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CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide

Table of Contents
Table of Contents

Curriculum Introduction

Lesson and Course Structure

Student Practices and Skills

Curriculum Values

Pedagogical Approach To Our Values

Classroom Practices and Instructional Strategies

Course Overviews and Lesson Outlines

Course A: Overview

Course B: Overview

Course C: Overview

Course D: Overview

Course E (Ramp-Up): Overview

Course E: Overview

Course F (Ramp-Up): Overview

Course F: Overview

Courses A-F Additional Supplies List

Implementation Tips and Considerations

Standards Mapping

Assessments

Getting Help

Appendix A:
Unplugged Lesson Plans

Appendix B:
Glossary of Vocabulary

293

Appendix C:
Student Skills and Strategies for Tackling Difficult Challenges

299

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Welcome to Computer Science Fundamentals, the Code.org® curriculum designed for students in grades K-5!
This guide has been created to help you navigate the lessons in Courses A-F. It begins with an introduction to
the CS Fundamental curriculum, provides a look into our core values and methods, and closes with a detailed
overview of each course offering. After this valuable information, you will find customized implementation
solutions for many different classroom situations.
All Code.org curriculum resources are free to use under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Our technology is developed as an
open source project.
Are you ready to put the FUN in Fundamentals?

Curriculum Introduction
Who Made This Suite?
Launched in 2013, Code.org is a non-profit organization
dedicated to expanding access to computer science,
and increasing participation by women and
underrepresented students of color. Our vision is that
every student in every school has opportunity to learn
computer science. We believe computer science should
be part of core curriculum, alongside other courses such
as biology, chemistry, or algebra.
Code.org increases diversity in computer science by
reaching students of all backgrounds where they are —
at their skill-level, in their schools, and in ways that
inspire them to keep learning. Read about our efforts to increase diversity in computer science
[https://code.org/diversity]. In order to support this vision of diverse and meaningful access to computer
science, Code.org has developed a full pathway of learning opportunities that span K-12. The CS
Fundamentals curriculum is specifically designed to meet the needs of elementary school students and
teachers along that pathway.
At Code.org, we believe in teamwork. That’s why we’ve partnered up with some of the most innovative
elementary computer science educators in the country to create CS Fundamentals. Our curriculum kick-off
crew included Alana Aaron and Lionel Bergeron from the New York City Department of Education, as well as
Bryan Twarek from the San Francisco Unified School District, Grant Smith of Emerald Data Solutions, Joel
Spencer from the Little Rock School District, and Michael Harvey from Falmouth Elementary School...and that
was only the beginning!
Over the course of one year we successfully designed, implemented, and piloted six modified courses. Our
pilot was open to our dedicated Computer Science Fundamentals Facilitators, as well as thousands of
engaged educators from around the world. With their help, we were able to create this course in a way that
benefits schools of all different shapes and sizes.
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CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
The CS Fundamentals curriculum continue to include lessons on Internet Safety and Digital Citizenship, thanks
to our friends at Common Sense Education.
As always, it is thanks to our generous donors that we were able to develop and offer this curriculum at no cost
to schools, teachers, or students: Microsoft, Infosys Foundation USA, Facebook, Omidyar Network, Google,
Ballmer Family Giving, Ali and Hadi Partovi, Bill Gates, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, BlackRock,
Jeff Bezos, John and Ann Doerr, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, Quadrivium Foundation, Amazon Web
Services, The Marie-Josee and Henry R. Kravis Foundation, Reid Hoffman, Drew Houston, Salesforce, Sean
N. Parker Foundation, Smang Family Foundation, Verizon.

Who is This For?
CS Fundamentals was built with elementary school educators and students in mind. Courses A-F have been
specifically tailored to students in Kindergarten through 5th grade, and no prior experience is assumed.
The lessons in CS Fundamentals are presented with the understanding that many teachers will not have any
previous computer science training, and educators are therefore encouraged to learn along with their students.

Which Course is For Me?
CS Fundamentals, Courses A-F
CS Fundamentals is made up of 6 courses — one course for each grade, K-5. This grade alignment allows for
the most robust content along the entire elementary pipeline, while also allowing for students and teachers to
enter the pathway at any point.
Course A

Course B

Course C

Course D

Course E

Course F

Designed for
Kindergarten

Designed for
1st Grade

Designed for
2nd Grade

Designed for
3rd Grade

Designed for
4th Grade

Designed for
5th Grade

Ideal entry points exist at kindergarten, first, and second grades. Suitable entry points have been created in
grades 3, 4, and 5 with the addition of age-appropriate introduction lessons that present content from previous
courses at an accelerated pace (called “ramp up” lessons).
The core content of these courses range from approximately 12 lessons in A & B, to nearly 20 lessons in
Course F, with additional lessons available on the Code.org website to further support specific concepts.

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Lesson and Course Structure
Every lesson plan has a common structure that should make it easy to find what you need. Planning for a
lesson starts by looking at the overview, then reviewing the core activity to get a deeper sense of what it is and
how long it might take.

Lessons in CS Fundamentals are written for a wide variety of classrooms. An individual lesson might take one
classroom between 30-45 minutes, while another classroom will choose to complete it over several days. Many
lessons include time estimates, the usefulness of those estimates will vary based on the age of your students,
their background with the material, and their interests.
In Code.org curriculum, we refer to activities where students are not on the computer as “unplugged” lessons.
Lessons where they are on the computer are called “plugged”, or online puzzles. When writing the curriculum,
we planned the progression of unplugged and plugged lessons to build on each other. Often something that is
done in an unplugged environment is setting the stage for or reviewing a concept done in a plugged
environment. Both are vital pieces of the curriculum as they build student knowledge and understanding in
different ways.

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Unplugged Lessons
Unplugged activities are more than just an alternative
for the days when the computer lab is full. They are
intentionally-placed kinesthetic opportunities that help
students digest complicated concepts in ways that
relate to their own lives. Unplugged lessons can help
you build and maintain a collaborative environment in
your classroom, and can be a good way to check for
student understanding. While these lessons sometime
involve more advance preparation, they provide a
shared and concrete context that can be referenced
during plugged lessons. For a list of all unplugged
activities covered in the CS Fundamentals curriculum
(plus a few extras!) visit:
https://code.org/curriculum/unplugged

Bridging Activities
In the Computer Science Fundamentals curriculum,
we refer to activities that mix online and offline
elements as “bridging activities.” Bridging activities
connect our unplugged activities to our online
lessons in a real and concrete way. They often exist
as a method of turning an abstract concept or idea
learned through unplugged play into an actionable
tool for the plugged puzzles.
You will find a bridging activity as the “warm up” in
the first plugged lessons following each unplugged
lesson. As you become more comfortable with the
curriculum, feel free to come up with your own
online/offline blends to keep the curriculum relevant
to your classroom.

Plugged Lessons
Most of our online or “plugged” lessons are designed with an overarching lesson architecture where concepts
are carefully introduced using a structure that has been tailored to set classrooms up for success. These
puzzle progressions start by introducing ideas in a step-by-step manner, then proceed to a brain-bending
challenge before setting students gently back into a puzzle that perfectly represents the level of understanding
that was intended for that series.

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
See the diagram below to get a better idea of how complexity changes over the course of an online lesson.

Once a topic has been introduced, it might be further explored through additional lessons that focus less on
skill building and more on creative problem solving using the concept. As an example, these lessons might
include puzzles with less obvious pathways, a complex use of concepts, or multiple correct solutions.

Conceptual Chunks
The unplugged and online puzzle lessons are chunked together by shared concepts, where the unplugged
lesson serves as a fun and gentle introduction to a computing concept that is further explored through coding
exercises. This allows each “chunk” to be separated into groups of lessons that can be taught within a defined
time period or as a sub-unit.
See this example from Course C in which the unplugged lesson, Getting Loopy, precedes three online lessons:

Loops Conceptual Chunk from CS Fundamentals, Course C

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
End of Course Projects (Courses E & F)
While each course offers the opportunity for students to take
what they’ve learned at the end of a lesson and put it together
into a unique project that represents their own creativity,
Courses E & F take student projects to a whole new level.
In the final two courses in the series, project development
takes the stage. Here, students are encouraged to plan, build,
revise, and present projects of their own. Following a project
from inception to delivery offers an inside look at the software
development cycle. This guided project offers scaffolded
rubrics for the benefit of both student and teacher.

Student Practices and Skills
Lessons in CS Fundamentals help students work in a wide array of contexts, but these experiences are tied
together by a core set of practices and skills they develop throughout the course. These student practices
provide coherence and serve as helpful reminders of the high-level skills and dispositions they should be
continually developing.
●
●
●

Use a structured problem solving process to help solve new problems
View challenges as solvable problems
Break down larger problems into smaller components

●
●
●
●

Value and expect mistakes as a natural and productive part of problem solving
Continue working towards solutions in spite of setbacks
Iterate and continue to improve partial solutions
Keep track of elements that worked and elements that did not to avoid repeating
mistakes

Creativity

●
●
●

Incorporate your own interests or ideas into your work
Experiment with new ideas and consider multiple possible approaches
Extend or build upon the ideas and projects of others

Collaboration

●
●
●

Work with others to develop solutions that incorporate all contributors
Mediate disagreements and help teammates agree on a common solution
Actively contribute to the success of group projects

●
●

Structure your work so that it can be easily understood by others
Consider the perspective and background of your audience when presenting your
work
Provide and accept constructive feedback in order to improve your work

Problem Solving

Persistence

Communication

●

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide

Curriculum Values
While Code.org offers a wide range of curricular materials across a wide range of ages, the following values
permeate and drive the creation of every lesson we write.

Computer Science is Foundational for Every Student
We believe that computing is so fundamental to understanding and participating in society that it is valuable for
every student to learn as part of a modern education. We see computer science as a liberal art, a subject that
provides students with a critical lens for interpreting the world around them. Computer science prepares all
students to be active and informed contributors to our increasingly technological society whether they pursue
careers in technology or not. Computer science can be life-changing, not just skill training.

Teachers in Classrooms
We believe students learn best with the help of
an empowered teacher. We design our
materials for a classroom setting and provide
teachers robust supports that enable them to
understand and perform their critical role in
supporting student learning. Because teachers
know their students best, we empower them to
make choices within the curriculum, even as we
recommend and support a variety of
pedagogical approaches. Knowing that many of
our teachers are new to computer science
themselves, our resources and strategies
specifically target their needs.

Student Engagement and Learning
We believe that students learn best when they are intrinsically motivated. We prioritize learning experiences
that are active, relevant to students’ lives, and provide students authentic choice. We encourage students to be
curious, solve personally relevant problems and to express themselves through creation. Learning is an
inherently social activity, so we interweave lessons with discussions, presentations, peer feedback, and shared
reflections. As students proceed through our pathway, we increasingly shift responsibility to students to
formulate their own questions, develop their own solutions, and critique their own work.

Equity
We believe that acknowledging and shining a light on the historical inequities within the field of computer
science is critical to reaching our goal of bringing computer science to all students. We provide tools and
strategies to help teachers understand and address well-known equity gaps within the field. We recognize that
some students and classrooms need more supports than others, and so those with the greatest needs should
be prioritized. All students can succeed in computer science when given the right supports and opportunities,
regardless of prior knowledge or privilege. We actively seek to eliminate and discredit stereotypes that plague
computer science and lead to attrition of the very students we aim to reach.
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CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Curriculum as a Service
We believe that curriculum is a service, not just a product. Along with producing high quality materials, we seek
to build and nourish communities of teachers by providing support and channels for communication and
feedback. Our products and materials are not static entities, but a living and breathing body of work that is
responsive to feedback and changing conditions. To ensure ubiquitous access to our curriculum and tools,
they are web-based and cross-platform, and will forever be free to use and openly licensed under a Creative
Commons license.

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide

Pedagogical Approach To Our Values
When we design learning experiences, we draw from a variety of teaching and learning strategies all with the
goal of constructing an equitable and engaging learning environment.

Role of the Teacher
We design curriculum with the idea that the instructor will act as the lead learner. As the lead learner, the role
of the teacher shifts from being the source of knowledge to being a leader in seeking knowledge. The lead
learner’s mantra is: “I may not know the answer, but I know that together we can figure it out.” A very practical
residue of this is that we rarely ask a teacher to lecture or offer the first explanation of a CS concept. We want
the class activity to do the work of exposing the concept to students, allowing the teacher to shape meaning
from what the students have experienced. We also expect teachers to act as the curator of materials. Finally,
we include an abundance of materials and teaching strategies in our curricula - sometimes too many to use at
once - with the expectation that teachers have the professional expertise to determine how to best conduct an
engaging and relevant class for their own students.

Discovery and Inquiry
We take great care to design learning experiences in which students have an active and equal stake in the
proceedings. Students are given opportunities to explore concepts and build their own understandings through
a variety of physical activities and online lessons. These activities form a set of common lived experiences that
connect students (and the teacher) to the course content and to each other. The goal is to develop a common
foundation upon which all students in the class can construct their understanding of computer science
concepts, regardless of prior experience in the discipline.

Materials and Tools
Our materials and tools are specifically created for learners and learning experiences. They focus on
foundational concepts that allow them to stand the test of time, and they are designed to support exploration
and discovery by those without computer science knowledge. This allows students to develop an
understanding of these concepts through “play” and experimentation. From our coding environments to our
non-coding tools and videos, our resources have been engineered to support the lessons in our curriculum,
and thus our philosophy about student engagement and learning. In that vein, our videos can be a great tool
for sensemaking about CS concepts and provide a resource for students to return to when they want to refresh
their knowledge. They are packed with information and “star” a diverse cast of presenters and CS role models.

Creation and Personal Expression
Many of the projects, assignments, and activities in our curriculum ask students to be creative, to express
themselves, and then to share their creations with others. While certain lessons focus on learning and
practicing new skills, our goal is always to enable students to transfer these skills to creations of their own.
Everyone seeks to make their mark on society, including our students, and we want to give them the tools they
need to do so. When computer science provides an outlet for personal expression and creativity, students are
intrinsically motivated to deepen the understandings that will allow them to express their views and carve out
their place in the world.
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CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
The Classroom Community
Our lessons almost always call for students to interact with other students in the class in some way. Whether
learners are simply conferring with a partner during a warm up discussion, or engaging in a long-term group
project, our belief is that a classroom where students are communicating, solving problems, and creating
things is a classroom that not only leads to active and better learning for students, but also leads to a more
inclusive culture in which all students share ideas and listen to ideas of others. For example, classroom
discussions usually follow a Think-Pair-Share pattern; we ask students to write computer code in pairs; and we
strive to include projects for teams in which everyone must play a critical role.

Classroom Practices and Instructional Strategies
The “classroom practices” for CS Fundamentals are strategies used repeatedly in many different lessons and
units. These classroom practices are at the core of the ways the curriculum is designed, as we believe these
are critical to positive classroom culture and ultimately student learning.

Lead Learner
What is it?
The curriculum has been written with the idea that the
instructor will act as the lead learner. As the lead learner
your role shifts from being the source of knowledge to being
a leader in seeking knowledge. The lead learner’s mantra is:
“I may not know the answer, but I know that together we can
figure it out.” The philosophy of the lead learner is that you
don’t have to be an expert on everything; you can start
teaching CS Fundamentals knowing what you already know,
and learn alongside your students. To be successful with
this style of teaching and learning, the most important things
are modeling and teaching how to learn.

How does it connect to the curriculum?
One of the Code.org curriculum values is developing teachers who are new to computer science. In order to
support those teachers, the curriculum is set up to create an engaging and relevant class that helps students
uncover and develop the knowledge they need. This makes it possible for a teacher to lead the course without
knowing all of the answers at first, as long as they embrace the lead learner role. In addition, it is not possible
to have complete command over every rapidly-changing facet of computer science, no matter how much
experience you have. Rather than feeling daunted, the lead learner welcomes this fact.
We believe that the lead learner technique represents good teaching practice in general. Acting as the lead
learner is an act of empathy toward your students and the challenges they face in learning material for the first
time. One important job of the teacher in the CS Fundamentals classroom is to model excitement about
investigating how things work by asking motivating questions about why things work the way they do, or why
they are the way they are. With your guidance, students will learn how to hypothesize; ask questions of peers;
test, evaluate, and refine solutions collaboratively.
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CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
How do I use it?
●
●
●
●
●
●

Allow students to dive into an activity without front loading the content first
Encourage students to rely on each other for support
Don’t give the answer right away, even if you know it
Feel open to making mistakes in front of students so that they see it is part of the learning process
Ask students questions that direct their attention toward the issue to investigate without giving away
what they need to change
Model the steps you would go through as a learner of a new subject. Explain the different questions you
ask yourself along the way and the ways you go about finding answers

Pair Programming
What is it?
Pair programming is a technique in which two
programmers work together at one computer. The
“driver” writes code while the “navigator” directs the
design and setup of the code. The two programmers
switch roles often. Pair programming has been shown
to:
● improve computer science enrollment, retention,
and students' performance
● increase students' confidence
● develop students' critical thinking skills
● introduce students to a "real world" working
environment

How does it connect to the curriculum?
In CS Fundamentals there are many lessons on the computer (plugged lessons) during which students
develop programming skills. Pair programming can help to foster a sense of camaraderie and collaboration,
and can promote diversity in the classroom by reducing the "confidence gap" between female and male
students, while increasing the programming confidence of all students.

How do I use it?
To get students pair programming:
1. Form pairs
2. Give each pair one computer to work on
3. Decide upon initial roles
4. Have students start working
5. Ensure that students switch roles at regular intervals (every 3 to 5 minutes)
6. Ensure that navigators remain active participants
It can be hard to introduce pair programming after students have worked individually for a while, so we
recommend that teachers start with pair programming in the first few plugged lessons. Just like any other
classroom technique, you may not want to use this all the time as different types of learners will respond
12

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
differently to working in this context. Once you have established pair programming as a practice early on, it will
be easier to come back to later.
Pair Programming Resources
Code.org also has a feature to help both students get “credit” on their accounts for the work they do together.
Check out the blog on Pair Programming: https://goo.gl/MorPnx. Explore videos outlining how to pair program
with Code.org: Teachers: youtu.be/sxToW3ixrwo | Students: youtu.be/vgkahOzFH2Q
The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) has a great resource about the benefits of
pair programming. Check it out at:
www.ncwit.org/resources/pair-programming-box-power-collaborative-learning

Authentic Choice
What is it?
Authentic choice is the practice of allowing students to decide
on the focus of their creation when they are working on a
project. This can be scoped in different ways with different
projects, but the central point is to allow students to work on
something they are personally invested in.

How does it connect to the curriculum?
In the curriculum, we give students many opportunities to work on projects that we hope will feel personally
relevant. Whether it be a small freeplay level at the end of a lesson, or a course project designed by students
in older elementary, every student should get ample opportunity to develop creations of their own.
In addition, we encourage teachers to help students utilize their new skills in creative ways at the end of each
lesson, using the Lesson Extras option. There, students will find challenge puzzles and open-canvas projects
to use for deeper learning and self-expression.

How do I use it?
●
●
●

Give students time to get creative and find something they are passionate about in the project that they
are working on
Encourage students to find personally relevant contexts for the work they do
Try to keep the projects as open to students’ interests as possible while still keeping them focused on
the learning at hand

Journaling
What is it?
In CS Fundamentals, students are encouraged to keep a journal nearby to write down thoughts and answer
questions.

How does it connect to the curriculum?
Courses A-F of Computer Science Fundamentals were written with the importance of journaling in mind.
Journaling for reflection is a popular tool in education, but we take that one step further. Like a chemist would
13

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
catalog strategies and solutions, so do we ask our budding computer scientists to take notes on their trials and
achievements. Journals are useful as scratch paper for building, debugging, and strategizing, and they offer a
fantastic resource for referencing previous answers when struggling with more complex problems.

How do I use it?
●
●
●
●
●

Encourage students to keep their journals beside them at all times when coding
Remind students that they can write solutions out longhand, then circle patterns to find prime
opportunities for loops and functions
Have students copy down answers to puzzles that they might need in future levels
Ask students to draw emoticons at the top of the pages to help them identify how they’re feeling about
concepts
End each lesson with a thought or question that students can answer in writing as a way of reflecting on
their growth for the day

In addition to the strategies above, consider the following tips for keeping your CS Fundamentals course active
and engaging:

Ditch the Uniformity

Students learn at different rates. They also come into technology with vastly
different skills. Trying to keep everyone on the same page will alienate both
the bottom third and top third of learners. Take the pressure off of everyone
by having a list of “approved” activities to focus on when they’ve finished
their class exercise. These should include the Lesson Extras at the end of
each CS Fundamentals lesson.

Frequent Breaks

Teachers are used to helping their class get very focused and encouraging
students to work quietly until an activity is done. In computer science,
students often benefit from small and frequent breaks, even if it’s just
switching to a new activity for a few minutes. Try having a student write a
sentence or two about what they’re trying to do or keep a notebook, like a
biologist or chemist might.

Collaborate

It’s really hard for a programmer to “cheat”. Collaboration is a requirement
out in the real world. This means helping one another solve problems,
researching issues on the internet, and looking at what others have done in
similar situations. The only bad method is claiming another’s work as your
own.

Don’t be a
Know-It-All

We often think that being a teacher means being an expert. In computer
science, it’s really much more important to be a cheerleader. Let the
students know that it’s possible for them to quickly become better at this
than you are. Foster determination. Encourage students to monitor
themselves and find answers for one another. Let them figure things out for
themselves, then let them teach you.

