9) Cut the tube at a point anywhere from 2” - 4” at about a 45 degree angle.
10) Rotate one of the pieces to form an elbow, and tape back together.
11) Cut a 1“ strip from the remaining 8.5” x 5.5” cardstock half (lengthwise) and
make a bridge to use as a triangular base for the tube to sit in.
12) Use the remaining cardstock to make an input cone for the top of Component B.
Trim tube and cone to get appropriate height.
Note: It is highly unlikely that your students will come up with anything this clean and
stable. That is OKAY! The version here is meant to be messed with and reused.
115
Big Project
This lession can be done over one or two class sessions. If you have more
time, feel free to draw out the building and revising phase of the Marble
Run activity. Pre-read Stevie and the Big Project to identify
appropriate questions for your class.
ollow instructions in the
to make a Marble Run.
The goal of this lesson is to help students reali e that failure and
Print copies of the (page
frustration are common when working on projects, but that doesn t mean
of teacher guide) for each student or pair of
that they should give up.
students
In this lesson, students will develop an understanding of what it means to Prepare a resource station with cardstock, safety
be frustrated while working on a large project. It s possible that not every scissors, tape, and anything else you think might
student will experience frustration with this activity, but there are many be fun for students to build with. Include a stack
opportunities to open a discussion about moments in the past where of the pages from the
students have felt frustrated but nevertheless persisted. Teacher Prep Guide, but do not advertise their
existence.
( ptional) Allow students to bring cardboard,
popsicle sticks, string, or other tidbits from home
to add to the resource station.
Make sure each student has a
.
- nline Story
This lesson begins with a story. Students will be introduced to How would you feel if you were given a project that feels
several ideas on persistence and frustration through relatable much harder than what you are used to?
struggles by fictional characters, including the idea that Do you think it’s okay to try something new, even if it
frustration is not a sign that someone should instantly give doesn’t work out the first time?
up. Why do you think Stevie smashed her project?
This book can be presented in several ways, including: Do you think that helped her or hurt her when it comes
to reaching her goal?
Circled up story time
What do you think Stevie should have done instead of
Projected with document camera / smartboard
breaking her project?
Pair share with students at their computers
Can somebody explain what frustration is?
Use the reading techniques that work in your classroom:
How do you think you can know when you are frustrated?
If your students like to discuss things that happen as they
What face do you make when you are frustrated?
appear in the book, be sure to stop your class after large plot
How can you make yourself feel better when you start to
areas like when Stevie breaks her structure, or when Laurel
get frustrated?
explains frustration.
We all get frustrated sometimes. Does that mean that
If your students like to sit through a whole story and discuss we should give up?
at the end, read through the book, then prompt their memory
Can someone tell me what persistence is?
with some Remember when type questions.
Why is it hard to learn if you re not persistent?
Can you tell me why you might be tempted not to be
persistent?
- Say it with me: Purr-siss-tense. Not giving What happened when Stevie decided to be persistent?
up. Persistence works best when you try things many Do you think you can be persistent?
different ways, many different times.
- Say it with me: rus - straight - ted. eeling
annoyed or angry because something is not the way you want it.
- irst Attempt in learning. When you try to do something, but you don t do it quite right.
This activity is meant to highlight and normali e the feeling of frustration, while giving students a chance to be persistent.
It is vitally important that students understand that this activity is meant to help them learn about frustration and persistence. This is
not one of those times when we allow students to experience something, then give it a name afterward. Students need to know that
they will be feeling some emotions, and that those emotions are okay.
Take a moment to relate the next activity back to the book that you just read. The class might be excited that they get to try the
same project that Stevie did, but they might also be apprehensive at the thought of tackling something difficult.
ncourage your students to have their Think Spot Journals around during the activity so they can use them to plan, solve, and voice
concerns.
117
Time to be an engineer!
Lesson Tip
Break students up into pairs and have them quickly come up
with a team name. This should help to unify them in their
work. Now, we’re going to do something very fun, and very
challenging! I am going to let you all try to make a Marble Run
Next, point out the resource station that you have set up with
of your own!
all of the supplies and goodies that students will have access
to. Make sure you are very clear about whether they are This is to be challenging. That’s part of the fun!
our Marble Run probably won’t work right the first time, and
limited only to the items in the resource station or whether
that’s alright. The goal for this game is to practice being
they are allowed to ask for other items for their creation. persistent.
Give students checkpoints for this activity. Make sure that Remember, Stevie showed us that this might be difficult, and
they know that there is no penalty for not finishing on time. sometimes difficult things are frustrating. It is okay if you get
frustrated during this activity. Most of us probably will at some
Preplanning is optional, since prediction is not often a point. How should we handle those feelings?
kindergartener’s strong suit.
Count to 1
The first attempt at building will likely be hectic and a bit Take deep breaths
sloppy, but it should give students access to the feelings and Journal about them
opportunities for persistence that are being studied in this Talk to a partner about them
lesson. Ask for help
Can you put into words what you are feeling right now?
Stevie would be so proud of you. What do you think Laurel
and Jorge would say if you told them how you feel?
Allow students to reflect on the emotions and processes
What would it be called if you said out loud that you are
experienced during the lesson.
frustrated, but decided to keep working anyway?
inish out this lesson by asking students to spend some time Do you feel like you can be persistent with me today?
in their .
Add a third piece to the beginning of the Marble Run. Can students start a marble up even higher and get it to flow through the
rest of their contraption? 118
Talking through frustration. Can students think of things that they can say to classmates to help them be persistent when they are
frustrated?
119
U
T Marble Run
Teacher Prep Teacher Prep Guide
This guide will provide assistance through a set of two lessons using a Marble Run contraption.
The first portion of this kindergarten series is the debugging lesson, where students will help
you debug your Marble Run. In order to do this, you need to have a broken prototype that can
be fixed in a predictable way. This guide will suggest an easy step-by-step solution, and give
you tips for making a creation using your own design.
For the second half, we are going to ask students to do something incredibly challenging in
order to stretch their understanding and aptitude for persistence. This guide will provide
additional suggestions and resources to keep the project grade appropriate.
Stage 1: Debugging
The Rules:
The rules of the student version of the Marble Run activity are pretty simple:
1) Build two Marble Runs.
2) Each Marble Run should have at least 3 pieces.
3) Marble Run 1 should take a marble at Start height and finish at Middle height.
4) Marble Run 2 should take a marble at Middle height and finish at End height.
5) Put the two Marble Runs together and watch the marble go from Start to End .
There are a couple of additional rules to adapt this to be effective for the lesson on debugging:
1) The teacher’s contraption must not work to begin with.
2) The fix for the issue should be detectable by following the marble’s path and determining
where the change from “expected” to “unexpected” occurs.
The Set-Up:
Use the Marble Run Ruler (provided on page 2) to determine the starting and ending height
for each of the two components, we will call those Component A and Component B.
Component A needs to take in a marble (Input A) at a height that falls somewhere within the
highlighted “Start” region. It should then return the marble (Output A) at a height somewhere
within the highlighted “Middle” region.
Component B should take a marble (input B) at a height that falls somewhere within the high-
lighted “Middle” region. It should then return the marble (Output B) at a height somewhere
within the highlighted “End” region.
Two simple ways for a teacher to initiate an easy-to-fix failure would be:
A) Have two working components, but connect them in an incorrect way
B) Have Component A release the marble lower than Component B can receive it
Proceed to the teacher guide for Stage 2 for more information on building a Marble Run that
falls into either of those categories.
Revision 160921.1a
120
Start Start
Middle Middle
End 121
End
U
T Marble Run
Teacher Prep Teacher Prep Guide
The Set-Up:
Set-up of the student resource area is crucial. Supplies should be plentiful and easy to locate.
In addition to the classroom norms (cardstock, tape, safety scissors) volunteers can also
donate extra items if given enough notice (paper cups, cereal boxes, and the like).
For further support, place a stack of copies of “Marble Run Hints” (pages 7 & 8) for students to
find. You do not need to let the class know that those are available. Students will feel more
like they have “discovered” something if the teacher is not involved in the process.
The Build:
We have provided tutorials on four relatively simple pieces that are quite helpful for this
project. These peices are:
• Tube (fig. 1) - A piece of paper that has been rolled into a cylinder
• Ramp (fig. 2) - Paper folded in a zig-zag fashion to provide a ramp with attaching flaps
• Bridge (fig. 3) - Paper where two sides have been folded into the center to create a bridge
• Cone (fig. 4) - Paper rolled first into a cylinder, then tightened at the bottom and
loosened at the top. Once the basic cone has been created, secure with tape, then
cut the top and bottom to customize.
A low-frills example contraption can be created using the steps that follow.
Component A:
1) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in half lengthwise, then cut one of those
halves lengthwise again. Fold both of the quarter strips bridge style.
2) Lay the bridges on their sides and tape free edges together to form a square or
rectangle.
3) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in quarters (length, then width). Roll two of
the pieces along the long edge and two along the short edge, then secure with
tape, to make a total of 4 tubes.
4) Tape the long tubes to the back of the square case from step 2, and the short
tubes should be taped in front.
122
U
T Marble Run
Teacher Prep Teacher Prep Guide
Component A (continued):
5) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in half widthwise. Fold one piece in half
lengthwise, then fold the long edges back out toward the crease to make a
ramp.
6) Tape the edges of the ramp to the tops of the posts. This gives your main
marble path, but it’s not quite tall enough.
7) Add a cone at the intake point, and you’ll be set!
Component B:
8) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in half widthwise and roll one of the pieces
along the short side, to make an 8.5” tube. Secure with tape.
9) Cut the tube at a point anywhere from 2” - 4” at about a 45 degree angle.
10) Rotate one of the pieces to form an elbow, and tape back together.
11) Cut a 1“ strip from the remaining 8.5” x 5.5” cardstock half (lengthwise) and
make a bridge to use as a triangular base for the tube to sit in.
12) Use the remaining cardstock to make an input cone for the top of Component B.
Trim tube and cone to get appropriate height.
Note: It is highly unlikely that your students will come up with anything this clean and
stable. That is OKAY! The version here is meant to be messed with and reused.
123
U
T Marble Run
Teacher Prep Teacher Prep Guide
Step 1: Fold strips “bridge style” Step 2: Tape ends of folded strips
together to make a base.
Step 3: Roll quartered paper into Step 4: Tape tubes inside case.
tubes and secure with tape. Make sure to tape them near the
top for height.
Step 5: Make a ramp from a half Step 6: Tape ramp to base and
sheet of cardstock. check height.
124
U
T Marble Run
Teacher Prep Teacher Prep Guide
Step 7: Add cone to finish Step 8: Roll 1/2 sheet into tube to
Component A. start on Component B.
Step 9: Cut tube at an angle. Step 10: Tape tubes back together
to make an elbow.
Step 11: Make a base from a thin Step 12: Add a cone to the top and
strip of cardstock. trim pieces to size.
125
U
H Marble Run Hints
Handout Student Handout
Tube
Ramp
Bridge
Cone
126
U
H Marble Run Hints
Handout (Continued)
Tube Ramp
or
Ramp Bridge
or
Bridge Tube
or
Cone Tube
or
127
In this lesson, students will relate the concept of algorithms back to
everyday, real-life activities by planting an actual seed. The goal here is to Decompose large activities into a series of
start building the skills to translate real-world situations to online scenarios smaller events.
and vice versa. Arrange sequential events into their logical order.
In this lesson, students will learn that algorithms are everywhere in our Watch the .
daily lives. or example, it is possible to write an algorithm to plant a seed. Prepare supplies for planting seeds. ou ll need
Instead of giving vague or over-generali ed instructions, students will seeds, dirt, and paper cups for each student or
break down a large activity into smaller and more specific commands. group.
rom these commands, students must determine a special sequence of Print one
instructions that will allow their classmate to plant a seed. for each student.
Print one
for each student.
Make sure each student has a
.
-
Worksheet
- Assessment
- Teacher ideo
128
This lesson has one vocabulary word that is important to review:
Ask your students what they did to get ready for school this morning.
Give them a couple of examples, such as making breakfast, tying shoes, and brushing teeth.
Let s try doing this with a new and fun activity, like planting a seed!
Lesson Tip
129
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Hand out the worksheet titled and allow students to complete the activity independently
after the instructions have been well explained.
This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
130
Name: Date:
U Real-Life Algorithms
Unplugged Plant a Seed Worksheet
You can use algorithms to help describe things that people do every day. In this activity,
we will create an algorithm to help each other plant a seed.
Cut out the steps of planting a seed below, then work together to glue the six the correct
steps, in order, onto a separate piece of paper. Trade your finished algorithm with another
person or group and let them use it to plant their seed!
PUT GLUE ON SEED FILL POT WITH SOIL POKE HOLE IN SOIL
WATER POT COVER SEED WITH SOIL POUR SODA POP IN POT
Revision 140710.1a
131
U Name: Date:
Real-Life Algorithms
Unplugged
Assessment Worksheet
An algorithm is a list of steps that you can follow to finish a task. We follow
algorithms every day when it comes to activities like making the bed, making
breakfast, or even getting dressed in the morning.
Connie the Coder just woke up and is still feeling very sleepy. Can you put together
some algorithms to help Connie get ready for the day?
1 2 3
Help Connie Brush her Teeth:
E
LU
G
1 2 3 4
Help Connie Plant a Seed:
E
LU
G
1 2 3 4 5 6
Revision 140710.1a
132
U Name: Date:
Real-Life Algorithms
Unplugged
Assessment Worksheet
These items are out of order. To help Connie, cut out each picture and rearrange
them into the right sequence in the category above.
Putting on Shoes
Brusing Teeth
Plant a Seed
FILL POT PUT POT IN PUT SEED IN POKE HOLE WATER POT COVER SEED
WITH SOIL SUNLIGHT HOLE IN SOIL WITH SOIL
Revision 140710.1a
133
In collaboration with , this lesson
helps students learn about the similarities of staying safe in the real world Understand that being safe when they visit
and when visiting websites. Students will also learn that the information websites is similar to staying safe in real life.
they put online leaves a digital footprint or trail. This trail can be big or Learn to recogni e websites that are safe for
small, helpful or hurtful, depending on how they manage it. them to visit.
Recogni e if they should ask an adult they trust
before they visit a particular website.
xplore what information is appropriate to be put
Common Sense ducation has created this lesson to teach kids the
online.
importance of understanding the permanence of something posted on the
internet. By relating footprints on a map to what a student might post
online, students will make important connections between being tracked by
a physical footprint on a path and being tracked based on information Watch this
posted online. .
Prepare to show
.
( ptional) Prepare to show
.
Common Sense ducation s
game.
Print one chart (page 7) for
each student.
Print one for
each student.
- Teacher ideo
- Lesson ideo
- Worksheet
- Assessment
- Website
( )
134
This lesson has one new and important phrase:
Play the .
Which animal can you describe better from his or her photo?
Lesson Tip
Interests Address
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
explained. This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
Visit to learn more about how you can keep your students safe in this digital age.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
138 1
introduction
Warm-up (5 minutes)
SHARE with students that you can place information online much like you pin something to a bulletin board.
ASK:
INVITE students to imagine that all of the information on the walls of their classroom was pinned up on a
bulletin board at a local grocery store.
ASK:
Would you be comfortable with this Guide students to think about how some information is better
information being up for everyone to see? kept for only their eyes or the eyes of people close to them.
EXPLAIN that there is certain information that might be fine to show anyone. But there is also personal and
private information – such as their addresses, birth dates, and photos of their family vacations – which is not
meant for most people’s eyes.
teach 1
Follow the Digital Trail (15 minutes)
DEFINE the Key Vocabulary term trail.
PLACE the Digital Trail Squares on the ground, face down, in two different trails,
keeping Mizzle the Mouse’s and Electra the Elephant’s trails separate from each another.
SHARE the stories of Mizzle and Electra. These animals decided it would be fun to put some information
about themselves online. They went onto www.wildkingdom.com and posted information. The only problem is
that they forgot to ask their mamas if it was okay first.
EXPLAIN to students that they are from the Things Big and Small Detective Agency. An evil human has hired
them to find out as much as possible about Mizzle the Mouse and Electra the Elephant. The more the detectives
learn, the better for their plan to take over the animal kingdom.
DIVIDE students into groups of four. Tell them that each group should have a detective that will keep
detailed notes.
DISTRIBUTE the Animal Tracks Student Handout to each group.
INVITE students to go on a hunt for information. Let them know that the information that Mizzle and Electra
post can be seen by anyone, including the detectives. Each group should follow the digital trail of both animals,
starting with the mouse and then the elephant. Stagger the groups so they follow the trails at slightly different
times. Students should fill out their handout as they go.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
139
2
teach 2
Digital Footprints (20 minutes)
INVITE each group to report to the rest of the class what they learned about each of
the animals, using the Animal Tracks Student Handout.
6. Which animal can you describe better from his or her photo? x
Who can the detectives find out more about, Electra, because we now know where Electra lives, what she
and why? looks like, and private and personal information about her
life. Point out to students that having a bigger digital footprint
means the detectives can learn more about them too.
