It’s Computer Science Education Week! This movement, especially the Hour of Code Event, is a way to introduce students to coding and computer science in a fun and engaging way.
What is Hour of Code? Check out this introductory video for more information:
Computational thinking integrates well with social-emotional learning and skills such as problem-solving, collaboration, and persistence and can be integrated into any content area. No computer science experience is needed to introduce your students to coding! Read on for some ways to celebrate Hour of Code with your students.
Host an Hour of Code with Code.org:
Through Clever, teachers and students have access to Code.org. Syncing your Clever section to Code.org will allow you to assign a specific course to students, as well as see their progress. Directions for syncing your Clever section to Code.org are linked here!
The document “How to plan your Hour of Code” has recommendations and ideas for integrating Hour of Code into your classroom. If you are planning to assign your students a specific course (series of lessons) and save their progress, below are the grade-level recommendations. You assign the course in your Code.org dashboard once your Clever class is synced.
- Course A (for K) or the “Pre-Reader Express Course”
- Course B (for 1st)
- Course C (for 2nd)
- Course D (for 3rd)
- Course E (for 4th)
- Course F (for 5th)
- Computer Science Discoveries (middle and high school grades)
If you prefer to have your students do more open exploration of Code.org tutorials, below are recommendations for elementary grade bands. Note that these tutorials do not require logging in (and thus will not save student progress):
- K-1: Code Monkey Jr., Beaver Achiever, Space Quest
- 2-3: Dragon Blast, Mystery Island, Grinch
- 4-5: Dance Party, Harry Potter Coding Challenges, Space Adventure
Learn about Grace Hopper through BrainPOP:
Did you know that Hour of Code recognizes the birthday of computing pioneer Grace Hopper (born December 9th, 1906)?
BrainPOP, another one of our ISD core tools, has an introductory video (and connected activities) that introduce students to Grace Hopper, one of the first computer programmers and one of the people credited with “de-bugging” the first computer.
Attend a “Live” Event:
Organizations such as Microsoft EDU and Tynker are hosting live events that you can tune into throughout the week. Hear from live scientists and programmers! Make sure to register in advance if you plan to attend. Below are some events of note:
- Monday – Design a Mission Patch with NASA (10am)
- Tuesday – Make Code Arcade / Building your own Video Game (10:30am)
- Wednesday – Build a Lunar Habitat with NASA (10am)
- Thursday – Hour of Code with Wonder Workshop (10am)
- Friday – Build a 3D Lunar Viper Rover (1pm)
Remember, we also have our Ed Tech Lending Library with Ozobots, Makey Makey, and more! Don’t hesitate to reach out to your Ed Tech TOSA for support in using these materials to extend your Hour of Code learning for students.
BITS AND PIECES 