Coding Club is a 12 week program for students in third through fifth grade. In the summer, we condense the semester to a week. During the week, students explore and use different coding platforms such as Scratch, Code.org, Tynker or Microsoft’s Makecode. The first two days are dedicated to learning the coding basics while the middle days 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.
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.
Day 1- Intro to Code and Robotics
- What is Coding Video
- Code: Giving instructions to a computer or a robot in a language it understands.
- CodeSpark
- Click Schools
- Click Students
- Click Use Classroom Code
- Message Miss Mikayla for a classroom code. Enter the provided code.
- Click your student’s name
- Continue on with the unlocked puzzles. If you would like more puzzles unlocked, please message Miss Mikayla.
- Hello Ruby Book Chapters 1 and 2
- Sphero Bolt
- Various coding challenges
Day 2- Intro to Code
- Algorithm Video
- Algorithm: Step by step directions in order to complete a task or goal
- Code.org Minecraft Adventure
- If you would like your student’s login information please message Miss Mikayla
- An answer key can be provided upon request
- If you would like your student’s login information please message Miss Mikayla
- Hello Ruby Book Chapters 3 and 4
- Scratch
- Students could chose between doing an Animate a Name Project or an Interactive Collage
- If you would like your student’s login information, please message Miss Mikayla
Day 3- Robotics
- Computational Thinking Video
- Comutational Thinking: A problem solving tool that uses abstraction, decomposition, pattern recognition, and algorithms.
- *We focused on Decomposition today
- Comutational Thinking: A problem solving tool that uses abstraction, decomposition, pattern recognition, and algorithms.
- Origami (unplugged activity)
- Lego EV3 Robots
- Various Coding Challenges
- Hello Ruby Book Chapters 5 and 6
Day 4- Game Design
- Debugging Video
- Debugging: The process of finding and correcting bugs (mistakes in code)
- How To Code A Sandcastle Read Aloud
- We did an unplugged activity where students built a snadcastle according to a classmate’s algorithm
- MakeCode Arcade
- We did Turkey Rescue in the beginner skillmaps sections
- Turkey Rescue Walkthrough PDF
- If your student would like to save their progress, they will need to sign in with a Gmail or a Microsoft account
- Hello Ruby Book Chapters 7 and 8
- Scratch
- Miss Mikayla’s Try Not To Get Hit Game
- If you would like your student’s login information, please message Miss Mikayla
Day 5- Passion Project
- Growth Mindset Video
- Growth Mindset: The thought process that one can learn new things
- Hello Ruby Book Chapters 9 and 10
- Passion Project
- Students were able to choose either Scratch or Lego EV3 for a project. These projects were presented during our awards ceremony.
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.