Which animal has a bigger digital footprint? Electra, because she put more private and personal
information online than Mizzle.
Mizzle says some funny things about He says he likes Swiss cheese, his photo is of cheese, and
himself on the Internet. What are they? he has a pet flea.
Is there anything that Electra posted on the Private and personal information (e.g., address, full name)
Internet that could become a problem for allows others to learn more about her. This could be
her? If so, what and why? unsafe. Saying that she fights with her brother could hurt
her brother’s feelings because it is public.)
CREATE a chart with students that summarizes which information is okay to share online and what is not okay.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
140
3
DISCUSS how Mizzle and Electra both had very interesting information online, but Mizzle used better
judgment about what was most appropriate to post. Mizzle had a smaller digital footprint. Electra put some
information online that might make her unsafe or might upset her brother.
REMIND students that the Internet is a public space where people they do not know will likely see their
information. And this information is very hard to remove. It is basically permanent.
EMPHASIZE that it’s important for students to ask their parents or caregives for permission before sharing
information about themselves online.
closing
Wrap-up (5 minutes)
You can use these questions to assess your students’ understanding of the lesson objectives.
ASK:
What is a digital footprint, and what did A digital footprint is the information about you on the
Mizzle’s and Electra’s footprints look like? Internet. Mizzle’s footprint is pretty small and does not
reveal private or personal information. Electra’s is large
and contains information that could make her unsafe or
upset others.
What kind of information is okay to share Appropriate: interests, hobbies, first name.
on the Internet? What kind of information Inappropriate: full name, address, hurtful information about
is NOT okay to share on the Internet? others.
Can you put interesting and Absolutely. Just look at the information that Mizzle posted.
funny information online and still
be appropriate?
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
141
4
Digital Trail Squares
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
142
5
Electra the Elephant
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
143
6
ANIMAL TRACKS
Directions
Follow the trails of Mizzle the Mouse and Electra the Elephant. Fill in the
chart below. Then answer the questions.
Mizzle Electra
the Mouse the Elephant
1. Whose full name do you know?
2. Whose house could you find?
3. Whose birth date do you know?
4. Whose username and password do
you know?
5. Who let out a secret on
the Internet?
6. Which animal can you describe
better from his or her photo?
Question
1. Who can the detectives find out more about, and why?
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
144 1
3. Mizzle says some funny things about himself on the
Internet. What are they?
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
145 2
ASSESSMENT
3. Which animal below has the digital footprint that leaves him or her
most unsafe?
HINT: Think about which animal shares the most private information online.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
146 1
ASSESSMENT
Follow the Digital Trail TEACHER VERSION
Answer feedback
The correct answer is c. Your digital footprint is the information
about you online, such as a news story with your name in it or something that you write online.
Answer feedback
The correct answer is b. It is okay to share your first name or your
username online. But sharing your address or birth date could make your information unsafe
because other people might use your information to pretend to be you!
3. Which animal below has the digital footprint that leaves him or her most unsafe?
HINT: Think about which animal shares the most private information online.
Answer feedback
The correct answer is c.
Tony the Tiger put private
information online, like his
address, which is not safe.
Fran and Betty shared
information, but they did
not share anything private
about themselves.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
147 1
Name: Date:
U Your Digital Footprint
Unplugged Staying Safe and Responsible Assessment
Just because you can share something online doesn’t mean that you should!
Cross out the information that you should not share online. Use the words that are leftover
as the key to what you should find in the word search.
WORDS
Which animal below has the digital footprint that leaves him or her most unsafe?
HINT: Think about which animal shares the most private information online.
Circle One:
A) Fran the Fish
B) Betty the Bird
C) Tony the Tiger
Revision 140625.1a
148
Using a predefined symbol key, your students will figure out how to guide
one another to accomplish specific tasks without using any verbal Gain understanding of the need for precision in
commands. This segment teaches students the connection between coding.
symbols and actions, the difference between an algorithm and a program, Learn how to recognize a bug and how to debug
and the valuable skill of debugging. the malfunctioning code.
This unplugged lesson brings the class together as a team with a simple Read
task to complete: get a "robot" to stack cups in a specific design. Students .
will work to recognize real world actions as potential instructions in code. Print out one
The designing of precise instructions will also be practiced, as students per group. This is "code" to be used.
work to translate worded instructions into the symbols provided. If
problems arise in the code, students should work together to recognize are provided if your class is not going to use
bugs and build solutions. cups.
Print out one set of
per group.
Make sure each student has a
.
- Video
- Symbol Key ( |
)
- Manipulatives
( | )
- Teacher Prep Guide
( | )
- Teacher Prep Guide
( | )
Robots operate off of instructions, specific sets of things that they have been preprogrammed to do. In order to accomplish a task, a
robot needs to have a series of instructions (sometimes called an algorithm) that it can read. Today, we are going to learn what it
takes to make that happen.
If you feel that there is time, it might be helpful to do a quick example. Page and 7 of
describe how to do a simple example before the main activity. This example could be up to 1 minutes in length.
. Display to the rest of the class. Have the class vote and choose which idea they
would like the robot to do. Try to push for an easier idea for the first time, then choose a more complex design later on.
3. Let the class discuss how the stack should be built, then ask the class to translate the algorithm into the symbols. Write down the
symbol algorithm somewhere for the robot to use later.
. When the class has decided on the algorithm, ask the robot to come back in. We recommend continuing to display the
while the robot is building the stack so the student robot remembers what each command
means.
If a student sees a bug and raises their hand, have the robot
Lesson Tip:
finish the instructions to the best of their ability. Afterward,
have the students discuss the potential bug and come up This activity can be done in small groups, once your class
with a solution. Continue repeating until the stack is built feels comfortable.
properly.
nce the stack is built, you can choose to repeat the activity again with another student robot.
150
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
151
MY ROBOTIC FRIENDS
Modified for Code.org CS Fundamentals
152
Copyright
©2013 Thinkersmith
PO Box 42186, Eugene, OR, 97404
This version of the Traveling Circuits lesson “My Robotic Friends” is brought to you under Creative
Commons, with the understanding that any user may share, copy, adapt or transmit the work as long
as the work is attributed to Thinkersmith and Traveling Circuits.
No part of this can be re-sold or commercialized without the written permission of Thinkersmith.
Disclaimer
Neither Thinkersmith nor any other party involved in the creation of this curriculum can be held
responsible for damage, mishap, or injury incurred because of this lesson. Adult supervision and
supervised caution is recommended at all times. When necessary, every effort has been made to
locate copyright and permission information.
153
Lesson 3: My Robotic Friends
Main Goal: Highlight programming techniques and illustrate the need for functions.
Overview: Using a predefined “Robot Vocabulary” your students will figure out how to guide
one another to accomplish specific tasks without discussing them first. This
segment teaches students the connection between symbols and actions, as well
as the valuable skill of debugging.
If time allows, there is an option to introduce functions at the end of the lesson.
Preparation
t Print out one Symbol Key for each group
t Print a Cup Stack Pack for each group
t Cut trapezoids from Paper Trapezoid template if not using cups
t Stack cups or trapezoids in designated area away from groups (Robot Library)
Lesson Plan
Introduce: Start by asking the class if anyone has heard of robotics. Has anyone seen a robot
or touched one? Does a robot really “hear” you speak? Does it really “understand”
what you say? The answer to the last question is:
“Not the same way that a person does.”
Robots operate off of “instructions”, specific sets of things that they have been
preprogrammed to do. In order to accomplish a task, a robot needs to have a se-
ries of instructions (sometimes called an algorithm) that it can run. Today, we are
going to learn what it takes to make that happen.
Kickstart: Pull out a copy of the Symbol Key (or write the symbols on the board). Step to the
side and tell the class that these will be the only six symbols that they will be us-
ing for this exercise. For this task, they will instruct their “robot” to build a specific
cup stack using only these arrows:
- Pick Up Cup
- Put Down Cup
- Move 1/2 Cup Width Forward
- Move 1/2 Cup Width Backward
- Turn Cup Right 90°
- Turn Cup Left 90°
Adjustments:
Grades K-3
t Try this lesson all together as one class. Let the students shout directions for
the teacher to write down.
t Have a class assistant leave the room during programming, then return to
perform the finished code.
t If there is time, switch. Have the assistant write the instructions from the class
and have the teacher perform them.
Grades 4-6
t Adjust group sizes between three and five, depending on personality of class.
t Expect each student to want a turn, this will likely use the entire hour.
Grades 7+
t Limit groups to four students, three is ideal.
t Students generally complete the full round of turns with plenty of time to
include the supplement section on functions.
TM
2
155
Lesson 3: My Robotic Friends
Rules: 1. Coders should translate all moves using only the six arrows suggested.
2. Cups should remain with the robot, not provided to programmers during coding.
3. Once robots are back with their groups, there should be no talking out loud.
If your student asks about rules that haven’t been defined above, you can either define them
according to your exercise, or ask them to define that rule within their own group.
Example
Beginning: It can be helpful to go over an example as a class. There is one cup stack in the
pack that includes only three cups, that is the sample card. Hold it up for the class
and walk them through the exercise.
Place your stack of cups on the table where everyone can see them. Ask the class
to instruct you on the first thing to do. The correct answer is “pick up cup”. When
you pick up each cup, note that the cup should automatically rise above the high-
est cup already in the stack.
With your hand still in the air, ask for the next move. You may have to remind the
class a time or two that one step forward is only half the width of a cup.
s
s
ep
tep
tep
tep
tep
tep
tep
tep
St
0S
1S
2S
3S
4S
5S
6S
1
ck
Ba
Step Guide
TM
4
157
Lesson 3: My Robotic Friends
Middle: Once you’ve placed a single cup, transition back to the blackboard (or document
camera) and challenge the class to help you write the symbols on the board so
that you can “run the program” later. One possible solution looks like this:
Completion: With the program written down for the class to see, you can call a volunteer to
“run” it, or you can run the program yourself. Say the arrows out loud as you move
the cups into place. For example, the program above would be pronounced:
The Exercise
Group the students appropriately for their age as described on page 2. The goal
Group Up:
is to have enough programmers in each group that the group is never entirely
lost.
Robot: Choose one “robot” in each group to go hang out in the “robot library”. This
should be a location far enough away from the groups that no robot can find out
what Cup Stack Card their programmers are working with. Robots can use their
time in the library to practice cup stacking and to ask for clarification on rules.
Program: Each group of programmers should be handed one Cup Stack Card at a time.
They can then begin to figure out the algorithm for their stack. How many cups
will they need? How many steps for the first cup? The second? Are any cups
upside down? How do you get the robot to flip a cup?
Once these questions are answered, the programmers can use the symbols to
write their code on the blank paper or a note card. The programmers should
review their code to see if it makes sense for the stack before checking their robot
out of the robot library.%POPUMFUTUVEFOUTVTFTZNCPMTUIBUBSFOPUPOUIF,FZ
TVDIBTOVNCFST
Run Code: Now that the robot is back with the group, everyone should be silent. The groups
should not attempt to use words or gestures to influence their robot’s behavior.
The robot should only operate according to what the arrows tell them to do.
If the group finds a mistake, they are allowed to halt the program, check the
robot back into the library, and fix the error before bringing the robot back to
complete the challenge.
Repeat: Each time a group solves a challenge, they should choose a new robot to head to
the library, and the group should be given a new (preferably more difficult Cup
Stack Card.)
This can continue either until time is done, all group members have been robots,
or the cards have become difficult enough to warrant a discussion about
functions.
Tip: If the lesson is still going strong, but the groups begin to run out of Cup Stack Cards,
challenge them to create their own stack drawings.
TM
6
159
Traveling Circuits
TM Lesson 3: My Robotic Friends Symbol Key
TM
TRAVELING CIRCUITS - SERIES 1 COMPUTER SCIENCE
© 2013 www.thinkersmith.org
160
TM
161
162
Traveling Circuits
TM Lesson 3: My Robotic Friends Paper Trapezoids
To cut quickly:
First cut in horizontal strips, then snip along lines to make trapezoids.
TM
TRAVELING CIRCUITS - SERIES 1 COMPUTER SCIENCE
© 2013 www.thinkersmith.org
163
Here, students learn the simplicity and utility of loops by programming
their friends using the language from My Robotic riends’. nce loops are Identify repetitive code and convert a series of
introduced, students will find that they can build bigger structures faster. multiple actions into a single loop.
Decode loops into a series of multiple actions.
- ideo
- Teacher Prep
Guide
( )
164
Goal: This review will refresh the students’ minds about how quickly programs for the My Robotic riends activity can get intense.
With the class together as a group, pull an easy pu le from the My Robotic riends Cup Stack Pack and program with each other
as a reminder of rules and terminology.
Next, pull a pu le that’s slightly harder, but also requires a lot of steps like the one below.
Ask a volunteer (or a group of volunteers) to come forward to help program this one on the board. If you make them stick strictly to
the no symbols other than those on the key rule, it will probably take a while!
165
What is the reaction of the class?
Give students the opportunity to brainstorm shorter ways to relay the code that they’re about to create. (This bit can be skipped over
if your students start saying things like: Move forward times. Since that will open the discussion about how to show six times
with symbols.)
nce students have put together the idea of repeating code, give them the vocabulary around it. Make sure to share with them
that often the terms repeat something and loop something will be used interchangeably on Code. rg.
Goal: This activity will allow students to gain practice spotting areas that repeat loops can be used, as well as places where they
need to expand programs that utili e loops.
Take the program from one of your previous cup stacks and display it for the class. Have them help you find places that the same
arrows repeat, uninterrupted, multiple times. Have students count the number of times those arrows repeat and give you the final
tally.
Circle the first arrow in that line, write the number of loops near that circle, then cross out the rest of the arrows.
Repeat this until the entire program has been shortened, then re-write the program in a way where students can see how much
more simple the resulting instructions are.
Now that students have a new tool in their toolbox, they should be able to start finding success on new (and more difficult) cup
stacks.
166
Set students to task with the cards from the more difficult My
Teaching Tips:
Robotic riends Loops Packet and see how they do. ou can
either continue to work together, or let students work in small Be sure to keep your eyes open for students using loops. Try
groups -- whichever is best for your classroom. to avoid correcting their overall algorithms, but feel free to
point out instructions that could be shortened by using a
repeat circle.
Watch students as they run through the code. Are there any
bugs? Use the debugging questions to help them find a
solution.
What does it do?
Goal: Allow students to reflect on the activity that they just
What is it supposed to do?
experienced.
What does that tell you?
Does it work at the first step?
Here are some possible topics: Does it work at the second step?
Where does it stop working?
Do you feel like loops make programming easier or
harder?
What other kinds of things in life do we repeat?
ating - put food in mouth, chew times
Brushing hair - brush through hair 3 times
Routines - Wake up, go to school, come home, go to bed
Journal time! Ask students to draw a feeling face in the corner of their journal page to remind them how they felt about this
lesson.
Have the students write or draw something in their journal that will remind them later what loops are. This can come from a
prompt like:
What does repeat mean to you?
Draw a picture of you repeating something.
Have students draw their own cup stacking creations for someone else to code.
Provide students with algorithms that utili e repeats, then have them expand the program back out to a full step-by-step version.
167
Traveling Circuits
TM Lesson 3: My Robotic Friends Symbol Key
TM
TRAVELING CIRCUITS - SERIES 1 COMPUTER SCIENCE
© 2013 www.thinkersmith.org
168
TM
169
170
171
Traveling Circuits
TM Lesson 3: My Robotic Friends Paper Trapezoids
To cut quickly:
First cut in horizontal strips, then snip along lines to make trapezoids.
TM
TRAVELING CIRCUITS - SERIES 1 COMPUTER SCIENCE
© 2013 www.thinkersmith.org
172
vents are a great way to add variety to a pre-written algorithm.
Sometimes you want your program to be able to respond to the user Repeat commands given by an instructor.
exactly when the user wants it to. That is what events are for. Recogni e actions of the teacher as signals to
initiate commands.
Practice differentiating pre-defined actions and
event-driven ones.
Today, students will learn to distinguish events from actions. The students
will see activities interrupted by having a button pressed on a paper
remote. When seeing this , the class will react with a unique action.
vents are widely used in programming and should be easily recogni able Watch the .
after this lesson. Print one
.
Print one
for each student.
Make sure each student has a
.
- Teacher ideo
- Worksheet
- Assessment
( )
173
This lesson has one new and important vocabulary word:
Do you remember helping the Red, the Angry Bird find the
Lesson Tip
pig?
In that exercise, you knew in advance exactly where If your students seem confused, talk about their favorite
you wanted Red to end up, so you could make a games and all of the ways that they let the characters know
program that took the bird from start to finish without what they re supposed to do. Point out how the game would
be really boring if it ran from start to finish without any events
any interruptions.
required.
In most real programs, we can t do that because we
want to have options, depending on what the user
needs.
Say that I only want my character to move when my finger is on the screen of my phone. I would need to program the
character to only move when I put my finger on the screen of my phone.
Putting my finger on the screen would then become an event that tells my character to move.
In earlier lessons, we created algorithms that allowed us to control a friend or bird for several steps at a time. It was fun and useful,
but what happens when you don’t know everything that you want your friend to do in advance? This is where events come in!