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide

Course Overviews and Lesson Outlines
Course A: Overview
Course A offers computer science curriculum for beginning readers in early elementary grades. Students will
learn to program using commands like loops and events. The lessons featured in this course also teach
students to collaborate with others meaningfully, investigate different problem-solving techniques, persist in the
face of difficult tasks, and learn about internet safety. By the end of this course, students create their very own
custom game in Play Lab.
Core concepts:
● Sequencing
● Loops
● Events
● Digital Citizenship
Attitudinal goals:
● Programming is fun
● It’s okay not to get it right the first time
● I can solve problems if I keep trying
Key teaching tips:
● Use the stories as a read-aloud and discuss the scenarios as a class
● Work through sample problems with students as a class
● Connect unplugged lessons to the online lessons using “bridging activities”
● Celebrate persistence as well as successes
● Honor the humor in the lessons and add more where possible

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course A: Lesson Outlines
Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are in bolded text.

Lesson Name

Description

Unspotted Bugs

Students will learn the mantra: "What happened? What was
supposed to happen? What does that tell you?"

Stevie and the Big Project

Here, frustration is presented as a step in the creative process,
rather than a sign of failure.

Plant a Seed

Students will relate the concept of algorithms back to everyday,
real-life activities by planting an actual seed.

Sequencing with Angry Birds

This begins with a brief discussion on computer lab manners, then
will progress into using a computer to complete online puzzles.

Happy Maps

This activity will help students gain experience reading and writing in
shorthand code.

Programming with Angry Birds

In this set of online puzzles, students will build on the understanding
of algorithms, debugging, and general computer literacy.

Programming with Harvester

Students will apply the programming concepts that they have
learned to the Harvester environment.

Going Places Safely

Students find out that they can go exciting places online, but they
need to follow rules to remain safe. [Common Sense Education]

Happy Loops

Students will be driven to want an easier way to solve mundane
problems.

Loops with Harvester

Building on the concept of repeating instructions, this stage will have
students using loops to more efficiently get to the veggies.

Loops with Laurel

Continuing practice with loops, students will help Laurel the
Adventurer collect treasure!

Ocean Scene with Loops

Here, students use loops to create patterns. At the end of this stage,
students will be given the opportunity to create their own images
using loops.

The Big Event

This shows that events are a great way to add variety to a sequential
algorithm.

On the Move with Events

Students will have the opportunity to learn how to use events in Play
Lab and apply their coding skills to create an animated game.
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CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course B: Overview
Course B was developed with first-graders in mind. Tailored to a novice reading level, this course also
assumes limited knowledge of shapes and numbers.
While the concepts in Course B parallel those in Course A, students will be exposed to more sophisticated
unplugged activities and greater variety in puzzles. Students will learn the basics of programming, collaboration
techniques, investigation and critical thinking skills, persistence in the face of difficulty, and internet safety. At
the end of this course students will create their very own custom game in Play Lab.
Core concepts:
● Sequencing
● Loops
● Events
● Copyright and Creativity
● Digital Citizenship
Attitudinal goals:
● Programming is fun
● It’s okay not to get it right the first time
● I can solve problems if I keep trying
Key teaching tips:
● Read through the Course A stories with your students beforehand (if possible) and talk about the
situations
● Work through sample problems with students as a class
● Connect unplugged lessons to the online lessons using “bridging activities”
● Remind students that they can go back and fix mistakes
● Celebrate persistence

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course B: Lesson Outlines
Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are in bolded text.

Lesson Name

Move It, Move It

This lesson will work to prepare students mentally for the coding
exercises that they will encounter over the length of this course.

Sequencing with Scrat

This begins with a brief discussion on computer lab manners, then
will progress into using a computer to complete online puzzles.

Your Digital Footprint

Students will learn that the information they put online leaves a
digital footprint or “trail.” [Common Sense Education]

My Robotic Friends Jr.

This teaches students the connection between algorithms and
programming, as well as the valuable skill of debugging.

Programming with Scrat

Students will use the concepts of programming to get Scrat to the
acorn.

It's Great to Create and Play
Fair

This lesson exists to help students understand the creative process
of sharing and inspiration. Along with that comes the promotion of
creative expression and the need to be fair with creative work.

Programming with Rey and
BB-8

In this lesson, students will use their newfound programming skills in
more complicated ways to navigate a tricky course with BB-8.

My Loopy Robotic Friends Jr.

Using the language from ‘My Robotic Friends’. Students find that
they can build big structures faster using loops.

Loops with Scrat

This lesson builds on the idea of using loops in a program.

Loops with Laurel (or Collecting
Treasure with Loops)

Students use loops to collect treasure more efficiently.

Drawing Gardens with Loops

Here, students use loops to create patterns. At the end of this stage,
students will be given the opportunity to create their own images
using loops.

The Big Event

This lesson shows that events are a great way to add variety to a
pre-written algorithm.

A Royal Battle with Events

In this online activity, students will have the opportunity to learn how
to use events in Play Lab and apply all of the coding skills that
they've learned to create an animated game.

Description

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course C: Overview
Course C was developed for students in and around the second grade. Lessons in this course may assume a
limited understanding of shapes and elementary math concepts.
Students will create programs with sequencing, loops, and events. They will translate their initials into binary,
investigate problem-solving techniques, and develop strategies for building positive communities both online
and off. By the end of the course, students will create interactive games that they can share. Each concept in
Course C is taught from the beginning, graduating toward experiences that allow for growth and creativity to
provide all students a rich and novel programming experience.
Core concepts:
● Sequencing
● Loops
● Events
● Digital Citizenship
● Binary
Attitudinal goals:
● I can read code and predict the outcome
● Programming can make repetitive tasks easy
Key teaching tips:
● Talk with students before you begin about how frustration will be present
● Use pair programming and encourage students to help each other
● Provide lesson examples to set students off on the right foot
● Connect unplugged lessons to the online lessons using “bridging activities”

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course C: Lesson Outlines
Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are in bolded text.

Lesson Name

Description

Building a Foundation

Students will build a structure with common materials. Most students will not get
this right the first time, but it's important they push through and keep trying.

Coding with Angry Birds

Students will develop sequential algorithms to move a bird from one side of the
maze to a pig at the other side.

Debugging with Angry
Birds

Students will step through the existing code to identify errors, including incorrect
loops, missing blocks, extra blocks, and blocks that are out of order.

Paper Planes

Students will relate the concept of algorithms back to everyday activities.

Collecting Treasure with
Laurel

Students will continue to develop their understanding of algorithms and debugging
by creating sequential algorithms to pick up treasure with a Laurel the Adventurer.

Creating Art with Code

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.`

Getting Loopy

Students will dance their way to a better understanding of how to use repeat loops.

Loops with Rey and
BB-8

Students will use loops to traverse mazes more efficiently than before.

Sticker Art with Loops

This lesson builds on the understanding of loops from previous lessons and gives
students a chance to be truly creative.

Harvesting Crops with
Loops

Students will loop new actions to help the harvester collect multiple veggies
growing in large bunches.

The Big Event

Students will learn that events are a great way to make their program interactive.

Build a Flappy Game

In this special stage, students get to build their own Flappy Bird game by using
event handlers to detect mouse clicks and object collisions.

Screen Out the Mean

This helps children recognize that it is essential to tell a trusted adult if something
online makes them feel angry, sad, or scared. [Common Sense Education]

Chase Game with
Events

It's time to get creative and make a game in Play Lab!

Looking Ahead with
Minecraft

Students will get the chance to practice ideas that they have learned up to this
point, as well as getting a sneak peek at conditionals!

Binary Bracelets

This lesson helps demonstrate how it is possible to take something from real life
and translate it into a series of ons and offs.

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course D: Overview
Course D was created for students who read at roughly a third grade level. Angles and mathematical concepts
are introduced with helpful videos and hints.
The course begins with a review of the concepts found in Courses A, B, and C. This review can be used to
introduce or refresh basic ideas such as loops and events. Afterward, students will develop their understanding
of algorithms, nested loops, while loops, conditionals, and events. Lessons on digital citizenship are also
included. This course is crafted to build a strong foundation of basic concepts before opening up to a wide
range of new and exciting topics.
Core concepts:
● Events
● Nested Loops
● While/Until Loops
● If/Else Conditionals
● Digital Citizenship
Attitudinal goals:
● Struggle is good, and a sign that I’m growing
● I can read programs and predict their outcomes
● Programs can be written to make simple choices
Key teaching tips:
● Talk to students about the frustration/learning connection before you begin
● Use pair programming and encourage students to help each other
● Begin to teach students the importance of solving their own issues
● Encourage students to use a journal during and after activities
● Give students the opportunity to share successes

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course D: Lesson Outlines
Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are in bolded text.

Lesson Name

Description

Graph Paper Programming

By "programming" one another to draw, students will develop an
understanding of the connection between code and what it produces.

Introduction to Coding

Students will practice sequencing and debugging before adding new skills.

Relay Programming

Students will race against the clock as they break into teams and work
together to write a program one instruction at a time.

Debugging with Laurel

Students will practice debugging in the Collector environment.

Bounce

Students will work through puzzles making the program react to events.

Loops in Ice Age

This stage will have students using the repeat block to get Scrat to the acorn.

Drawing Shapes with Loops

This gets students thinking about why loops are better than longhand.

Nested Loops in Maze

Using Bee and Plants vs Zombies, students will learn to nest loops.

Fancy Shapes using Nested
Loops

In this online activity, students will create designs in Artist using nested loops.

Snowflakes with Anna and
Elsa

Students will get practice nesting loops while creating images that they will be
excited to share.

While Loops with the Farmer

Students will develop a beginner's understanding of condition-based loops.

Until Loops in Maze

Students will build programs that have the main character repeat actions until
they reach their desired stopping point.

Conditionals with Cards

This lesson demonstrates how conditionals can be used to tailor a program to
specific information.

If/Else with Bee

The if / else blocks will allow for a more flexible program.

Harvesting with Conditionals

It's time to get creative and make a game in Play Lab!

Digital Citizenship

Students learn the difference between what is and is not safe to share online.
[Common Sense Education]

Ninjas vs. Pirates Game

It's time to get creative and make a game in Play Lab!

Binary Images

This lesson illustrates how a computer can store complex information (such as
photos and colors) in binary.

Binary Images with Artist

In this lesson, students will build binary images in Artist by translating 0s and
1s to offs and ons (or black and white).

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course E (Ramp-Up): Overview
Course E begins with a set of optional ramp-up lessons which will be presented again at the beginning of
Course F. These condensed lessons exist to help make sure that students are confident with basic concepts
before they begin learning more complex combinations later in the series.
The approach to the ramp-up section depends on your classroom. If your students have no prior experience,
then it’s essential that you use the ramp-up to provide your students with a solid introduction to the core
concepts that will be built upon later in the course. Pay particular attention to the unplugged lessons, as they
give students the real-life foundations that they will need to connect these concepts together later.
If students are already familiar with the concepts presented in the ramp-ups, you can pick and choose from the
lessons to keep the ramp-up experience slim. As long as students are confident using the various
programming environments present to program sequences, loops, and nested loops, they will have what they
need to be successful in later lessons.
Core concepts:
● Sequencing
● Debugging
● Loops
● Nested Loops
● Conditionals
Attitudinal goals:
● I’m comfortable with basic programming concepts
Key teaching tips:
● Remind students that this series is to help them learn, not to see how quickly they can solve puzzles
● Require students to make a first attempt at problem-solving before asking for help
● Remind students of the importance of persistence
● Encourage students to check themselves (and each other) for understanding during and after each
lesson

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course E (Ramp-Up): Lesson Outlines
Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are in bolded text.

Lesson Name

Description

My Robotic Friends

This lesson teaches students the connection between symbols and actions, as
well as the difference between an algorithm and a program.

Coding with
Comments

Students will be guided through an introduction (or review depending on the
experience of your class) of Code.org's online workspace.

Building a
Foundation

Students will build a structure with common materials. Most students will not get it
right the first time, and should be encouraged to keep trying.

Debugging with Scrat

In this lesson, students will encounter puzzles that have been solved incorrectly.
They will then work to identify and fix errors.

Creating Art with
Code

This Artist stage will allow students to create images of increasing complexity using
new blocks.

My Loopy Robotic
Friends

Students learn the simplicity and utility of loops by “programming” their friends
using the language from ‘My Robotic Friends’.

Drawing Shapes with This lesson builds on the understanding of loops from previous lessons and gives
Loops
students a chance to be truly creative.

Nested Loops in
Maze

In this online activity, students will have the opportunity to push their
understanding of loops to a whole new level. Playing with Bee and Plants vs
Zombies, students will learn how to nest loops.

Nested Loops with
Frozen

Now that students know how to layer their loops, they can create many beautiful
things. This lesson will take students through a series of exercises to help them
create their own portfolio-ready images.

Conditionals with
Cards

This lesson demonstrates how conditionals can be used to tailor a program to
specific information.

Conditionals with the
Farmer

This lesson briefly covers the conditional concepts, including `while` loops, `until`
loops, and `if/else` statements.

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course E: Overview
Course E in CS Fundamentals was tailored to the needs of students in the fourth grade.
At this point students should be growing in their confidence using basic programming concepts, and are ready
to start using them to solve more novel problems. Throughout this course students will learn to identify when to
apply and combine the many concepts they’ve learned in previous courses. Students will begin with some light
review, followed by a deep dive into the idea of functions. For many, the lessons in Course E will provide the
first puzzles where difficult concepts are mixed together, making it one of the most challenging courses in the
series.
Because of the complexity of Course E, it is important to be consistent with expectations from the very
beginning. With fourth graders, it is advised that students be encouraged to work together to find solutions,
rather than relying on help from the teacher or other experienced supervisor. Students should be empowered
to try multiple techniques and should be given praise for persistence and for helping others.
Ultimately, Course E will be setting the foundation for Course F in the fifth grade. This means that it is as
critical for students to understand the ideas behind each puzzles as it is for them to successfully solve the
puzzle. For this reason, you might want to show students how to use peer interaction or journaling to help with
difficult puzzles. Mainly, they should mention four things:
● What does the puzzle want me to do?
● What did I try to make that happen?
● Where did it go wrong?
● What might be the next thing I could try?
Core concepts:
● Events
● Conditionals
● Functions
● Digital Citizenship
● Copyright and Creativity
Attitudinal goals:
● There are often many ways to solve a problem
● Reflecting on past problems helps me solve new ones
● Programming is creative
Key teaching tips:
● Promote an environment of cross-team collaboration for group activities and projects
● Help students understand that the content is supposed to be difficult and it will start to feel easier with
practice
● Encourage students to go back and replay puzzles if they are having trouble moving forward

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course E: Lesson Outlines
Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are in bolded text.

Lesson Name

Description

Private and Personal
Information

Build a Star Wars Game Students will learn events before creating their own event-driven games.

Songwriting

Functions with Minecraft Students will be taught that functions are helpful in this interactive Minecraft adventure!

Functions with the
Harvester

This lesson will push students to use functions in the new ways by combining them with
while loops and if / else statements.

Digital Sharing

Students will learn the proper way to handle the use of content that is not their own.

Functions with Artist

For more complicated patterns, students will learn about nesting functions by calling
one function from inside another.

Determine the Concept

This lesson gives students a chance to think critically about how they would solve each
problem, but without telling them which concept to apply.

Learning Sprite Lab

This lesson is designed to introduce students to the core vocabulary of Sprite Lab and
allow them to apply concepts they learned in other environments to this tool.

Alien Dance Party

This lesson features Sprite Lab, a platform where students can create their own alien
dance party with interactions between characters and user input.

Pet Giraffe

Students will use events, behaviors, and custom code to create their very own pet
giraffe that gets hungry, playful, and even filthy!

Explore Project Ideas

Students will play with examples of projects in both Artist and Sprite Lab for inspiration.

The Design Process

Students will learn about the design process and how to implement it in their projects.

Build Your Project

Students will be given their own space to create their project with either Artist or Sprite
Lab. This will be the longest portion of the project.

Present Your Project

Finally, students will be able to present their finished work to their peers or share with
their loved ones with a special link.

Internet

In this lesson, students will pretend to flow through the internet, all the while learning
about connections, URLs, IP Addresses, and the DNS.

Crowdsourcing

This lesson will show students how helpful teamwork can be in the industry of CS.

[Common Sense Education] Developed by Common Sense Education, this lesson is
about the difference between information that is safe to share online and info that is not.

This lesson will help students intuitively understand why combining chunks of code into
functions can be such a helpful practice.

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course F (Ramp-Up): Overview
Course F begins with the same set of optional ramp-up lessons presented in Course E, as well as an additional
review of functions. These condensed lessons are here to help make sure that students are confident with
basic concepts before they begin learning more complex combinations later in the series.
The approach to the ramp-up section depends on your classroom. If your students have no prior experience,
then it’s essential that you use the ramp-up to provide your students with a solid introduction to the core
concepts that will be built upon later in the course. Pay particular attention to the unplugged lessons, as they
give students the real-life foundations that they will need to connect these concepts together later.
If students are already familiar with the concepts presented in the ramp-ups, you can pick and choose from the
lessons to keep the ramp-up experience slim. As long as students are confident using the various
programming environments present to program sequences, loops, and nested loops, they will have what they
need to be successful in later lessons.
Core concepts:
● Sequencing
● Debugging
● Loops
● Nested Loops
● Conditionals
● Functions
Attitudinal goals:
● I’m comfortable with basic programming concepts
It is recommended that you:
● Remind students that this series is to help them learn, not to see how quickly they can solve puzzles
● Require students to make a first attempt at problem-solving before asking for help
● Remind students of the importance of persistence
● Encourage students to check themselves (and each other) for understanding during and after each
lesson

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course F (Ramp-Up): Lesson Outlines
Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are in bolded text.

Lesson Name

Description

My Robotic Friends

This lesson teaches students the connection between symbols and actions, as
well as the difference between an algorithm and a program.

Coding with
Comments

Students will be guided through an introduction (or review depending on the
experience of your class) of Code.org's online workspace.

Building a
Foundation

Students will build a structure with common materials. Most students will not get it
right the first time, and should be encouraged to keep trying.

Debugging with Scrat

In this lesson, students will encounter puzzles that have been solved incorrectly.
They will then work to identify and fix errors.

Creating Art with
Code

This Artist stage will allow students to create images of increasing complexity using
new blocks.

My Loopy Robotic
Friends

Students learn the simplicity and utility of loops by “programming” their friends
using the language from ‘My Robotic Friends’.

Drawing Shapes with This lesson builds on the understanding of loops from previous lessons and gives
Loops
students a chance to be truly creative.

Nested Loops in
Maze

In this online activity, students will have the opportunity to push their
understanding of loops to a whole new level. Playing with Bee and Plants vs
Zombies, students will learn how to nest loops.

Nested Loops with
Frozen

Conditionals with
Cards

This lesson demonstrates how conditionals can be used to tailor a program to
specific information.

Conditionals with the
Farmer

This lesson briefly covers the conditional concepts, including `while` loops, `until`
loops, and `if/else` statements.

Functions with
Minecraft

Students will begin to understand how functions can be helpful in this fun and
interactive Minecraft adventure!

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course F: Overview
The final course in CS Fundamentals is tailored to the needs of students in the fifth grade.
In this course, students will investigate problem-solving techniques and discuss societal impacts of computing
and the internet. By the end of the course, students will have created interactive stories and games that they
can share with their friends and family.
In Course F students are begin to understand how the concepts that they have learned impact the world
around them, and how they can be applied to solve interesting and personally relevant problems. By this point
students should be cognitively mature enough to think about plans that they want to bring to life, and have the
skills to start down that path.
Starting with the first few lessons students are given greater autonomy and creative freedom in programming,
which also necessitates an increased emphasis on debugging and problem solving. Students in the fifth grade
should be expected to take the first steps in solving all of their own coding problems as they arise, and when
solving problems they should be encouraged to work with peers to overcome obstacles rather than relying on
the teacher to do so.
Remember, solving a puzzle is not as important as understanding a puzzle, so when students are stuck,
encourage them to look at several angles until a solution begins to appear.
Core concepts:
● Variables
● For-loops
● Functions
● Digital Citizenship
Attitudinal goals:
● I can use computer science to solve real and meaningful problems
● Programming is creative
Key teaching tips:
● Promote an environment of cross-team collaboration for group activities and projects
● Help students understand that the content is supposed to be difficult and it will start to feel easier with
practice
● Encourage students to go back and replay puzzles if they are having trouble moving forward
● Provide students with autonomy, allowing them to make decisions, edits, and fixes for themselves

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Course F: Lesson Outlines
Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are in bolded text.

Lesson Name

Description

The Power of Words

[Common Sense Education] Students explore ways to handle cyberbullying and how to
respond in the face of upsetting language online.

Envelope Variables

This lesson explains what variables are and how to use them in different ways.

Variables with Artist

Students explore the creation of repetitive designs using variables in Artist.

Changing Variables
with Bee

Students will get further practice with variables by gathering honey and nectar.

Changing Variables
with Artist

This artist level takes variables to new heights.

For Loop Fun

`For` loops have extra structures built-in to create more powerful & dynamic code.

For Loops with Bee

This focuses on `for` loops and using the increment to solve more complicated puzzles.

For Loops with Artist

Students continue to practice `for` loops, this time with Artist.

Learning Sprite Lab

This lesson is designed to introduce students to the core vocabulary of Sprite Lab and
allow them to apply concepts they learned in other environments to this tool.

Alien Dance Party

This lesson features Sprite Lab, a platform where students can create their own alien
dance party with interactions between characters and user input.

Pet Giraffe

Students will use events, behaviors, and custom code to create their very own pet giraffe
that gets hungry, playful, and even filthy!

Explore Project Ideas

Students will play with pre-built examples to prepare for the creation of their own projects.

The Design Process

Students will learn about the design process and how to use it for their own projects.

Build Your Project

Students will be given their own space to create a project of their own design.

Revise Your Project

Students are given the opportunity to get feedback from peers and revise their projects.

Present Your Project

Students will present their finished work to their peers and/or share with their loved ones.

