Want to participate in Hour of Code but worried about taking time away from core content? Why not integrate it! Here are some connections to our ISD Curriculum:
SeeSaw has many activities in their library that combine coding and core content. Check out these examples that integrate with science, healthy choices, or reading.
The Plant Pollination activity has students move a bee from pollen, to stamen, to flowers and ties into our 2nd grade unit on pollination.
Coding Healthy Choices for grades K-2 connects with our elementary health lessons on healthy foods and managing stress.
Sequencing in reading is a big one; the timely story of the Gingerbread Boy can be sequenced with this SeeSaw activity where students “code to re-tell.”
Fifth-grade science students can preview or review (depending on the scope and sequence) the life cycle of a plant using this Lifecycle of a Sunflower activity. This would be a great class-to-class “buddy” activity where fifth graders teach the life cycle to younger students and code together!
Issaquah School District’s elementary students have SCRATCH clubs before or after school and our middle school students learn to program with SCRATCH in their Tech Smart classes. Find a SCRATCH project that’s already created to compliment your core content, then have your class remix it.
The Rock Cycle project by user jpswanos is just what Earth and Space Science teachers at Maywood Middle School needed to launch their new unit. Next week during the Hour of Code, students will remix the project and add their own facts about the different types of rocks.
SCRATCH is a great platform to create stories, comics, and graphic organizers. Brain Pop Creative Coding, developed with SCRATCH and Vidcode, has an activity for this year’s Hour of Code that guides students to code a conversation to showing what they know about biographies.
Code.org not only hosts the Hour of Code Activities designed for all ages in over 45 languages, they also have a complete Computer Science Curriculum. The next suggestions are unplugged lessons taken from their Computer Science Fundamentals courses and do not require technology.
Music teachers will love the Code.org unplugged lessons on songwriting that teach the CS concepts of Functions and Parameters. These lessons are appropriate for grades 4 and up and no computers are necessary for these unplugged lessons.
The Dice Race Game, works on number and operations in Base 10 and relates the concept of algorithms to real life activities, the lesson is part of Code.org’s Course E, which is recommended for grade 4.
The next suggestion is from the Hour of Code Activities using the filters “Math” and “Grades 9+.” Secondary math teachers may like this one!
Texas Instruments have 10 minute coding activities for use with their TI-Nspire, TI-82 Plus, and TI Innovator calculators. If you have these devices in your classroom these activities are great ways to integrate Hour of Code into your secondary math class.
Hope you have a great Hour of Code in your classroom, and don’t forget the certificates!
“The ‘Hour of Code™’ is a nationwide initiative by Computer Science Education Week [csedweek.org] and Code.org [code.org] to introduce millions of students to one hour of computer science and computer programming.”