PROJECT BOOKLET FOR

CODING CURRICULUM
GRADE VII

Volume 1.0
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Distributing Birthday Sweets............................................................................1
Arranging The Books ......................................................................................3
Algorithm For A Perfect Square.........................................................................5
Sorting The List .............................................................................................7
Variable Initialization In Programming ............................................................. 11
Drawing A Rectangle Using Minecraft .............................................................. 14
Better Way To Create A Square ....................................................................... 20
Fun Activity: Chase the apple ......................................................................... 24
Adding two integers ...................................................................................... 34
Finding the square of a number ...................................................................... 37
Can a function return value ........................................................................... 38
Calculating Area Of A Circle ........................................................................... 46
Create An Array And Calculate Its Length......................................................... 55
Building A Zoo............................................................................................. 59
Examples of Simple functions in Arcade ........................................................... 67
Examples of arrays in Arcade ......................................................................... 71
Building a calculator .................................................................................... 73
References .................................................................................................. 79

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Distributing Birthday Sweets

DISTRIBUTING BIRTHDAY SWEETS

Chapter: Sequencing with Block Coding

Problem Statement:
Consider there is a birthday of one of the students in your class today, named Arun.
As a normal birthday ritual, he is planning to distribute the birthday sweets amongst
the students. Can you draw a flowchart of the activities that he performs while
distributing the birthday sweets within the class?
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this exercise, you will learn:

• Learn the concept of sequencing and how sequencing is applied in the

activities that we perform on a daily basis.
Solution:

It is Arun’s birthday today. The entire class wishes birthday to Arun. Later, Arun takes
out the sweets from his bag and starts distributing it to the students of the class.

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Distributing Birthday Sweets

Take a look at flowchart in Fig 1.0 understand how Arun uses concept of iteration while
distributing birthday sweets with the class.

If you notice, there is a pattern which Arun follows while distributing sweets. He takes
the chocolates out from his bag, gives one chocolate to a student, moves to the next
student and repeats the same steps again till the sweets are distributed within all the
students.
This is an example of an iterative process. Repetition of a set of steps with a defined end
– in this case the repetition ended when all the students in the class were given
chocolates.

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Arranging The Books

ARRANGING THE BOOKS

Chapter: Fun with Functions
Problem Statement: Suppose you have a lot of books with you. However, all these
books are mixed up. Draw a flowchart to explain the activities that you need to
perform in order to sort these mixed up books from shortest to tallest.
Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this exercise, you will learn:

• Learn the concept of sorting how sorting is applied in the activities that we
perform of daily basis.
Solution:
In this activity, you will learn about the concept of “Sorting” in programming.

For the given problem statement, if you want to arrange these books, you can do it in
many ways.

1. You can arrange them from tallest height to smallest.

2. You can arrange them alphabetically.
3. You can arrange them by the frequency in which you use them.
The ways of arranging that we just listed down, is called as “Sorting” in programming.
In Sorting, we take a jumbled set of objects and arrange them in some kind of order.

For Sorting, we need to know how to compare two items. So, we will ask questions like:
Which book is taller/shorter?

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Arranging The Books

Let us understand sorting of books from shortest to tallest with help of flowchart in Fig
2.0.

There are many clever sorting algorithms that computers use. They help you sort
different kinds of items very quickly.

Sorting is helpful because:

1. Sorting a collection helps you answer questions like “which is the
tallest/smallest/fastest item in this collection?”
Arranging things in order can make other algorithms work better.

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Algorithm For A Perfect Square

ALGORITHM FOR A PERFECT SQUARE

Chapter: Understanding Arrays and Collections
Problem Statement: You have learnt the concept of perfect square in mathematics.
Similar to how you find out if a number is a perfect square in mathematics, can you
write an algorithm to find out if the given number is a perfect square that can be
applied in programming?

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this exercise, you will learn:

• Learn to write an algorithm for finding a perfect square.

• Learn how to use this algorithm as a reference to write algorithms for other
mathematical concepts that they have learnt so far.

Solution:
In this activity, we will learn to write an algorithm for finding if a number is a perfect
square.
To start with let us take a look at following questions:

• How quickly can you determine whether a number is a perfect square?

• And, if a number is a perfect square, how can you find out its square root?
• Can you write the steps for finding the same for any given large number?
• Let us try with a few examples and identify the repeatable steps in the process.

Example 1: Is 36 a perfect square?

We can use the below algorithm to solve this problem:

In the below algorithm, “n” is the input number (36 in this case)
Output is true if the number is a perfect square, and false if it is not a perfect square.