175
Hand out the assessment activity and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
explained.
This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
Assign each student an event to watch out for, and an appropriate reaction to that event. Chain the actions so that each child s
reaction becomes an event that triggers the reaction of another student. eep assigning until everyone has something to do and
everyone makes someone react.
Break the class up into groups. Using the vents Controller, assign each group a different reaction to the same button. Do this for
all three buttons, then watch the chaos!
176
U The Big Event
Event Controller
Revision 140709.1a
177
Name: Date:
U The Big Event
Unplugged Controlling by Events Assessment
You’ve been given a magical controller that changes the picture on the frame on your desk.
Take a look below to see what each button does. Can you figure out which series of button
events will cause your frame to show the pictures on the right? Draw a line from each set
of pictures to the button combination that causes it. The first one has been done for you.
Revision 160511 . 1a
178
CS Fundamentals Course C
Course C
179
New and unsolved problems are often pretty hard. If we want to have any
chance of making something creative, useful, and clever, then we need to Outline steps to complete a structural
be willing to attack hard problems even if it means failing a few times engineering challenge.
before we succeed. In this lesson, students will be building a structure with Predict and discuss potential issues in structure
common materials. The structure will be tested on its ability to hold a creation.
textbook for more than ten seconds. Most students will not get this right Build a structure based on team plan.
the first time, but it's important they push through and keep trying. Revise both the plan and the structure until they
satisfy challenge.
This lesson teaches that failure is not the end of a journey, but a hint for
how to succeed. The majority of students will feel frustrated at some point Watch the
in this lesson, but it's important to emphasize that failure and frustration .
are common steps to creativity and success. Watch the
.
Print
.
Gather enough building elements
(marshmallows or gumdrops with toothpicks or
popsicle sticks) for each group. You don't have
to give any certain amount; just make sure you
put some limit on materials.
Give a to each student.
- Teacher Video
- Lesson in Action
Video
- Teacher Prep Guide
( | )
180
This lesson has one new and important word:
Have you ever started on a task, then discovered that it was much harder than you thought it would be? Hard tasks can make us
want to give up, but if we stick to our goal and keep trying, then we just might make something better than we’ve ever made before!
In this challenge, we’ll work to construct towers that are strong enough to hold a textbook for at least 10 seconds, using everyday
materials.
Rules:
3. Provide each group with limited supplies and make it known that they will get no more.
4. Challenge the class to think ahead to the problem and plan out their method of building their first tower.
181
5. Encourage students to begin building, then have them
Lesson Tip
alert you when they think they’ve met the challenge
described by the rules. The planning stage can be difficult for young students. It may
be helpful for you to place some idea "examples" at the front
6. Test each structure. Is it taller than the cup? Does it hold a of the room. Do not announce that they are there. Simply
book? encourage students to take a walk if they get frustrated. Try to
encourage students to locate the tips on their own if at all
7. If not, have students enter a cycle of planning, fixing,
possible.
testing, and planning again until the challenge has been
met.
8. Congratulate the students as they succeed and take pictures of the successful towers!
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future. We provide a as a basic template for
students to use as their daily journal.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
182
U Building a Foundation
Unplugged Learning Persistence through Challenges
Directions:
1) Divide students into groups of 3 or 4.
2) Explain the rules of the challenge, provided on the other page.
3) Provide each group with limited supplies and make it known that they will
get no more.
4) Challenge the class to think ahead to the problem and plan out their
method of building their first tower.
5) Encourage students to begin building, then have them alert you when they
think they’ve met the challenge described by the rules.
6) Test each structure. Is it taller than the cup? Does it hold a book?
7) If not, have students enter a cycle of planning, fixing, testing, and planning
again until the challenge has been met.
8) Congratulate the students as they succeed and take pictures of the suc-
cessful towers (if possible) to upload to the Code.org site!
Revision 140902.1a
183
In this lesson, students will relate the concept of algorithms back to
everyday activities. After discussing algorithms, students will make paper Decompose large activities into a series of
airplanes using an algorithm. The goal here is to start building the skills to smaller events.
translate real world situations to online scenarios and vice versa. Arrange sequential events into their logical order.
In this lesson, students will learn that algorithms are everywhere in our Watch the
daily lives. For example, there is a specific algorithm to plant a seed. .
Instead of giving vague or over-generalized instructions, students will Watch the
break down a large activity into smaller and more specific instructions. .
From these instructions, students must determine a proper order for the Gather paper for students to construct paper
sequence of instructions to be in. airplanes from.
Print out
for each student.
Print for
each student.
Make sure every student has a
.
-
Teacher Video
-
Lesson in Action Video
-
Worksheet
- Assessment
( | )
184
This lesson has one vocabulary word that is important to review:
Ask your students what they did to get ready for school this morning.
Write their answers on the board.
If possible, put numbers next to their responses to indicate the order that they happen.
If students give responses out of order, have them help you put them in some kind of logical order.
Point out places where order matters and places where it doesn't.
Introduce students to the idea that it is possible to create algorithms for the things that we do everyday.
Give them a couple of examples, such as making breakfast, brushing teeth, and planting a flower.
Let's try doing this with a new and fun activity, like making paper airplanes!
You can use algorithms to help describe things that people do every day. In this activity, we will create an algorithm to help each
other fold a paper airplane.
You know your classroom best. As the teacher, decide if students should do this individually, in pairs, or in small groups.
Lesson Tip
1. Cut out the steps for making a paper airplane from the
If deciding on the correct steps seems too difficult for your
worksheet provided in the resources.
students, do that piece together as a class before you break
2. Work together to choose the six correct steps from the up into teams.
nine total options.
How many of you were able to follow your classmates' algorithms to make your airplanes?
Did we leave anything out when making the plane?
What would you have added to make the algorithm even better?
What if the algorithm had been only one step: "Fold a Paper Airplane"?
Would it have been easier or harder?
What if it were forty steps?
What was your favorite part about this activity? 185
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Hand out the and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions
have been well explained.
This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
186
Name: Date:
U Real-Life Algorithms
Unplugged Paper Airplane Worksheet
You can use algorithms to help describe things that people do every day. In this activity,
we will create an algorithm to help each other make paper airplanes.
Cut out the steps of making an airplane below. Glue the six the correct steps, in order, onto
a separate piece of paper. Trade your finished algorithm with another person or group and
let them use it to make an actual flying model paper plane!
FOLD PAPER
IN HALF AGAIN PULL SIDES DOWN
TOSS FINISHED PLANE
Revision 140710.1a
187
Name: Date:
U
Daily Algorithms
Unplugged Assessment Worksheet
These images are not in order. First, describe what is happening in each picture on
the line to its left, then match the action to its order in the algorithm. The first one
has been done for you as an example.
Step 1
Teeth are clean!
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Sometimes you can have more than one algorithm for the same activity. The order
of some of these steps can be changed without changing the final product. Use the
letters on the images below to create two algorithms for making a paper airplane.
A B C D E F G H
ALGORITHM 1:
ALGORITHM 2:
Revision 140710.1a
188
Loops are a handy way to repeat actions a certain number of times. In this
lesson, students will dance their way to a better understanding of how to Repeat actions initiated by the instructor.
use repeat loops. Translate a picture program into a live-action
dance.
Convert a series of multiple actions into a single
loop.
allow for students to categorize their code into what needs to be
repeated and what does not. Students will develop critical thinking skills by
noticing repetition in movements and determining how many times the to
repeat commands to develop those loops. Watch the .
Print one for the
class.
Print one for
each student.
Make sure every student has a
.
- Teacher Video
- Worksheet
- Assessment
( | )
189
This lesson has one new and important vocabulary word:
If your mom wanted you to play her favorite song over and
Please be advised that some of these stations may display
over, she wouldn’t say:
ads with third-party content. If you find that displayed ads are
“Please play my song, play my song, play my song, play my inappropriate, you may want to direct students to a different
song.” site, or research ad-blockers that can prevent this content.
190
Show the class what the entire dance looks like done at full-speed.
Run through the dance slowly, one instruction at a time, with the class.
Can you find the loop in the instructions?
What would the dance look like if we only repeated the main part 2 times?
What if we repeated the main part 4 times?
Can you find anything else in the dance that we could use a loop for?
Do you think it is easier to add more pictures to the screen or change the number of times we loop?
Would your answer be the same if we wanted to loop 100 times?
Could we use these same loops with different dance moves?
Do you know any dances that are done inside a loop?
What was your favorite part about that activity?
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
191
Hand out the assessment to each student. Allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been
well explained.
This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
Give the students pictures of actions or dance moves that they can do.
Have students arrange moves and add loops to choreograph their own dance.
Share the dances with the rest of the class.
192
U Getting Loopy
Unplugged Loops Activity
The Iteration
t
pa r
Behind Head Waist Behind Head Waist
s
t th i s!
e
pea tim
R e 3
Clap Clap Clap
Then do this
Belly Laugh
Revision 140709.2a
193
Name: Date:
U Getting Loopy
Unplugged Unplugged Loops Activity
a rt
Behind Head Waist Behind Head Waist
p
t h is !
t es
pea tim
R e 3
Clap Clap Clap
Revision 140709.1a
194
Students will soon learn events are a great way to add flexibility to a pre-
written algorithm. Sometimes you want your program to be able to respond Repeat commands given by an instructor.
to the user exactly when the user wants it to. Events can make your Recognize movements of the teacher as signals
program more interesting and interactive. to initiate commands.
Practice differentiating pre-defined actions and
event-driven ones.
Today, students will learn to distinguish events and actions. The students
will see activities interrupted by having a 'button' pressed on a paper
remote. When seeing this , the class will react with a unique action. Watch the .
Events are widely used in programming and should be easily recognizable Print one
after this lesson. and Event Controller.
Print one
for each student.
Make sure every student has a
.
- Worksheet
- Teacher Video
- Assessment
( | )
195
This lesson has one new and important vocabulary word:
In earlier lessons, we created algorithms that allowed us to control a friend or other character for several steps at a time. It was fun
and useful, but what happens when you don’t know everything that you want your friend to do in advance? This is where events
come in!
196
Project the Event Controller onto your classroom screen.
197
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been
well explained.
This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
Assign each student an event to watch out for, and an appropriate reaction to that event. Chain the actions so that each child's
reaction becomes an event that triggers the reaction of another student. Keep assigning until everyone has something to do and
everyone makes someone react.
Break the class up into groups. Using the Events Controller, assign each group a different reaction to the same button. Do this
for all three buttons, then watch the chaos!
198
U The Big Event
Event Controller
Revision 140709.1a
199
Name: Date:
U The Big Event
Unplugged Controlling by Events Assessment
You’ve been given a magical controller that changes the picture on the frame on your desk.
Take a look below to see what each button does. Can you figure out which series of button
events will cause your frame to show the pictures on the right? Draw a line from each set
of pictures to the button combination that causes it. The first one has been done for you.
Revision 160511 . 1a
200
This lesson helps children to recognize that it is essential to tell a trusted
adult if something online makes them feel angry, sad, or scared. Analyze online behaviors that could be
considered cyberbullying.
Students learn that other people sometimes can act like bullies when they
Explain how to deal with a cyberbullying
are online. They will explore what cyberbullying means and what they can
situation.
do when they encounter it. After reading a scenario about mean online
Recognize the importance of engaging a trusted
behavior, students discuss what cyberbullying is, how it can make people
adult if the student experienced cyberbullying.
feel, and how to respond. Finally they use their knowledge to create a
simple tip sheet on cyberbullying in their .
Review
from Common Sense Education's
Students may not ever have the misfortune of experiencing cyberbullying,
website.
but we want to make sure that the students are prepared for and
Print out a worksheet from the link above (page
knowledgeable about it, in case they ever witness it during an online
6) for each student.
situation. Students will learn how to identify cyberbullying and what steps
Print out an assessment from the link at the top
they should take to make it stop. This may become helpful in later puzzles
(page 7) for each student.
when students have the opportunity to share their work. If someone
Make sure every student has a
negatively responds to a student's work, this lesson will provide them with
.
the tools that they need to handle the situation.
Print or display the
for the class to see.
- Student Handout
201
Encourage students to share what they know about bullying.
Students will be learning about a kind of bullying that can take place when they use the internet.
: Doing something on the internet, usually again and again, to make another person feel angry, sad, or scared
Some kids do not go online very much at all, either because of their family’s rules or because they do not like it very much. Other
kids do go online to do different things.
What do you do online, or what do you think you might like to do?
Students may mention activities like sending messages to friends and playing games.
Most of the time when students go online it is to do fun or interesting things. But sometimes people can be mean to each other
online and this is called cyberbullying.
Did you ever see someone make someone else feel bad online?
Answers will vary. Remind students to tell what happened, but not to use real names.
Tell students that they will be learning more about how cyberbullying occurs, and what to do when it happens to them or to
someone they know.
202
Discussion Goal
Read aloud these two scenarios and discuss them briefly
with the class. Questions to stimulate discussion include:
Kyle keeps getting instant messages from someone What do you think happened to Jada's game?
saying means things about him. The person who is How do you think Jada, Kyle, or Sasha felt when these
sending the messages doesn’t use a real name, but Kyle things happened to them?
can tell the messages are coming from someone who also How do you know if someone is cyberbullying you?
makes fun of him at school in gym class. Why do you think it is important to stop using the computer
Sasha is a new girl at school, and she’s making a lot of when someone starts cyberbullying you?
friends. Then Sasha finds out that another girl sent around It's possible that if students stay online, the cyberbullying
an email that had a picture of a cow with Sasha’s name on may continue or get worse.
it.
Ask the class to discuss to Jada's story. Tell the class there
are specific steps to handling a cyberbully.
In general, there are four steps students should take if they or someone they know are experiencing cyberbullying.
Telling a trusted adult is the most important response whenever someone makes them feel sad, scared, or angry online.
203
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Pass out an assessment to each student. Allow students a few minutes to complete it then review the answers (page 9 of the link
above) with the class. If there's time, allow for a discussion about the questions.
204
LESSON PLAN
GRADES K-2
Screen Out the Mean UNIT 2
• recognize the importance of engaging a trusted adult when they NETS•S: 2a, 5a, 5d
experience cyberbullying.
Key Vocabulary –
Materials and Preparation online: connected to
• Copy the STOP Cyberbullying Student Handout, one for the Internet
each student.
cyberbullying: doing
• Preview the scenario in Teach 2 and be prepared to present it to something on the Internet,
the class. usually again and again, to
make another person feel angry,
Family Resources sad, or scared
• Send home the Cyberbullying Family Tip Sheet
(Elementary School).
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
205 1
introduction
Warm-up (5 minutes)
ENCOURAGE students to share what they know about bullying.
ASK:
What kinds of things count as bullying? Students should understand that bullying is behavior
that is purposely mean or scary to someone else – for
example, making fun of how someone looks, telling
lies about them behind their back, or threatening to do
something bad to them.
What is the best thing to do when you Students should know to always tell a trusted adult when
feel bullied, or when you see someone they experience or witness bullying.
else being bullied?
EXPLAIN to students that they will be learning about a kind of bullying that can take place when they use
the Internet.
teach 1
What Is Cyberbullying? (15 minutes)
DEFINE the Key Vocabulary term online.
DISCUSS the fact that some kids don’t go online very much at all, either because of their family’s rules or
because they don’t like it very much. Other kids do go online to do different things.
ASK:
What do you do online, or what do you Students may mention sending emails, instant messaging,
think you might like to do? and playing games.
SHARE with students that most of the time when they go online it is to do fun or interesting things. But sometimes
people can be mean to each other online and this is called cyberbullying.
DEFINE the Key Vocabulary term cyberbullying.
EMPHASIZE that when children are mean to someone else online, even if they only do it one time, it isn’t nice.
Also stress that cyberbullies usually bully repeatedly, with the intention of causing hurt feelings. When children
do something very mean and/or scary, or do it over and over again, then they are cyberbullying.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
206
2
SHARE with students some examples of cyberbullying. These might include:
• sending a mean email or IM to someone
• posting mean things about someone on a website
• making fun of someone in an online chat
• doing mean things to someone’s character in an online world like Club Penguin or WebKinz
ASK:
Did you ever see someone make someone Answers will vary. Reminds students to tell what happened,
else feel bad online? but not use real names.
EXPLAIN to students that they will be learning more about how cyberbullying occurs, and what to do when it
happens to them or to someone they know.
teach 2
What to Do About Cyberbullying (20 minutes)
DISTRIBUTE the STOP Cyberbullying Student Handout, one for every student.
GUIDE students through the scenario on the handout. After allowing students time to read it on their own, you
may wish to read it aloud.
Jada’s parents let her play on a website where she can take care of a pet pony and decorate its stall.
Her friend Michael has played with her in the past and knows her user name and password. One day
Jada goes to the site to care for her pony. She finds that her pony’s stall is a mess and that there are
some things missing.
ENCOURAGE the class to answer the questions on their handouts. Invite them to share their answers.
ASK:
What do you think happened? Students should conclude that Michael went to the website
himself and messed up the pony’s stall.