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide

Courses A-F Additional Supplies List
Most of the unplugged lessons in Courses A-F require only paper, scissors, and writing instruments. We have
included here a list of activities where lessons can benefit from more.
Course A
❏ Marble Run [Lessons 1 & 2] - Tape, cardboard, other misc. supplies for building, kid friendly marbles
(or round cereal)
❏ Real-Life Algorithms: Plant a Seed [Lesson 3] - Dirt, seeds, paper cups
❏ Big Event (K-1 Version) [Lesson 13] - Printouts
Course B
❏ Move It, Move It [Lessons 1] - Printouts, blank paper
❏ My Robotic Friends [Lesson 4] - Plastic cups, index cards
❏ My (Loopy) Robotic Friends [Lesson 8] - Plastic cups, index cards
❏ Big Event (K-1 Version) [Lesson 12] - Printouts
Course C
❏ Building a Foundation [Lesson 1] - Gumdrops and toothpicks or marshmallows and popsicle sticks
❏ Real-Life Algorithms: Paper Airplanes [Lesson 4] - Paper for airplane construction
❏ Binary Bracelets [Lesson 15] - Markers (Optional: beads and pipe cleaners)
Course D
❏ Graph Paper / Relay Programming [Lessons 1 / 3] - Printouts, Markers
❏ Conditionals with Cards [Lesson 11] - Deck of cards, or something similar
❏ Digital Citizenship [Lesson 16] - Cubecraft superheros (see resources for more details)
❏ Binary Images [Lesson 18] - Printouts, markers, optional: coin (with heads and tails)
Course E
❏ My Robotic Friends [Lesson 1] - Plastic cups, index cards
❏ Building a Foundation [Lesson 3] - Gumdrops and toothpicks or marshmallows and popsicle sticks
❏ My (Loopy) Robotic Friends [Lesson 6] - Plastic cups, index cards
❏ Conditionals with Cards [Lesson 10] - Deck of cards, or something similar
❏ Functions: Songwriting [Lesson 14] - Paper, written song lyrics
❏ Internet [Lesson 27] - Blank paper, lesson printouts
❏ Crowdsourcing [Lesson 26] - Deck of cards, jar full of small items (buttons, beads, beans, etc)
Course F
❏ My Robotic Friends [Lesson 1] - Plastic cups, index cards
❏ Building a Foundation [Lesson 3] - Gumdrops and toothpicks or marshmallows and popsicle sticks
❏ My (Loopy) Robotic Friends [Lesson 6] - Plastic cups, index cards
❏ Conditionals with Cards [Lesson 10] - Deck of cards, or something similar
❏ Envelope Variables [Lesson 14] - Envelopes
❏ For Loop Fun [Lesson 18] - Dice
31

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Technology Requirements
A computing device and an Internet connection.
We work hard to build an environment that supports all modern web browsers on desktops and mobile devices.
This includes Internet Explorer 11+ and the latest versions of Firefox, Chrome, Safari.
Our instructional videos may be affected depending on your school's internet filters. If YouTube is blocked at
your school, our video player will attempt to use our non-YouTube player instead. For more details about the IT
requirements for accessing and playing our embedded videos, see our IT requirements page at
https://code.org/educate/it. We’ve made all of our videos available for download using a link located in the
bottom corner. If all fails, some videos have a “Show Notes” tab that provide a storyboard equivalent of the
video.

Implementation Tips and Considerations
This document offers suggestions for implementing an individual CS Fundamentals course in an elementary
school classroom, as well as planning the rollout of all Courses A-F as a pathway across elementary school
grade levels.

Scheduling The Lessons
The CS Fundamentals courses have been designed for flexibility in implementation, and have been
successfully used in a variety of formats, including in the classroom alongside other subjects, as a rotating
special, in computer lab time, or as stations. While each course is intended to run as one lesson per week for a
semester, they can alternatively be run two or three times a week for about two months, or one lesson every
two weeks for a year. Regardless of how you chose to pace the courses, it’s important to remember that
lessons are meant to be completed in order and can range from as little as 20 minutes to more than 45
minutes if extension activities are included.

Teaching in the Classroom
Here are implementation tips for four common situations in elementary school:
●

Grade Specific Classroom
○ Even if you have 1:1 computers, consider grouping students up for pair programming. This
setup allows students to gain insight into the problem solving processes of their peers while
helping them to develop collaboration and communication skills.
○ You do not need computers for unplugged days, unless you plan to double up and work on an
online lesson immediately after the offline one. Consider giving time for the concept to sink in
after an unplugged lesson before moving to online programming.
○ Keeping the class together on the same lesson helps to build a sense of community and
prevents struggling students from feeling left behind by their peers. Make sure students feel
empowered to travel at their own pace within a lesson and consider what you want to do with
students who finish early. Extension challenges or peer support can both be effective.
32

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
○

End of Lesson puzzles should be seen as a great opportunity to showcase the things students
have learned during the day, not as a required assessment for the segment.

●

Mixed Grade Classroom
○ When selecting groups for pair programming, make sure that students are paired either with
students of a similar age or a similar experience level. Having pairs that are too far separated in
skills is not fair to either member of the team.
○ If your class is regularly held in the lab, look for rooms to “visit” for unplugged activities (like the
library or the gym.) This will give students room to spread out and feel like they are learning
authentically, rather than trying to “make do” in the available space.
○ It’s expected that students from different grades could be on different lessons or even in
different courses. Decide on what rules you want to foster surrounding these differences and get
buy-in from students before each lesson to prevent things from getting unruly.

●

Using “Centers” or “Stations”
○ Some classrooms have a small number of computers set up in one area and teachers use these
as activity centers. This can be very effective once the class has already gone through the
unplugged activities for a concept together.
○ Continue to encourage pair programming, even if students are only able to get through 2 to 4
puzzles at a time. The realizations that they have while learning to talk through problems will far
outweigh any reduction in speed that they experience while trading off.
○ If you have empty stations open, offer unplugged activities that relate back to the online lessons.
Providing extra opportunities for context switching will help to solidify ideas that might otherwise
cause them to struggle.

●

Sporadic Lessons
○ If you are a teacher that struggles to find a time and place to integrate computer science into
your annual curriculum, you are in good company. Remember, when taught well, a little
computer science is better than no computer science.
○ Choose a concept and teach it thoroughly.
■ In elementary school, the main goal is to teach students that they are capable of learning
computer science. If you ditch a deep dive on concepts in favor of a shallow introduction,
students might be left feeling as if they don’t understand any of it.
■ Start with the unplugged lesson for the concept that you are choosing. Use the word
(such as “loops”) often in class for days after the unplugged lesson has been completed.
■ On your next trip to the computer lab, start by completing a bridging activity that ties your
concept to the online lessons that students are about to do. Spend that day in the lab
doing the straightforward, educational puzzles that come in the lesson directly following
the unplugged activity in the course.
■ If you have another chance to get to the lab, explore other online puzzles with that same
concept. This can be either a second concept lesson on Code.org, or a supporting
lesson from another tool or curriculum (such as Scratch or the Foos.)

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide

Standards Mapping
CS Fundamentals was written using both the K–12 Computer Science Framework
[https://k12cs.org] and the draft CSTA standards as guidance. Courses are also mapped to CC
and NGSS standards. Details can be found at curriculum.code.org/csf/standards.

Assessments
At Code.org, we believe that you know your students best, which is why we do not attempt to automatically
determine what “grade” students should receive for any given lesson. Instead, we try to build tools that allow
you to easily see student progress and to identify evidence of learning. The ability to see where a student is
succeeding and where they need help is fundamental to providing the opportunity to tailor their learning
experience. To that purpose, our teacher dashboard is continually evolving to better highlight the work done by
your class sections. Keep an eye on the Code.org blog [http://blog.code.org] for more information on changes
and improvements.
Please note, we have provided assessment worksheets with most unplugged activities, and “assessment”
puzzles for many online lessons. For more information on assessing student work using those items, see the
thread on our teacher forum at http://forum.code.org/t/assessment-in-csf.

Getting Help
The curriculum is completely free for anyone to teach anywhere. For
support, click on the menu in the upper right-hand corner of the website.
Here, you’ll find our “Help and support” forum where you can email us or find
how-to articles. You’ll also see a link to our “Teacher community” forums
where you can connect to other teachers for support, teaching tips, or best
practices.
When you’re in a puzzle, you’ll see an additional “Report bug” link for that
puzzle. Thank you for helping us find and fix any issues!
If you are a teacher and you'd like to attend a free training on our K-5
Computer Science curriculum, you can find links to local workshops by visiting
https://code.org/professional-development-workshops.

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide

Appendix A:
Unplugged Lesson Plans

Table of Unplugged Lessons
Big Event (The) ………………………………………..………... 37
Big Event Jr. (The) ..…....………………………………..…...… 43
Binary Bracelets ………………………………………………… 49
Binary Images ………….……………………………………… 55
Building a Foundation…………...………………………………60
Conditionals with Cards ……………………………………..… 65
Crowdsourcing …………………...………………………...…… 72
Digital Citizenship ……………………………………………… 75
Digital Sharing ………………………...………………………… 80
Envelope Variables ………………………………………….… 84
For Loop Fun ……………………………………..……….…… 90
Getting Loopy ………………………………………….….…… 97
Going Places Safely ……………………………………...…… 104
Graph Paper Programming …………………………..……… 108
Happy Loops …………………………………...……….……… 117
Happy Maps …………………………………….…………….… 128
Internet (The) …………………………………….…………...…138
It's Great to Create and Play Fair …………………………… 147
Marble Run (Stevie and the Big Project) …………..………
254
Move It, Move It ……………………………..….……………… 160
My Loopy Robotic Friends …………………..……………… 161
My Loopy Robotic Friends Jr. ……………….……………… 173
My Robotic Friends …………………...……………………… 182
My Robotic Friends Jr. ……………….…….………………… 193
Paper Planes …………………………………………………… 202
Plant a Seed ………………………………….………………… 207
Power of Words (The) ……………….…….………………… 213
Private and Personal Information ………...…………………221
Relay Programming …………………………………………… 229
Screen Out the Mean …………………………..………………239
Songwriting ………………………….……….………………… 246
Stevie and the Big Project (Marble Run) ………………..…
254
The Big Event ……………………...………….………………… 37
The Big Event Jr. …………………….……….………………… 43
The Internet …………………………….……..…………………
138
The Power of Words ………………………..………………… 213
Unspotted Bugs …………………………….….……………… 266
Your Digital Footprint ………………………………....………277

COURSE

Lesson 11: The Big Event
Unplugged | Events

Overview

Objectives

Students will soon learn that events are a great way to add ﬂexibility to a prewritten algorithm. Sometimes you want your program to be able to respond to
the user exactly when the user wants it to. Events can make your program more
interesting and interactive.

Students will be able to:
Repeat commands given by an instructor.
Recognize movements of the teacher as signals to
initiate commands.
Practice differentiating pre-deﬁned actions and
event-driven ones.

Purpose
Today, students will learn to distinguish events and actions. The students will
see activities interrupted by having a "button" pressed on a paper remote. When
seeing this event, the class will react with a unique action. Events are widely
used in programming and should be easily recognizable after this lesson.

Agenda
Warm Up (15 min)
Vocabulary
A Series of Events

Preparation
Watch the The Big Event - Teacher Video.
Print one The Big Event (Courses C-F) Worksheet and Event Controller.
Print one The Big Event - Assessment for each
student.
Make sure every student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.

Links

Main Activity (15 min)
The Big Event (Courses C-F) - Worksheet

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Wrap Up (10 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Assessment (10 min)
The Big Event - Assessment

For the Teacher

Extended Learning

The Big Event - Unplugged Video (download)
The Big Event - Teacher Video
The Big Event (Courses C-F) - Worksheet
The Big Event - Assessment
The Big Event - Assessment Answer Key
For the Students
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Event - An action that causes something to happen.

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (15 min)
Vocabulary
This lesson has one new and important vocabulary word:
Event - Say it with me: E-vent
An event is an action that causes something to happen.

A Series of Events
Prep your class to answer a question:
"I'm going to ask you a question. I want you to raise your hand if you want me to call on you for the answer."
Ask a simple question that most of your students should be able to answer, such as:
How many thumbs do I have?
What is bigger, a bird or a horse?
Call on a student who has their hand raised and let them give their answer.
Upon ﬁnishing that display, ask the class how you knew that the student wanted you to call on them.
Your class will likely mention the raising of the hand.
Explain to everyone that when students raise their hand, it is an "event" that causes you to know that they want to be called on.
Ask the class if they can think of any other events that give signals.
You may need to remind them that you're not talking about an event like a birthday party or a ﬁeld trip.
If they have trouble, you can remind them that an event is an action that causes something to happen.
What about an alarm clock going off? What does that make happen?
What about pressing "Start" on the microwave? What does that do?
What about pressing the power button on your tv remote?
Today, we're going to practice changing programs by introducing events.

Main Activity (15 min)
The Big Event (Courses C-F) - Worksheet
Do you remember guiding Red from Angry Birds to the pig in
the Maze puzzles?
In that exercise, you knew in advance exactly where you
wanted Red to go, so you could make a program that took
Red from start to ﬁnish without any interruptions.
In most real programs, we can't do that because we want to

 Lesson Tip
If your students seem confused, talk about their favorite games
and all of the ways that they let the characters know what they're
supposed to do. Point out how the game would be really boring if it
ran from start to ﬁnish without any events required.

have options, depending on what the user needs.
Say that I only want my character to move when my
ﬁnger is on the screen of my phone. I would need to program the character to only move when I put my ﬁnger on the screen of my
phone.
Putting my ﬁnger on the screen would then become an "event" that tells my character to move.
In earlier lessons, we created algorithms that allowed us to control a friend or other character for several steps at a time. It was fun and
useful, but what happens when you don’t know everything that you want your friend to do in advance? This is where events come in!

Directions:
Project the Event Controller onto your classroom screen.

Decide with your class what each button does. We suggest:
Pink Button -> Say “Wooooo!”
Teal Button -> “Yeah!”
Purple Dial -> “Boom!”
Green Button -> Clap
Orange Dial -> Stomp
Practice tapping the buttons on the overhead and having your class react.
Add some button sequences into the mix and have the students try to keep up with their sounds.
Let your class know that every time you push a button, it is an “event” that lets them know what they are expected to do next.
Get the class started on a planned task before interrupting them again with the buttons. We suggest:
Counting to 10
Singing “Old MacDonald”
Once their plan is underway, interject button presses sporadically.
Continue the blend until they understand the difference between actions that are guided by a plan and those that are event driven.

Wrap Up (10 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Why do we need to be able to handle events in a program?
What are some other kinds of events that you can think of?

Assessment (10 min)
The Big Event - Assessment
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
explained.
This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

One Person's Event is Another One's Reaction
Assign each student an event to watch out for, and an appropriate reaction to that event. Chain the actions so that each child's reaction
becomes an event that triggers the reaction of another student. Keep assigning until everyone has something to do and everyone makes
someone react.
Eventopalooza
Break the class up into groups. Using the Events Controller, assign each group a different reaction to the same button. Do this for all
three buttons, then watch the chaos!

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

The Big Event
Event Controller

Revision 140902.1a

U
Unplugged

Name:

Date:

The Big Event
Controlling by Events Assessment

You’ve been given a magical controller that changes the picture on the frame on your desk.
Take a look below to see what each button does. Can you figure out which series of button
events will cause your frame to show the pictures on the right? Draw a line from each set
of pictures to the button combination that causes it. The first one has been done for you.

Revision 160511 . 1a

COURSE

A/B

Lesson A.13/B.12: The Big Event Jr.
Unplugged | Event

Overview

Objectives

Events are a great way to add variety to a pre-written algorithm. Sometimes you
want your program to be able to respond to the user exactly when the user
wants it to. That is what events are for.

Students will be able to:
Recognize actions of the teacher as signals to
initiate commands.
Practice differentiating pre-deﬁned actions and
event-driven ones.

Purpose
Today, students will learn to distinguish events from actions. The students will
see activities interrupted by having a "button" pressed on a paper remote. When
seeing this event, the class will react with a unique action. Events are widely
used in programming and should be easily recognizable after this lesson.

Agenda
Warm Up (15 min)
Vocabulary
A Series of Events

Preparation
Watch the The Big Event - Teacher Video.
Print one The Big Event (Courses A, B) Worksheet.
Print The Big Event - Assessment for each
student.
Make sure every student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.

Links

Main Activity (15 min)
The Big Event

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Wrap Up (15 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Journaling
Assessment (10 min)

For the Teacher

The Big Event - Assessment

The Big Event - Unplugged Video (download)

Extended Learning

The Big Event - Teacher Video
The Big Event (Courses A, B) - Worksheet
The Big Event - Assessment
The Big Event - Assessment Answer Key
For the Students
Feeling Faces - Emotion Images
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Event - An action that causes something to happen.

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (15 min)
Vocabulary
This lesson has one new and important vocabulary word:

Event - Say it with me: E-vent
An action that causes something to happen.

Main Activity (15 min)
The Big Event
Do you remember helping the Flurbs ﬁnd fruit?
In that exercise, you knew in advance exactly where you
wanted your Flurb to end up, so you could make a program
that took them from start to ﬁnish without any interruptions.
In most real programs, we can't do that because we want to
have options, depending on what the user needs.

Say that I only want my character to move when my
ﬁnger is on the screen of my phone. I would need to
program the character to only move when I put my ﬁnger on the screen of my phone.
Putting my ﬁnger on the screen would then become an "event" that tells my character to move.
In earlier lessons, we created algorithms that allowed us to control a friend or Flurb for several steps at a time. It was fun and useful, but
what happens when you don’t know everything that you want your friend to do in advance? This is where events come in!

Directions:
Project the Event Controller onto your classroom screen.

Decide with your class what each button does. We suggest:
Pink Button -> Say “Wooooo!”
Teal Button -> “Yeah!”
Purple Dial -> “Boom!”
Practice tapping the buttons on the overhead and having your class react.
Add some button sequences into the mix and have the students try to keep up with their sounds.
Let your class know that every time you push a button, it is an “event” that lets them know what they are expected to do next.
Get the class started on a planned task before interrupting them again with the buttons. We suggest:
Counting to 10
Singing “Old MacDonald”
Once their plan is underway, interject button presses sporadically.
Continue the blend until they understand the difference between actions that are guided by a plan and those that are event driven.

Wrap Up (15 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Why do we need to be able to handle events in a program?
What are some other kinds of events that you can think of?

Journaling
Journal Prompts:

What was today’s lesson about?
Draw one of the Feeling Faces - Emotion Images that shows how you felt about today's lesson in the corner of your journal page.
Draw an event that caused an action today.
Draw an action that was caused by an event that happened today.

Assessment (10 min)
The Big Event - Assessment
Hand out the assessment activity and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
explained.
This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

Eventopalooza
Break the class up into groups. Using the Events Controller, assign each group a different reaction to the same button. Do this for all three
buttons, then watch the chaos!

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
CC - Counting And Cardinality
G - Geometry
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

The Big Event
Event Controller

Revision 140709.1a

U
Unplugged

Name:

Date:

The Big Event
Controlling by Events Assessment

Revision 160511 . 1a

COURSE

Lesson 16: Binary Bracelets
Unplugged | Binary

Overview

Objectives

Binary is extremely important in the world of computers. The majority of
computers today store all sorts of information in binary form. This lesson helps
demonstrate how it is possible to take something from real life and translate it
into a series of ons and offs.

Students will be able to:

Purpose
In this lesson students will learn how information is represented in a way such
that a computer can interpret and store it. When learning binary, students will
have the opportunity to write codes and share them with peers as secret
messages. This can then be related back to how computers read a program,
translate it to binary, use the information in some way, then reply back in a way
humans can understand. For example, when we type a sentence into a
document then press save, a computer translates the sentence into binary,
stores the information, then posts a message indicating the document has been
saved.

Agenda
Warm Up (15 min)
Vocabulary
Off and On
Main Activity (20 min)
Binary Bracelets - Worksheet

Encode letters into binary.
Decode binary back to letters.
Relate the idea of storing letters on paper to the idea
of storing information in a computer.

Preparation
Watch the Binary Bracelets - Teacher Video.
Watch the Binary Bracelets - Lesson in Action
Video.
Gather markers for the bracelets. Other decorations
like beads and pipecleaners are optional.
Print one Binary Bracelets - Worksheet per
student.
Print one Binary Bracelets - Assessment per
student.
Make sure every student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.
(Optional) Write a short message on the board in
binary.
Prepare to show the Bits Versus Bytes - Student
Video.

Links

Wrap Up (5 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Journaling

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Assessment (15 min)
Binary Bracelets - Assessment
Extended Learning

For the Teacher
Binary Bracelets - Unplugged Video (download)
Binary Bracelets - Teacher Video
Binary Bracelets - Lesson in Action Video
Binary Bracelets - Worksheet
Binary Bracelets - Assessment
Binary Bracelets - Assessment Answer Key
For the Students
Bits Versus Bytes - Student Video
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Binary - A way of representing information using
only two options.

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (15 min)
Vocabulary
This lesson has one new and important word:
Binary - Say it with me: Bye-nair-ee
A way of representing information using only two options

Off and On
If you've written a short message on the board in binary, call the students' attention to it and ask if anyone knows what it is or what it
means.
Put the message aside and move on to prepping for the activity.
You can start by asking the class if they have ever seen inside a computer.
What's in there?
This is a good place to actually show them the inside of a computer (or pictures of the inside of a computer).

Wires carry information through the machine in the form of electricity.
The two options that a computer uses with respect to this electrical information are "off" and "on." Just like the lights in this room!
When computers represent information using only two options, it's called "Binary."
That theme of two options doesn't stop when the information gets to its destination.
Computers also store information using binary.
Binary isn't always off and on.