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Algorithm For A Perfect Square

begin

for num :=1, num <= n, increase num

by 1:
if n is divisible by num, and n / num
== num, then
return true

done
return false
Can you think of end ways to improve the
algorithm?

Have a look at below optimized algorithm.

1. Say number is n
2. Start a loop from 1 to n/2
3. During iteration, for every integer ‘i’, calculate x = i*i
4. Now with this ‘x’ there are 3 possibilities:
a. If x == n then n is a perfect square, return true.
b. If x > n then x has crossed the n, is not perfect
square. Return false
c. If above step a or b are not true, then continue.

As you must have noticed, the number of times we multiply, and compare is reduced
significantly in the above algorithm. This is how we can use optimized algorithm to find
the square of numbers.

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Sorting The List

SORTING THE LIST

Chapter: Hello World with Code
Problem Statement: You have learnt the concept of sorting. There are different
techniques using which you can perform sorting. Consider the Array = {3, 2, 11, 7}.
Can you write an algorithm to sort this array in ascending order using selection sort
technique?
Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this exercise, you will learn:

• Learn how to write algorithm for selection sort.

• Learn how different sorting techniques affects how the code runs.

Solution:
We will learn the concept of Selection Sort in this activity.
Suppose we have a list of unsorted numbers. Over here we want to sort the list in a way
that smallest number is on top of the list and largest number is at the bottom.
We start with finding the smallest number from the list. Once we find this number, we
want to put it at the top of the list. However, if you put this number on the top of the
list, where should the number who currently is on the top of the list be shifted to? You
do not have any additional space here.

Hence, once you spot the smallest number from the list, you swap it with the number
which was present at the top position in the unsorted list.

Now, the first row from our list is sorted. We will sort the second row now. We will repeat
the similar technique here. We will find the smallest number from the remaining
unsorted list and swap it with the number in second row.

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Sorting The List

We will repeat this process till we reach the last row from the list. When you are done
with the last element from the list you can look back and check that all the numbers
from the list are now sorted and our list is now ordered in ascending order.

This method of sorting in programming is called as “Selection Sort”.

The algorithm for Selection Sort is as stated below:

Step 1: Set MIN to location 0

Step 2: Search the minimum element in
the list
Step 3: Swap with value at location MIN

Step 4: Increment MIN to point to next

element
Step 5: Repeat until list is sorted

Let us now sort the below array in ascending order using selection sort algorithm:
Array = {3, 2, 11, 7}

Step 1: For i = 0

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Sorting The List

Step 2: For i = 1

Step 3: For i = 2

Step 4: For i = 3

The loop gets terminated as “I” becomes 2.

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Sorting The List

The final state of array after loop is terminated looks like below:

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Variable Initialization In
Programming

VARIABLE INITIALIZATION IN PROGRAMMING

Chapter: Variables in Real Life
Problem Statement: You have learnt about variables in programming and its usage.
However, in order to use the variables, it is important to initialize them first. Create a
project in Minecraft to demonstrate variable initialization in programming.

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this exercise, you will learn:

• Learn to create variables that represent different types of data and manipulate
their values.
• Learn how to create clearly named variables that represent different data types
and perform operations on their values.

Solution: Create a new a project in Minecraft.

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Variable Initialization In
Programming

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Variable Initialization In
Programming

We have now completed this exercise and learnt how can create and initialize variables
in programming

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DRAWING A RECTANGLE USING MINECRAFT
This activity will help you understand about sequencing with the help of Minecraft.
What would be the steps to draw a rectangle of length 5 cm and height 3 cm on your
screen?

First, draw a line 5 cm in length

Then turn the cursor right by 90 degrees

Then draw a second line 3 cm in length

Then turn right by 90 degrees
Then draw a third line 5 cm in length

Then turn right by 90 degrees

Then draw a fourth line 3 cm in length

Chapter: Sequencing with Block Coding

Problem Statement: Suppose that you are sitting in a mathematical class and the
teacher asks you to draw a rectangle. You know how to draw in using pen and paper.
Can you think how you can draw a rectangle of length 5 cm and height 3 cm on screen?

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this exercise, you will learn:

• Learn how the sequence of the code affects how the code runs.
• Learn how to write algorithm for drawing various geometrical shapes using
sequencing.

Solution: Let us now see how we can make a rectangle in Minecraft using the above
steps. You should try this exercise on Minecraft using the MakeCode editor for Minecraft
which can be found here https://minecraft.makecode.com/

First, create a new project as shown below.

