Hour of Code Day 1: Tweaking It

So at the end of Day 1 I have to admit I'm feeling a little brain dead. What I realized was that these kids have NO idea what to do with code. Even in its most simplest form. I focused on two awesome ThinkerSmith lessons to use in my classes this week. Being the Art Teacher I see ALL students from grades K - 5. Since my Art Room does not have computers for students, both lessons featured were from the Code.org section titled...

No device or internet? 
Try 'unplugged' computer science

I used the My Robotic Friends lesson with 3rd - 5th graders.

It is slow going but they LOVED becoming programmers and robots for this lesson. Since I only see each class for 40 minutes we still leave the class as beginners. But it was enough to get them excited about coding and eager to check out the Code.org website.

To encourage them even more to keep up with the Hour of Code after they left my class I offered extra points for any students who participated in activities on the website.

Recommendations for a class short on time: KISS! (Keep it Simple Silly)

The Binary Baubles lesson I taught to my K - 2nd graders.

Even Kindergartners were excited to learn code with this great lesson.
I did tweak it for the different ages to keep the lesson challenging enough to keep them interested but not too challenging to make the goal achievable.

Highlight of the day: Sit and Stand Binary Code! 2nd graders did really well the the binary code so I thought I would throw in some movement. I grouped teams of 9 students who had to form a letter based on the code. We made colored in boxes sit and empty boxes stand. One student stand in the middle of the line with their hand raised. This person is the space. The rest of the class has to figure out what letter they are as quickly as they can. This was the best activity of the day by far. I LOVED it!


Click the Hour of Code icon below for a direct link to their website.
Let's get these kids coding!

The Hour of Code 2013

No device or internet? Try 'unplugged' computer science!

I am so excited to introduce my art students to the world of code. I don't have computers in my art room but that won't stop us from taking part in the Hour of Code! There are several GREAT lesson plan ideas for teachers who are interested in participating but don't have access to devices. These activities work hand in hand with the Think, Pair, Share Strategy. Let's get some collaborative minds thinking and engaged!

As an added bonus, prizes are given to every educator who participates. What an awesome week we have coming up. 

Check out the Computer Science Education Week website by clicking below and get your students coding!