How do you think this made Jada feel? Students should recognize that Michael’s behavior probably
made Jada feel upset, sad, angry, or let down by her friend.
DIRECT students’ attention to the four rules for dealing with cyberbullying at the bottom of their STOP
Cyberbullying Student Handout. Use the following questions to guide discussion.
ASK:
How will you know when someone is Students should recognize that they may be experiencing
cyberbullying you? cyberbullying whenever someone does something online that
makes them feel sad, scared, angry, or upset in any way.
Why do you think it is important to stop Students should realize that if they stay online, the
using the computer when someone starts cyberbullying may continue or get worse.
cyberbullying you?
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
207
3
If someone makes you feel angry, sad, or Students may name parents or grandparents, an older sister
scared online, which grown-ups can you or brother, a teacher, or the school nurse or counselor. If
tell and ask for help? students cannot think of someone right away, help them
brainstorm and identify an appropriate adult.
Why is it important to go online only with Students should recognize that adults can help guide them
an adult, or when an adult says it is OK? online and keep them safe from cyberbullying.
How can you decide whether you should Students should acknowledge that they need adult guidance
play or chat with someone online? in deciding who to connect with online. If someone is very
mean to them, or is mean repeatedly, then that person is a
cyberbully and should not be contacted online. Remind
students that they should never talk to strangers online either
without asking a trusted adult, even if that person is nice or
has shared interests.
Which of the four things do you think is the Students should recognize that telling an adult is the single
most important? most important thing they should do if they experience or
witness cyberbullying.
REVISIT the scenario in the STOP Cyberbullying Student Handout, and have students apply the S-T-O-P
rules to Jada’s situation.
• Jada should STOP using the computer.
• Jada should TELL an adult she trusts what happened.
• Jada should not go back online or return to the pony website when an adult says it is OK.
• If Jada and Michael are good friends, Jada may want to tell Michael how his actions made her feel,
after she gets advice from an adult.
• But if Michael continues cyberbullying her, she should play with other kids who don’t take part
in cyberbullying.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
208
4
closing
Wrap-up (5 minutes)
You can use these questions to assess your students’ understanding of the lesson objectives.
ASK:
What is cyberbullying? How does it make Students should recognize that cyberbullying is any kind
people feel? of online behavior that makes people feel sad, scared, angry,
or upset.
What four things can you do to help stop Students should be able to explain each of the four rules on
cyberbullying? the STOP Cyberbullying Student Handout.
What is the most important thing to do if Students should understand that telling a trusted adult is the
someone starts cyberbullying you? most important response whenever someone makes them feel
sad, scared, or angry online.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
209
5
STOP CYBERBULLYING
Directions
Jada’s parents let her play on a website
where she can take care of a pet pony
and decorate its stall. Her friend Michael
has played with her in the past and
knows her user name and password.
One day Jada goes to the site to care for
her pony. She finds that her pony’s stall
is a mess and that there are some things missing.
1. Draw lines to show which things a cyberbully would do most and which
things an in-person bully would do most.
2. A cyberbully might:
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
211 1
ASSESSMENT
Screen Out the Mean TEACHER VERSION
1. Draw lines to show which things a cyberbully would do most and which things an
in-person bully would do most.
Answer feedback
A cyberbully does and says mean things online. An in-person bully is mean in person.
2. A cyberbully might:
Answer feedback
The correct answer is a. Cyberbullies are mean online.
Answer feedback
The correct answer is c. If someone is mean to you online, get off
the computer and tell an adult. Saying mean things to a cyberbully won’t help.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
212 1
H
Online Safety
Handout
Play online only with kids you know who are nice.
Rev. 170526a
213
Binary is extremely important in the world of computers. The majority of
computers today store all sorts of information in binary form. This lesson Encode letters into binary.
helps demonstrate how it is possible to take something from real life and Decode binary back to letters.
translate it into a series of ons and offs. Relate the idea of storing letters on paper to the
idea of storing information in a computer.
- Teacher Video
- Lesson in Action Video
- Worksheet
- Assessment
( | )
- Student Video
214
This lesson has one new and important word:
If you've written a short message on the board in binary, call the students' attention to it and ask if anyone knows what it is or
what it means.
Put the message aside and move on to prepping for the activity.
You can start by asking the class if they have ever seen inside a computer.
What's in there?
This is a good place to actually show them the inside of a computer (or pictures of the inside of a computer).
215
The two options that a computer uses with respect to this electrical information are "off" and "on." Just like the lights in this
room!
When computers represent information using only two options, it's called "Binary."
That theme of two options doesn't stop when the information gets to its destination.
Computers also information using binary.
Binary isn't always off and on.
Hard Disk Drives store information using magnetic positive and magnetic negative.
DVDs store information as either reflective or non-reflective.
How do you suppose we can convert real-life things that we want to store in a computer into binary?
Let's start with letters.
Use the to show how a computer might represent capital letters.
This is a good time to mention that each spot where you have a binary option is called a "binary digit" or "bit" for short.
Ask if anyone knows what a grouping of eight bits is called (it's a byte.)
Fun fact: A grouping of four bits is called a nibble.
Watch the (~1 minute)
Go over a few examples of converting letters into binary, then back.
Afterward, write an encoded letter and give the class a few seconds to figure out what it is.
When the class can figure out that encoded letter on their own, you can move on to the activity.
Find the first letter of your first name on the activity sheet.
Fill in the squares of a bracelet to match the pattern of the squares next to the letter that you selected.
Cut the bracelet out.
Tape the bracelet around your wrist to wear it!
Share your bracelet with your classmates to see if they can figure out your letter.
216
After the activity, revisit the message that was on the board
Lesson Tip
and see if your class can decypher it using what they've
learned. If your class has extra budget for materials, try
doing this exercise using thread (or pipe cleaners) and beads
to create the binary bracelets instead of pen and paper. You
can provide any combination of two colors in beads to the
students, but black and white tend to be easiest, given the
way that the key is done.
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been
well explained.
This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
There are several great resources on the web for taking this activity to the next level.
If your students are interested in how images (or even music) can be represented as binary, you can find more details in
Thinkersmith's .
217
Name: Date:
U Binary Bracelets
Unplugged Binary Decoder Key
A N
B O
C P
D Q
E R
F S
G T
H U
I V
J W
K X
L Y
M Z
Find the first letter of your first name.
Fill in the squares of the bracelet below to match the pattern of the squares next to the
letter that you found.
Cut the bracelet out and tape it around your wrist to wear it!
Revision 140902.1a
218
Name: Date:
U Binary Bracelets
Unplugged Assessment for Binary Bracelets Lesson
Use the Binary Decoder Key below to decode the message at the bottom of the sheet.
A N
B O
C P
D Q
E R
F S
G T
H U
I V
J W
K X
L Y
M Z
Revision 140710.1a
219
CS Fundamentals Course D
Course D
220
By "programming" one another to draw pictures, students will begin to
understand what coding is really about. The class will begin by having Understand the difficulty of translating real
students instruct each other to color squares on graph paper in an effort to problems into programs
reproduce an existing picture. If there’s time, the lesson can conclude with Explain how ideas may feel clear and yet still be
images that the students create themselves. misinterpreted by a computer
Practice communicating ideas through codes and
symbols
The goal of this activity is to build critical thinking skills and excitement for
the course.
Watch the
By introducing basic concepts like and to the
.
class in an unplugged activity, students who are intimidated by computers
Watch the
can still build a foundation of understanding on these topics. Programming
.
and algorithms are essential to computer science. In this lesson, students
Print out one
will learn how to translate instructions into a program and recognize an
for each group.
algorithm.
Print one
for each student.
Supply each group with several drawing grids,
paper, and pens/pencils.
Make sure every student has a
.
- Teacher Video
- Lesson in Action
Video
- Worksheet
- Assessment
( | )
221
This lesson has two new and important words:
An algorithm that has been coded into something that can be run by a machine
In this activity, we are going to guide each other toward making drawings, without letting the other people in our group see the
original image.
For this exercise, we will use sheets of 4x4 graph paper. Starting at the upper left-hand corner, we’ll guide our teammates’
Automatic Realization Machine (ARM) with simple instructions. Those instructions include:
That’s simple enough, but it would take a lot of writing to provide instructions for a square like this:
222
Move One Square Right
Fill In Square with Color
Move One Square Right
Move One Square Right
Fill In Square with Color
Move One Square Down
Move One Square Left
Fill In Square with Color
Move One Square Left
Move One Square Left
Fill In Square with Color
PLUS 12 MORE INSTRUCTIONS!
With one little substitution, we can do this much more easily! Instead of having to write out an entire phrase for each instruction, we
can use arrows.
In this instance, the arrow symbols are the “program” code and the words are the “algorithm” piece. This means that we could write
the algorithm:
“Move one square right, Move one square right, Fill-in square with color”
Using arrows, we can redo the code from the previous image much more easily!
223
Ask the class to follow along with your finger and see if you can figure out how to get this image from the program to the right.
Start your class off in the world of programming by drawing or projecting the provided key onto the board.
This is a good way to introduce all of the symbols in the key. To begin, fill in the graph for the class -- square by square -- then ask
them to help describe what you’ve just done. First, you can speak the algorithm out loud, then you can turn your verbal instructions
into a program.
A sample algorithm:
“Move Right, Fill-In Square, Move Right, Move Down Fill-In Square, Move Left, Move Left, Fill-In Square Move Down, Move Right,
Fill-In Square, Move Right”
Some of your class may notice that there is an unnecessary step, but hold them off until after the programming stage. Walk the
class through translating the algorithm into the program:
The classroom may be buzzing with suggestions by this point. If the class gets the gist of the exercise, this is a good place to
discuss alternate ways of filling out the same grid. If there is still confusion, save that piece for another day and work with another
example.
224
If the class can shout out the algorithm and define the correct symbols to use for each step, they’re ready to move on. Depending
on your class and their age, you can either try doing a more complicated grid together or skip straight to having them work in groups
on their .
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been
well explained.
This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
226
227
228
Name: Date:
U Graph Paper Programming
Unplugged Four-by-Fours Activity Worksheet
Choose one of the drawings below to program for a friend. Don’t let them see
which one you choose!
Write the program on a piece of paper using arrows. Can they recreate your picture?
Use these symbols to write a program that would draw each image.
Revision 140830.1a
229
Name: Date:
U Graph Paper Programming
Unplugged Assessment Worksheet
You have just learned how to create algorithms and programs from drawings, and
how to draw an image from a program that someone gives to you. During the
lesson, you worked with other people to complete your activities. Now you can use
the drawings and programs below to practice by yourself.
Use the symbols below to write a program that would draw each image.
Start
Here
Step 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Step 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Start
Here
Step 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Step 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Start
Here
Step 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Step 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Now, read the program below and draw the image that it describes.
Start
Here
Step 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Step 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Revision 140710.1a
230
Debugging
This activity will begin with a short review of 'Graph Paper Programming',
then will quickly move to a race against the clock, as students break into Practice communicating ideas through code and
teams and work together to write a program one instruction at a time. symbols.
Use teamwork to complete a task.
Verify the work done by teammates to ensure a
successful outcome.
There are many important components to this lesson. Students will be able
to run around and get their wiggles out while building teamwork,
programming, and debugging skills. Teamwork is very important in
computer science. While is Watch the
common, it is more common for computer scientists to work in teams. .
These teams write and debug code as a group rather than individuals. In Locate a wide open space for this activity, such
this lesson, students will learn to work together while being as efficient as as the gym or outdoor field.
possible. Print out one
for each group.
This activity also provides a sense of urgency that will teach them to
Print one
balance their time carefully and avoid mistakes, but not to fall too far
for each student.
behind.
Supply each group with plenty of paper and
pens/pencils.
Make sure every student has a
.
-
Teacher Prep Guide
- Assessment
- Teacher Video
( | )
231
Recall that in 'Graph Paper Programming' we guided our teammate's Automatic Realization Machine (ARM) using arrows. Take a
moment to go through a quick 'Graph Paper Programming' image as a reminder. It can either be one that you have already covered
or one that is new.
We are going to do the same kind of thing today, but instead of controlling each other, we are going to work together to create a
program one symbol at a time.
The practice lesson was easy enough; let's add some action! We're going to do the same type of thing (create a program describing
an image) but now we're going to do it in relay teams, one symbol at a time.
First group to finish with a program that matches the image is the winner! Play through this several times, with images of increasing
difficulty.
Pass around this assessment and have the students work on it independently. At the very end, you can take time to go over and
discuss the answers.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
If you don't have the time or room for a relay, you can have students pass the paper around their desk grouping, each writing one
arrow before they move the paper along.
As the teacher, draw an image with as many filled squares as children in each group.
Have the students write as many arrows in the program as it takes to get to a filled-in square (including actually filling that square
in) before passing to the next person.
Draw an image on the board. Have each student create a program for the image. Ask students to trade with their elbow partner and
debug each other's code.
233
1 Relay Programming
Relay Image 1
Revision 140710.1a
2 Relay Programming
Relay Image 2
Revision 140710.1a
234
3 Relay Programming
Relay Image 3
Revision 140710.1a
4 Relay Programming
Relay Image 4
Revision 140710.1a
235
5 Relay Programming
Relay Image 5
Revision 140710.1a
6 Relay Programming
Relay Image 6
Revision 140710.1a
236
237
238
Name: Date:
U Debugging
Unplugged Assessment Worksheet
Sometimes when you are coding in groups, someone will make an error that will
affect everyone.
Somebody has already written programs for the images below, but each one has a
mistake! Figure out what the programs are supposed to look like, and circle the error
in each one. Then, draw the correct symbol in the box beneath.
Each program should use the symbols below to draw the image to its left.
Start
Here
Start
Here
Start
Here
Start
Here
Revision 140830.1a
239
This lesson demonstrates how conditionals can be used to tailor a
program to specific information. We don’t always have all of the Define circumstances when certain parts of a
information we need when writing a program. Sometimes you will want to program should run and when they shouldn't.
do something different in one situation than in another, even if you don't Determine whether a conditional is met based on
know what situation will be true when your code runs. That is where criteria.
conditionals come in. Conditionals allow a computer to make a decision, Traverse a program and predict the outcome,
based on the information that is true any time your code is run. given a set of input.
One of the best parts of teaching is that students already Watch the
understand the concept from their everyday lives. .
Watch the
This lesson merges computer science into the real world by building off of
.
their ability to tell if a condition is true or false. Students will learn to use
Gather decks of cards or something similar.
to declare when a certain command should be run, as well as
One
to declare when a command should be run and what
for the class
do run otherwise. Students may not recognize the word , but
to look at.
most students will understand the idea of using "if" to make sure that some
Print one
action only occurs when it is supposed to.
for each student.
Make sure every student has a
.
- Teacher Video
- Lesson in Action
Video
-
Teacher Prep Guide
- Assessment
- Assessment Video
( | )
240
This lesson has one new and important word:
Create a few programs with your class that depend on things like a card's suit, color, or value to award or subtract points. You
241
can write the program as an algorithm, pseudocode, or actual code.
Here is a sample algorithm:
if (CARD is RED)
Award YOUR team 1 point
Else
Award OTHER team 1 point
If (card.color == RED){
points.yours = points.yours + 1;
}
Else {
points.other = points.other + 1;
}
Once the class has had some practice, you can encourage students to nest conditionals inside one another:
If (CARD is RED){
Award YOUR team 1 point
Else
If (CARD is higher than 9)
Award OTHER team 1 point
Else
Award YOUR team the same number of points on the card
If (card.color == RED ){
points.yours = points.yours + 1;
}
Else {
if (card.value > 9){
points.other = points.other + 1;
}
Else {
points.yours = points.yours + card.value;
}
}
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
explained. This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities. Here's a to
watch as a guide.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
243
U Conditionals with Cards
Sample Program 1
If (CARD is RED)
Award YOUR team 1 point
Else
Award OTHER team 1 point
This program has you choose a card. If the card is red, your team gets a point. Else, the other team gets a point.
Sample program from above as pseudocode (like code, but in no particular language)
If (card.color == RED) {
points.yours = points.yours + 1;
}
Else {
points.other = points.other + 1;
}
Revision 140829.1a
244
U Conditionals with Cards
Sample Program 2
If (CARD is RED)
Award YOUR team 1 point
Else
If ( CARD is higher than 9)
Award OTHER team 1 point
Else
Award YOUR team the same
number of points on the card
This program has you choose a card. If the card is red, your team gets a point. Else, the card must be black. If your black card is higher than 9,
then the other team gets a point, else your card must be black and lower than or equal to 9, and you get as many points as are on your card.
Sample program from above as pseudocode (like code, but in no particular language)
If (card.color == RED) {
points.yours = points.yours + 1;
}
Else {
If ( card.value > 9) {
points.other = points.other + 1;
}
Else {
points.yours = points.yours + card.value;
}
}
Revision 140829.1a
245
In collaboration with , this lesson
helps students learn to think critically about the user information that some Compare and contrast their responsibilities to
websites request or require. Students learn the difference between private their online and offline communities.
information and personal information, distinguishing what is safe and Understand what type of information can put
unsafe to share online. them at risk for identity theft and other scams.