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Drawing A Rectangle Using
Minecraft

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Drawing A Rectangle Using
Minecraft

Now follow the following steps

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Drawing A Rectangle Using
Minecraft

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Drawing A Rectangle Using
Minecraft

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Drawing A Rectangle Using
Minecraft

If you complete the steps above, you should be able to create a rectangle.

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Better Way To Create A Square

BETTER WAY TO CREATE A SQUARE

With an example, let us now understand sequencing with loops and conditionals.
Chapter: Sequencing with Block Coding

Problem Statement: Suppose you are told to draw a square of side 5cm. You can either
do it using pen and paper or you can draw it on screen using algorithm for programming.
Now that you have learnt the concept of sequencing with loops and conditionals, can
you think of steps to draw a square of side 5 cm on your screen?
Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this exercise, you will learn:

• Learn to use loops and conditionals to allow the program to perform repeated
tasks.
• Learn the importance of using “do while” with conditional loops.
• Learn to use conditional loops to complete challenges.
Solution: Do you notice a pattern getting repeated in the steps? Let us see how we can
use a loop to reduce the steps by using the Minecraft platform.
First, create a new project called “Make Square”. Once you create your project, you
should see the editor below

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Better Way To Create A Square

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Better Way To Create A Square

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Better Way To Create A Square

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Fun Activity: Chase the apple

FUN ACTIVITY: CHASE THE APPLE

Chapter: Sequencing with block coding
Problem Statement: In this activity, we will create a game with 2 sprites, a Player sprite
and an Apple sprite. The objective of this game is to chase and catch the wandering
apple and collect as many points as possible before the time runs out. Every time the
apple is caught, points are added, and the timer is restored.

Solution: First, create a new project in Minecraft as shown below.

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Fun Activity: Chase the apple

Now follow the steps mentioned below to create the game.

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Fun Activity: Chase the apple

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Fun Activity: Chase the apple

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Fun Activity: Chase the apple

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Fun Activity: Chase the apple

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Fun Activity: Chase the apple

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Fun Activity: Chase the apple

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Fun Activity: Chase the apple

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Fun Activity: Chase the apple

Note: Arcade is just one of the platforms to achieve this output. You can use many
similar platforms available online to achieve similar output like – Scratch
(https://scratch.mit.edu/) and Code.org

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Adding two integers

ADDING TWO INTEGERS

Chapter: Fun with Functions
Problem Statement: You have learnt about Addition in Mathematics. You can find the
addition of numbers through programs too. Consider you have to create a function
which returns the value of addition of any given number and returns the result as a
return value from the function. Can you write a block code for this function in Minecraft?

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this exercise, you will learn:

• Decompose problems and subproblems into parts to facilitate the design,

implementation, and review of programs.
• Create procedures with parameters to organize code and make it easier to
reuse.
• Create prototypes that use algorithms to solve computational problems by
leveraging previous student knowledge.

Solution: In Minecraft Editor, click on “Make a Function” button from “Functions” link

in toolbox.

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Adding two integers

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Adding two integers

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Finding the square of a number

FINDING THE SQUARE OF A NUMBER

Chapter: Fun with Functions
Problem Statement: You have learnt about finding squares in Mathematics. You can
find these squares through programs too. Consider you have to create a function which
returns the value of square of any given number and returns the result as a return value
from the function. Can you write a block code for this function in Minecraft?

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this exercise, you will learn:

• Decompose problems and subproblems into parts to facilitate the design,

implementation, and review of programs.
• Create procedures with parameters to organize code and make it easier to
reuse.
• Create prototypes that use algorithms to solve computational problems by
leveraging previous student knowledge.
Solution: First, create a new project in Minecraft as shown below.

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Can a function return value

CAN A FUNCTION RETURN VALUE

Chapter: Fun with Functions

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Can a function return value

Problem Statement: You have learnt about finding squares and cubes of numbers in
Mathematics. You can find these squares and cubes through programs too. Consider
you have to create a function which returns the value of square and cube of any given
number and returns the result as a return value from the function. Can you write a
block code for this function in Minecraft?

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this exercise, you will learn:

• Decompose problems and subproblems into parts to facilitate the design,

implementation, and review of programs.
• Create procedures with parameters to organize code and make it easier to
reuse.
• Create prototypes that use algorithms to solve computational problems by
leveraging previous student knowledge.
Solution: First, create a new project in Minecraft as shown below.

