Coding Club is a 12 week program for students in third through fifth grade. During the semester, students explore and use different coding platforms such as Scratch, Code.org, Tynker, Microsoft’s Makecode, and other platforms. The first three weeks are dedicated to learning the coding basics while the middle weeks are spent creating playable games and building programmable robots. Lastly, students get the opportunity to dive deeper into a topic of their choice during the passion project. On the last day of the club, there will be an awards ceremony.
Aside from gaining knowledge in coding concepts, students build confidence and friendships. Computational thinking (a problem solving technique), communication and critical thinking skills are also enhanced.
Week 1- Intro to Code
- What is Coding Video- Scratch Garden
- Code: Giving instructions to a computer or a robot in a language it understands.
- What is Coding- Song Lyrics PDF
- Unplugged Coding Board Game
- Students worked in pairs to play a game. The objective was to get to the opponet’s side of the board but the player’s moves were determined by a dice roll.
- CodeCombat Jr
- Login Link
- Press login in the upper right hand corner, enter login credentials, press “Play Next Level” on Jr. tile (it is blue and white)
- If you would like your student’s login information, please email Miss Mikayla.
- An answer guide can be requested by emailing Miss Mikayla
- Login Link
- 3-5 Week 1 Family Flyer PDF
Week 2- Intro to Code
- Sequence Video
- Sequence: The order something happens in.
- Sequence Song Lyrics and Activity PDF
- CodeSpark (Free website or free downloadable app)
- Login Link
- Press “Schools” in the upper left hand corner.
- Click “students”
- Use Class Code
- Please email or text Ms. Mikayla for the classroom code. The code only last for 2 hours but they will only need it one time per device they login in on. Ms. Mikayla is not limited to how many codes are generated.
- Click their name
- Continue where they left off
- If a section is locked and they are ready to progress to that area, please emai Ms. Mikayla and she can unlock it.
- Login Link
- 3-5 Week 2 Family Flyer PDF
Week 3- Intro to Code
- Algorithm Video
- Algorithm: Step by step directions in order to complete a task or a goal
- Unplugged Activity
- Students followed an alogorithm to draw a robot and then used an app to animate their robot.
- Plethora- Pixel Jr. Hour of Code
- No login information needed
- 3-5 Week 3 Family Flyer PDF
Week 4- Robotics
- Decomposition Video
- Decomposition: Taking a big problem and breaking it down into smaller problems and the solving all of the smaller problems in order to solve the big problem
- Unplugged Decomposition Activity
- We did not do this activity in class but if you are looking for a free activity to try with your student, check out this resource.
- Free printable PDF towards the bottom of the website
- Sphero Bolt
- Students coded their robot to go through various “gates” and back to their starting line.
- 3-5 Week 4 Family Flyer PDF
Week 5- Robotics
- Debugging Video
- Debugging: Finding and correcting bugs (mistakes) in code
- K-5 Kodable Unplugged Debugging PDF
- K-5 Kodable Unplugged Debugging KEY
- Riley Rover/Lego EV3
- Students built and programmed the robot. They were tasked to drive to a series of dots in a specified order.
- 3-5 Week 5 Family Flyer PDF
Week 6- Robotics
- Pattern Recognition Video
- Pattern Recognition: Finding similarities between differnt parts of a problem
- Riley Rover/Lego EV3
- This week students added the cargo delivery attachment to their robots they built from last week.
- They were tasked to code their robot to bring cups back to their starting spot.