Reflect on the characteristics that make someone
Students will also explore what it means to be responsible and respectful
an upstanding citizen.
to their offline and online communities as a step toward learning how to be
Devise resolutions to digital dilemmas.
good digital citizens.
Watch the
As students spend more time on computers, they should be aware that the
.
internet is not always a safe space. In this lesson, students are taught
Print out a good selection of male and female
what information is safe to share and what information should remain
private. Students will create "superheros" and learn what it means to be a
sheets for the whole class.
Digital Citizen on the internet.
Print one
for each student.
- Teacher Video
-
Manipulatives
- Assessment
- Website
( | )
246
This lesson has one new and important phrase:
Explain that some people will actively try to get you to share this kind of information so that they can use it to take over your
identity. Once a thief has taken someone’s identity, he or she can use that person’s name to get a driver’s license or buy things,
even if the person whose identity they stole isn’t old enough to do these things!
It’s often not until much later that people realize that their identity has been stolen. Identity thieves may also apply for credit
cards in other people’s names and run up big bills that they don’t pay off. Let students know that identity thieves often target
children and teens because they have a clean credit history and their parents are unlikely to be aware that someone is taking
on their child’s identity.
247
Spiderman says "With great power comes great responsibility." This is also true when working or playing on the Internet.
The things we read, see, and hear online can lead people to have all sorts of feelings (e.g., happy, hurt, excited, angry, curious).
What we do and say online can be powerful.
The Internet allows us to learn about anything, talk to people at any time (no matter where they are in the world), and share our
knowledge and creative projects with other people.
This also means that negative comments can spread very quickly to friends of all ages.
CREATE a three-column chart with the terms “Safe,” “Responsible,” and “Respectful” written at the top of each column. Invite
students to shout out words or phrases that describe how people can act safely, responsibly, and respectfully online, and then
write them in the appropriate column.
Now, let's really make sure we understand how to be a Super Digital Citizen!
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
Visit to learn more about how you can keep your students safe in this digital age.
249
Name: Date:
U Digital Citizenship
Unplugged Assessment Worksheet
Just because you can do something online doesn’t mean that you should!
Cross out the information that you should not share online. Use the words that are leftover
as the key to what you should find in the word search.
WORDS
Write a paragraph in the area below, telling about what you will do when you’re on the
Internet to make sure that you practice kind and respectful behavior.
Revision 140625.1a
250
Though many people think of binary as strictly zeros and ones, students
will be introduced to the idea that information can be represented in a Identify methods for encoding images into binary.
variety of binary options. This lesson takes that concept one step further Relate images to a peer using binary encoding.
as it illustrates how a computer can store even more complex information Reproduce an image, based on binary code.
(such as images and colors) in binary, as well.
Watch the .
In this lesson students will learn how information is represented in a way Print one per
such that a computer can interpret and store it. When learning , pair.
students will have the opportunity to write code and share it with peers to Print one per
view as images. This can then be related back to how computers read a student.
program, translate it to binary, use the information in some way, then reply Gather groupings of items that can show
back in a way humans can understand. For example, when we type a opposites for students to use when coming up
sentence into a document then press "save", a computer translates the with their own binary encodings (Optional).
sentence into binary, stores the information, then posts a message Make sure every student has a
indicating the document has been stored. .
- Teacher Video
- Worksheet
- Assessment
( | )
251
This lesson has two new terms:
What if we had a picture like this, where there's only two color options for each square, black or white.
How might we encode this so that someone else could recreate the picture without seeing it?
Some students might think back to the Graph Paper Programming lesson. While there could be a lot of similarities, let them know
that this is different enough that they should not use that lesson to guide this one
You may hear suggestions like: "Say 'white, black, white, black'."
"That's a great suggestion! Now I'm going to break you up into pairs. Work with your teammate to decide on a binary alphabet."
Decide whether you want your pairs to share their encodings with the other groups ahead of time, and tell them if they will be
creating a key, or keeping their methods secret.
252
What did we learn today?
What kind of binary alphabet did you create?
Can you think of how you could encode an image using only your fingers?
Do you think you could create a binary alphabet out of sounds?
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Pass out this assessment for students to do individually. Try to save time at the end to go over answers.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
If your class really gets the idea behind storing binary images, they may want to know how to do color images.
First, you'll need to discuss how color works using binary (as in Binary Baubles, page 21).
Then, introduce some images that use combinations of those colors
Encourage your students to come up with ways to code these color images.
253
Name: Date:
U
Binary Images
Binary Representation Activity
Here are six images. Work with a partner to figure out how you can encode them into
binary in such a way that another team can use the code to figure out what image
you selected.
DIRECTIONS
Revision 141016.1a
254
Name: Date:
U
Binary Images
Binary Representation Activity
Match the image to the binary code that describes it. In order to get the images
correct, you will need to figure out the binary alphabet for each encoding.
A)
B)
C)
Revision 141019.1a
255
CS Fundamentals Course E
Course E
256
In this lesson, students will relate the concept of algorithms back to real life
activities by playing the ice ace game. The goal here is to start building ecompose large activities into a series of
the skills to translate real world situations to online scenarios and vice smaller events.
versa. Arrange se uential events into their logical order.
Teacher
ideo
orksheet
Assessment
257
Ask your students what they did to get ready for school this morning.
rite their answers on the board.
If possible, put numbers ne t to their responses to indicate the order that they happen.
If students give responses out of order, have them help you put them in some kind of logical order.
oint out places where order matters and places where it doesn t.
Introduce students to the idea that it is possible to create algorithms for the things that we do everyday.
Give them a couple of e amples, such as making breakfast, brushing teeth, planting a ower, and making paper airplanes.
Computers need algorithms and programs to show them how to do even simple things that we can do without thinking about
them.
It can be challenging to describe something that comes naturally in enough detail for a computer to replicate.
et s try doing this with a new and fun activity, like playing the ice ace Game
ay it with me Al go ri thm
258
Add points from that roll to player one s total score
esson Tip
Have the ne t player roll
Add points from that roll to player two s total score Help the students see the game from a computer s point of
ach player should go again two more times view. If they need to roll the dice, then the computer needs to
Check each player s total score to see who has the most provide dice. If the student needs to play three turns, then the
computer needs to loop through the steps multiple times.
points
eclare inner
layer
layer
Circle the inner
Gather the class together and have each student complete the . nce the
students have completed the worksheet, have students share out their algorithms to the class. pen a discussion on the difference
between an algorithm from a human s point of view and a computer s point of view.
How many of you were able to follow your classmates algorithms to play the ice ace Game
hat s the difference between an algorithm and a program
An algorithm is the thinking behind what needs to happen, while the program is the actual instruction set that makes it
happen.
An algorithm has to be translated into a program before a computer can run it.
id the e ercise leave anything out
hat would you have added to make the algorithm even better
hat if the algorithm had been only one step lay ice ace
ould it have been easier or harder
hat if it were forty steps
hat was your favorite part about that activity
Having students write about what they learned, why it s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
259
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
260
Name: Date:
U Real-Life Algorithms
Unplugged Dice Race Activity
You can use algorithms to help describe things that people do every day. In this activity,
we will create an algorithm to help each other understand the Dice Race game.
The hardest part about getting a problem ready for a computer can be figuring out how to
describe real-life activities. We’re going to get some practice by playing and describing the
Dice Race game.
Read the rules below, then play a couple rounds of the Dice Race game. As you’re playing,
think about how you would describe everything that you’re doing. What would it look like
from the computer’s point of view?
The Rules:
1) Set each player’s score to 0.
2) Have the first player roll.
3) Add points from that roll to player one’s total score.
4) Have the next player roll.
5) Add points from that roll to player two’s total score.
6) Each player should go again two more times.
7) Check each player’s total score to see who has the most points.
8) Declare Winner.
Player 1
Circle
the Winner
Player 2
Player 1
Circle
the Winner
Player 2
Revision 140710.1a
261
U Dice Race
Unplugged
Assessment Worksheet
Use the space below to play through the Dice Race game.
When you’re done, use the bottom of the page to create an algorithm (list of steps)
that someone else could use to learn how to play.
Player 1
Circle
the Winner
Player 2
Now, take the steps that you’ve used to play the game above, and write them
down in the slots below. Take advantage of the repeat loop to avoid having to
write down instructions more than once.
Step 1 :
Step 2 :
Step 3 :
at
Repe es Step 4 :
3 tim
Step 5 :
Step 6 :
Step 7 :
Revision 140710.1a
262
Developed by Common Sense Education, this lesson is about the
difference between information that is safe to share online and information Learn about the benefits and risks of sharing
that is not. information online.
Understand what type of information can put
As students visit sites that request information about their identities, they
them at risk for identity theft and other scams.
learn to adopt a critical inquiry process that empowers them to protect
themselves and their families from identity theft. In this lesson, students
learn to think critically about the user information that some websites
request or require. They learn the difference between private information Copy the
and personal information, as well as how to distinguish what is safe or (7th page of the teacher prep guide), one for
unsafe to share online. each student.
Copy the (6th
page of the teacher prep guide), one for each
student.
Common Sense Education has created this lesson to teach kids the
Print out an assessment (8th page of the teacher
importance of security on the internet. By discussing the difference
prep guide) for each student. Teacher version is
between personal and private information, students will be able to
the page after the student assessment.
recognize what information should and shouldn't be shared. Students will
Preview websites like , ,
also learn what signs you should look for to determine if a website is safe
and and prepare to show
or not.
them to the class.
263
hat types of information do you think are okay to share publicly online such as on an online pro le that others will see
Interests and favorite activities
pinions about a movie
irst name
hat are some e amples of websites where you must register in order to participate
ocial networking sites
ideo sharing sites
outh discussion sites
Ask an e pert sites
Game sites
the names of the websites on the board. plain that it s important to know that sharing some kinds of user information can
put you and your family s privacy at risk.
Teacher Tip
for the class, or have students go online to As an of ine alternative, print out and copy the website pages
, , or . that ask for registration and log in information. istribute these
to the students.
that you do not have to ll out elds on websites if they are not re uired. e uired elds are usually marked by an
asterisk or are highlighted in red.
to the students that some kinds of information are generally safe to share on the internet and some are not. However, the
information that s considered safe should not be shared one on one with people the students don t already know of ine.
264
Teacher Tip
Information that can t be used to
identify you. If you d like a more clear distinction between personal and
Information that is about you, but private information in these de nitions, you can use other
phrases like friendly information or sharable information to
can t be used to identify you.
better de ne the line that the students should recogni e. e
mphasi e that personal information is usually safe to share chose to keep personal and private to stay true to
online. rivate information is usually unsafe to share online, Common ense ducation s lesson plan.
meaning students should get permission from a parent or
guardian before sharing this kind of information.
hen a thief steals someone s private information in order to pretend to be that person.
that an identity thief uses private information to pretend to be the person whose identity he or she has stolen. nce the
thief has taken someone s identity, he or she can use that person s name to get a driver s license or buy things, even if the person
whose identity they stole isn t old enough to do these things It s often not until much later that people reali e their identity has been
stolen. Identity thieves may also apply for credit cards in other people s names and run up big bills that they don t pay off. et
students know that identity thieves often target children and teens because they have a clean credit history and their parents are
unlikely to be aware that someone is taking on their child s identity.
the difference between private information which can be used to steal your identity and personal information which
cannot be used to steal your identity . Invite students to answer the following uestions write their answers on the board
hat kinds of private information could an identity thief use to nd out and steal your identity
irst and last name, postal address, email address, phone numbers, passwords, credit card numbers, ocial ecurity number,
mother s maiden name.
hat kinds of personal information could you share about yourself without showing your identity
our age, gender, how many siblings you have, your favorite music, your favorite food, what pets you have, the name of your
pet, your opinion about something.
to students that on the internet, people you interact with could be your friends ne t door or strangers who live on the other
side of the world. Because it s hard to know the intentions of people who you ve never met before, it is best to remain cautious when
sharing your information. ou wouldn t give strangers your private information in the real world, and you need to be ust as careful
when you re online.
students how important it is each time they share information online to stop and think Am I giving out information that I
should keep private oint out that it can sometimes be safe to give out some private information. or e ample, a website might
ask for your birth date or email address. But students should always ask their parent or guardian before giving out private
265
information.
the and have students complete the activity. eview the answers as a class.
the . Have students write down all the personal information they would like to share on a public
pro le in an online community. mphasi e that even though personal information is safe to share online, it is okay to choose not to
share it. emind students that everything on the list should be safe to share none of it should be private information that can put
their identity at risk.
ou can use these uestions to assess your students understanding of the lesson ob ectives. ou may want to ask students to
re ect in writing on one of the uestions, using a ournal or an online blog wiki.
Having students write about what they learned, why it s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Hand out the assessment to students. Allow students time to complete the assessment. If there is time left over, go over the
answers with the students.
266
LESSON PLAN
GRADES 3-5
Private and Personal Information UNIT 1
• Send home the Online Security Family Tip Sheet email, phone number, etc.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
267 1
introduction
Warm-up (5 minutes)
ASK:
INVITE students to share the names of websites they visit that require or request user information before
allowing people to participate in online activities.
ASK:
What are some examples of websites where Review the Key Vocabulary term register.
you must register in order to participate? Sample responses:
• Social networking sites
• Video-sharing sites
• Youth discussion sites
• Ask-an-expert sites
• Game sites
WRITE the names of the websites on the board. Explain that it’s important to know that sharing some kinds of
user information can put you and your family’s privacy at risk.
teach 1
Log In (15 minutes)
PROJECT for the class, or have students go online to, www.neopets.com, www.nick.com, www. bookadventure.org,
or one of the websites that your students suggested.
Note: As an offline alternative, print out and copy two of the website pages that ask for registration and log-in
information. Distribute copies of the pages to each student.
DISCUSS with students the kinds of information that each website requires or requests before users can participate.
ASK:
What information is required and why do This may include first name, user name, password,
you think it is required? password hint, birth date, gender, the state you live in,
parent’s permission, etc. Let them know that the
information may be required because it helps distinguish
one person from another. Or perhaps the website is
keeping a record of who uses it.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
268
2
ASK:
What information is optional, and why do This may include parent’s email, birthday, state, country,
you think it is optional? gender, etc. Maybe this information is optional because
the website does not require it for payment, to distinguish
people from one another, or so the website can keep track
of this kind of information.
Why do you think websites ask for this kind Answers may include: They want to get people to pay in order
of information? to use the site, they want to send messages to people who are
signing up, or they want to try to sell things to those people.
POINT OUT that you do not have to fill out fields on websites if they are not required. Required fields are usually
marked by an asterisk (*) or are highlighted in red.
teach 2
Private and Personal (10 minutes)
EXPLAIN to students that some kinds of information are generally safe to share on the Internet and some are
not. However, the information that’s considered safe should not be shared one-on-one with people they don’t
already know offline.
DEFINE the Key Vocabulary terms personal information and private information. Emphasize that
personal information is usually safe to share online. Private information is usually unsafe to share online
(students should get permission from a parent or guardian).
SHARE the following examples of information that is safe or unsafe to share:
ASK:
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
269
3
EXPLAIN that an identity thief uses private information to pretend to be the person whose identity he or she
has stolen. Once the thief has taken someone’s identity, he or she can use that person’s name to get a driver’s
license or buy things, even if the person whose identity they stole isn’t old enough to do these things! It’s often
not until much later that people realize their identity has been stolen. Identity thieves may also apply for credit
cards in other people’s names and run up big bills that they don’t pay off. Let students know that identity thieves
often target children and teens because they have a clean credit history and their parents are unlikely
to be aware that someone is taking on their child’s identity.
EMPHASIZE the difference between private information (which can be used to steal your identity) and
personal information (which cannot be used to steal your identity). Invite students to answer the following
questions (write their answers on the board):
ASK:
What kinds of private information could Examples include: first and last name, postal address,
an identity thief use to find out and steal email address, phone numbers, passwords, credit card
your identity? numbers, Social Security number, mother’s maiden name.
What kinds of personal information could Examples include: your age, gender, how many brothers and
you share about yourself without showing sisters you have, your favorite band, your favorite food,
your identity? what pets you have, the name of your pet, your opinion about
an important issue.
EXPLAIN to students that on the Internet, people you interact with could be your friends next door or strangers
who live on the other side of the world. Because it’s hard to know the intentions of people who you’ve never
met before, it is best to remain cautious when sharing your information. You wouldn’t give strangers your private
information in the real world, and you need to be just as careful when you’re online.
REMIND students how important it is each time they share information online to stop and think: “Am I giving
out information that I should keep private?” Point out that it can sometimes be safe to give out some private
information. For example, a website might ask for your birth date or email address. But students should always
ask their parent or guardian before giving out private information.
DISTRIBUTE the Protect Yourself Student Handout and have students complete the activity. Review the
correct answers (listed below):
• Personal Information: Your age, gender, how many brothers and sisters you have, your favorite
band, your favorite food, the name of your pet.