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Can a function return value

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Can a function return value

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Can a function return value

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Can a function return value

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Can a function return value

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Can a function return value

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Calculating Area Of A Circle

CALCULATING AREA OF A CIRCLE

Chapter: Fun with Functions
Problem Statement: You must have calculated area of a circle in your mathematical
class many a times manually. Programming will help you do this same task with more
accuracy and increased speed for larger data sets. Can you write a block code in
Minecraft to calculate the area of a circle?

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this exercise, you will learn:

• Learn how to implement various programming concepts that we have learnt so

far – variables, variable initialization, performing arithmetic operations on
different variables and using sequencing to code.
• Learn how to write code for calculating area of various mathematical shapes.
Solution: Let us now see how we can calculate the area of a circle in Minecraft. First,
create a new project as shown below.

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Calculating Area Of A Circle

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Calculating Area Of A Circle

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Calculating Area Of A Circle

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Calculating Area Of A Circle

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Calculating Area Of A Circle

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Calculating Area Of A Circle

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Calculating Area Of A Circle

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Calculating Area Of A Circle

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Create An Array And Calculate Its Length

CREATE AN ARRAY AND CALCULATE ITS LENGTH

Chapter: Understanding Arrays and Collections
Problem Statement: In this grade, you have learnt the concept of arrays and various
actions that we can perform on an array in programming. Explain step by step how to
create an Array and calculate its length using Minecraft.
Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this exercise, students will learn:

• Learn how to translate between different bit representations of real-world

phenomena, such as characters, numbers and images.
• Learn how to create an array and calculate its length.
Solution: First, create a new project in Minecraft.

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Create An Array And Calculate Its Length

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Create An Array And Calculate Its Length

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Create An Array And Calculate Its Length

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Building A Zoo

BUILDING A ZOO
Chapter: Understanding Arrays and Collections
Problem Statement: You must have played many games where you saw a zoo full of
different animals and you must have performed different actions for adding deleting
these animals and saving them from each other to proceed in the game. In this activity,
you will implement the concept of arrays that you learnt about programming. To
complete this activity, create an array in Minecraft and fill it up with animals of your
choice.

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this exercise, you will learn:

• Learn how to use flowcharts and/or pseudocode to address complex problems

as algorithms.
• Create clearly named variables that represent different data types and perform
operations on their values.
• Design and iteratively develop programs that combine control structures,
including nested loops and compound conditionals.
• Create procedures with parameters to organize code and make it easier to
reuse.
• Use abstraction to decompose a problem into sub problems.
• Construct a program as a set of step-by-step instructions to be acted out.
• Implement problem solutions using a block based visual programming
language.
• Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how
well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
Solution:

You can store animals in an array and spawn them wherever you like. We’ll use this
capability to build a fenced-in animal pen and create an instant zoo anytime we want.
When this project starts up, it will create an array and fill it with animals of your choice.
Step 1: Create a new MakeCode project called “Zoo”.
Step 2: In “Loops”, there is an “on start” that will run its commands once, as soon as
the project starts up. Drag that block into the coding Workspace.

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Building A Zoo

Step 4: From “Variables”, drag “set” into the “On start” block.
Step 5: Using the drop-down menu in “set”, select the animalarray variable.
Step 6: Click on the Advanced tab in the Toolbox to display the “Arrays” Toolbox drawer.

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Building A Zoo

Step 8: Click the Plus (+) sign on “create array with” to add 7 more slots in your array.
The total length of your array should be 8.
Step 9: From “MOBS”, drag an Animal block into the first slot of “create array with”.

Step 11: Create a zoo with 8 different types of animals. Be aware that certain animals
will eat other animals! For example, ocelots and chickens don’t get along very well.
Think about what kind of zoo you want, and plan accordingly.
Step 12: Using the drop-down menus in the “animal” blocks, select different types of
animals in your array.

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Building A Zoo

Step 13: Now that you have your AnimalArray set up, let’s work on creating a fenced -
in enclosure for your zoo. You will use the “BUILDER” blocks for this. The Builder is
like an invisible cursor in the game that can place blocks along a path very quickly.
You will direct the Builder to go to a point in the southeast corner, and create a mark,
which is an invisible point of reference. Then you will give it a series of commands to
make it trace out a square. Finally, the builder is able to place fences along this path.
Step 14: From “PLAYER”, drag an “on chat command” block to the Workspace.

Step 15: Rename the command “pen”.

Step 16: Click on the Advanced tab in the Toolbox to display the “BUILDER” Toolbox
drawer.
Step 17: From “BUILDER”, drag “builder teleport to” into “on chat command "pen"”
Step 18: Recall that Minecraft coordinates are always specified in X, Y, Z coordinates
where X is west to east and Z is north to south. We want the Builder to start in the
northeast corner of the pen in relation to the player, so go ahead and change the
coordinates to specify a location 5 blocks east and 5 blocks north of your position.
Step 19: In “builder teleport to”, change the position values to (~5, ~0, ~-5).