Hard Disk Drives store information using magnetic positive and magnetic negative.
DVDs store information as either reﬂective or non-reﬂective.
How do you suppose we can convert real-life things that we want to store in a computer into binary?
Let's start with letters.
Use the Binary Bracelets - Worksheet to show how a computer might represent capital letters.
This is a good time to mention that each spot where you have a binary option is called a "binary digit" or "bit" for short.
Ask if anyone knows what a grouping of eight bits is called (it's a byte.)
Fun fact: A grouping of four bits is called a nibble.
Watch the Bits Versus Bytes - Student Video (~1 minute)
Go over a few examples of converting letters into binary, then back.
Afterward, write an encoded letter and give the class a few seconds to ﬁgure out what it is.
When the class can ﬁgure out that encoded letter on their own, you can move on to the activity.

Main Activity (20 min)
Binary Bracelets - Worksheet
You do not need to cover the whole of binary, like counting and
converting numbers back and forth from decimal. This lesson is
intended to be a fun introduction to how computers store
information, not a frustrating lesson in bases.
Directions:

 Lesson Tip
You know your classroom best. As the teacher, decide if students
should do this individually or if students should work in pairs or
small groups.

Find the ﬁrst letter of your ﬁrst name on the activity sheet.
Fill in the squares of a bracelet to match the pattern of the squares next to the letter that you selected.
Cut the bracelet out.
Tape the bracelet around your wrist to wear it!
Share your bracelet with your classmates to see if they can ﬁgure out your letter.

After the activity, revisit the message that was on the board and
see if your class can decypher it using what they've learned.

Wrap Up (5 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?

 Lesson Tip
If your class has extra budget for materials, try doing this exercise
using thread (or pipe cleaners) and beads to create the binary
bracelets instead of pen and paper. You can provide any
combination of two colors in beads to the students, but black and
white tend to be easiest, given the way that the key is done.

What else do you think is represented as binary inside of a
computer?
How else might you represent binary instead of boxes that are ﬁlled or not ﬁlled?
What was your favorite part about that activity?

Journaling
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they obtained
today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Journal Prompts:

What was today’s lesson about?
How did you feel during today’s lesson?
Use the activity worksheet to write out the rest of your name or your favorite word in binary.
Imagine a world where we spoke in binary, saying "on" or "off", but nothing else. Draw two characters trying to talk to each other in binary.

Assessment (15 min)
Binary Bracelets - Assessment
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
explained.
This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

Binary Images
There are several great resources on the web for taking this activity to the next level.
If your students are interested in how images (or even music) can be represented as binary, you can ﬁnd more details in Thinkersmith's
Binary Baubles.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

Name:

Binary Bracelets
Binary Decoder Key

Unplugged

A
B
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D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M

Date:

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Find the first letter of your first name.
Fill in the squares of the bracelet below to match the pattern of the squares next to the
letter that you found.
Cut the bracelet out and tape it around your wrist to wear it!

Revision 140902.1a

Name:

Date:

Binary Bracelets
Assessment for Binary Bracelets Lesson

Unplugged

Use the Binary Decoder Key below to decode the message at the bottom of the sheet.

A
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Can you figure out what the message says?

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54

Revision 140710.1a

COURSE

Lesson 18: Binary Images
Binary | Unplugged

Overview

Objectives

Though many people think of binary as strictly zeros and ones, students will be
introduced to the idea that information can be represented in a variety of binary
options. This lesson takes that concept one step further as it illustrates how a
computer can store even more complex information (such as images and
colors) in binary, as well.

Students will be able to:

Purpose
In this lesson students will learn how information is represented in a way such
that a computer can interpret and store it. When learning binary, students will
have the opportunity to write code and share it with peers to view as images.
This can then be related back to how computers read a program, translate it to
binary, use the information in some way, then reply back in a way humans can
understand. For example, when we type a sentence into a document then press
"save", a computer translates the sentence into binary, stores the information,
then posts a message indicating the document has been stored.

Agenda

Identify methods for encoding images into binary.
Relate images to a peer using binary encoding.
Reproduce an image, based on binary code.

Preparation
Watch the Binary Images - Teacher Video.
Print one Binary Images - Worksheet per pair.
Print one Binary Image - Assessment per
student.
Gather groupings of items that can show opposites
for students to use when coming up with their own
binary encodings (Optional).
Make sure every student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.

Links

Warm Up (10 min)

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Vocabulary
Introduction to Binary
Main Activity (20 min)
Binary Images - Worksheet

For the Teacher

Wrap Up (10 min)

Binary Images - Unplugged Video (download)

Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Journaling

Binary Images - Teacher Video
Binary Images - Worksheet

Assessment (10 min)

Binary Image - Assessment
Binary Images - Assessment Answer Key

Binary Image - Assessment

Binary Baubles - Thinkersmith Lesson

Extended Learning

For the Students
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Binary - A way of representing information using
only two options.
Binary Alphabet - The two options used in your
binary code.

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (10 min)
Vocabulary
This lesson has two new terms:

Binary - Say it with me: Bi-nare-ee
A way of representing information using only two options.

Binary Alphabet - Say it with me: Bi-nare-ee Al-fa-bet
The two options used in your binary code.

Introduction to Binary
What if we had a picture like this, where there's only two color options for each square, black or white.

How might we encode this so that someone else could recreate the picture without seeing it?
Some students might think back to the Graph Paper Programming lesson. While there could be a lot of similarities, let them know that this
is different enough that they should not use that lesson to guide this one
You may hear suggestions like: "Say 'white, black, white, black'."
"That's a great suggestion! Now I'm going to break you up into pairs. Work with your teammate to decide on a binary alphabet."
Decide whether you want your pairs to share their encodings with the other groups ahead of time, and tell them if they will be creating a key,
or keeping their methods secret.
"Now, let's encode some images, just like a computer would!"

Main Activity (20 min)
Binary Images - Worksheet
Now it's the students' turn!
Activity Directions:

1. Divide students into pairs.
2. Have them choose an image with their partner.
3. Encourage them to ﬁgure out what their binary alphabet is going to be.
4. Have them encode their image using their new binary alphabet.
5. Instruct students to trade encodings with another team and see if they can ﬁgure out which picture the other worked on.
6. Choose a Level
Easy: Let the other team know what your encoding method was
Tough: Have the other team guess your encoding method.

Wrap Up (10 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
What did we learn today?
What kind of binary alphabet did you create?
Can you think of how you could encode an image using only your ﬁngers?
Do you think you could create a binary alphabet out of sounds?

What was today's lesson about?
How do you feel about today's lesson?
What is a binary alphabet?
What kind of information can you share using binary?

Assessment (10 min)
Binary Image - Assessment
Pass out this assessment for students to do individually. Try to save time at the end to go over answers.

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

Storing Color Images
If your class really gets the idea behind storing binary images, they may want to know how to do color images.
First, you'll need to discuss how color works using binary (as in Binary Baubles - Thinkersmith Lesson, page 21).
Then, introduce some images that use combinations of those colors
Encourage your students to come up with ways to code these color images.

Hexadecimal
Take the idea of color one step further to introduce hexadecimal color codes.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
G - Geometry
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

Name:

Date:

Binary Images
Binary Representation Activity

Here are six images. Work with a partner to figure out how you can encode them into
binary in such a way that another team can use the code to figure out what image
you selected.
DIRECTIONS
1. Choose an image with your partner.
2. Figure out what your binary alphabet is going to be.
3. Encode your image using your new binary alphabet.
4. Trade your encoding with another team and see if you can figure out which
picture they worked on.
5. Choose a Level
* Easy: Let the other team know what your encoding method was
* Tough: Have the other team guess your encoding method.

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

Image 5

Image 6

Revision 141016.1a
58

Name:

Date:

Binary Images
Binary Representation Activity

Match the image to the binary code that describes it. In order to get the images
correct, you will need to figure out the binary alphabet for each encoding.

image #1
A)

image #2



 = _______________  = _______________
B)

This encodes image # _________



 = _______________

image #3

 = _______________

This encodes image # _________



= _______________ = _______________

This encodes image # _________

How do you know that your answers are correct?

Revision 141019.1a
59

COURSE

C/E/F

Lesson C.1/E.3/F.3
Unplugged

Overview

Objectives

In this lesson, students are asked to build a load-bearing structure using
common materials. The structure will be tested on its ability to hold a textbook
for more than ten seconds. The goal of this activity is to engage students in a
difﬁcult challenge to highlight strategies for showing persistence in the face of
frustration. Most students will not get this right the ﬁrst time, but if they continue

Students will be able to:

trying and iterating, you can help them identify techniques to make struggle
productive.

Purpose
While this lesson may not at ﬁrst seem connected to Computer Science, it plays
an essential role in preparing students to tackle some of the more difﬁcult
challenges that will come their way when approaching new CS content. This
lesson teaches that failure is not the end of a journey, but rather a step towards
success. The majority of students should feel frustrated at some point in this
lesson, but it's important to emphasize that failure and frustration are common
steps that lead to creativity and success.

Agenda
Warm Up (15 min)
Try, Try Again

Identify the feeling of frustration when felt or
described
List strategies for overcoming frustration during a
difﬁcult task
Model persistence while working on a difﬁcult task

Preparation
Watch Practicing Persistence - Teacher Video.
Watch the Building a Foundation - Lesson in
Action Video.
Print Building a Foundation - Teacher Prep
Guide.
Gather enough building elements (marshmallows or
gumdrops with toothpicks or popsicle sticks) for
each group. You don't have to give any certain
amount; just make sure you put some limit on
materials.
Give a Think Spot Journal - Reflection Journal
to each student.

Links

Activity (20 min)
Building a Foundation
Testing and Iteration

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Wrap Up (10 min)
Vocabulary
Flash Chat: What did we learn?

For the Teacher
Building a Foundation - Lesson in Action Video
Building a Foundation - Teacher Video
Building a Foundation - Teacher Prep Guide
For the Students
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Frustrated - Feeling annoyed or angry because
something is not the way you want it.
Persistence - Trying again and again, even when
something is very hard.

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (15 min)
Try, Try Again
Think: Ask students to close their eyes and think of a time where
they tried to do something and didn't succeed. Maybe it was
attempting a new sport, playing a tough video game, or learning a
new skill. As they are thinking silently, ask that they focus
speciﬁcally on:
What were you feeling?
What were you thinking?
What were you saying?

 Lesson Tip
As you work to embed persistence into your classroom culture,
consider using some of these images as occasional reminders.

Mouse Wants a Cracker
Fall 7 Times, Stand Up 8
Never Ever Give Up
If You Quit Too Soon

What were you doing?

Pair: Without discussing what the actual situation was, have students share with a neighbor about what it looked to try something and not
succeed. Encourage them to talk about the things they were feeling, thinking, saying, and doing.
 Share: Once all of the students have had a chance to share

thoughts with their neighbors, ask a few to share what they were
talking about with the whole class. Keep track of common
answers somewhere that students can refer to later in the lesson
(and possibly during future lessons as well).

Discuss: Using the list that the class generated, discuss which
responses to failure were productive (potentially led towards later
success) and which were not. Highlight the constructive
responses so that students can refer to them later.
Share: Share out a personal experience where you (the teacher)
initially failed at something, but persisted through to success. Let
students know that today we are all going to work on a challenge
that is meant to be hard and even frustrating. Let them know that
it was chosen because it's likely to create several failed attempts
before it works but we can rely on some of the constructive
responses we talked about earlier to move towards success.

 Discussion Goal

Focus on the experience: The goal of this discussion is to
remind students what it feels like to fail, because we want to be
able to identify those feelings when they occur so that we know
when to rely on persistence strategies. Students may be temped
to share information about the speciﬁc memories they thought of,
but redirect students to focus on their experience. Some expected
answers include:
Felt sad / mad
Cried
Yelled (or even cursed)
Threw or broke things
Asked for help
Quit

Activity (20 min)
Building a Foundation
The goal of this lesson is not just building a structure, like the activity makes it appear. Instead, it's to prepare students to face failure and
frustration with persistence. In order for that to happen, students need to know that they are not alone in feeling bad when things go wrong.
They also need to be prepared to struggle. The outcome of this activity is much stronger when students know what they are about to
experience.

 Remarks
We are going to work in groups today to solve a challenge. It is going to be a very hard challenge, and they made it this way on purpose!
Part of completing this challenge is knowing that we will struggle and we will probably even feel frustrated. Just know that if you hang in
there through the failure, you will eventually succeed!

Set Up: You'll need to have a collection of supplies for each group ready for this activity. It's important that the available supplies are limited
in number and structurally unsound. Potential supply kits include:
20 gumdrops and 50 toothpicks
20 drinking straws and 6" of tape
20 marshmallows and 20 craft sticks
10 playing cards and 4" of tape

Transition: Introduce the challenge, which is to build a structure that can hold a textbook for at least 10 seconds, using provided materials.

 Group: Divide students into groups of three or four.

Distribute: Pass out the building supplies, letting students know that they are limited to only the supplies you provide.
Display: Show rules that are similar to the ones itemized below
in a place where students can easily see and refer back to as
they work.
Use only the supplies provided to build a structure.
The structure can be any shape, but it has to be at least 2.5"
tall. (Example)
The structure must support the weight of a book for a full 10
seconds. (Example)

Prompt: Ask groups to spend at least 5 minutes planning a
method for building their ﬁrst tower. Each group should draw or
write down the steps in their plan.
Circulate: Encourage students to begin building, and observe as
they work. Keep your eyes open for signs of frustration and
repeated failure. Make sure to acknowledge frustration and praise
their persistence. Refer to the methods of dealing with frustration
and the methods for productive persistence that are written on the
board. Keep reminding individuals that the goal of this lesson is to
experience frustration and persistence, so if they are failing,
they're really succeeding!
When groups have reached a design they believe will meet
conditions, move them to the "Testing and Iteration" phase.

 Teaching Tip

Providing Examples: The planning stage can be difﬁcult for
young students. It may be helpful for you to place some idea
"examples" at the front of the room. Do not announce that they are
there. Simply encourage students to take a walk if they get
frustrated. Try to encourage students to locate the tips on their
own if at all possible. This helps students feel like they
"discovered" something that helped them, rather than being
rescued. Make sure you also have "tips" for being persistent and
for dealing with frustration written in a clear location.
Tips for Overcoming Frustration
Count to 10
Take deep breaths
Journal about them
Talk to a partner about them
Ask for help
Tips for Being Persistent
Keep track of what you have already tried
What is happening?
What is supposed to happen?
What does that tell you?
Make a change and try again

Testing and Iteration
Model: The ﬁrst time a group tests their structure, model for them them how you intend to test in line with the rules. Speciﬁcally you'll want
to:
Check that it's at least 2.5" tall
Ensure that they are using only provided materials
Gently place a text book on top and time how long it holds out.

Prompt: If the group's structure failed, ask them to discuss:
Why it failed
Whether their plan needs revision, or just another try
How they're going to improve the next iteration
If the structure succeeded, push them to support more weight until it breaks, and then follow the same reﬂection and iteration process.

Circulate: Allow as much time as you can for groups to continue iterating on their plans. Make sure to be excited not only for the
successes, but also the failures. Model for students how much you can learn from your failed attempts.

Wrap Up (10 min)
Vocabulary
Display: Present the vocab for this lesson, persistence, frustrated. Let the class know that they were showing persistence when they
worked through failures in their structures.

Flash Chat: What did we learn?
 Discuss: Reﬂect on the activity as a class, using the following

prompts as a start.
Did anyone feel frustrated during this lesson?
Can you share what that felt like?
(Alternatively, you can ask "Who felt frustrated at some point
during this lesson?" and cheer for the students who raise their
hand.)

 Discussion Goal
This Flash Chat is meant to help the students come to terms with
the negative emotions that they felt during the project, and help
them see that they were not alone in their struggle. It should also
prepare them to recall the tools that they used to help themselves
overcome frustration and be persistent so that they can access
those tools again when solving online puzzles.

Then YOU won this lesson, and YOU won this lesson, and
YOU won, too!
Was there a time that you thought about giving up?
What were you feeling, saying, doing, or thinking at that time?
How did you get past that feeling?
Do you think that you would be more proud of yourself for solving something that was easy, or something that was very, very hard?
End the discussion by bringing the context back to the warm-up.

Think: Where would you be now if you had not been persistent when you were learning to walk as a baby? Or if you had been too frustrated
to keep going when you were learning to talk? What other things did you learn to do, even though they were very, very hard?
Pair: Have students discuss this thought exercise with an elbow partner to come up with 1-3 things that ﬁt that description.
Share: Have students write the answers in their journals to remind themselves how strong they can be when faced with a challenge.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MD - Measurement And Data
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

U
Unplugged

Building a Foundation
Learning Persistence through Challenges

Directions:
1) Divide students into groups of 3 or 4.
2) Explain the rules of the challenge, provided on the other page.
3) Provide each group with limited supplies and make it known that they will
get no more.
4) Challenge the class to think ahead to the problem and plan out their
method of building their first tower.
5) Encourage students to begin building, then have them alert you when they
think they’ve met the challenge described by the rules.
6) Test each structure. Is it taller than the cup? Does it hold a book?
7) If not, have students enter a cycle of planning, fixing, testing, and planning
again until the challenge has been met.
8) Congratulate the students as they succeed and take pictures of the successful towers (if possible) to upload to the Code.org site!

Revision 140902.1a

COURSE

D/E/F

Lesson D.13/E.11/F.11: Conditionals with Cards
Conditionals | Unplugged

Overview

Objectives

This lesson demonstrates how conditionals can be used to tailor a program to
speciﬁc information. We don’t always have all of the information we need when
writing a program. Sometimes you will want to do something different in one
situation than in another, even if you don't know what situation will be true when
your code runs. That is where conditionals come in. Conditionals allow a

Students will be able to:

computer to make a decision, based on the information that is true any time
your code is run.

Purpose

Deﬁne circumstances when certain parts of a
program should run and when they shouldn't.
Determine whether a conditional is met based on
criteria.
Traverse a program and predict the outcome, given a
set of input.

Preparation

One of the best parts of teaching conditionals is that students already
understand the concept from their everyday lives.
This lesson merges computer science into the real world by building off of their
ability to tell if a condition is true or false. Students will learn to use if
statements to declare when a certain command should be run, as well as if /
else statements to declare when a command should be run and what do run

otherwise. Students may not recognize the word conditionals, but most
students will understand the idea of using "if" to make sure that some action
only occurs when it is supposed to.

Agenda

Watch the Conditionals with Cards - Teacher
Video.
Watch the Conditionals with Cards - Lesson in
Action Video.
Gather decks of cards or something similar.
One Conditionals with Cards Sample Program
- Teacher Prep Guide for the class to look at.
Print one Conditionals with Cards Assessment for each student.
Make sure every student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.

Links

Warm Up (20 min)
Vocabulary
Introduction
Main Activity (20 min)
Conditionals with Cards Sample Program - Teacher Prep Guide
Wrap Up (15 min)

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.
For the Teacher

Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Journaling

Conditionals with Cards - Unplugged Video
(download)

Assessment (5 min)

Conditionals with Cards - Teacher Video

Conditionals with Cards - Assessment

Conditionals with Cards - Lesson in Action Video

Extended Learning

Conditionals with Cards Sample Program Teacher Prep Guide
Conditionals with Cards - Assessment
Conditionals with Cards - Assessment Video
Conditionals with Cards - Assessment Answer
Key
For the Students
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Conditionals - Statements that only run under
certain conditions.

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (20 min)
Vocabulary
This lesson has one new and important word:

Conditionals - Say it with me: Con-di-shun-uls
Statements that only run under certain conditions.

Introduction
We can start this lesson off right away
Let the class know that if they can be completely quiet for thirty seconds, you will do something like:
Sing an opera song
Give ﬁve more minutes of recess
Do a handstand
Start counting right away.
If the students succeed, point out that they succeeded, so they get the reward.
Otherwise, point out that they were not completely quiet for a full thirty seconds, so they do not get the reward.
Ask the class "What was the condition of the reward?"
The condition was IF you were quiet for 30 seconds
If you were, the condition would be true, and you would get the reward.
If you weren't, the condition would be false, so the reward woud not apply.
Can we come up with another conditional?
If you can guess my age correctly, the class can give you applause.
If I know an answer, I can raise my hand.
What examples can you come up with?
Sometimes, we want to have an extra condition, in case the "IF" statement is not true.
This extra condition is called an "ELSE" statement
When the "IF" condition isn't met, we can look at the "ELSE" for what to do
Example: IF I draw a king from this deck of cards, everybody claps. Or ELSE, everyone says "Awwwwwwe."
Let's try it. (Draw a card and see if your class reacts appropriately.)
Ask the class to analyze what just happened.
What was the IF?
What was the ELSE?
Which condition was met?
Believe it or not, we have even one more option.
What if I wanted you to clap if I draw a 7, or else if I draw something less than seven you say "YAY," or else you say
"Awwwwwwwe"?
This is why we have the terms If, Else-If, and Else.
If is the ﬁrst condition
Else-If gets looked at only if the "If" isn't true.
Else gets looked at only if nothing before it is true.
Now let's play a game.

Main Activity (20 min)
Conditionals with Cards Sample Program - Teacher Prep Guide
Directions:
Create a few programs with your class that depend on things like a card's suit, color, or value to award or subtract points. You can write
the program as an algorithm, pseudocode, or actual code.
Here is a sample algorithm:

if (CARD is RED)
Award YOUR team 1 point
Else

Award OTHER team 1 point

Here is a sample of the same program in pseudocode:
If (card.color == RED){
points.yours = points.yours + 1;
}
Else {
points.other = points.other + 1;
}

Decide how you want to split your class into teams.
Each team should have a pile of cards (at least as many cards as team members) nearby.
Put one of your “Programs” up on the board for all to see.
Have the teams take turns drawing cards and following the program to see how many points they score in each round.
Play several times with several different programs to help the students really understand conditionals.
Once the class has had some practice, you can encourage students to nest conditionals inside one another. Make sure they understand that
if the card is red, YOUR team is awarded 1 point, and then nothing else happens, since the condition was met:
If (CARD is RED){
Award YOUR team 1 point
Else

If (CARD is higher than 9)
Award OTHER team 1 point
Else
Award YOUR team the same number of points on the card

Here is the same program in pseudocode:
If (card.color == RED ){
points.yours = points.yours + 1;
}
Else {
if (card.value > 9){
points.other = points.other + 1;
}
Else {
points.yours = points.yours + card.value;
}
}

Wrap Up (15 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
If you were going to code this up in Blocky, what would you
need to add around your conditionals to let the code run more
than one time? (A loop)
What other things do you do during the day under certain
conditions?
If you are supposed to do something when the value of a card
is more than 5, and you draw a 5, do you meet that condition?