• Private Information: Full name, street address, email address, your date of birth, phone numbers,
credit card information, mother’s maiden name, name of school.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
270
4
teach 3
What’s Safe to Share Online? (10 minutes)
DISTRIBUTE the All About Me Student Handout. Have students write down all the personal information
they would like to share on a public profile in an online community. Emphasize that even though personal
information is safe to share online, it is okay to choose not to share it. Remind students that everything on the
list should be safe to share; none of it should be private information that can put their identity at risk.
ENCOURAGE students to share their lists with the class.
ASK:
Is there anything on the lists that could be Guide students to explain their answers and encourage them
used by an identity thief? Why? to use the Key Vocabulary terms.
closing
Wrap-up (5 minutes)
You can use these questions to assess your students’ understanding of the lesson objectives. You may want to ask
students to reflect in writing on one of the questions, using a journal or an online blog/wiki.
ASK:
What is identity theft? Using someone else’s private information to pretend to be
that person.
How does personal information and Private information, such as a Social Security number, is
private information differ? unsafe to share. It should be kept private so that identity
thieves cannot use it. Personal information, such as your
favorite food, cannot be used by identity thieves and is
safe to share. Even though personal information is usually
safe to share online, you might choose not to share this
information, and that’s fine.
What would be a good rule for kids about They should not share it online without the permission of a
giving out private information online? teacher, parent, or guardian.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
271
5
ALL ABOUT ME
Directions
Pretend you have a public profile in an online community. There are people you
know, and people you don’t know, who can view your profile.
Write down personal information that you would want to share about yourself.
Make sure that everything on your list is safe to share and that it is not private
information that could reveal your identity.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Personal information often is safe to share. But you should never share private
information without the permission of a parent, guardian, or teacher.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
272 1
PROTECT YOURSELF
Directions
Decide if each piece of information below is an example of personal information or
private information. Then check the box to show your answer.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
273 1
ASSESSMENT
1. If a website asks you for your __________________ online, you should talk to a
parent or family member.
a) favorite color
b) date of birth
c) screen name
3. Clara received two emails. Which email should she NOT respond to?
Circle your answer.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
274 1
ASSESSMENT
Private and Personal Information TEACHER VERSION
1. If a website asks you for your ________________ online, you should talk to a parent
or family member.
a) favorite color
b) date of birth
c) screen name
Answer feedback
The correct answer is b. Your date of birth is an example of private information. If a website asks for
private information, you should ask a trusted adult before doing anything.
2. An identity thief probably would not be interested in your personal information, such
as __________________.
a) your full name
b) your street address
c) your favorite movie
Answer feedback
The correct answer is c. Both your full name and your street address are examples of private information.
Personal information, like your favorite movie, would probably not be useful for an identity thief.
3. Clara received two emails. Which email should she NOT respond to? Circle your answer.
Answer feedback
If an email asks you for private information, such as your full name or address, you should not
respond—especially if you do not know the person who sent the message.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
275 1
ne of the most magni cent structures in the computer science world is
the function. unctions sometimes called procedures are mini programs ocate repeating phrases inside song lyrics.
that you can use over and over inside of your bigger program. This lesson Identify sections of a song to pull into a function.
will help students intuitively understand why combining chunks of code into escribe how functions can make programs
functions can be such a helpful practice. easier to write.
The use of functions helps simplify code and develop the student s ability atch the
to organi e their program. tudents will uickly recogni e that writing .
functions can make their long programs easier to read and easier to debug atch the
if something goes wrong. .
rint several
for each group.
rint one
for each student.
Access to the internet, or pre downloaded songs
and lyrics for activity.
ake sure every student has a
.
Teacher
ideo
esson
in Action ideo
orksheet
Assessment
276
This lesson has one new and important word
A piece of code that you can call over and over again.
Teaching Tip
ittle bunny oo oo
ittle Bunny oo oo is being used here as an e ample only. If
Hopping through the forest
your students know this song, feel free to use it. therwise,
cooping up the eld mice choose an appropriate song that they might be more familiar
And bopping em on the head with either from music class or the radio.
own came the airy
And she said
ittle bunny oo oo
I don t wanna see you
cooping up the eld mice
And bopping em on the head
277
It s uite likely that the ma ority of the class will sing the lyrics for the chorus when you point to that bit.
top the song once that happens, and e plicitly highlight what ust happened.
ou de ned the chorus.
ou called the chorus.
They sang the chorus.
Ask the class why they suppose you only wrote the chorus once at the top of the paper instead of writing it over and over in each
place where it is supposed to be sung.
hat are other bene ts of only writing the chorus once when you sing it many times
e are going to play with songs a little more, to try to really understand how often this techni ue is used
A fantastic way to compare functions to something we see in our everyday lives is to look at songs. ongs often have certain
groups of lyrics that repeat over and over. e call such a group a chorus.
It is often easier ust to have the class listen to or watch the song, then vote on what the chorus is by singing it together, rather
than writing the whole thing down. If you choose this method, consider having the class do a written chorus for the nal song
selection to be sure that the visual learners get proper reinforcement.
ould you rather write lyrics over and over again or de ne a chorus
o you think it s possible to make multiple choruses for the same song
oes it make sense to make a new chorus for every time it s needed in a song
278
Having students write about what they learned, why it s
esson Tip
useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any
knowledge they obtained today and build a review sheet for lash Chat uestions are intended to spark big picture
them to look to in the future. thinking about how the lesson relates to the greater world and
the students greater future. Use your knowledge of your
classroom to decide if you want to discuss these as a class, in
hat was today s lesson about groups, or with an elbow partner.
How do you feel about today s lesson
hat is a function and how do you use it
Can you think of another activity where you might want to call a special group of instructions several times
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
e plained. This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
tart by creating a chorus together, then repeat it between verses of a song that you develop around it.
ake a change to the chorus, and ponder how much easier it is to change in ust one place.
Change the chorus again, making it much longer than it was originally.
Add a second chorus and alternate between them in your verses.
hat if we acted out songs instead of singing them All of a sudden, our chorus would be a function of repeated actions, rather
than words.
Use the concepts of the arrows from the Graph aper rogramming lesson and create a program with lots of repeating
instructions.
Circle those repeating actions so that the class can see where they are.
e ne a function called Chorus above the program.
Cross out everywhere the repeating actions appear in the program and write Chorus instead.
epeat until the class can go through this process with little direction.
279
Name: Date:
U Songwriting
Unplugged Using Lyrics to Explain Functions and Procedures
One of the most magnificent structures in the computer science world is the function.
Functions (sometimes called procedures) are mini programs that you can use over and
over inside of your bigger program.
A fantastic way to compare functions to something we see in our everyday lives is to look
at songs. Songs often have certain groups of lyrics that repeat over and over. We call such
a group a “chorus.”
Directions:
1) Divide into groups of 4, 5, or 6.
2) Give each group several copies of the Songwriting Worksheet.
3) Play a short song for the class that contains a clear chorus that does not
change from verse to verse.
4) Challenge the class to identify (and write down) the chorus.
5) Compare results from each group. Did everyone get the same thing?
New Word!
Function
Say it with me: F u n c-s h u n
A piece of code that you can
call over and over again.
Let’s make a function for the bits that we use most often
so that we don’t need to write so much as we go.
Revision 140610.1a
280
Group Name: Date:
U Songwriting Worksheet Example
Unplugged Using Lyrics to Explain Functions and Procedures
Song Name:
Chorus:
Song Name:
Chorus:
Revision 140610.1a
281
Name: Date:
U Songwriting
Unplugged Using Lyrics to Explain Functions - Assessment
If it were your job to write these songs as computer programs, what chunk of code from
each would you turn into a function so that you could use it over and over again with just
one word?
Circle the segments of each program that repeat most often. Is everything that you circled
exactly the same? If so, that can be your chorus!
Finish by writing the chorus for each song on the Songwriting Worksheet and give it a
name. Those are your functions!
Revision 140610.1a
282
Group Name: Date:
U Songwriting Worksheet
Unplugged Using Lyrics to Explain Functions - Assessment
Song 1 Name:
Chorus:
Song 2 Name:
Chorus:
Revision 140610.1a
283
Even though many people use the internet daily, not very many know how
it works. In this lesson, students will pretend to flow through the internet, all Learn about the complexity of sending messages
the while learning about connections, URLs, IP Addresses, and the DNS. over the internet.
Translate URLs into IP Addresses.
If you have been doing every lesson in this course, then each student in
your classroom has used the internet...but how many know how it works? Watch the .
Learning more about the internet will help students develop a better Print enough
understanding of its endless possibilities. for each group.
Print one for each
student.
Access to the internet (such as
).
Make sure every student has a
.
- Teacher Video
- Manipulatives
- Assessment
( | )
A connection that uses light to transmit information A quick preview is all you need here. These words will all be
explained as part of the lesson, so it would be far less
- Say it with me: Wye-Fye confusing to do a brief intro to the words as a "see if you can
spot these during the day" type of heads-up.
A wireless method of sending information using radio waves
Small chunks of information that have been carefully formed from larger chunks of information
It's quite likely that your students are aware of what the
Lesson Tip
internet is, but they may not really understand what the
internet does. There are some great YouTube videos on this subject that can
Ask "What is the internet?" make this lesson a little easier to understand. You can show
Is the internet a public place or a private place? them to the class in advance, or just watch them yourself.
(Truthfully, many people think it can be both, but it
. (We recommend stopping the video at 2:59, if
should be viewed as a public space no matter what
possible.)
settings you think you've mastered.)
How does information get from place to place?
Let's say that I want to look at the webpage for Code.org. What do you suppose the process would be like for me to send a
message to request that page?
What do I do as a user?
What do you think happens inside the internet?
Sending a message over the internet is a lot like sending a message through the mail...if every letter we sent required thousands of
envelopes!
Every message we send through the internet gets chopped up and each piece is wrapped in its own version of an envelope. We
call those "packets." Packets are specially formed chunks of information that are able to easily flow through any of the internet's
285
channels.
Sometimes, a few of those packets will get lost, because the internet is a crazy place. In that case, the packets need to be resent,
and the whole message has to get put on hold until they arrive.
Even if you're sending messages to another person, they first have to go to at least one "server."
A server is a special computer that is supposed to be always on and ready to send and receive information.
Every website has a server.
Even email goes through servers.
Servers don't have names like you and I do. They're actually addressed using numbers. These numbers are called IP addresses,
and they look a little strange.
There are many ways to reach the internet from your house, school, or place of business.
You can connect directly using a cable (that might be DSL, Cable, or Fiber Optic)
Or you can connect using radio waves over the air through Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi connections are super convenient, but the aren't always reliable.
Pull out a piece of paper and draw a grid similar to that in the internet activity:
# URL IP Address
1 code.org 54.243.71.82
286
Survey the class for their favorite websites and write the URLs in the left column
Use a site like to find the IP addresses for those sites and write them in the corresponding rows of the right
column.
Now let's take this DNS Table and pretend to send messages through the internet!
The Internet must rip the message into exactly four packets.
If the Internet drops a packet, they have to pick it up and go back to the start to deliver it again.
The server has to wait for all of the message pieces to arrive before it can begin to send the message along.
Wi-Fi: Convenient, but spotty. Wi-Fi doesn’t require cables, but since the signal bounces all over the place, packets can get lost
pretty easily.
Simulation: Internet must carry each packet on their shoulder (no hands).
Cable/DSL: Fairly good at delivering messages, but you must be connected to a wire.
Simulation: Internet must carry each packet on the back of one hand and must keep the other hand touching a wall, desk,
chair or the floor at all times.
Fiber Optic Cable: The best at delivering messages, but you must be connected to a wire.
Simulation: Internet can carry packets in hand, but must keep the other hand touching a wall, desk, chair or the floor at all
times.
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
explained. This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.
288
U Internet
How the Internet Does What it Does
Directions:
1) Create your own DNS table, similar to what is shown here.
2) Have the class help you fill in the blank spots in the table.
Pick your favorite URLs and find their IP addresses using a site like www.getip.com.
4) Assign each group an IP address from the table, and each person in the group a
position:
5) Each group will draw an IP address Card and a Delivery Card to find out where their
message is going and what their method of message delivery (Wi-Fi, Cable/DSL, or
Fiber Optic Cable) will be.
7) The Internet will rip the message up into small pieces called packets, then deliver each
packet one at a time to the Server with the IP address that was drawn from the IP
address Card stack.
8) The Server will make sure that the message arrives in order, then will send each packet
off one at a time with the Return Internet (can be the same person or different person
than the original Internet).
9) The Return Internet will deliver each piece back to the Message Receiver (can be the
same person or different person than the Message Writer) and put it back together.
10) The Message Receiver will wait for all of the pieces to arrive, then read the message to
be sure it arrived correctly!
Rules:
1) The Internet must rip the message into exactly four packets.
2) If the Internet drops a packet, they have to pick it up and go back to the start to deliver
it again.
3) The server has to wait for all of the message pieces to arrive before it can begin to send
the message along.
Revision 150517.1a
289
U Internet
How the Internet Does what it Does
# URL IP ADDRESS
1 www.code.org
2
3
4
5
Internet 4 Internet 1
Internet 3
Internet 2
Revision 150517.1a
290
U Internet
IP Address Cards
1 2
3 4
5 6
Revision 150517.1a
291
U Internet
Delivery Type Cards
DSL Cable
Types:
1) Wi-Fi: Convenient, but spotty. Wi-Fi doesn’t require cables, but since the signal bounces
all over the place, packets can get lost pretty easily.
Simulation: Internet must carry each packet on their shoulder (no hands).
2) Cable/DSL: Fairly good at delivering messages, but you must be connected to a wire.
Simulation: Internet must carry each packet on the back of one hand and must keep
the other hand touching a wall, desk, chair or the floor at all times.
3) Fiber Optic Cable: The best at delivering messages, but you must be connected to a wire.
Simulation: Internet can carry packets in hand, but must keep the other hand
touching a wall, desk, chair or the floor at all times.
Revision 150517.1a
292
Name: Date:
U The Internet
Unplugged How the Internet Does What it Does
The DNS has gone out, and now you’re in charge of delivering information all over the
Internet! Use the DNS Look-Up Table to figure out where each packet is supposed to go.
# URL IP ADDRESS
1 code.org 54.243.71.82
2 csisfun.com 100.42.50.110
3 thinkersmith.org 64.14.68.10
4 light-bot.com 54.209.61.132
5 khanAcademy.org 23.23.224.106
Draw a line from each packet to the server This message is being delivered
where it is supposed to be delivered. The first from someone at code.org to
one has been done for you. someone at thinkersmith.org.
Draw the path that the message
is likely to take.
csisfun.com
100.42.50.110
code.org
64.14.68.10
23.23.224.106
Message
Sender
light-bot.com
64.14.68.10
khanAcademy.org
54.209.61.132 23.23.224.106
Revision 140710.1a
293
In computer science, we face some big, daunting problems. Challenges
such as nding large prime numbers or se uencing A are almost Identify a large task that needs to be done.
impossible to do as an individual. Adding the power of others makes these earrange a large task into several smaller
tasks manageable. This lesson will show your students how helpful tasks.
teamwork can be in the industry of computer science. Build a complete solution from several smaller
solutions.
Teacher ideo
orksheet
294
This lesson has one new and important word
ometimes you have a big ob that needs to get done, but it feels like it will take forever. Crowdsourcing is a way of using teamwork
to make the ob go much faster In this game, we ll use crowdsourcing to sort decks of playing cards.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
ften we think of crowdsourcing as pulling things apart to make them more simple. ou can also make big, beautiful things with the
same techni ue.
Have your students each grab three cards and build one segment of a . ach student can go one after another to build
a grand card tower.
Try with two, or even three students adding their chunk at a time.
ou can crowdsource all at the same time or you can do it one person at a time. Try having the whole class sort the same deck
of cards, one student at a time.
huf e the cards and place them in a pile in the center of the room.
Have each student approach the pile and choose four cards.
Have four piles for the students to sort their cards into
pades
Clubs
Hearts
iamonds
nce all cards have been put in their four piles, have the following four students sort the individual piles.
The last person will put all four piles together.
This version may not save a lot of time, but it still divides the work and lets each individual have more free time
Sometimes you have a big job that needs to get done, but it feels like it will take forever.
Crowdsourcing is a way of using teamwork to make the job go much faster!
Directions:
1) Divide into groups of 4, 5, or 6.
2) Grab your deck of playing cards and dump it into a bag, bucket, or even a
loose pocket that you can make with the bottom of your shirt.
3) Shake the cards until they’re all mixed up.
4) Dump the cards out onto a table or desk where the whole group can see
them.
5) Decide how to break up the task of sorting the deck so that every person
has something to do and no one is doing too much.
6) Time yourself sorting the cards. Can you figure out a way to do it faster?
7) Repeat the game over and over until you think you have found the fastest
way of crowdsourcing the card sorting activity.
New Word!
Crowdsourcing
Say it with me: C r o wd-s o r e-s i n g
Getting help from a large group
of people to finish something faster
Revision 140710.1a
297
CS Fundamentals Course F
Course F
298
This lesson shows us something important about algorithms. As long as you keep an
algorithm simple, there are lots of ways to use it. However, if you want to make sure Tackle the challenge of translating an image into actionable
everyone produces the same outcome, then your algorithm needs more detail. Students instructions.
will learn the difference between a detailed and general algorithm while playing with Convey instructions to teammates in order to reproduce an
tangrams. image.