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Building A Zoo

Step 20: Let’s make sure the Builder is facing the right way so that it draws the pen
around you. After the builder is facing the correct direction, you can then have it place
a starting mark.
Step 21: From “BUILDER”, drag “builder face” out and under “builder teleport to”. The
default ‘face West’ is fine.
Step 22: Next, from “BUILDER”, grab a “builder place mark” to put after the “builder
face”.

Step 23: From “LOOPS”, drag a “repeat” loop and place it after “builder place mark”. A
square has four sides so repeating four times is great.

Step 24: From “BUILDER”, drag a “builder move” into the “repeat” loop.
Step 25: Type 10 into “builder move” to make the sides of your pen 10 blocks.
Step 26: From “BUILDER”, drag “builder turn” after the “builder move” block.

Step 27: From “BUILDER”, place a “builder trace path from mark” after the “repeat”
loop.

Step 28: Using the drop-down menu in “builder trace path from mark”, select an Oak
Fence.

Step 29: Now, open a Flat World in the Minecraft game, and type “pen” in the chat
window. You should see a pen being built all the way around you! For an extra
challenge, you might try to get the Builder to add a fence gate

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Building A Zoo

Step 30: Now comes the fun part. The array is loaded up with animals, the pen has
been built… it’s time to let them loose! For this command, we will simply go through
the entire array and for each animal in the array, we will spawn two of them a few
blocks away from you but still within the pen.
Step 31: From “PLAYER”, get an “on chat command” and rename it “zoo”.

Step 32: From “LOOPS”, drag a “for element” into your “on chat command "zoo"”.
Step 33: In the “for element”, use the drop-down menu for the 2nd slot to select
animalarray.

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Building A Zoo

Step 34: From “MOBS”, drag a “spawn animal” block and place it inside “for element”.

Step 35: From “VARIABLES”, drag the value variable into the “spawn animal” block, replacing the
default chicken animal.

Step 36: Adjust the coordinates in “spawn animal” to (~3, ~0, ~0), so the animals will spawn a
few blocks away from the Player.

Step 37: To create pairs of animals, right-click on the “spawn animal” block to Duplicate it. You
could also use a loop here if you choose.

Step 38: Go back into your Minecraft world, and type the command “zoo” into the chat window,
and watch the animals appear!

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Building A Zoo

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Examples of Simple functions in Arcade

EXAMPLES OF SIMPLE FUNCTIONS IN ARCADE

Chapter: Fun with Functions
Problem Statement: In this activity, you will implement the concept of functions that
you learnt about programming.
Example 1: Calling a function which has no parameters.

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Examples of Simple functions in Arcade

Example 2: Calling a function with a single parameter

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Examples of Simple functions in Arcade

Example 3: Calling a function to print statements.

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Examples of Simple functions in Arcade

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Examples of arrays in Arcade

EXAMPLES OF ARRAYS IN ARCADE

Chapter: Understanding Arrays and Collections
Problem Statement: In this activity, you will implement the concept of arrays that you
learnt.
Example 1: Printing the first element of the array

Example 2: Calculating the sum of the elements in an array

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Examples of arrays in Arcade

Example 3: Adding an element in an array

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Building a calculator

BUILDING A CALCULATOR
Chapter: Hello World with code
Problem Statement: In this activity, you will build a calculator in MakeCode

To understand these operations better, let us now perform the below activity. You need
to open MakeCode editor for this activity.

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Building a calculator

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Building a calculator

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Building a calculator

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Building a calculator

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Building a calculator

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References

REFERENCES
1. Microsoft MakeCode Arcade. 2021. Microsoft MakeCode Arcade. [ONLINE]
Available at: https://arcade.makecode.com. [Accessed 23 February 2021]
2. Microsoft MakeCode for Minecraft. 2021. Microsoft MakeCode for Minecraft.
[ONLINE] Available at: https://minecraft.makecode.com. [Accessed 23 February
2021]
3. Microsoft MakeCode. 2021. Activity: We Built a Zoo. [ONLINE] Available at:
https://minecraft.makecode.com/courses/csintro/arrays/activity-1. [Accessed
23 February 2021]
4. Association for computing machinery (acm). 2016. CSPathsala. [Online]. [16
March 2021]. Available from: https://cspathshala.org

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