 Lesson Tip
Flash Chat questions are intended to spark big-picture thinking
about how the lesson relates to the greater world and the students'
greater future. Use your knowledge of your classroom to decide if
you want to discuss these as a class, in groups, or with an elbow
partner.

Notice that conditions are either "True" or "False." There is no
assessment of a condition that evaluates to "Banana."
When you need to meet several combinations of conditions, we can use something called "nested conditionals."
What do you think that means?
Can you give an example of where we saw that during the game?
What part of that game did you like the best?

What was today's lesson about?
How do you feel about today's lesson?
What is a conditional? How did you use a conditional today?
What are some of the conditionals you used today? Can you come up with some more that you would use with a deck of cards?

Assessment (5 min)
Conditionals with Cards - Assessment
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
explained. This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities. Here's a Conditionals with Cards - Assessment Video to watch as
a guide.

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

True/False Tag
Line students up as if to play Red Light / Green Light.
Select one person to stand in front as the Caller.
The Caller chooses a condition and asks everyone who meets that condition to take a step forward.
If you have a red belt, step forward.
If you are wearing sandals, take a step forward.
Try switching it up by saying things like "If you are not blonde, step forward."

Nesting
Break students up into pairs or small groups.
Have them write if statements for playing cards on strips of paper, such as:
the suit is clubs
the color is red
Have students create similar strips for outcomes.
Add one point
Subtract one point
Once that's done, have students choose three of each type of strip and three playing cards, paying attention to the order selected.
Using three pieces of paper, have students write three different programs using only the sets of strips that they selected, in any order.
Encourage students to put some if statements inside other if statements.
Now, students should run through all three programs using the cards that they drew, in the same order for each program.
Did any two programs return the same answer?
Did any return something different?

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

Conditionals with Cards
Sample Program 1

Sample program as algorithm

If (CARD is RED)
Award YOUR team 1 point
Else
Award OTHER team 1 point

This program has you choose a card. If the card is red, your team gets a point. Else, the other team gets a point.

Sample program from above as pseudocode (like code, but in no particular language)

If (card.color == RED) {
points.yours = points.yours + 1;
}
Else {
points.other = points.other + 1;
}

Revision 140829.1a

Conditionals with Cards
Sample Program 2

Sample program as algorithm

If (CARD is RED)
Award YOUR team 1 point
Else
If ( CARD is higher than 9)
Award OTHER team 1 point
Else
Award YOUR team the same
number of points on the card

This program has you choose a card. If the card is red, your team gets a point. Else, the card must be black. If your black card is higher than 9,
then the other team gets a point, else your card must be black and lower than or equal to 9, and you get as many points as are on your card.

Sample program from above as pseudocode (like code, but in no particular language)

If (card.color == RED) {
points.yours = points.yours + 1;
}
Else {
If ( card.value > 9) {
points.other = points.other + 1;
}
Else {
points.yours = points.yours + card.value;
}
}

Revision 140829.1a

Name:

Date:

Conditionals with Cards
Assessment Activity

Unplugged
Look at the program below.

The steps below show each team taking turns to play the Conditionals Game. See if you
can figure out what happens for each draw. Write down the score during each round along
the way. After three rounds, circle the winner.

If (CARD is lower than 5)
If ( CARD is BLACK)
Award YOUR team the same
number of points on the card.
Else
Award OTHER team 1 point.
Else
If ( CARD is HEARTS)
Award YOUR team 1 point

Here’s how the game went:

OU
F RRE
O
END SCO

TEAM #1

OU
F RRE
O
END SCO
TEAM #2

ROUND #2

ROUND #3

ROUND #1

Revision 140625.1a

COURSE

Lesson 28: Crowdsourcing
Unplugged | Crowdsourcing

Overview

Objectives

In computer science, we face some big, daunting problems. Challenges such as
ﬁnding large prime numbers or sequencing DNA are almost impossible to do as
an individual. Adding the power of others makes these tasks manageable. This
lesson will show your students how helpful teamwork can be in the industry of
computer science.

Students will be able to:

Purpose

Preparation

It's very rare that one computer scientist works completely alone on a project.
Even when that does happen, there is always beneﬁt in numbers. Today,
students will learn what it means to crowdsource a project. This activity builds
teamwork and creates an efﬁcient environment for students to solve problems.

Agenda
Warm Up (20 min)

Identify a large task that needs to be done.
Rearrange a large task into several smaller tasks.
Build a complete solution from several smaller
solutions.

Watch the Crowdsourcing - Teacher Video.
Review Crowdsourcing - Worksheet.
Obtain a jar of lots of something (pennies, buttons,
slips of paper, etc) and a deck of cards.
Make sure every student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.

Links

Vocabulary
Introduction

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Main Activity (20 min)
Crowdsourcing - Worksheet
Wrap Up (15 min)

For the Teacher

Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Journaling

Crowdsourcing - Unplugged Video (download)

Extended Learning

Crowdsourcing - Teacher Video
Crowdsourcing - Worksheet
For the Students
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Crowdsourcing - Getting help from a large group of
people to ﬁnish something faster.

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (20 min)
Vocabulary
This lesson has one new and important word:

Crowdsourcing - Say it with me: Crowd-sore-sing
Getting help from a large group of people to ﬁnish something faster.

Introduction
Show your students your jar full of something.
"Look at this jar. I have a lot of buttons in here, and I need to
tell the principal how many there are before the end of
class."
"Can you think of a way I could get these counted quickly?"

 Lesson Tip
Jars of buttons and pennies work nicely, but if you ﬁnd yourself
with little time to prepare, you can cut slips of paper and put them
in a ziplock bag or even a pencil box.

Your students may guide you toward seeking help, but if they
don't, you can suggest it, too.
Pour all of the buttons (or pennies, etc.) into a pile on the ﬂoor.
Invite all of the students to come up and grab a small number (ten is good, but you can do more if your students can handle it).
Once they've counted out their ten, have them report to you, drop their buttons back in the jar, and go again until the pile is gone.
Comment on how fast the task went.
Have the class reﬂect on how long it might have taken or how hard it may have felt to do alone.

Main Activity (20 min)
Crowdsourcing - Worksheet
Sometimes you have a big job that needs to get done, but it feels like it will take forever. Crowdsourcing is a way of using teamwork to make
the job go much faster! In this game, we’ll use crowdsourcing to sort decks of playing cards.

Directions:
1. Divide into groups of 4, 5, or 6.
2. Grab your deck of playing cards and dump it into a bag,
bucket, or even a loose pocket that you can make with the
bottom of your shirt.
3. Shake the cards until they’re all mixed up.
4. Dump the cards out onto a table or desk where the whole
group can see them.
5. Decide how to break up the task of sorting the deck so that
every person has something to do and no one is doing too
much.
6. Time yourself sorting the cards. Can you ﬁgure out a way to do
it faster?
7. Repeat the game over and over until you think you have found
the fastest way of crowdsourcing the card sorting activity.

 Lesson Tip
It can be challenging for students to ﬁgure out how to break apart
large tasks at ﬁrst. Students might ﬁnd it helpful to have some
ideas handed to them after working for a while. One great division
for sorting cards is as follows:
One person picks up the cards and determines the suit of each
one.
One person manages Hearts.
One person manages Diamonds.
One person manages Clubs.
One person manages Spades.
(If there's another, they can put all sorted suits back together
again.)

Wrap Up (15 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Have you ever tried to sort a pile of cards by yourself?
Do you think it was easier or harder to have help?
What other things do you have to do in life that could be easier with help?

Journaling
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful,
and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the
future.
Journal Prompts:

What was today's lesson about?

How do you feel about today's lesson?
What are the beneﬁts of crowdsourcing?
What kind of things do you want to make with computer science? How do you see crowdsourcing being beneﬁcial in those projects?

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

Reverse Crowdsourcing
Often we think of crowdsourcing as pulling things apart to make them more simple. You can also make big, beautiful things with the same
technique.
Have your students each grab three cards and build one segment of a card house. Each student can go one after another to build a grand
card tower.
Try with two, or even three students adding their chunk at a time.
Does crowdsourcing always make a task easier?

Crowdsourcing in the Round
You can crowdsource all at the same time or you can do it one person at a time. Try having the whole class sort the same deck of cards,
one student at a time.
Shufﬂe the cards and place them in a pile in the center of the room.
Have each student approach the pile and choose four cards.
Have four piles for the students to sort their cards into
Spades
Clubs
Hearts
Diamonds
Once all cards have been put in their four piles, have the following four students sort the individual piles.
The last person will put all four piles together.
This version may not save a lot of time, but it still divides the work and lets each individual have more free time!

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

COURSE

Lesson 16: Digital Citizenship
Common Sense Education | Unplugged

Overview

Objectives

In collaboration with Common Sense Education, this lesson helps students
learn to think critically about the user information that some websites request or
require. Students learn the difference between private information and personal
information, distinguishing what is safe and unsafe to share online.

Students will be able to:

Students will also explore what it means to be responsible and respectful to
their ofﬂine and online communities as a step toward learning how to be good
digital citizens.

Purpose
As students spend more time on computers, they should be aware that the
internet is not always a safe space. In this lesson, students are taught what
information is safe to share and what information should remain private.
Students will create "superheros" and learn what it means to be a Digital Citizen
on the internet.

Agenda
Warm Up (15 min)
Vocabulary
Personal vs. Private Online

Compare and contrast their responsibilities to their
online and ofﬂine communities.
Understand what type of information can put them at
risk for identity theft and other scams.
Reﬂect on the characteristics that make someone an
upstanding citizen.
Devise resolutions to digital dilemmas.

Preparation
Watch the Digital Citizenship - Teacher Video.
Print out a good selection of male and female
Cubecraft Superhero Templates Manipulatives sheets for the whole class.
Print one Digital Citizenship - Assessment for
each student.
Review CSF Digital Citizenship - Resource List
for more online safety content.

Links

Main Activity (35 - 40 min)

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Cubecraft Superhero Templates - Manipulatives
Wrap Up (15 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Journaling

For the Teacher

Assessment (5 min)

Digital Citizenship - Teacher Video

Digital Citizenship - Assessment

Cubecraft Superhero Templates - Manipulatives

Extended Learning

Digital Citizenship - Assessment
Digital Citizenship - Assessment Answer Key
Common Sense Education - Website
CSF Digital Citizenship - Resource List
For the Students
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Digital Citizen - Someone who acts safely,
responsibly, and respectfully online.

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (15 min)
Vocabulary
This lesson has one new and important phrase:

Digital Citizen - Say it with me: Dih-jih-tal Sit-i-zen
Someone who acts safely, responsibly, and respectfully online

Personal vs. Private Online
Ask "What types of information do you think are okay to share
publicly online or on a proﬁle that others will see?"
What are some examples of websites where you must register
in order to participate?
Write the names of the websites on the board.

 Lesson Tip
If you have access to a computer, feel free to navigate to a site
that might require this type of information, such as Gmail or
Facebook.

What information is required and why do you think it is
required?
Information may be required to help distinguish one person from another.
The website may keep a record of who uses it.
Explain that it’s important to know that sharing some kinds of user information can put you and your family’s privacy at risk.
Point out that you do not have to ﬁll out ﬁelds on websites if they are not required.
Required ﬁelds are usually marked by an asterisk (*) or are highlighted in red.
Elementary school students should never register for sites that require private information without the approval and guidance of a parent
or guardian.
Here is an example of public versus private information:

SAFE - Personal Information

UNSAFE - Private Information

Your favorite food
Your opinion (though it shoud be done respectfully)
First name (with permission)

Mother's maiden name
Social Security number
Your date of birth
Parents' credit card information
Phone number

Explain that some people will actively try to get you to share this kind of information so that they can use it to take over your identity. Once
a thief has taken someone’s identity, he or she can use that person’s name to get a driver’s license or buy things, even if the person
whose identity they stole isn’t old enough to do these things!
It’s often not until much later that people realize that their identity has been stolen. Identity thieves may also apply for credit cards in
other people’s names and run up big bills that they don’t pay off. Let students know that identity thieves often target children and teens
because they have a clean credit history and their parents are unlikely to be aware that someone is taking on their child’s identity.
Now, let's see what we can do to keep ourselves safe.

Main Activity (35 - 40 min)

Cubecraft Superhero Templates - Manipulatives
Spiderman says "With great power comes great responsibility." This is also true when working or playing on the Internet.
The things we read, see, and hear online can lead people to have all sorts of feelings (e.g., happy, hurt, excited, angry, curious).
What we do and say online can be powerful.
The Internet allows us to learn about anything, talk to people at any time (no matter where they are in the world), and share our
knowledge and creative projects with other people.

This also means that negative comments can spread very quickly to friends of all ages.
CREATE a three-column chart with the terms “Safe,” “Responsible,” and “Respectful” written at the top of each column. Invite students to
shout out words or phrases that describe how people can act safely, responsibly, and respectfully online, and then write them in the
appropriate column.

Safe

Responsible

Respectful

Now, let's really make sure we understand how to be a Super Digital Citizen!

Directions:
Have each student grab a small selection of papercraft sheets
and encourage them to blend the pieces to make their very
own superhero.
Allow plenty of time for students to cut, glue, and color.
Give students a 5 minute warning to wrap up.

 Lesson Tip
For more in-depth modules, you can ﬁnd additions to this
curriculum at the Common Sense Education - Website page
on Scope and Sequence.

Separate students into groups of 2-4 and tell them to use their
superheroes and leftover supplies to stage a scene in which
one superhero sees an act of poor digital citizenship. Then have the superhero ﬁx the problem … and save the day!
Go around the room, having each student explain their scene to the class.

Wrap Up (15 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
What is a good way to act responsibly online?
What kinds of personal information could you share about
yourself without showing your identity?
What kinds of superpowers or qualities did your digital
superheroes have in common?
What does Spider-Man’s motto “With great power comes great
responsibility” mean to you, as someone who uses the
internet?

What was today's lesson about?
How do you feel about today's lesson?
What is a Digital Citizen?
What do you need to do to be a Digital Citizen?

Assessment (5 min)
Digital Citizenship - Assessment
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
explained.
This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

Common Sense Education
Visit Common Sense Education - Website to learn more about how you can keep your students safe in this digital age.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
NI - Networks & the Internet

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

Name:

Date:

Digital Citizenship

Unplugged

Assessment Worksheet

Just because you can do something online doesn’t mean that you should!
Cross out the information that you should not share online. Use the words that are leftover
as the key to what you should find in the word search.
WORDS
1) Your Credit Card Info (CARD)
2) Your Online Name (NICKNAME)
3) What You Ate Today (FOOD)
4) Your Email (EMAIL)
5) Your Favorite Color (COLOR)
6) The Last Book you Read (BOOK)
7) The School You Attend (SCHOOL)
8) Your Favorite Band (BAND)
9) Your Phone Number (PHONE)
10) Your Address (ADDRESS)
11) Your Birthday (BIRTHDAY)

Write a paragraph in the area below, telling about what you will do when you’re on the
Internet to make sure that you practice kind and respectful behavior.

Revision 140625.1a

COURSE

Lesson 17: Digital Sharing
Overview

Objectives

Loaned to Computer Science Fundamentals by the team over at Copyright and

Students will be able to:

Creativity, this lesson exists to help students understand the challenges and
beneﬁts of respecting ownership and copyright, particularly in digital

Interpret ethical sharing of copyrighted material vs.

environments. Students should be encouraged to respect artists’ rights as an

Understand their own rights regarding materials that

important part of being an ethical digital citizen.

they have created

sharing that is not ethical.

Purpose

Preparation

Students will soon be creating projects to share and most of these projects will

Locate the copyright sharing video at Digital

contain either code or imagery that students did not create themselves. This
lesson is here to show students the proper way to handle the use of content
that is not their own.

Sharing Ethics (Video) - Video
Download and review the complete Digital
Sharing Lesson Plan from Copyright and
Creativity
As the teacher, create a piece of art for the lesson
(picture, song, slideshow, etc.)
You will need a tablet or smart phone to replicate
the sharing of that item

Agenda
Warm-Up (Optional) (15 min)
Write a Character Sketch
Ethical Sharing (30 min)

Links

To Share or Not to Share?
Okay to Share
Not Okay to Share

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Wrap-Up (10 min)
Journaling / Flash Chat
Extended Learning

For the Teacher
Digital Sharing Lesson Plan
For the Students
Digital Sharing Ethics (Video) - Video

Vocabulary
Copyright - the exclusive legal right to print,
publish, perform, ﬁlm, or record literary, artistic, or
musical material, and to authorize others to do the
same

Teaching Guide
Warm-Up (Optional) (15 min)
The following writing exercises are designed to create context, help students engage with the topic, and prepare them for the lesson
discussion.

Watch: Have students watch the one-minute Digital Sharing Ethics (Video) - Video. You may need to play it two or three times.

Write a Character Sketch
Ask students to write a character sketch about one or both of the characters in the video. Be as creative as you can. There are no wrong
answers. Give these characters a life of their own, whatever you want it to be.
Prompt with questions:
Who is your character?
What is his/her name?
Who are his/her friends?
How long have they known each other?
Who are the people in his/her family? What are they like?
What’s his/her backstory?
Where does he/she live?
Where did he/she used to live?
What exciting thing might have happened to them back in kindergarten, ﬁrst grade, etc.?
What is he/she looking forward to?
What is he/she afraid of?

NOTE: These exercises may also be done orally as a class discussion before the copyright lesson. Write the story or character
sketch on the board as students contribute ideas.

Ethical Sharing (30 min)
Activity: Have all of your students stand up. Begin reading the list of ways to create content below. Instruct students to sit down as soon as
they can answer “Yes” to one of the prompts.
Have you ever made a video (on a camera, phone, iPad, or computer) and sent it to a family member or posted it online?
Have you taken a photo and sent to a family member or posted it online?
Have you created a piece of art to share with your family and friends?
Have you made up a song to make your friends laugh? Or a sad song to make them cry?
Have you written a poem for your mom or dad on their birthday?

Keep asking similar questions until the entire class is seated.
Discuss:
How did it feel to produce something creative?
How did you feel when you were able to share your creation with others?
How do you feel when you view or listen to other people’s creations?

Encourage all responses.
Help students feel the joy of creating something. Creating can be a lot of hard work, but it is one of the most rewarding things we do. Sharing
what we create is fun, and it can encourage more creativity and art. As we get older, we have more and more opportunities to share our
work and explore media and art that other people have created. We want to make sure we are always fair when using others’ art and
creative work.

Say: Remember, copyright protects all kinds of creative work so that artists/creators can get paid for their eﬀort. This includes, original
writing (stories), art, photographs, audio, images, music, song lyrics, even the doodle you drew on your napkin at lunch. It doesn't matter if it
was created by a famous artist or by you. When you make an original work, you get to decide who can:
make copies
distribute copies
display or perform the work in public

make spin‐oﬀs; we call these derivatives (for example, like a book being made into a movie)
These rights are given to artists and creators to encourage them to make even more creative work.

Think: Have students think back to the art creation prompt where they ﬁrst sat down. Inform them that they created an original work with
legal protection. Congratulations!
Pair:
How might you know if something is copyrighted?

[The circle © indicates copyright, but copyright protection exists even without the symbol. Creators have ownership over
their work, unless they sell it to someone else.]
Where have you seen the copyright symbol?
[At the front of books, in movies, on images, posters, etc.]

Share: Encourage students to share their answers with the class.
Demonstrate: Show students how to draw a copyright symbol and write the year next to it. When you make something creative like this, it’s
automatically protected by copyright, even without the copyright symbol.
Discuss:
How does it feel when you share your things with someone else?
What does it feel like when someone takes your things and shares them without your permission?
The same principles of respect and fairness apply when we share our work or someone else’s work online.

To Share or Not to Share?
Demonstrate: Pull out the instructor’s creative work: picture, song, story, video, recipe.
 Watch: Have students watch the one-minute Digital Sharing
 Ethics (Video) - Video. You may need to play it two or

 Discussion Goal

three times.
As we watch the video, decide if the music is OK to share or not.

Discuss: What did you think of that? How do you think you would
feel if you wrote a song and people shared it without asking for
your permission? When we share digital ﬁles by:
sending pictures or songs through email

Okay to Share
I made this. That means I own it. I think I’m going to share it. I’m
going to take out my phone (iPad, camera, etc.) to get a picture.
I think I want to share it on my blog where I might make some
money advertising on[Use the site of your choice.] Is this fair?
[Yes, this is OK to share because I made it — I own the
copyright.]

copying songs from our MP3 player to our friend’s computer
copying a movie from a DVD to all our friends’ computers

That's not just sharing, it's making new copies!
Discuss: If you were one of these characters in the video, what
could you do to share fairly? What about other sharing situations?
What other ethical considerations are there?
(Some acceptable responses:) - Send your friend a link to the
artist’s YouTube channel where she can listen to the song. - Help
your friend buy the song from an online store that you can trust
because it’s used by a large online community, like iTunes or
Amazon.

What about a song I wrote? Can I share that? . . . Who gets to
decide?
[“That’s right, I do.”]
What will happen when I share it?
[Take responses: “It’s fun, . . . I’ll get a bunch of ‘likes’ . . .
People will want to use it for mashups.”]
Let’s say you draw a picture to sell at a school art show. The
money from the art sale will go to buy new library books. Is this
a good share . . . is it ethical?
[Yes.]
Why is this share OK?
[Take responses: “It’s yours!”, “You made it. You own it.
You can choose to share it.” ]

Ask yourself: Who owns this? Do I have permission to share? Do
I have a right to make a copy? Am I being fair to everyone
involved?]