Analyze the work of teammates to determine whether an
outcome was successful.
- Teacher Video
-
Manipulatives
- Assessment
( | )
299
- Say it with me: Al - gor - ith - him
Lesson Tip
Your students may or may not have played with tangrams before. If they
If your class has never used tangram pieces, you can choose to do an
have, you can skip this portion, and move right to explaining the main
example for them or even have an entire tangram lesson. There are
activity. several good ones on the Internet. is a lesson that you can do in the
classroom and is a game that you can play online.
Explain to the students that tangrams are usually used to solve puzzles.
You receive a set of seven "tans" and must use them all (without
overlapping any) to recreate an image that has been given to you. Often,
this is done as an individual activity, and the player is allowed to see the image that they are trying to recreate. Many times, you can lay your pieces right on
top of the image silhouette to be sure that the solution is just right.
We are going to use our tangrams in a slightly different way than most. Instead of looking at our puzzles and trying to guess which shape goes where, we are
going to get puzzles that already tell you where each shape goes.
You might think that this will make it easier, but it won't, because students will also not get to actually look at the image that we are trying to recreate! Instead,
a teammate will be describing the image to us.
To keep it from getting too difficult, we will not use puzzles that require all seven pieces.
300
What did we learn today?
Was it easier or harder than you thought it would be to describe an image to one another?
Did any group end up having arrangements that all matched?
Can you share some tricks that you came up with that helped your group match the Image Card exactly?
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they obtained today and build a
review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Pass out the assessment and allow time for students to complete it. If there is extra time, go over the answers as a class.
301
Name: Date:
U Algorithms
Unplugged Tangrams Algorithm Activity
This lesson shows us something important about algorithms. If you keep an algorithm
simple there are lots of ways to use it. If you want to make sure everyone ends up with
the same thing, then your algorithm needs to have a lot of detail.
Directions:
Revision 140929.1a
302
U Algorithms U Algorithms
Algorithms Card 1 Algorithms Card 2
Revision 140929.1a
303 Revision 140929.1a
U Algorithms U Algorithms
Algorithms Card 3 Algorithms Card 4
304
Revision 140929.1a Revision 140929.1a
Name: Date:
U Algorithms
Unplugged Tangrams Assessment Worksheet
Less specific algorithms allow a great deal of flexibility for every person to have
something different.
Circle the drawing that does not follow the algorithm provided.
Algorithm #1
1) Put two large triangles at the bottom of the image.
2) Put a square on top of those two triangles.
3) Put two little triangles beside the square.
Algorithm A
1) Use two triangles, a square, and another piece
2) Line two triangles up with the square
3) Put the last piece on top of the square
Algorithm B
1) Use three triangles, a rhombus, and another piece
2) Put the rhombus at the bottom
3) Put all three triangles above the rhombus
4) Put the final piece to the left of everything else
Algorithm C
1) Use three triangles, a square, and another piece
2) Line two triangles up with the square
3) Put a third triangle beneath the other shapes Drawing 1
4) Put the last piece on the left
Revision 150520.1a
305
Students consider that while they are enjoying their favorite websites they may encounter
messages from other kids that can make them feel angry, hurt, sad, or fearful. They Empathize with those who have received mean and hurtful
explore ways to handle cyberbullying and how to respond in the face of upsetting messages.
language online. Judge what it means to cross the line from harmless to
harmful communication online.
Students discuss all the ways they use technology for communication and explore the
Generate solutions for dealing with cyberbullying.
similarities and differences between in-person and online communication. Students then
brainstorm ways to respond to cyberbullying.
Preview the
and prepare to show it to
This lesson will provide students with the tools that they need to handle cyberbullying if
your class.
they are ever in the situation of having someone negatively responds to their online
Print out the from
postings.
Students may not ever have the misfortune of experiencing cyberbullying, but they should (page 7) for each group of four.
understand what it is so that they can spot it online. Students will learn how to identify Print out the from
cyberbullying and what steps they should take to make it stop. This may become helpful
in later puzzles when students have the opportunity to share their work. (page 6) for each student.
Print out the assessment on page 8-9 of
.
Obtain colored pencils and a string the length of the
classroom.
-
Teacher Prep Guide
- Lesson Video
- Website
( | )
306
a series of expressive faces on the board. View for examples.
the students to suggest emotions that match each face's expression. With every suggestion, write the emotion next to the feeling face. Answers will
vary.
students that not everyone will react to a particular situation in the same way, but just because a reaction is different from our own, doesn't mean we
should discount others' feelings.
to students they are going to watch a video about how words, whether typed or spoken, can impact how someone else feels.
students .
Who has heard of the saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me"?
What did Guts mean in his text that sometimes words can hurt?
Words are powerful. Sometimes it is hard to ignore what someone is saying when it's a mean name. Names make you feel sad or hurt.
students to keep Leg's question in the back of their mind during this lesson:
students into groups of four and have each group pick a person to record their ideas.
the . Have the groups of students read the scenario about Rani and Aruna receiving mean messages
through a children's game website.
each group answer the questions, then have them share their responses with the class. Look for responses that show empahty for Rani and Aruna and
acknowledge that the messages sent to them were mean and hurtful. Ask the students to read the 'Use Common Sense!' section on the
.
Have you seen mean messages sent to you or others online? Tell us about it, but do not use real names.
one partner to write the phrase "You're weird" on a piece of paper, then hand it to their partner. Tell them that they just received this text.
What are the reasons the person might have texted "You're weird"?
They’re continuing an inside joke; the first person did something silly at an earlier time; a group of kids is teasing the kid; the person who sent the text
really does think the person is weird but is afraid to say it to his or her face.
How did the partner feel about being called weird?
Possibly like the other person was kidding around, but maybe that the person was teasing or being hurtful.
one person from each pair to say to the other person, "You're weird," with a smile on their face.
Why might you feel differently if you could see the person?
People give non-verbal cues through facial expressions and body language.
307
the piece of string across the length of the classroom. Ask students to stand on one side of the line. Then ask them to imagine that they are online and
somebody has sent them a message, which you will read to them. Tell the students tot stay where they are if they think the message is okay; to cross over the
line if they think the message is not okay; or to stand on the line if they think the message is in between.
with the students that kids like to go online and use cell phones to email, chat, watch videos, send messages, play games, and do homework. But
sometimes the language can get mean or scary. Messages that make people feel bad cross the line. Sometimes that meanness is unintentional, but when
people use tools such as the internet and cell phones to deliberately upset someone else over and over, that's cyberbullying.
how easy is it to feel angry or upset when somebody sends you a mean or scary message online.
: Using technology tools such as the internet and cell phones to deliberately upset someone else.
that cyberbullies deliberately to try to make you feel that way, just like real-life bullies.
Cooling down can be good first step when you receive a mean message online. Taking a deep breath, counting backwards from 10, or pausing to think
about what you will do next can give you time to think of the BEST way to handle the situation.
Finding help or telling a trusted adult or friend can be a good way to take action. You shouldn't deal with the cyberbullying situation alone. The person you
tell should be someone who wants to hear what you have to say and will help you work on a solution. Adults can be especially good because they often
have the power to influence the situation or they can give you advice about what to do.
Ignoring the person who is cyberbullying you can be very effective. Those who bully often like attention.
Whatever you do, remember to keep a copy of your communication with the individual who is cyberbullying you. f you delete the communication, there is
no proof of how the bully treated you if you need to show a trusted adult.
the to each student. Encourage them to depict a cyberbullying scenario and possible solution. They
can use pencils and paper to make the comics.
You can use these questions to assess your students' understanding of the lesson objectives. You may want to ask students to reflect in writing on these
questions in their .
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they obtained today and build a
review sheet for them to look to in the future.
308
What was today's lesson about?
How do you feel about today's lesson?
What is cyberbullying?
Who are some people you can go to if you are ever bullied online or in person?
Print out the assessment from (page 8-9) and distribute it to the class. Give
students enough time to complete the assessment, but make sure there is enough time to go over answers.
309
LESSON PLAN
GRADES 3-5
The Power of Words UNIT 1
Family Resources
• Send home the Cyberbullying Family Tip Sheet (Elementary School).
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
310 1
introduction
Warm-up (5 minutes)
DRAW a series of expressive faces, or emojis, on the board:
INVITE students to suggest emotions that match each face’s expression. Answers will vary.
TELL students that not everyone will react to a particular situation the same way, but just because a reaction is
different from our own, that doesn’t mean we should discount others’ feelings.
EXPLAIN to students they are going to watch a video about how words, whether typed or spoken, can impact
how someone else feels.
SHOW students “The Power of Words.”
ASK:
• Who has heard of the saying, “Sticks and Responses will vary.
stones may break my bones, but words
will never hurt me”?
• What did Guts mean in his text that Despite the old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my
sometimes words can hurt? bones, but words will never hurt me,” words are powerful.
Sometimes it is hard to ignore what someone is saying when
it’s a mean name. Names CAN make you feel sad or hurt.
REMIND students to keep Legs’s question in the back of their minds during this lesson: How do you treat
others online?
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
311
2
teach 1
What’s the Problem? (15 minutes)
ORGANIZE students into groups of four, and have each group pick a person to record their ideas.
DISTRIBUTE the Words Can Hurt Student Handout. Have the groups of students read the scenario about
Rani and Aruna receiving mean messages through a children’s game website.
HAVE each group answer the questions, and then have them share their responses with the class. Look for responses
that show empathy for Rani and Aruna and acknowledge that the messages are mean and hurtful and should be
stopped. Ask students to read the Use Common Sense! section on the Words Can Hurt Student Handout.
INVITE students to share their own stories.
ASK:
Have you seen mean messages sent to you Answers will vary.
or others online? Tell us about it, but do not
use real names.
How did the partner feel who was Possibly like the other person was kidding around, but maybe
called weird? that the person was teasing or being hurtful.
TELL one person from each pair to say to the other person, “You’re weird,” with a smile on his or her face.
ASK:
Why might you feel differently if you could People give non-verbal cues through facial expressions and
see the person? body language.
teach 2
Crossing the Line (10 minutes)
PLACE the piece of string across the length of the classroom. Ask students to stand on one side of the line. Then
ask them to imagine that they are online and somebody has sent them a message, which you will read to them.
Tell the students to stay where they are if they think the message is okay; to cross over the line if they think the
message is not okay; or to stand on the line if they think the message is in between.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
312
3
READ each of these messages aloud and have students move accordingly:
• You are an idiot.
• I’m having a party and you’re not invited.
• I like your new haircut.
• You are really ugly.
• Thanks for the advice. Next time would you mind telling me in person rather than by texting?
• Did you finish your homework?
• Why is it taking you so long to finish it?
• You are such a freak.
REVIEW with students that kids like to go online and use cell phones to email, chat, watch videos, send messages,
play games, and do homework. But sometimes the language can get mean or scary. Messages that make people
feel bad cross the line. Sometimes that meanness is unintentional, but when people use tools such as the
Internet and cell phones to deliberately upset someone else over and over, that’s cyberbullying.
teach 3
Talk and Take Action (10 minutes)
HAVE students return to their seats.
DISCUSS how easy it is to feel angry or upset when somebody sends you a mean or scary message online.
DEFINE the Key Vocabulary term cyberbullying. Explain that cyberbullies deliberately try to make you feel that
way, just like real-life bullies. Discuss the following ideas about what they can do when faced with cyberbullying:
• Cooling down can be a good first step when you receive a mean message online. Taking a deep
breath, counting backwards from 10, or pausing to think about what you will do next can give you
time to think of the BEST way to handle the situation.
• Finding help or telling a trusted adult or a friend can be a good way to take action. You shouldn’t
deal with the cyberbullying situation alone. The person you tell should be someone who wants to
hear what you have to say, and will help you work on a solution. Adults can be especially good
because they often have the power to influence the situation, or can give you advice about what to do.
• Ignoring the person who is cyberbullying you can be very effective. Those who bully often like attention.
• Whatever you do, remember to keep a copy of your communication with the individual who is
cyberbullying you. If you delete the communication, there is no proof of how the bully treated you if
you need to show it to a trusted adult.
DISTRIBUTE the Talk and Take Action Student Handout to each student. Encourage them to depict a
cyberbullying scenario and a possible solution. They can use pencils and paper or go online and use the free
tool Make Beliefs Comix (www.makebeliefscomix.com) to complete a comic strip.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
313
4
closing
Wrap-up (5 minutes)
You can use these questions to assess your students’ understanding of the lesson objectives. You may want to ask
students to reflect in writing on one of the questions, using a journal or an online blog/wiki.
ASK:
Why is it a bad idea to send mean or scary Because they can make the person who gets them upset,
messages online? angry, or scared.
Why might there be more misunderstandings Online messages can be more confusing or scarier than
between people when they send online face-to-face messages because there are no face-to-face cues
messages as opposed to face-to-face to help you understand people’s intentions.
discussion?
What can kids do when they get They can 1) calm down and take a deep breath, 2) tell a
cyberbullying messages? friend or a trusted adult who can help develop a plan to
handle the situation, 3) ignore the bully, 4) keep a copy of
the communication with the bully.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
314
5
TALK AND TAKE ACTION
Directions
Create a cartoon about a cyberbullying situation. Each frame should
show a different part of the situation:
FRAME 1: Make a cartoon about something that a cyberbully might do or write
online. Remember to use language appropriate for school.
FRAME 2: Show what you might do if you saw what the cyberbully has done or written.
FRAME 3: What might be a positive outcome, or result, of the situation?
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
315 1
WORDS CAN HURT
Directions
Read the story below and then answer the questions that follow.
1. How do you think Rani and Aruna feel when they read those messages?
Rani and Aruna feel
3. Why do you think people send these kinds of message to people they don’t know?
People send these kinds of messages because
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
316 1
ASSESSMENT
1. Alicia receives a text message from her friend Ronald. The message says, “I am
having a party. You are not invited.” Circle the word that shows how Alicia might feel
after she receives the message.
a) hurt
b) excited
c) popular
2. Theo is having fun playing Dragons and Knights online. Then he sees a message
rom a other la er t sa s o ’re r the ame st What sho l heo o
abo t the messa e? What sho l ’t he o? se the hart belo to ll the letters
that go with each answer.
a) Ignore the player who sent the mean message
b) Write a message back that says, “You’re so stupid, you’re the one ruining the game”
c) Pretend that he doesn’t feel hurt by the message
d) Save the message in case the other player sends Theo another mean message
e) Tell an adult about the message
f) Never play Dragons and Knights online again
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
317 1
ASSESSMENT
3. The following acronym, STOP, gives advice on what to do when something goes
wrong online. Explain what each letter means.
S tep away
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
318 2
ASSESSMENT
The Power of Words TEACHER VERSION
1. Alicia receives a text message from her friend Ronald. The message says, “I am
having a party. You are not invited.” Circle the word that shows how Alicia might feel
after she receives the message.
a) hurt
b) excited
c) popular
Answer feedback
The correct answer is a. Alicia probably feels hurt by Ronald’s message. Telling someone they
aren’t invited can hurt their feelings. Things that are hurtful in person are also hurtful online.
2. Theo is having fun playing Dragons and Knights online. Then he sees a message
rom a other la er t sa s o ’re r the ame st What sho l heo o
abo t the messa e? What sho l ’t he o? se the hart belo to ll the letters
that go with each answer.
Answer feedback
a) Ignore the player who sent the b) Write a message back that says,
mean message “You’re so stupid, you’re the one
ruining the game”
d) Save the message in case the
other player sends Theo another c) Pretend that he doesn’t feel hurt
mean message by the message
e) Tell an adult about the message f) Never play Dragons and Knights
online again
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
319 1
ASSESSMENT
The Power of Words TEACHER VERSION
3. The following acronym, STOP, gives advice on what to do when something goes
wrong online. Explain what each letter means.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015
www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE
320 2
Variables are used as placeholders for values such as numbers or words.
Variables allow for a lot of freedom in programming. Instead of having to Identify variables and determine their values.
type out a phrase many times or remember an obscure number, computer Define and call variables in the context of real-life
scientists can use variables to reference them. This lesson helps to explain activities.
what variables are and how we can use them in many different ways. The Create situations which require the use of
idea of variables isn't an easy concept to grasp, so we recommend variables.
allowing plenty of time for discussion at the end of the lesson.
Watch the
Variables are very helpful in programming. Students will be introduced to .
this topic using envelopes to represent variables that have been given Obtain 6 or more blank envelopes for warm up
names. The value of the variable will be written on a card inside of an plus some for the main activity.
envelope. This lesson helps students understand how names can be a Print one
placeholder for values in the physical world, so that programming with per student.
variables will seem less confusing in the virtual world. Print one
for each student.
Provide students with envelopes, paper, pens &
pencils.
Make sure every student has a
.
- Teacher Video
- Worksheet
- Assessment
( | )
321
This lesson has one important word:
Call four volunteers to the front of the room and line them up. Let the students know that you are going to write a poem for each of
them.