- 3-5 Week 6 Family Flyer PDF
Week 7- Game Design
- Loops Video
- Loops: A repeating sequence of code
- Loops Song Lyrics and Activity Scratch Garden PDF
- Unplugged Loops Activity
- Scratch
- Login Link
- Students made a game where they are trying to get a falling object to land on a different object that is sliding across the bottom of the screen
- Miss Mikayla’s Present Drop Game Example
- Press “See Inside” to see the code and comments
- Miss Mikayla’s Present Drop Game- Advanced- Example
- Press “See Inside” to see the code and comments
- Miss Mikayla’s Present Drop Game Example
- If you need your student’s login information, please email Ms. Mikayla
- 3-5 Week 7 Family Flyer PDF
Week 8- Game Design
- Abstraction Video
- Abstraction: Removing details to make a solution work for other problems
- Ideas To Practice Computational Thinking At Home– Article
- Unplugged Abstraction Activity- Guess What
- Take turns drawing and guessing. One person will pick a card from the pile (or make up your own) and then draw the item listed on the card. The other person will try to guess what the item is.
- Guess What Examples and Information PDF
- Guess What Cards PDF
- Scratch
- Login Link
- We finished the game we started in class during week 7
- If you need your student’s login information, please email Ms. Mikayla
- 3-5 Week 8 Family Flyer PDF
Week 9- Game Design
- Conditionals Video
- Conditionals: Lines of code that make a decision, usually phrased in an IF/THEN Statement
- Code.org Unplugged Conditionals with Cards Game
- Check the sidebar on the right for ideas and printables
- Scratch Login Link
- If you would like your student’s login information, please email Miss Mikayla
- Miss Mikayla’s Choose Your Own Adventure Game on Scratch
- Choose Your Own Adventure Flow Chart Scratch PDF
- 3-5 Week 9 Family Flyer PDF
Week 10- Passion Project
- Computational Thinking Video
- Computational Thinking: A problem solving tool that uses abstraction, decomposition, pattern recognition, and algorithms.
- Abstraction: Removing details to make a solution work for other problems
- Decomposition: Breaking big problems down into smaller, more managle problems
- Pattern Recognition: Finding similarities between different parts of a problem
- Algorithms: Step by step directions in order to complete a task.
- Ways to Build Computational Thinking Skills- Article for Families
- Computational Thinking: A problem solving tool that uses abstraction, decomposition, pattern recognition, and algorithms.
- Passion Project
- Passion Project is a time for the students to choose thier own coding platform. They can choose to design a challenge for the Lego EV3 robots or create a game/animation on Scratch.
- Students will present their passion project on April 17th from 7:40-8:00 pm
- 3-5 Week 10 Family Flyer PDF
Week 11- Passion Project
- Growth Mindset Video
- Growth Mindset: The idea one can develop new skills with effort, time, and dedication.
- The Power Of Yet Article For Families
- Passion Project
- Passion Project is a time for the students to choose thier own coding platform. They can choose to design a challenge for the Lego EV3 robots or create a game/animation on Scratch.
- Students will present their passion project on April 17th from 7:40-8:00 pm
- 3-5 Week 11 Family Flyer PDF
Week 12- Passion Project
- Confidence Video –> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyEWpyQC4rM
- Confidence: Believing in oneself and abilities
- Passion Project
- Passion Project is a time for the students to choose thier own coding platform. They can choose to design a challenge for the Lego EV3 robots or create a game/animation on Scratch.
- Students will present their passion project on April 17th from 7:40-8:00 pm
- 3-5 Week 12 Family Flyer PDF
Other Resources
Our YouTube Channel – We’ve created several free videos to walkthrough some of the puzzles from above and activities in Scratch Jr. from below.
Scratch Jr – Free app for iOS, Android, and ChromeOS – Allows your students to use the ideas learned above in their own creative programming environment. They can add characters and backgrounds to program their own games and animations. Here are some examples of free activities in Scratch Jr: www.scratchjr.org/teach/activities
Tynker – Free app for iOS, Android, and ChromeOS (also a website tynker.com). Limited number of free puzzles similar to the links listed above.
LightBot Code Hour – Free app for iOS and Android. Three-dimensional puzzles similar to the links above.
Additional Coding Resources
Enrollment Now Open
Choose from online and in-person coding courses for young learners, K-6, designed to develop critical thinkers and problem solvers with transferrable skills across all subjects.