Wrap-Up (10 min)
Remember, copyright is a protection given to writers and artists for
a limited time to let them receive payment for their work. It’s

 Discussion Goal

Not Okay to Share
Have you ever transferred songs to your friend’s MP3 player? Is
that OK?

intended to foster more creativity. As we share and use, we need to
respect each other’s work and the laws of copyright. Just because

[If it’s a song you hear on the radio, it’s most likely protected
by copyright and NOT OK to share, copy, and give away.]

we own a copy of something does not mean we have the right to
make more copies to give or sell to other people. Copyright gives
us some protection over how our art will be used and shared by
others.

What if your friend invites you to his house to watch a movie
that just came out on DVD? This is one of your favorite movies.
You want it on your phone, so you can watch it whenever you
want. So, you take out your phone and record the movie. Is this
a fair way to get a copy of the movie?

Journaling / Flash Chat

[No. This is not OK to share/copy. Why? Because you don’t
own the right to make a copy and give it away.]

Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and
how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the
future.

How else could you get an authorized (legal) copy of the
movie for your phone?
[iTunes or Amazon sell movies legally.]

Journal Prompts:

What was today’s lesson about?


How did you feel during today’s lesson?
Give an example of a way that you have seen other creators
share or remix someone's work. Do you believe that was fair?
Why or why not?

Extended Learning
Please be sure to visit Copyright & Creativity to ﬁnd more
lessons on digital sharing and creative rights.

 Teaching Tip
Demonstrate the following by handing a book to a student:
Sharing a digital ﬁle is diﬀerent from face‐to‐face sharing. If I hand
you my book to share it with you, you have the book and I don’t—
that’s sharing. If I hand you my iPod, so you can listen to my
music, that is sharing. If I share a digital ﬁle with you—like a song
or a movie or computer game—we both end up with the ﬁle. In that
case, we made a copy. If I copy my songs for you to put on your
iPod, that is not sharing—it’s copying. Making copies of
copyrighted work hurts the artist/creators. In addition, P2P sharing
and torrent sites can put your computer at risk for bad stuﬀ:
malware, ads, and worse.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
RI - Reading Informational
SL - Speaking & Listening

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

COURSE

Lesson 14: Envelope Variables
Unplugged | Variable

Overview

Objectives

Variables are used as placeholders for values such as numbers or words.
Variables allow for a lot of freedom in programming. Instead of having to type
out a phrase many times or remember an obscure number, computer scientists
can use variables to reference them. This lesson helps to explain what
variables are and how we can use them in many different ways. The idea of

Students will be able to:

variables isn't an easy concept to grasp, so we recommend allowing plenty of
time for discussion at the end of the lesson.

Purpose
Variables are very helpful in programming. Students will be introduced to this
topic using envelopes to represent variables that have been given names. The
value of the variable will be written on a card inside of an envelope. This lesson
helps students understand how names can be a placeholder for values in the
physical world, so that programming with variables will seem less confusing in
the virtual world.

Agenda
Warm Up (10 min)

Identify variables and determine their values.
Deﬁne and call variables in the context of real-life
activities.
Create situations which require the use of variables.

Preparation
Watch the Envelope Variables - Teacher Video.
Obtain 6 or more blank envelopes for warm up plus
some for the main activity.
Print one Envelope Variables - Worksheet per
student.
Print one Envelope Variables - Assessment for
each student.
Provide students with envelopes, paper, pens &
pencils.
Make sure every student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.

Links

Vocabulary
Introduction
Main Activity (20 min)

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Envelope Variables - Worksheet
Wrap Up (10 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Journaling

For the Teacher

Assessment (10 min)

Variables in Envelopes - Unplugged Video
(download)

Envelope Variables - Assessment

Envelope Variables - Teacher Video

Extended Learning

Envelope Variables - Worksheet
Envelope Variables - Worksheet Answer Key
Envelope Variables - Assessment
Envelope Variables - Assessment Answer Key
For the Students
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Variable - A placeholder for a piece of information
that can change.

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (10 min)
Vocabulary
This lesson has one important word:

Variable - Say it with me: Vayr-ee-ah-buhl
A placeholder for a piece of information that can change.

Introduction
Call four volunteers to the front of the room and line them up. Let the students know that you are going to write a poem for each of them.
On the board (or under your document camera) write the sentence for your ﬁrst student (suppose it's Bill):
"My student Bill, standing proud
is a ﬁne example for the crowd"
Encourage the students to clap at your abilities and thank Bill for volunteering. Allow Bill to sit down (or go to the back of the line) as you
erase the board, then call the next volunteer (we'll say that she's called Annie).
"My student Annie, standing proud
is a ﬁne example for the crowd"
Again, accepting applause, erase the board and invite the next volunteer.
"My student Jenny, standing proud
is a ﬁne example for the crowd"
As you call the ﬁnal volunteer, inquire as to whether everyone in the class would like a poem written about each of them. Maybe the
everyone in the whole school? Goodness, that's going to take a while! Pose the question to your students:
"How could I do this more quickly?"
Your students will likely pick up on the fact that only one word is changing, and that word is simply a person's name. Help them see the
location by circling Jenny's name on the board and writing "ﬁrstName" next to it.
"It would take a long time to write a poem for everyone in the school if I couldn't start until I knew who I was writing it about, wouldn't it?"
How long do you think it would take to make a video game if they couldn't start until they knew your username?
How expensive would video games be if they had to be created separately for each person?
How do you think we can get around that?
By this time, it's quite likely that your class will come up with the idea of having a placeholder. With that, they're most of the way into
understanding where this lesson goes.
What would we call that placeholder?
We need to call it something that makes sense. We wouldn't want to call it "age" if it was a placeholder for their name, right?
Now, let's add some more volunteers. Give them each a piece of paper to write their name on, and have them tuck it inside individual
envelopes labeled ﬁrstName.
This time, put the poem on the board with a blank space labeled "ﬁrstName" where the student's name will go.
Have the ﬁrst student in line (likely the last student from the previous example) pull their name from the envelope and that's what you'll
write in the space.
When you erase the board, only erase the portion with the last student's name in it.
Call the next student to show their variable.
Repeat as many times as is entertaining
Now it's time for the main activity.

Main Activity (20 min)
Envelope Variables - Worksheet
Once the students understand how the envelopes relate to the sentences, pass out the activity worksheet and let them prepare some
variables of their own.
Directions:
Divide students into groups of 2-4.
Have students design (draw) a robot.
After 10-15 minutes, request that the students ﬁll their envelopes with important details about their robot such as its name, height, and
purpose.
Collect each group's envelopes, then bring them to the front of the room to share.
Write on the board, "My robot's name is robotName, it is numUnitsTall tall, and it's purpose is purpose."
Use the envelopes to ﬁll the appropriate variable in the sentence, then ask each group to stand when they hear the sentence that
describes their creation.

Wrap Up (10 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
What did we learn today?
Can you think of anywhere that you have seen variables before?
There is at least one variable at the top of most homework hand outs? Can you think of what it could be?
Why do you think that professionals do not put spaces in variable names?
What would happen if there was a variable "eye" a variable "color" and a variable "eye color"?
Variables can be used to store numbers, too.
Suppose I have envelopes labeled num1 and num2, then I write num1+num2?
What happens if the "num1" envelope contains the number 4 and "num2" contains the number 5?

What was today's lesson about?
How do you feel about today's lesson?
What is a variable?
Why do you think variables are important in programming?

Assessment (10 min)
Envelope Variables - Assessment
Allow students enough time to ﬁnish this assessment. If you are willing to spare more time, go over the answers as a class.

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

What's in the box?
Draw boxes on a piece of paper with simple mathematical operators between them.
For instance [] + [] = []
Have similar size squares with numbers between 1 & 20.
Ask one student to come create a true equation, using the numbers provided.
Once the student has ﬁnished (and the class veriﬁes the equation) exchange one of the numbers with another one, then remove a
second number entirely.
Tell the students that there is a hidden number in the empty box that makes that equation true again.
What number is in the box?
Play this game over and over again until you can remove the number from any location and the students can ﬁgure out what it is
supposed to be.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

Name:

Date:

Variables in Envelopes
Robot Variables Worksheet

Unplugged

Think about a robot. What is it supposed do? What does it look like?
Draw your robot on paper. When you’re done, answer the three questions below on
separate pieces of paper, then put them in the correct envelopes.
robotNam

1. My robot's name is
2. My robot's height is

numUnitsTall

purpose

robotName .
numUnitsTall

3. My robot's primary purpose is

. (don't

purpose

forget units!)

.
Revision 180214.1a

Name:

Date:

Variables in Envelopes
Variables Assessment Worksheet

Unplugged

Given the value of each variable envelope, fill-in the blanks to finish the sentence.

color

petalNumber

= pink

= 22

When I grow up, I want to own a guard _____________.
animal
I found a flower with ______________ petals, so I
petalNumber
picked it.
My dad just painted his house ________________ to
color
match his car.

animal

= monkey
I love _______________ . I do it every evening.
hobby

bestSport

hobby

= golf
= coding

There is no such thing as ________ rivers, so if you find
color
one, don’t swim in it!
The best sport in the world is _______________, do
bestSport
you agree?

Variable envelopes can also contain number values. Use these envelopes and the
provided equations to figure out the magic numbers below.
numOne

numTwo

numThree

=
magicNumberA

numThree

=
magicNumberB

numTwo

=
magicNumberC

numOne

+
numOne

numTwo

magicNumberB

Revision 150807.1a

COURSE

Lesson 18: For Loop Fun
Unplugged | For Loops

Overview

Objectives

We know that loops allow us to do things over and over again, but now we’re
going to learn how to use loops that have extra structures built right in. These
new structures will allow students to create code that is more powerful and
dynamic.

Students will be able to:

Purpose
At this point, students have become masters of loops. Today, they will learn
about another loop commonly used in programming. The for loop repeats
commands a certain number of times, but also keeps track of the values it is
iterating over. For example, a for loop that begins at 4, ends with 8, and has a
step value of 1 will repeat 4 times, but the values 4, 5, 6, and 7 will also be
captured for use elsewhere. Using this structure with variables can create some
pretty fantastic programs. Today, students will simply be learning the basics of a
for loop before diving into programming with them next time!

Agenda

Determine starting value, stopping value, and
stepping value for a `for` loop.
Illustrate the counter values hit each time through a
for loop during runtime.

Preparation
Watch the For Loop Fun - Teacher Video.
Watch the For Loop Fun - Lesson in Action
Video.
Print one For Loop Fun - Worksheet per group.
Print one For Loop Fun - Assessment for each
student.
Make sure every student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.

Links

Warm Up (20 min)
Vocabulary
For One and All

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Main Activity (20 min)
For Loop Fun - Worksheet

For the Teacher

Wrap Up (15 min)

For Loop Fun - Unplugged Video (download)

Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Journaling

For Loop Fun - Assessment Key - Teacher Key
(download)

Assessment (5 min)

For Loop Fun - Teacher Video

For Loop Fun - Assessment

For Loop Fun - Lesson in Action Video

Extended Learning

For Loop Fun - Worksheet
For Loop Fun - Worksheet Answer Key
For Loop Fun - Assessment
For the Students
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
For Loop - Loops that have a predetermined
beginning, end, and increment (step interval).

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (20 min)
Vocabulary
This lesson has one new and important word:

For Loop - Say it with me: For-Loop
Loops that have a predetermined beginning, end, and step value.

For One and All
Point out that there are certain loops that happen very frequently, for example, loops where you need to keep track of how many times
you have been through
Sometimes, you don't want to start with one
Sometimes, you don't want to count by ones
for loops give you a powerful way to keep a counter that starts when you want, ends when you want, and increases by whatever size

step that you want
Here, you can jump right into a sample of the game (example in English)

Main Activity (20 min)
For Loop Fun - Worksheet
Sometimes we want to repeat things a certain number of times, but we want to keep track of values as we do. This is where a for loop
comes in handy. When you use a for loop, you know right from the start what your beginning value is, what your ending value is, and how
much the value changes each time through the loop.

for Loop block (in English)

Directions:
It may be difﬁcult for young students to understand this written in
pseudocode, but it may be helpful to have you explain out loud
(and perhaps with a diagram) what they will be using as the
content of a for loop.
Divide students into pairs

 Lesson Tip
When you play this game, it's as if you're running through a loop
like this
for (x=startValue; x <= stopValue; x = x + step){
circle currentXvalue;
add currentXvalue to roundScore;
}

To start the round, each student rolls three times:
One die to determine the starting value of X
Three dice to determine the stopping value for X
One die to determine the stepping value of X each time
through
Use one of the provided number lines to trace the for loop

 Lesson Tip
If any of the values rolled are outside the bounds of the game (like
rolling a start value of 6 but then rolling 2, 1, 2 for the end value),
have the student re-roll everything.

that they’ve made
Start at the starting value of X
Count down the number line, circling the numbers at the rolled interval
Stop when you get to the predetermined stopping value
Add all of the circled values to your score, then let the other player take a turn
Best 2 out of 3 wins

Wrap Up (15 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
What would your interval need to be if you wanted to count
from 4 to 13 by threes?
What kinds of things do you think you could do with a for loop?
Can you reproduce a normal loop using a for loop?
What would you need to do?

Journaling

Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful,
and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Journal Prompts:

What was today's lesson about?
How do you feel about today's lesson?
What is a for loop?
Why would you use a for loop instead of a repeat loop or a while loop?

Assessment (5 min)
For Loop Fun - Assessment
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
explained. This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

Run it Backward
Try this activity again, but this time have the start number be selected using three dice, and the stop number with only one. Make sure to
have a negative increment!

Hop Scotch
Using chalk, draw a hop scotch diagram outside on the blacktop
Number the squares from bottom to top
Have students give each other a start square, stop square, and how many at a time they need to jump
When the jumper is done, have them write down the loop they just performed
Start adding additional activities to be done at each square, this will add complexity to the written portion, as well

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MP - Math Practices
OA - Operations And Algebraic Thinking

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

Name:

Date:

For Loop Fun
Sample Game Sheet

Unplugged

E
L
P
M

Directions:

* Use the number lines to trace the “for loop” for each turn
* Start at the starting value of X
* Count down the number line, circling the numbers at the correct interval
* Stop when you get to the stopping value

* Add all of the circled values to get the score for your round
* Best 2 out of 3 Wins

Player 1
1

starting value

ROUND 1

ROUND 2

ROUND 3

stopping value

interval

stopping value

interval

For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______
starting value

stopping value

interval

For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______
starting value

stopping value

interval

For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______

Player 2
1

starting value

Player 1
1

interval

For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______

Player 2
1

starting value

Player 1
1

stopping value

For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______

Player 2
1

SCORE

For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______

starting value

stopping value

interval

Revision 140927.1a

Name:

Date:

For Loop Fun
Number Lines and Score Sheet

Unplugged
Directions:

Player 1
1

starting value

ROUND 1

ROUND 2

ROUND 3

stopping value

interval

stopping value

interval

For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______
starting value

stopping value

interval

For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______
starting value

stopping value

interval

For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______

Player 2
1

starting value

Player 1
1

interval

For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______

Player 2
1

starting value

Player 1
1

stopping value

For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______

Player 2
1

SCORE

For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______

starting value

stopping value

interval

Revision 140927.1a

Name:

Date:

For Loop Fun
Assessment Worksheet

Unplugged

Below, you will find three rounds of the For Loop Game, along with what each player rolled during
their turn. Fill out the number lines and tally the scores for each round.
Who won the game?

Player 1
1

starting value

ROUND 1

stopping value

starting value

interval

stopping value

interval

starting value

stopping value

interval

For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______
2

For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______

Player 1

starting value

ROUND 3

stopping value

starting value

stopping value

interval

For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______

Player 2
1

SCORE

interval

For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______

Player 2

starting value

ROUND 2

Player 1
1

stopping value

For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______

Player 2
1

For values of X from _______ to _______ incrementing by _______

interval

WHO WON?
PLAYER # _______

Directions:

* Use the number lines to trace the “for loop” for each turn
* Start by circling the number at the starting value of X
* Count down the number line, circling the numbers at the correct interval
* Stop when you get to the stopping value
* Add all of the circled values to get the score for your round
* Best 2 out of 3 Wins
96

Revision 140928.1a

COURSE

Lesson 7: Getting Loopy
Unplugged | Loops

Overview

Objectives

As we start to write longer and more interesting programs, our code often
contains a lot of repetition. In this lesson, students will learn about how loops
can be used to more easily communicate instructions that have a lot of
repetition by looking at the repeated patterns of movement in a dance.

Students will be able to:

Purpose
At this point in the course, students should have developed comfort with
programming a set of linear instructions. Frequently the linear set of instructions
includes patterns that are repeated multiple times and as students want to write
more complex and interesting programs, manually duplicating that code
becomes cumbersome and inefﬁcient. To enable students to write more
powerful programs, we'll need to rely on structures that break out of the that
single linear list. Loops allow for students to structure their code in a way that
repeats. In this lesson, we will focus on identifying patterns in physical
movement before moving back onto the computer to look for patterns in our
code.

Agenda

Repeat actions initiated by the instructor.
Translate a picture program into a real-world dance.
Convert a series of multiple actions into a single
loop.

Preparation
Watch the Getting Loopy - Teacher Video.
Print one Getting Loopy - Worksheet for the
class.
Print one Getting Loopy - Assessment for each
student.
Make sure every student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.

Links
Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Warm Up (5 min)
Repeat After Me
Main Activity (15 min)
Assessment (10 min)
Wrap-Up (15 min)

For the Teacher
Getting Loopy - Unplugged Video (download)
Getting Loopy - Teacher Video

Vocabulary
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Journaling

Getting Loopy - Assessment Answer Key
For the Students
Getting Loopy - Worksheet

Extended Learning

Getting Loopy - Assessment

So Moving
Connect It Back

Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Loop - The action of doing something over and over
again.
Repeat - Do something again

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (5 min)
Repeat After Me
Model: Ask for a volunteer and have them stand.
Instruct your volunteer to walk around the table (or their chair, or a friend).
When they ﬁnish, instruct them to do it again, using the exact same words you did before.
When they ﬁnish, instruct again.
Then again.

Prompt: Would it have been easier for me to just ask you to go around the table four times?
Think: What if I wanted you to do it ten times? How would you reword my instructions so that they were more efﬁcient and I didn't have to
repeat myself so much? Feel free to write your instructions down on a piece of scrap paper.
Share: Ask a few students to share their instructions with the class, pointing out how each approach has simpliﬁed the overall approach to
giving instructions.

 Remarks
Today we're going to work on ﬁnding ways to make giving lots of instructions easier, especially when those instructions repeat themselves
a lot. This will be really useful when we go back to the computers and have to write lots of instructions in our programs.

Main Activity (15 min)

### Dance Party

Say: Introduce the main activity by letting the class know that we
will be having a dance party. In order to have that party, we'll need
to know what all of the steps in the dance are, and how many
times we should do them.
Display: Show the Getting Loopy - Worksheet so that all
students can see it. Talk through the different sections of the
dance as a class. Point out the section that repeats, in particular.

 Lesson Tip:

Looking for some good music? Here are some great places to
ﬁnd some:
Radio Disney
Nick Radio
Kidz Bop Radio
Please be advised that some of these stations may display ads
with third-party content. If you ﬁnd that displayed ads are
inappropriate, you may want to direct students to a different site, or
research ad-blockers that can prevent this content.

Model: Show the class what the entire dance looks like done at full-speed. Then run through the dance slowly, asking a different student to
call out each line of instructions. Next, have the students perform the dance along with you, saying the instructions aloud as they get to each
move.
Prompt: Ask students to work with a neighbor to ﬁnd all of the sections of the dance that repeat.
Share: Ask a few students to share the repeating patterns that they found. As a class, talk through how you might rework the instructions to
be even shorter by repeating those patterns.
Finally, help them understand a symbology for capturing
these loops on their picture program, since the
assessment will utilize this same method. Here is an
example:

Assessment (10 min)
Ending with an assessment sheet will help solidify this lesson for your students.

Distribute: Hand out the Getting Loopy - Assessment to each student. Allow students to complete the activity independently after the
instructions have been well explained. This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.

Wrap-Up (15 min)
Vocabulary
Display: Present the vocab for this lesson, loop. Ask the class to point out the main loop that was in the dance. Why do you think we call it a
loop?

Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Do you think it is easier to add more pictures to the screen or change the number of times we loop?
Would your answer be the same if we wanted to loop 100 times?
Could we use these same loops with different dance moves?
Do you know any dances that are done inside a loop?
What was your favorite part about that activity?

Journaling
Having students write or draw about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Journal Prompts:

What was today’s lesson about?
How did you feel during today’s lesson?
Draw a picture of you dancing today. Draw the loops that you did, like clapping three times.
What else can you use a loop for?

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

So Moving
Give the students pictures of actions or dance moves that they can do.
Have students arrange moves and add loops to choreograph their own dance.
Share the dances with the rest of the class.

Connect It Back
Find some YouTube videos of popular dances that repeat themselves.
Can your class ﬁnd the loops?
Try the same thing with songs!

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MP - Math Practices
OA - Operations And Algebraic Thinking

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

100

Getting Loopy
Unplugged Loops Activity

The Iteration

pa r
s
th i s!
t
e
pea tim
e
R

Clap

Behind Head

Waist

Behind Head

Clap

Left Up

Right Up

Left Up

Clap

Waist

Right Up

Then do this
Belly Laugh

101

Revision 140709.2a

Name:

Date:

Getting Loopy
Unplugged Loops Activity

Unplugged
Looping can save space!