On the board (or under your document camera) write the sentence for your first student (suppose it's Bill):
Encourage the students to clap at your abilities and thank Bill for volunteering. Allow Bill to sit down (or go to the back of the line) as
you erase the board, then call the next volunteer (we'll say that she's called Annie).
Again, accepting applause, erase the board and invite the next volunteer.
As you call the final volunteer, inquire as to whether everyone in the class would like a poem written about each of them. Maybe the
everyone in the whole school? Goodness, that's going to take a while! Pose the question to your students:
Your students will likely pick up on the fact that only one word is changing, and that word is simply a person's name. Help them see
the location by circling Jenny's name on the board and writing "firstName" next to it.
"It would take a long time to write a poem for everyone in the school if I couldn't start until I knew who I was writing it about, wouldn't
it?"
How long do you think it would take to make a video game if they couldn't start until they knew your username?
How expensive would video games be if they had to be created separately for each person?
How do you think we can get around that?
By this time, it's quite likely that your class will come up with the idea of having a placeholder. With that, they're most of the way into
understanding where this lesson goes.
Now, let's add some more volunteers. Give them each a piece of paper to write their name on, and have them tuck it inside
individual envelopes labeled firstName.
This time, put the poem on the board with a blank space labeled "firstName" where the student's name will go.
Have the first student in line (likely the last student from the previous example) pull their name from the envelope and that's what
you'll write in the space.
When you erase the board, only erase the portion with the last student's name in it.
322
Call the next student to show their variable.
Repeat as many times as is entertaining
Once the students understand how the envelopes relate to the sentences, pass out the activity worksheet and let them prepare
some variables of their own.
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Allow students enough time to finish this assessment. If you are willing to spare more time, go over the answers as a class.
323
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
Draw boxes on a piece of paper with simple mathematical operators between them.
For instance [] + [] = []
Have similar size squares with numbers between 1 & 20.
Ask one student to come create a true equation, using the numbers provided.
Once the student has finished (and the class verifies the equation) exchange one of the numbers with another one, then remove
a second number entirely.
Tell the students that there is a hidden number in the empty box that makes that equation true again.
What number is in the box?
Play this game over and over again until you can remove the number from any location and the students can figure out what it is
supposed to be.
324
Name: Date:
U Variables in Envelopes
Unplugged Robot Variables Worksheet
Think about a robot. What is it supposed do? What does it look like?
Draw your robot on paper. When you’re done, answer the three questions below on
separate pieces of paper, then put them in the correct envelopes.
e numUnitsTall
robotNam purpose
Revision 150806.1a
325
Name: Date:
U Variables in Envelopes
Unplugged Variables Assessment Worksheet
Given the value of each variable envelope, fill-in the blanks to finish the sentence.
animal = monkey
I love _______________ . I do it every evening.
hobby
Variable envelopes can also contain number values. Use these envelopes and the
provided equations to figure out the magic numbers below.
=2 = -
numOne
magicNumberA numThree numOne
=
numTwo =5 *
magicNumberB numTwo numOne
numThree = +
=7 *
magicNumberC numOne numTwo magicNumberB
Revision 150807.1a
326
We know that loops allow us to do things over and over again, but now
we’re going to learn how to use loops that have extra structures built right Determine starting value, stopping value, and
in. These new structures will allow students to create code that is more interval of `for loop`.
powerful and dynamic. Illustrate the counter values hit each time through
a `for loop` during runtime.
At this point, students have become masters of loops. Today, they will
learn about another loop commonly used in programming. The for loop Watch the .
repeats commands a certain number of times, but also keeps track of the Watch the
values it is iterating over. For example, a for loop that begins at 4, ends .
with 8, and has an interval of 1 will repeat 4 times, but the values 4, 5, 6, Print one per
and 7 will also be captured for use elsewhere. Using this structure with group.
variables can create some pretty fantastic programs. Today, students will Print one for
simply be learning the basics of a for loop before diving into each student.
programming with them next time! Make sure every student has a
.
- Teacher Video
- Lesson in Action Video
- Worksheet
- Assessment
( | )
327
This lesson has one new and important word:
Loops that have a predetermined beginning, end, and increment (step interval).
Point out that there are certain loops that happen very frequently, for example, loops where you need to keep track of how many
times you have been through
Sometimes, you don't want to start with one
Sometimes, you don't want to count by ones
for Loops give you a powerful way to keep a counter that starts when you want, ends when you want, and increases by
whatever size step that you want
Here, you can jump right into a sample of the game (example in English)
328
Sometimes we want to repeat things a certain number of times, but we want to keep track of values as we do. This is where a for
loop comes in handy. When you use a for loop, you know right from the start what your beginning value is, what your ending value
is, and how much the value changes each time through the loop.
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
329
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
explained. This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
Try this activity again, but this time have the start number be selected using three dice, and the stop number with only one. Make
sure to have a negative increment!
330
Name: Date:
U For Loop Fun
Unplugged Number Lines and Score Sheet
Directions:
* Use the number lines to trace the “for loop” for each turn
* Start at the starting value of X
* Count down the number line, circling the numbers at the correct interval
* Stop when you get to the stopping value
* Add all of the circled values to get the score for your round
* Best 2 out of 3 Wins
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
ROUND 1
For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______
Player 2 starting value stopping value interval
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Revision 140927.1a
331
Name: Date:
U For Loop Fun
Unplugged Sample Game Sheet
L E
Directions:
P
* Use the number lines to trace the “for loop” for each turn
M
* Start at the starting value of X
SA
* Count down the number line, circling the numbers at the correct interval
* Stop when you get to the stopping value
* Add all of the circled values to get the score for your round
* Best 2 out of 3 Wins
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
ROUND 1
For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______
Player 2 starting value stopping value interval
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Revision 140927.1a
332
Name: Date:
U For Loop Fun
Unplugged Assessment Worksheet
Below, you will find three rounds of the For Loop Game, along with what each player rolled during
their turn. Fill out the number lines and tally the scores for each round.
Who won the game?
1 18
For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______ 4 SCORE
Player 1 starting value stopping value interval
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
ROUND 1
3 11
For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______ 2
Player 2 starting value stopping value interval
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
3 17
For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______ 5
Player 1 starting value stopping value interval
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
ROUND 2
5 17
For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______ 3
Player 2 starting value stopping value interval
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
6 11
For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______ 1
Player 1 starting value stopping value interval
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
ROUND 3
2 15
For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______ 6
Player 2 starting value stopping value interval
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
WHO WON?
Directions:
PLAYER # _______
* Use the number lines to trace the “for loop” for each turn
* Start by circling the number at the starting value of X
* Count down the number line, circling the numbers at the correct interval
* Stop when you get to the stopping value
* Add all of the circled values to get the score for your round
* Best 2 out of 3 Wins
Revision 140928.1a
333
One of the most magnificent structures in the computer science world is
the function. Functions (sometimes called procedures) are mini programs Modify functions to accept parameters.
that you can use over and over inside of your bigger program. This lesson Describe how functions and parameters can
will help students intuitively understand why combining chunks of code into make programs easier to write.
functions is such a helpful practice, and how they can use those structures
even when chunks of code are slightly different.
Watch the
Using functions helps simplify code and develops the student's ability to .
organize their program. Parameters will help the students customize their Watch the
functions so that they can be used for patterns that are similar, though not
identical. Students will quickly recognize that writing functions will make .
their long programs easier to read and easier to debug if something goes Print several
wrong.
for each group.
Print one
- Teacher Video
- Worksheet
- Assessment
( | )
A piece of code that you can call over and over again
An extra piece of information that you pass to the function to customize it for a specific need
Teaching Tip
335
It's quite likely that the majority of the class will sing the lyrics for the chorus when you point to that bit.
Stop the song once that happens, and explicitly highlight what just happened
You defined the chorus
You called the chorus
They sang the chorus
Ask the class why they suppose you only wrote the chorus once at the top of the paper instead of writing it over and over in each
place where it is supposed to be sung.
What are other benefits of only writing the chorus once when you sing it many times?
chorus(parameter1, parameter2)
Feel like this is starting to get complicated? Don't worry. We're going to play with songs a little more to try to really understand how
this technique is used!
A fantastic way to compare functions to something we see in our everyday lives is to look at songs. Songs often have certain
groups of lyrics that repeat over and over. We call that a chorus.
Lesson Tip
Can the students identify a chorus when some words
change? It's most exciting for students to do this lesson with popular
How might they use the same idea of calling a chorus music from the radio, but if you're having a hard time finding
appropriate songs where the lyrics repeat exactly, here are a
when the chorus is different from verse to verse?
few timeless options:
These changing words and phrases are called
“parameters” and you can pass them into the chorus like
this: chorus(cow, moo)
Play this game over and over until the class has little
trouble identifying the choruses.
336
It is often easier just to have the class listen to (or watch) the song, then vote on what the chorus is by singing it together, rather
than writing the whole thing down. If you choose this method, consider having the class do a written chorus for the final song
selection to be sure that the visual learners get proper reinforcement.
Would you rather write lyrics over and over again or define
Lesson Tip
a chorus?
Do you think it's possible to make multiple choruses for the Flash Chat questions are intended to spark big-picture
same song? thinking about how the lesson relates to the greater world and
Does it make sense to make a new chorus for every time the students' greater future. Use your knowledge of your
classroom to decide if you want to discuss these as a class, in
it's needed in a song?
groups, or with an elbow partner.
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
explained. This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.
Start by creating a chorus together, then repeat it between verses of a song that you develop around it.
Make a change to the chorus, and ponder how much easier it is to change in just one place.
Change the chorus again, making it much longer than it was originally.
Add a second chorus and alternate between them in your verses.
Add parameters to one of your choruses and see how many more options you have.
What if we acted out songs instead of singing them? All of the sudden, our chorus would be a function of repeated actions, rather
than words.
Use the concepts of the arrows from the Graph Paper Programming lesson and create a program with lots of repeating
instructions.
Circle those repeating actions so that the class can see where they are.
Define a function called "Chorus" above the program.
Cross out everywhere the repeating actions appear in the program and write "Chorus" instead.
Repeat until the class can go through this process fairly undirected.
Can you figure out how to pass parameters in this exercise?
337
Group Name: Date:
U Songwriting Worksheet Example
Unplugged Using Lyrics to Explain Functions and Procedures
Chorus:
e
Old MacDonald had a farm
e-i-e-i-o
l
And on that farm he had a P1
e-i-e-i-o
p
With a P2 here and a P2 there
Here a P2, there a P2
Everywhere a P2, P2
m
Parameter Animal Name Sound
a
Examples: (P1) (P2) (P3)
Song:
x
Chorus(Cow, Moo)
E
Chorus(Pig, Oink)
Chorus(Horse, Neeeeigh)
Old MacDonald had a farm
eeeeeeee-iiiiiiiiiii
eeeeeeee-iiiiiiiiiii
ohhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Revision 140710.1a
338
Group Name: Date:
U Songwriting Worksheet
Unplugged Using Lyrics to Explain Functions and Procedures
Song Name:
Chorus:
Parameter
Examples: (P1) (P2) (P3)
Song:
Revision 140710.1a
339
Name: Date:
U Songwriting
Unplugged Lesson Assessment
If it were your job to write this song as a computer program, what chunk of code would
you turn into a function so that you could easily use it over and over again?
Circle the segments of each program that repeat most often. Is everything that you circled
exactly the same? What parts are different? Those will need to be parameters.
Finish by filling out the Songwriting Worksheet with the song name, chorus, parameters,
and a full version of the song that calls the chorus using the parameters that you chose.
Where is Middleman?
Where is Middleman?
Here I am!
Here I am!
How are you today, sir?
Very well, I thank you.
Run away.
Run away.
Revision 140610.1a
340
Name: Date:
U Songwriting Worksheet
Unplugged Lesson 8 Assessment - Finding the Function in a Song
Song Name:
Chorus:
Parameter
Examples: (P1) (P2) (P3)
Song:
Revision 140610.1a
341
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Appendix B: Glossary of
Vocabulary
342
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Vocabulary
Encouraging students to learn and use official computer science terms will enable them to
communicate correctly and efficiently with others and builds their knowledge such that it can be
further developed without having to relearn terms and concepts at a later time. The terms and
concepts used in the unplugged lessons are defined using words that young students can
understand.
abstraction
Pulling out specific differences to make one solution work for multiple problems.
accessibility
The design of products, devices, services, or environments taking into consideration the ability for all
users to access, including people who experience disabilities or those who are limited by older or
slower technology.
algorithm
A list of steps to finish a task. A set of instructions that can be performed with or without a computer.
For example, the collection of steps to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is an algorithm.
binary
A way of representing information using only two options.
binary alphabet
The two options used in your binary code.
bit
A contraction of "Binary Digit". A bit is the single unit of information in a computer, typically
represented as a 0 or 1.
Blockly
The visual programming language used in Code.org's online learning system for K-5 students.
343
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
bug
An error in a program that prevents the program from running as expected.
byte
the most common fundamental unit of digital data eg. Kilobyte, Megabyte, etc. A single byte is 8
bits-worth of data.
call (a variable)
Use a variable in a program.
call (a function)
This is the piece of code that you add to a program to indicate that the program should run the code
inside a function at a certain time.
click
Press the mouse button.
code
One or more commands or algorithm(s) designed to be carried out by a computer. See also: program
command
An instruction for the computer. Many commands put together make up algorithms and computer
programs.
computational thinking
Mental processes and strategies that include: decomposition, pattern matching, abstraction,
algorithms (decomposing problems into smaller, more manageable problems, finding repeating
patterns, abstracting specific differences to make one solution work for multiple problems, and
creating step-by-step algorithms).
computer science
Using the power of computers to solve problems.
conditionals
Statements that only run under certain conditions or situations.
crowdsourcing
Getting help from a large group of people to finish something faster.
344
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
cyberbullying
Doing something on the internet, usually again and again, to make another personal feel angry, sad,
or scared.
data
Information. Often, quantities, characters, or symbols that are the inputs and outputs of computer
programs.
debugging
Finding and fixing errors in programs.
decompose
Break a problem down into smaller pieces.
define (a function)
To add code inside a function so that the program knows what it is supposed to do when the function
is called.
digital citizen
Someone who acts safely, responsibly, and respectfully online.
digital footprint
The information about someone on the Internet.
double-click
Press the mouse button twice very quickly
drag
Click your mouse button and hold as you move the mouse pointer to a new location
drop
Release your mouse button to "let go" of an item that you are dragging
DSL/cable
A method of sending information using telephone or television cables.
event
An action that causes something to happen.
345
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
event-handler
A monitor for a specific event or action on a computer. When you write code for an event handler, it
will be executed every time that event or action occurs. Many event-handlers respond to human
actions such as mouse clicks.
F.A.I.L
First Attempt In Learning
for loop
A loop with a predetermined beginning, end, and increment (step interval).
frustrated
Feeling annoyed or angry because something is not the way you want it.
function
A piece of code that you can easily call over and over again. Functions are sometimes called
‘procedures.’ A function definition is a segment of code that includes the steps performed in the
function. A function call is the code segment, typically within the main logic of the program, which
invokes the function.
function call
The piece of code that you add to a program to indicate that the program should run the code inside a
function at a certain time.
function definition
The code inside a function that instructs the program on what to do when the function is called.
if-statement
The common programming structure that implements "conditional statements".
input
A way to give information to a computer.
Internet
A group of computers and servers that are connected to each other.
IP address
A number assigned to any item that is connected to the Internet.
346
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
iteration
A repetitive action or command typically created with programming loops.
loop
The action of doing something over and over again.
online
Connected to the internet.
output
A way to get information out of a computer.
packets
Small chunks of information that have been carefully formed from larger chunks of information.
pattern matching
Finding similarities between things.
parameter
An extra piece of information that you pass to the function to customize it for a specific need.
persistence
Trying again and again, even when something is very hard.
pixel
Short for "picture element" it is the fundamental unit of a digital image, typically a tiny square or dot
which contains a single point of color of a larger image.
program
An algorithm that has been coded into something that can be run by a machine.
programming
The art of creating a program.
repeat
To do something again.
run program
Cause the computer to execute the commands you've written in your program.
347
CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
search engine
A program that searches for and identifies items in a database that correspond to keywords or
characters specified by the user, used especially for finding particular sites on the World Wide Web.
servers
Computers that exist only to provide things to others.
toolbox
The tall grey bar in the middle section of Code.org's online learning system that contains all of the
commands you can use to write your program.
trustworthy
Able to be relied on as honest or truthful.
try
Attempt to do something
username
A name you make up so that you can see or do things on a website, sometimes called a “screen
name.”
variable
A placeholder for a piece of information that can change.
website
A location connected to the Internet that maintains one or more pages on the World Wide Web.
while loop
A loop that continues to repeat while a condition is true.
Wi-Fi
A wireless method of sending information using radio waves.
workspace
The white area on the right side of Code.org's online learning system where you drag and drop
commands to build your program.
348
To view all lesson plans and the online activities associated
with these lesson plans, please visit http://studio.code.org.
It is thanks to our generous donors that we were able to develop and can
offer this course at no cost to schools, teachers, or students: