Using characters from the game Angry Birds, students will develop sequential algorithms …
Using characters from the game Angry Birds, students will develop sequential algorithms to move a bird from one side of a maze to the pig at the other side. To do this they will stack code blocks together in a linear sequence, making them move straight, turn left, or turn right.
Debugging is an essential element of learning to program. In this lesson, …
Debugging is an essential element of learning to program. In this lesson, students will encounter puzzles that have been solved incorrectly. They will need to step through the existing code to identify errors, including incorrect loops, missing blocks, extra blocks, and blocks that are out of order.
In this series of puzzles, students will continue to develop their understanding …
In this series of puzzles, students will continue to develop their understanding of algorithms and debugging. With a new character, Laurel the Adventurer, students will create sequential algorithms to get Laurel to pick up treasure as she walks along a path.
In this lesson, students will take control of the Artist to complete …
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`.
Building on the concept of repeating instructions from "Getting Loopy," this stage …
Building on the concept of repeating instructions from "Getting Loopy," this stage will have students using loops to help BB-8 traverse a maze more efficiently than before.
Watch student faces light up as they make their own gorgeous designs …
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.
In this online activity, students will have the opportunity to push their …
In this online activity, students will have the opportunity to push their understanding of loops to a whole new level. Playing with the Bee and Plants vs Zombies, students will learn how to program a loop to be inside of another loop. They will also be encouraged to figure out how little changes in either loop will affect their program when they click `Run`.
Now that students know how to layer their loops, they can create …
Now that students know how to layer their loops, they can create so many beautiful things. This lesson will take students through a series of exercises to help them create their own portfolio-ready images using Anna and Elsa's excellent ice-skating skills!
Students will begin using Evaluation Blocks to explore the concept of math …
Students will begin using Evaluation Blocks to explore the concept of math as a language, and more specifically, a programming language. By composing arithmetic expressions with Evaluation Blocks, students will be able to visualize how expressions follow the order of operations.
Using the Design Recipe, students will work through a series of word …
Using the Design Recipe, students will work through a series of word problems about calculating the height of a rocket after a given number of seconds from launch. The functions they write will be used to animate the rocket launch.
Contracts provide a way for students to better understand and discuss functions. …
Contracts provide a way for students to better understand and discuss functions. Through this lesson, students will look at known functions and come up with the contracts that describe those functions.
In this activity, students will learn to define variables that can be …
In this activity, students will learn to define variables that can be used to reference values and expressions. Once defined, their variables can be used repeatedly throughout a program as substitutes for the original values or expressions.
In this lesson we will build on students' understanding variables by making …
In this lesson we will build on students' understanding variables by making functions that reduce the number of inputs required. These 'fast functions' allow students to practice using the Design Recipe to develop simple functions without the additional overhead of parsing a word problem.
In the past lessons students have defined Variables and written Fast Functions. …
In the past lessons students have defined Variables and written Fast Functions. In this stage, they will continue to explore function writing with ever increasing complexity.
In the last stage, students wrote some very simple functions - but …
In the last stage, students wrote some very simple functions - but more sophisticated functions demand a more thoughtful approach. The Design Recipe is a structured approach to writing functions that includes writing a purpose statement and test cases to ensure that the function works as expected. Once students have mastered the Design Recipe process, they can apply it to any word problem they encounter.
In this stage students practice using the Design Recipe to write functions …
In this stage students practice using the Design Recipe to write functions which solve for word problems. Towards the end of the lesson students should be ready to begin using the Design Recipe on problems from your own math curriculum.
Determining when objects on the screen touch is an important aspect of …
Determining when objects on the screen touch is an important aspect of most games. In this lesson we'll look at how the Pythagorean Theorem and the Distance Formula can be used to measure the distance between two points on the plane, and then decide whether those two points (or game characters) are touching.
Students discuss the components of their favorite video games and discover that …
Students discuss the components of their favorite video games and discover that they can be reduced to a series of coordinates. They then explore coordinates in Cartesian space, identifying the coordinates for the characters in a game at various points in time. Once they are comfortable with coordinates, they brainstorm their own games and create sample coordinate lists for different points in time in their own game.
To finish up their video games, students will apply what they have …
To finish up their video games, students will apply what they have learned in the last few stages to write the final missing functions. We'll start by using booleans to check whether keys were pressed in order to move the player sprite, then move on to applying the Pythagorean Theorem to determine when sprites are touching.
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