What if we wanted to take The Iteration dance below and make more loops inside? Can
you circle the actions that we can group into a loop and cross out the ones that we don’t
need anymore? Write a number next to each circle to let us know how many times to
repeat the action.
The first line has been done for you.

3
a rt
p
h is !
t
t
es
pea tim
e
R

Clap

Behind Head

Waist

Behind Head

Clap

Left Up

Right Up

Left Up

Clap

Waist

Right Up

The Iteration

Then do this
Belly Laugh

102

Revision 140709.1a

COURSE

Lesson 8: Going Places Safely
Common Sense Education | Unplugged

Overview

Objectives

In collaboration with Common Sense Education - Website, this lesson
helps students learn that many websites ask for information that is private and
discusses how to responsibly handle such requests. Students also ﬁnd out that
they can go to exciting places online, but they need to follow certain rules to
remain safe.

Students will be able to:
Understand that being safe when they visit websites
is similar to staying safe in real life
Learn to recognize websites that are safe for them to
visit.
Recognize the kind of information that is private and
understand that it should never be shared online.

Purpose
Common Sense Education has created this lesson to teach kids the importance
of being safe online. By relating places in the real world to websites on the
internet, students will make important connections between safe websites and
safe places in their own neighborhood.

Agenda
Warm Up (20 min)
Vocabulary
Where We Go
Main Activity (20 min)
Keep It Private
Wrap Up (15 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Journaling
Assessment (5 min)

Preparation
Watch the Going Places Safely - Teacher
Video.
Prepare to show the Going Places Safely Lesson Video.
Live access or print-off of SecretBuilders sign-up
page (Click “New Player,” select an age, and then
select “I’m a Girl” or “I’m a Boy.”).
Print one Going Places Safely - Assessment for
each student.
Make sure each student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.
Review CSF Digital Citizenship - Resource List
for more online safety content.

Links

Going Places Safely - Assessment
Extended Learning

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.
For the Teacher
Going Places Safely - Teacher Video
Going Places Safely - Lesson Video
Going Places Safely - Assessment
Going Places Safely - Assessment Answer Key
Common Sense Education - Website
CSF Digital Citizenship - Resource List
For the Students
Feeling Faces - Emotion Images
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

103

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (20 min)
Vocabulary
This lesson has one new and important word:
Username - Say it with me: Yews-er-naym
A name you make up so that you can see or do things on a website, sometimes called a “screen name”

Where We Go
Invite students to talk about places they have visited on a class ﬁeld trip.
If students have limited experience with ﬁeld trips, provide some examples of the types of places they could visit as a class, such as
museums, science centers, or zoos.
Have students choose a place they would like to go on a class ﬁeld trip.
Have students take an imaginary ﬁeld trip to their chosen place.
Narrate the preparations while having students pantomime what’s happening – For example: put on your jacket; climb on/off the bus;
get your ticket checked; go inside.
Have students describe what they think they might see and do once they arrive.
Let the students sit back down, then ask: "What do you need to do to stay safe when you visit new places?"
Play Going Places Safely - Lesson Video.
What three rules does Jeremiah follow when he goes places online?
1) Always ask your parent (or teacher) ﬁrst
2) Only talk to people you know
3) Stick to places that are just right for you
Now, let's see what more we can do to keep ourselves safe.

Main Activity (20 min)

Keep It Private
Access SecretBuilders sign-up page live, or project a print-out on the board for the class to see.
Invite students to give examples of information that they should keep private.
Write down their responses on the board or chart paper so that you can return to them later in the lesson.
Make sure they understand that private information includes the following:
full name
age
address
telephone number
email address (or parents’ email addresses)
where they go to school or after school
where their parents work
Encourage students to discuss why it is important to keep this information private.
Stress that it is never safe to give out private information to people they don’t know.
Students should always ask a parent or caregiver before they give out private information to anyone.
Refer back to the sign-up page.
Ask "Do you think you should use your real name, or something that includes your real name, when you make up a username?"
Guide students through the following rules and tips for creating usernames:

104

Rules:
Ask a parent or other trusted adult before you create a username.
Never include any private information in your username, such as your real name, age, birthday, the name of your school or hometown,
parts of your address or phone number, or email address.
Avoid using symbols or spaces, as they are usually not allowed in usernames.

Tips
Include the name of something that will help you remember your username, like your favorite animal, character, or toy. You might have to
combine this with other words or numbers.
If the username you create is already taken, you will have to come up with another one.
Write down your username and password and, with the help of a parent, ﬁnd a safe place to keep it in case you forget them.
Distribute paper and place students in pairs.

Directions:
1. Have students interview their partner using the following
questions, and write down their responses:
2. What is your favorite pet or animal?
3. What is your favorite TV show, book, or movie character?
4. What are your favorite numbers?

 Lesson Tip
For more in-depth modules, you can ﬁnd additions to this
curriculum at the Common Sense Education - Website page
on Scope and Sequence.

5. Instruct students to make up three safe usernames for their
partner using information from their interview responses.
6. They should not include their partner’s name, age, school, email address, birthday, or any other private information.
7. Invite students to share one or more of their usernames with the class.
8. Encourage students to respond to one another’s usernames, conﬁrming that each name follows the rules they have learned.

Wrap Up (15 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
What information should you always keep private when you are using the computer?
What rules should you follow when you make up a username?
What can the Internet be used for?
What rules do we have for visiting places online?
Take the time to discuss again what is appropriate information to
share on the Internet, and what is not:

Appropriate

Not Appropriate

Interests

Address

Hobbies

Full Name

First Name

Information that would hurt
others

What was today’s lesson about?
Draw one of the Feeling Faces - Emotion Images that shows how you felt about today's lesson in the corner of your journal page.
Draw some things that you should never talk to a stranger about on the internet. For example, draw your house to represent your
address, draw your school, or draw your family.

105

Assessment (5 min)
Going Places Safely - Assessment
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
explained.

This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

Common Sense Education
Visit Common Sense Education - Website to learn more about how you can keep your students safe in this digital age.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
G - Geometry
MP - Math Practices

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

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Unplugged

Name:

Date:

Keep It Private
Learning to be Safe and Responsible Assessment

Just because you can share something online doesn’t mean that you should!

1) Circle the place you would most like to visit online

2) Can you spot the private information? Mark “X” through the information that you should
not share with people you do not know well.

3) On the back of this paper, draw something that you enjoy and want to share on the
Internet.

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COURSE

Lesson 1: Graph Paper Programming
Overview

Objectives

By "programming" one another to draw pictures, students get an opportunity to
experience some of the core concepts of programming in a fun and accessible
way. The class will start by having students use symbols to instruct each other
to color squares on graph paper in an effort to reproduce an existing picture. If
there’s time, the lesson can conclude with images that the students create

Students will be able to:

themselves.

Reframe a sequence of steps as an encoded
program
Explain constraints of translating problems from
human language to machine language

Preparation

Purpose
The goal of this activity is to build critical thinking skills and excitement for the
course, while introducing some of the fundamental programming concepts that
will be used throughout the course. By introducing basic concepts like
sequencing and algorithms to the class in an unplugged activity, students who
are intimidated by computers can still build a foundation of understanding on
these topics. In this lesson, students will learn how to develop an algorithm and
encode it into a program.

Agenda
Warm Up (10 min)
Introduction to Graph Paper Programming

Watch the Graph Paper Programming Teacher Video.
Watch the Graph Paper Programming - Lesson
in Action Video.
Print out one Graph Paper Programming Worksheet for each group.
Print one Graph Paper Programming Assessment for each student.
Supply each group with several drawing grids,
paper, and pens/pencils.
Make sure every student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.

Links

Main Activity (30 min)
Practice Together
The Students' Turn

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Wrap Up (15 min)
Journaling / Flash Chat
Optional Assessment (10 min)

For the Teacher

Graph Paper Programming - Assessment

Graph Paper Programming - Teacher Video

Extended Learning

Graph Paper Programming - Lesson in Action
Video
Graph Paper Programming - Worksheet Answer
Key
Graph Paper Programming - Assessment Answer
Key
For the Students
Graph Paper Programming - Unplugged Video
(download)
Graph Paper Programming - Worksheet
Graph Paper Programming - Assessment
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Algorithm - A list of steps to ﬁnish a task.
Program - An algorithm that has been coded into
something that can be run by a machine.

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Teaching Guide
Warm Up (10 min)
Introduction to Graph Paper Programming
In this activity, students will encode instructions to guide each other toward making drawings without letting the rest of their group see the
original image. This warm-up frames the activity for the class.

Display: Watch one of the videos below to give students context for the types of things that robots can do:
Asimo by Honda (3:58)
Egg drawing robot (3:15)
Dancing Lego Robot (1:35)
 Discuss: How do you suppose that robots know how to do the

things that they do? Do they have brains that work the same way
that ours do?
Work this into a discussion on how people have to program
robots to do speciﬁc things, using speciﬁc commands.

Main Activity (30 min)

 Discussion Goal
The goal of this quick discussion is to call out that while robots
may seem to behave like people, they're actually responding only
to their programming. Students will likely refer to robots from
movies and TV that behave more like humans. Push them to
consider robots that they've seen or heard of in real life, like
Roombas, or even digital assistants like Amazon Alexa.

Practice Together
In this activity, students will act as both programmers and robots, coloring in squares according to programs that they have written for one
another.

Distribute: Students will use 4x4 grids (or sheets of graph paper with 4x4 boxes sectioned off). They will also need the image worksheet.
Display: Project these commands, or write them on the board. They won't persist long, but they will help students make the transition from
Algorithm to Program.
Move
Move
Move
Move
Fill

one square right
one square left
one square up
one square down
in square with color

Say: Today, we all get to program robots...and they're already here in the room! It's you! We're going to write programs using symbols with
special meanings to help each other recreate a picture. First, we'll practice together as if I am the robot and you are the programmers, then
we can break up into groups so that everyone can get a turn.
Display: Display both the image that you are going to have the students walk you through, and a blank grid that you will ﬁll-in with your
ARM. Make sure that the instructions, grid, and image remain visible at the same time.

 Remarks
Here is an image. Pretend that I am the robot with an Automatic Realization Machine (ARM). These are the only instructions that I
understand.
Starting at the upper left-hand corner, guide my ARM out loud with your words.

Model: The class might give you instructions like these below. As you hear an instruction that you intend to follow, make sure to repeat it out
loud so that the students can keep track of what you are doing.

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Move
Fill
Move
Move
Fill

One Square Right
In Square with Color
One Square Right
One Square Down
In Square with Color

Continue with the activity until you have completed your sample square.

Capture: Write each of the commands down so that students can see all of the steps that went into the one image.
Move
Fill
Move
Move
Fill

One Square Right
In Square with Color
One Square Right
One Square Down
In Square with Color

Say: You just gave me a list of steps to ﬁnish a task. In programming, they call that an algorithm. Algorithms are great, because they are
easy for you to understand as the programmer. BUT, what happens when we want to write down the algorithm for a drawing like this?
Display: Show the students a more complicated image, like the one below.

Next, begin writing down some of the instructions that it would take to replicate that image. Hopefully, students will see that writing
everything out longhand would quickly become a bit of a nightmare.
Move
Fill
Move
Move
Fill
Move
Move
Fill
Move
Move
Fill
PLUS

One Square Right
In Square with Color
One Square Right
One Square Right
In Square with Color
One Square Down
One Square Left
In Square with Color
One Square Left
One Square Left
In Square with Color
12 MORE INSTRUCTIONS!

Display: Show the students this list of symbols.

 Discussion: How could we use these symbols to make our

instructions easier?
Draw out ideas that relate to transitioning from the verbal
instructions to the symbols. Once the students get to that place,
point out that this text:

 Discussion Goal
The goal for this discussion is to get at the idea that students can
use symbols to stand for entire phrases. Once they understand
that, share with them that making the switch from listing steps in
detail to encoding them is called "programming."

“Move one square right, Move one square right, Fill-in square
with color”
would now correspond to the program:

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 Model: Now, have the class help you draw the larger image using only symbols. Do not worry about unnecessary steps for now. If their ﬁnal

program works to create the image, consider it a win.

The classroom may be buzzing with suggestions by this point. If
the class gets the gist of the exercise, this is a good place to
discuss alternate ways of ﬁlling out the same grid. If there is still
confusion, save that piece for another day and work with another
example.
See a sample solution below:

 Teaching Tip
Notice that we have written our program from left to right like you
would read a book in English. Some students prefer this method.
Others like to start each line of the grid on a new line of paper. The
way they write their program doesn't matter as much as whether
the other people in their groups can follow along!

The Students' Turn
Group: Divide students into pairs or small groups.
Have each pair/group choose an image from the worksheet.
Discuss the algorithm to draw chosen image with partner(s).
Convert algorithm into a program using symbols.
Trade programs with another pair/group and draw one another's image.
Choose another image and go again!

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Wrap Up (15 min)
Journaling / Flash Chat
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they obtained
today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Journal Prompts:

What was today’s lesson about?
How did you feel during today’s lesson?
Draw another image that you could code. Can you write the program that goes with this drawing?
What other types of robots could we program if we changed what the arrows meant?

Optional Assessment (10 min)
Graph Paper Programming - Assessment
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
explained.
This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

Better and Better
Have your class try making up their own images.
Can they ﬁgure out how to program the images that they create?

Class Challenge
As the teacher, draw an image on a 5x5 grid.
Can the class code that up along with you?

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
G - Geometry
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

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Name:

Date:

Graph Paper Programming

Unplugged

Four-by-Fours Activity Worksheet

Choose one of the drawings below to program for a friend. Don’t let them see
which one you choose!
Write the program on a piece of paper using symbols. Can they recreate your picture?

Use these symbols to write a program that would draw each image.

Move One
Square Right

Move One
Square Left

Move One
Square Up

Move One
Square Down

Fill-In Square
with Color

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

Image 5

Image 6

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Game #1
Step 1

Step 16

Step 31

Step 1

Step 16

Step 31

Step 1

Step 16

Step 31

Step 1

Step 16

Step 31

Step 1

Step 16

Step 31

Game #2

Game #3

Game #4

Game #5

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Name:

Date:

Graph Paper Programming
Assessment Worksheet

Unplugged

You have just learned how to create algorithms and programs from drawings, and
how to draw an image from a program that someone gives to you. During the
lesson, you worked with other people to complete your activities. Now you can use
the drawings and programs below to practice by yourself.
Use the symbols below to write a program that would draw each image.

Move One
Square Forward

Move One
Square Up

Move One
Square Backward

Fill-In Square
with Color

Move One
Square Down

Start
Here
Step 1

Step 11

Step 1

Step 11

Step 1

Step 11

Start
Here

Now, read the program below and draw the image that it describes.
Start
Here
Step 1

Step 11

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COURSE

Lesson 9: Happy Loops
Unplugged | Loop | Repeat

Overview

Objectives

This activity revisits Happy Maps. This time, student will be solving bigger,
longer puzzles with their code, leading them to see utility in structures that let
them write longer code in an easier way.

Students will be able to:
Identify repeating code and shorten multiple actions
into a single loop.
Interpret a program with loops as a series of multiple
actions.

Purpose
This lesson serves as an introduction to loops. Loops allow for students to
simplify their code by grouping commands that need to be repeated. Students
will develop critical thinking skills by noticing repetition in movements of their
classmates and determining how many times to repeat commands. By seeing
"Happy Maps" again, students will get the chance to relate old concepts such as
sequencing to the new concept of repeat loops.

Agenda
Warm-Up (5 min)
Happy Maps Review
Main Activity (20 min)
Happy Loops
Wrap Up (8 min)

Preparation
Watch the Happy Loops - Teacher Video
Print out a Happy Map Cards - Worksheet to
display for the class
Print out Happy Map Game Pieces Manipulatives for each group
Print out Happy Map Cards XL - Worksheet for
each group
Print out Happy Map Game Pieces Bonus Pack
- Manipulatives for each group
Make sure each student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal

Links

Journaling
Extension Activities

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.
For the Teacher
Happy Loops - Teacher Video
For the Students
Feeling Faces - Emotion Images
Happy Map Cards - Worksheet
Happy Map Cards XL - Worksheet
Happy Map Game Pieces - Manipulatives
Happy Map Game Pieces Bonus Pack Manipulatives
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Loop - The action of doing something over and over
again.
Repeat - Do something again

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Teaching Guide
Warm-Up (5 min)
Happy Maps Review
This lesson builds off of the Happy Maps actvity from earlier in the year. Students might beneﬁt from a quick refresher before you hop into
the difﬁcult stuff.

Display:

Model: Select one of the maps that your class covered together in the last lesson.
Have students look at the puzzle, then think-pair-share their solution for how they would get the Flurb to the fruit (using the symbols from last
time).

Think: Do you remember writing programs to get the Flurbs to the fruit? What would this program look like coded with arrows?
Pair: Have students discuss for about 90 seconds.
Share: Ask a student to use their ﬁngers to point in the direction of the arrows that they chose to solve this puzzle.

Main Activity (20 min)
This portion of the lesson should help students see that there is an easier way to handle repetitive code than to brute force a solution with
dozens of the same symbols.

Display:

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Model: Once you are conﬁdent that your students remember Happy Maps, pull up one of the new -- and much longer -- Happy Maps XL.
Can your students help you program these maps? The resulting code might look something like this:

It's a bit longer, isn’t it?
 Discuss:

Give students the opportunity to brainstorm shorter ways to relay
the code that they’re creating. (This bit can be skipped over if
your students start saying things like: “Move forward 6 times.”
Since that will open the discussion about how to show “six times”

 Discussion Goal
The point of this discussion is to get students to see that,
sometimes, many symbols are repeated and they can lump all of
those movements into a single icon.

with symbols.)
Ideally, students will land on a method that looks like this one:

Which can be reduced even further to this:

119

Eventually, students can write programs like this on the ﬂy:

Define: Once students have put together the idea of “repeating” code, give them the vocabulary around it. Make sure to share with them
that often the terms “repeat something” and “loop something” will be used interchangeably in Code Studio.

Happy Loops
Now that students are familiar with the ability to repeat lots of code using a single loop, select an XL map and let them help you write code
for the situation. Do this as many times together as a class as you need, then set students off in groups to solve some problems on their
own. You may also need to add the Happy Map Game Pieces Bonus Pack - Manipulatives to adapt this activity for loops.

Circulate: Make sure to walk around and have students run through their code with you watching. Are there any bugs? Use the debugging
questions to help them ﬁnd a solution.
What does it do?
What is it supposed to do?
What does that tell you?
Does it work at the ﬁrst step?
Does it work at the second step?
Where does it stop working

Wrap Up (8 min)
Journaling
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they obtained
today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Journal Prompts:

Draw one of the Feeling Faces - Emotion Images that shows how you felt about today's lesson in the corner of your journal page.
Have the students write or draw something in their journal that will remind them later what loops are. Prompts include:
What does "repeat" mean to you?
Draw a picture of you repeating something.

120

Extension Activities
Create a life-size grid on the rug with tape and have student bring stufﬁes to school. Now students can program friends to move their
actual stufﬁes as directed in the programs.
Have students create their own maps for other students to solve using loops.
Draw a program on the board that uses several sets of repeated commands and have students take turns coming to the front to swap
symbols for repeat loops.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
G - Geometry
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

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Happy Map XL 1

Happy Map XL 2

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Happy Map XL 3

Happy Map XL 4

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Happy Map XL 5

Happy Map XL 6

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Happy Maps
Game Pieces Bonus Pack
repeat

repeat

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Happy Maps Game Pieces

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Happy Map XL Blank (right)

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COURSE

Lesson 5: Happy Maps
Algorithms | Sequencing | Unplugged

Overview

Objectives

This unplugged lesson brings together teams with a simple task: get the "ﬂurb"
to the fruit. Students will practice writing precise instructions as they work to
translate instructions into the symbols provided. If problems arise in the code,
students should also work together to recognize bugs and build solutions.

Students will be able to:

Purpose
The bridge from algorithms to programming can be a short one if students
understand the difference between planning out a sequence and encoding that
sequence into the appropriate language. This activity will help students gain
experience reading and writing in shorthand code.

Agenda
Warm Up (5 min)
Step-by-Step

Translate an algorithm into a program
Decode and run a program created by someone else
Identify and address bugs or errors in sequenced
instructions

Preparation
Watch the Happy Maps - Teacher Video.
Print out Happy Map Cards - Worksheet for
each group.
Print out Happy Map Game Pieces Manipulatives for each group.
Make sure each student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.

Links

Activity (40 min)
Happy Maps Programming
Students' Turn

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Wrap Up (8 min)
Flash Chat
Journaling

For the Teacher

Extended Learning

Happy Maps - Teacher Video
Happy Map Cards - Worksheet Answer Key
For the Students
Feeling Faces - Emotion Images
Happy Map Cards - Worksheet
Happy Map Game Pieces - Manipulatives
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Algorithm - A list of steps to ﬁnish a task.
Debugging - Finding and ﬁxing problems in an
algorithm or program.
Program - An algorithm that has been coded into
something that can be run by a machine.

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Teaching Guide
Warm Up (5 min)
Step-by-Step
This warm-up is meant to get the class thinking about how to break a big problem down into a list of individual steps.

Model: Start by asking the class for step-by-step directions on how to get to the chalkboard. Make sure that you ask students to break apart
any large instructions, like "Walk to the chalkboard," into smaller instructions like "Step forward."
When you reach the board, ask for instructions to draw a smiley face and try to get them to keep their instructions equally small.
 Say: Well done! You just gave me a list of steps to ﬁnish a task. In

computer science, that's called an Algorithm! [Follow up with your
typical method of introducing vocabulary: word wall, repeat-afterme, etc.]

 Teaching Tip
If the class starts shouting simultaneously, explain that you can
only hear one instruction at a time. Call on students individually if
that helps.

Activity (40 min)
Happy Maps Programming
In this exercise, the class will get map cards that have a pre-deﬁned start space (Flurb) and end space (fruit). Students will need to get the
Flurbs to the fruit on each card, using the arrows provided.

Display:

Model: Select one of the intermediate maps, like the one shown above. Display it for the class and work through the puzzle together.
Have students look at the puzzle, then think-pair-share their solution for how they would get the Flurb to the fruit.

Think: This Flurb needs to take two steps to get to the fruit. Work with your elbow partner to decide what you think those two steps are.
Pair: Have students discuss with neighbors for about 90 seconds.
Share: Ask a few students to describe their algorithm to the class. Move your ﬁnger along the displayed map as the students read their
steps. Once you have a solution, ask if anyone else came up with a different idea that also works.
Now, share with the students that the magic step of changing an algorithm into a "program" happens when the code is written down using
symbols. Do the students see any symbols on the display?

Think: Challenge students to encode the algorithm that they came up with before into symbols, and to write those symbols down in their
journals (or on a piece of paper.)
Pair: Once students have written down their symbols, ask them to swap with a partner to see if they can follow each others' instructions.
Share: Ask for volunteers to come draw their arrows on the board. If the original code doesn't work, spend some time debugging as a class.
Students should be familiar with the idea of "debugging" from previous lessons, so be sure to use the vocabulary to get them comfortable
with it.

129

Once the code has been successfully written on the board, congratulate the class on writing their ﬁrst program together!

Students' Turn
Group: If your class is comfortable, place students into small groups of 2-3. Otherwise, you can continue solving these problems as a class
and having them think-pair-share to write programs.
Distribute: Pass out one of the images from the Happy Map Cards - Worksheet to each group as needed.
(Optional) If you start noticing that students are ready for more, use the provided Happy Map Game Pieces - Manipulatives and let
students choose their own start and ﬁnish destinations on the blank map.
Encourage the students to follow these steps:
Discuss an algorithm to get the Flurb to the fruit.
Encode the algorithm into arrows in their journals.
Try their code to see if everything works as expected.
Debug any issues and ﬁx their code until it works correctly.

Share: When the lesson is done, offer to let groups share out the most difﬁcult maps that they solved. If you had time, ask them to share
their solutions as well.

Wrap Up (8 min)
Flash Chat
Discuss: When it’s time to wind down, ask students if they can tell the difference between an algorithm and a program. Both are a list of
steps, but a program (code) has been encoded in a way that can be run by a machine (or a kindergartener!)
Do you think that someone who speaks another language would be able to run your program?
Why or why not?

Journaling
Students should be encouraged to capture their thoughts in their journal after each activity (with text or images.) Choose a journal prompt
that will help students remember the purpose of this exercise.
Journal Prompts:

What was today's lesson about?
Draw one of the Feeling Faces - Emotion Images that shows how you felt about today's lesson in the corner of your journal page.
Can you draw your own Flurb map?
What would the code be to solve your map?

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

Stuffie Maps
Create a life-size grid on the rug with tape and have student bring stuffed animals to school.
Now students can program friends to move their actual stufﬁes as directed in the programs.

Create Your Own
Have students create their own maps.
Have other students solve them using programs.

130

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
G - Geometry
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

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Happy Maps Game Pieces

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Happy Map 1
Which way should the Flurb
step to get to the supplies?

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Happy Map 2
Which way should the Flurb
step to get to the supplies?

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Happy Map 3
Which two ways should the Flurb
step to get to the supplies?

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Happy Map 4
Which two ways should the Flurb
step to get to the supplies?

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Happy Map 5
What should the Flurb do to get
to the supplies?

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Happy Map 6
What should the Flurb do to get
to the supplies?

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Happy Map Blank

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COURSE

Lesson 27: The Internet
Unplugged | Internet

Overview

Objectives

Even though many people use the internet daily, not very many know how it
works. In this lesson, students will pretend to ﬂow through the internet, all the
while learning about connections, URLs, IP Addresses, and the DNS.

Students will be able to:
Learn about the complexity of sending messages
over the internet.
Translate URLs into IP Addresses.

Purpose
If you have been doing every lesson in this course, then each student in your
classroom has used the internet...but how many know how it works? Learning
more about the internet will help students develop a better understanding of its
endless possibilities.

Agenda
Warm Up (20 min)
Vocabulary
Getting the Message

Preparation
Watch the Internet - Teacher Video.
Print enough IP Address Cards and Delivery
Type Cards - Manipulatives for each group.
Print one Internet - Assessment for each student.
Access to the internet (such as get-site-ip.com).
Make sure every student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.

Links

Main Activity (20 min)

For the Teacher

The Internet

The Internet - Unplugged Video (download)

Wrap Up (15 min)

Internet - Teacher Video

Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Journaling

IP Address Cards and Delivery Type Cards Manipulatives

Assessment (5 min)

Internet - Assessment

Internet - Assessment Answer Key
For the Students
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
DNS - The service that translates URLs to IP
addresses.
DSL/Cable - A method of sending information using
telephone or television cables.
Fiber Optic Cable - A connection that uses light to
transmit information
Internet - A group of computers and servers that
are connected to each other.
IP Address - A number assigned to any item that is
connected to the Internet.
Packets - Small chunks of information that have
been carefully formed from larger chunks of
information.
Servers - Computers that exist only to provide
things to others.
URL - An easy-to-remember address for calling a
web page (like www.code.org).
Wi-Fi - A wireless method of sending information
using radio waves.

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Teaching Guide
Warm Up (20 min)
Vocabulary
This lesson has several new and important words:

IP Address - Say it with me: I-P Add-ress
A number assigned to any item that is connected to the Internet

DNS (Domain Name Service) - Say it with me: D-N-S
The service that translates URLs to IP addresses

URL (Universal Resource Locator) - Say it with me: U-R-L
An easy-to-remember address for calling a web page (like www.code.org)

Internet - Say it with me: In-ter-net
A group of computers and servers that are connected to each other

Servers - Say it with me: Ser-vers
Computers that exist only to provide things to others

Fiber Optic Cable - Say it with me: Fye-ber Op-tic Cay-bl
A connection that uses light to transmit information

Wi-Fi - Say it with me: Wye-Fye
A wireless method of sending information using radio waves

 Lesson Tip
A quick preview is all you need here. These words will all be
explained as part of the lesson, so it would be far less confusing to
do a brief intro to the words as a "see if you can spot these during
the day" type of heads-up.

DSL/Cable - Say it with me: D-S-L / Cay-bl
A method of sending information using telephone or television cables

Packets - Say it with me: Pack-ets
Small chunks of information that have been carefully formed from larger chunks of information

Getting the Message
It's quite likely that your students are aware of what the internet
is, but they may not really understand what the internet does.
Ask "What is the internet?"
Is the internet a public place or a private place?
(Truthfully, many people think it can be both, but it should be
viewed as a public space no matter what settings you think
you've mastered.)
How does information get from place to place?

 Lesson Tip
There are some great YouTube videos on this subject that can
make this lesson a little easier to understand. You can show them
to the class in advance, or just watch them yourself. Here is one
of the videos in the Code.org video series on "How the
Internet Works". (We recommend watching from 1:44 - 5:13, if
possible.) The rest of the playlist is available here.

Let's say that I want to look at the webpage for Code.org. What
do you suppose the process would be like for me to send a message to request that page?
What do I do as a user?
What do you think happens inside the internet?
Sending a message over the internet is a lot like sending a message through the mail...if every letter we sent required thousands of
envelopes!
Every message we send through the internet gets chopped up and each piece is wrapped in its own version of an envelope. We call those
"packets." Packets are specially formed chunks of information that are able to easily ﬂow through any of the internet's channels.
Sometimes, a few of those packets will get lost, because the internet is a crazy place. In that case, the packets need to be resent, and the
whole message has to get put on hold until they arrive.
Where do you think those packets are headed?

138

Even if you're sending messages to another person, they ﬁrst have to go to at least one "server."
A server is a special computer that is supposed to be always on and ready to send and receive information.
Every website has a server.
Even email goes through servers.
Servers don't have names like you and I do. They're actually addressed using numbers. These numbers are called IP addresses, and they
look a little strange.
For example: One of Code.org's IP addresses used to be 54.243.71.82
(Please be sure to check this out in advance. Most IP addresses change from time to time and they are then reused for other sites.)
There are many ways to reach the internet from your house, school, or place of business.
You can connect directly using a cable (that might be DSL, Cable, or Fiber Optic)
Or you can connect using radio waves over the air through Wi-Fi
Direct connections are most reliable, but they can be inconvenient.
Can you ﬁgure out why?
(You have to be attached to a cable!)
Wi-Fi connections are super convenient, but the aren't always reliable.
Can you ﬁgure out why not?
(Radio waves bounce all over the place and can get lost.)
So, if you're used to sending information to URLs (like
www.code.org) and the servers actually have IP addresses for
names (like 54.243.71.82) how does the Internet change from
one to the other? That's what the DNS is for. The DNS (Domain
Name Server) has tables that allow the system to go back and
forth between URLs and IP addresses. If the Domain Name
Servers ever stopped working, it would shut down the internet as
we know it!
With that said, let's try to understand what the DNS does by
making a little DNS table ourselves.

 Lesson Tip
If you're thinking that this is a lot of text and it would be extremely
boring to try to lecture this to a class full of elementary school kids,
you're absolutely right! If you're unable to show a YouTube video in
class to help explain it all, I highly recommend drawing pictures to
explain each idea above, or choosing students as volunteers to act
out what you describe while you're explaining. They're not
expected to get every detail and deﬁnition at this point, only to gain
exposure.

Pull out a piece of paper and draw a grid similar to that in the internet activity:
Sample of DNS Table:

#
1

URL
code.org

IP Address
54.243.71.82

2
3
4
5
First, we need to ﬁll in this table.
Survey the class for their favorite websites and write the URLs in the left column
Use a site like get-site-ip.com to ﬁnd the IP addresses for those sites and write them in the corresponding rows of the right column.
Now let's take this DNS Table and pretend to send messages through the internet!

139

Main Activity (20 min)
The Internet
Directions:
Create your own DNS table, similar to what is shown above.
Have the class help you ﬁll in the blank spots in the table. Pick your favorite URLs and ﬁnd their IP addresses using a site like www.getsite-ip.com.
Divide into groups of 3 to 5.
Assign each group an IP address from the newly created table, and assign each person in the group a position:
The Message Writer
The Internet
The Server (carries the IP address)
The Return Internet (optional)
The Message Receiver (optional)
Each group will draw an IP Address Cards and Delivery Type Cards - Manipulatives to ﬁnd out where their message is going and
what their method of message delivery (Wi-Fi, Cable/DSL, or Fiber Optic Cable) will be.
The Message Writer will craft a note to send to the server.
The Internet will rip the message up into 4 small pieces called packets, then deliver each packet one at a time to the Server with the IP
address that was drawn from the IP Address Card stack.
The Server will make sure that the message arrives in order, then will send each packet off one at a time with the Return Internet (can be
the same person or different person than the original Internet).
The Return Internet will deliver each piece back to the Message Receiver (can be the same person or different person than the Message
Writer) and put it back together.
The Message Receiver will wait for all of the pieces to arrive, then read the message to be sure it arrived correctly!

Rules:
The Internet must rip the message into exactly four packets.
If the Internet drops a packet, they have to pick it up and go back to the start to deliver it again.
The server has to wait for all of the message pieces to arrive before it can begin to send the message along.

Info:
Wi-Fi: Convenient, but spotty. Wi-Fi doesn’t require cables, but since the signal bounces all over the place, packets can get lost pretty
easily.
Simulation: Internet must carry each packet on their shoulder (no hands).
Cable/DSL: Fairly good at delivering messages, but you must be connected to a wire.
Simulation: Internet must carry each packet on the back of one hand and must keep the other hand touching a wall, desk, chair or the
ﬂoor at all times.
Fiber Optic Cable: The best at delivering messages, but you must be connected to a wire.
Simulation: Internet can carry packets in hand, but must keep the other hand touching a wall, desk, chair or the ﬂoor at all times.
To play this game, you can have your groups cluster anywhere,
but for the ﬁrst time it can be less confusing to have groups play
in a line.
Line up the "Servers" on one end of the room (holding their IP
addresses). The Return Internet players can be over there as
well (if you have that many people in each group).

 Lesson Tip
If it feels like there are too many rules to explain outright, feel free
to post them on the board and just explain the game as you go.
You can play multiple rounds until the class really understands.

Have the everyone else line up across from their server at the other side of the room.
The Message Senders will likely be sending their messages to a server other than their own, so the Internet players will likely cross over
from group to group. It may look something like the diagram below (in English):

140

Wrap Up (15 min)
 Lesson Tip

Flash Chat: What did we learn?

Flash Chat questions are intended to spark big-picture thinking
about how the lesson relates to the greater world and the students'
greater future. Use your knowledge of your classroom to decide if
you want to discuss these as a class, in groups, or with an elbow
partner.

What kind of connection would you rather have (Wi-Fi,
DSL/Cable, or Fiber Optic)? Why?
Why might it take your message a long time to get
somewhere?

Journaling
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful,
and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they
obtained today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Journal Prompts:

What was today's lesson about?
How do you feel about today's lesson?
What's something you learned about the internet today?
Why is learning about the internet important?

Assessment (5 min)
Internet - Assessment
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
explained. This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
NI - Networks & the Internet

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141

Internet
How the Internet Does What it Does

Directions:
1) Create your own DNS table, similar to what is shown here.
2) Have the class help you fill in the blank spots in the table.
Pick your favorite URLs and find their IP addresses using a site like www.getip.com.
3) Divide into groups of 3 to 5.
4) Assign each group an IP address from the table, and each person in the group a
position:
* The Message Writer
* The Internet
* The Server (carries the IP Address)
* The Return Internet (Optional)
* The Message Receiver (Optional)
5) Each group will draw an IP address Card and a Delivery Card to find out where their
message is going and what their method of message delivery (Wi-Fi, Cable/DSL, or
Fiber Optic Cable) will be.
6) The Message Writer will craft a note to send to the server.
7) The Internet will rip the message up into small pieces called packets, then deliver each
packet one at a time to the Server with the IP address that was drawn from the IP
address Card stack.
8) The Server will make sure that the message arrives in order, then will send each packet
off one at a time with the Return Internet (can be the same person or different person
than the original Internet).
9) The Return Internet will deliver each piece back to the Message Receiver (can be the
same person or different person than the Message Writer) and put it back together.
10) The Message Receiver will wait for all of the pieces to arrive, then read the message to
be sure it arrived correctly!

Rules:
1) The Internet must rip the message into exactly four packets.
2) If the Internet drops a packet, they have to pick it up and go back to the start to deliver
it again.
3) The server has to wait for all of the message pieces to arrive before it can begin to send
the message along.

142

Revision 150517.1a

Internet
How the Internet Does what it Does

Sample of DNS Table
#

URL

IP ADDRESS

www.code.org

1
2
3
4
5

Sample of Classroom Group Layout During Game Play

Group 1

Group 2

Message Writer 1

Message Writer 2

Group 3
Message Writer 3

Group 4
Message Writer 4

Internet 1

Internet 4

Internet 3

Internet 2
Server 1
(71.220.205.157)

Server 2
(Random IP)

Server 3
(Random IP)

143

Server 4
(Random IP)

Revision 150517.1a

Internet
IP Address Cards

These cards correlate with numbered entries in the DNS Table.
(You should make one distinct row for each group.)

6
144

Revision 150517.1a

Internet
Delivery Type Cards

These cards correlate with different methods of
delivering messages over the Internet.
(Print enough to have one card for each group.)

Wi-Fi

Fiber Optic

DSL

Cable

Types:
1) Wi-Fi: Convenient, but spotty. Wi-Fi doesn’t require cables, but since the signal bounces
all over the place, packets can get lost pretty easily.
Simulation: Internet must carry each packet on their shoulder (no hands).
2) Cable/DSL: Fairly good at delivering messages, but you must be connected to a wire.
Simulation: Internet must carry each packet on the back of one hand and must keep
the other hand touching a wall, desk, chair or the floor at all times.
3) Fiber Optic Cable: The best at delivering messages, but you must be connected to a wire.
Simulation: Internet can carry packets in hand, but must keep the other hand
touching a wall, desk, chair or the floor at all times.

145

Revision 150517.1a

Name:

Date:

The Internet
How the Internet Does What it Does

Unplugged

The DNS has gone out, and now you’re in charge of delivering information all over the
Internet! Use the DNS Look-Up Table to figure out where each packet is supposed to go.

DNS Look-Up Table
#

URL

IP ADDRESS

code.org
csisfun.com
thinkersmith.org
light-bot.com
khanAcademy.org

54.243.71.82
100.42.50.110
64.14.68.10
54.209.61.132
23.23.224.106

2
3
4
5

Draw a line from each packet to the server
where it is supposed to be delivered. The first
one has been done for you.

This message is being delivered
from someone at code.org to
someone at thinkersmith.org.
Draw the path that the message
is likely to take.

csisfun.com

100.42.50.110
code.org

64.14.68.10

23.23.224.106
Message
Sender

light-bot.com

64.14.68.10
thinkersmith.org

54.243.71.82

Message
Receiver

khanAcademy.org

54.209.61.132

146

23.23.224.106

Revision 140710.1a

COURSE

Lesson 6: It's Great to Create and Play Fair
Overview

Objectives

Loaned to Computer Science Fundamentals by the team over at Copyright and
Creativity, this lesson exists to help students understand the creative process of
sharing and inspiration. Along with that comes the promotion of creative
expression and the need to be fair with creative work.

Students will be able to:

Purpose
Students will soon be creating projects to share and most of these projects will
contain either code or imagery that students did not create themselves. This
lesson is here to show students the proper way to handle the use of content
that is not their own.

Agenda
Warm-Up (Optional) (15 min)
Create Your Own Superhero! (15 min)
Wrap-Up

Explain why it is not okay to claim that someone
else's work is your own.
Create original art for the purpose of empathizing
with other creators.

Preparation
Review the original It's Great to Create and Play
Fair - Lesson Plan lesson plan
Watch the It's Great to Create and Play Fair
(Video) - Video
Prepare drawing/painting materials for main activity

Links
Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Journaling
Extended Learning

For the Teacher
It's Great to Create and Play Fair - Lesson Plan
For the Students
It's Great to Create and Play Fair (Video) Video

147

Teaching Guide
Warm-Up (Optional) (15 min)
Watch: Play the It's Great to Create and Play Fair (Video) - Video with your students. You can play it several times throughout this
lesson.
The following discussions are designed to create context, help students engage with the topic, and prepare them for the lesson discussion.

Character Sketch
Ask students to help you create a character sketch about one of the characters in the video.

Say: We’re going to do a character sketch where we decide who this person is.
Discuss: Which one of the characters should we use? Let’s vote. [Take a quick vote.]
 Write the character sketch on the board as students contribute

 Teaching Tip

ideas. Prompt with questions:
Who is this character?
What is his/her name?

Encourage students to be as creative as they can. There are no
wrong answers. Give this character a life of his/her own.

Who are his/her friends? How long have they known each
other?
Who are the people in his/her family? What are they like?
What is his/her backstory?
Where does he/she live?
Has he/she lived there all his/her life or has he/she moved from somewhere else?
What exciting thing might have happened to him/her back in kindergarten, ﬁrst grade?
What does he/she look forward to?
What is he/she afraid of?

Create Your Own Superhero! (15 min)
Display: If possible, show images of two or three superheroes on the board.
Discuss: Discuss the stories of these characters. What are their super powers? What do they use their powers for?
(Other ways to tie the activity into the lesson: Have students classify superpowers into like groups, list similarities and
differences between superheroes, or discuss the character traits and back stories of the superheroes.)
Activity: After discussion, ask your students to draw their own superhero character.
Discuss: When they are ﬁnished, discuss what they created:
What did you create?
What inspired your character?
What makes your superhero different from or better than any other?
How is yours similar to other superheroes?
Have you ever seen a movie or played a video game that made you want to make something?

Say: I’m going to play a short video. As you watch the video, think about how you would feel if this situation happened to you. What would
you do? Watch: Play the It's Great to Create and Play Fair (Video) - Video with your students.
Discuss: It’s great to create. And, it’s great to recognize how others’ creations inspire our new creations. We want to be fair when we’re
using each other’s creative work.
What did you think about that situation? What was going on?
These students combined their work to make something new — the t-shirt.
What would you do in that situation?
Did these friends treat each other fairly?
What if she had wanted to add a ballerina tutu or big boots or glasses to the dragon?
Do you think the boy would have liked that?
Do you think that would be fair?
How would you have felt?

148

Wrap-Up
Creating new things is fun — art, music, movies, paper creations, structures, even buildings! It’s great to create and share and be inspired —
as long as we respect each other as artists and play fair.

Journaling
Give the students a journal prompt to help them process some of the things that they encountered during the day. You can choose one of
the prompts below, or make up your own.
Journal Prompts:
Draw a feeling face in the corner of your journal page
Think of a superhero that one of your classmates made. Can you draw your own picture of that superhero? Give proper credit to your
classmate as the creator of the original version.

Extended Learning
Please be sure to visit Copyright & Creativity to ﬁnd more lessons on digital sharing and creative rights.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
SL - Speaking & Listening

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

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149

COURSE

Lesson 1: Move It, Move It
Overview

Objectives

This lesson will work to prepare students mentally for the coding exercises that
they will encounter over the length of this course. In small teams, students will
use physical activity to program their classmates to step carefully from place to
place until a goal is achieved.

Students will be able to:

Purpose

Deﬁne a list of steps (algorithm) to get a friend from
their starting position to their goal
Translate a list of steps into a series of physical
actions
Identify and ﬁx errors in the execution of an algorithm

By using physical movement to program their classmates, students will run into
issues and emotions similar to what they will feel when they begin coding on a
computer. Encountering those stresses in a playful and open environment will
help to alleviate intensity and allow students to practice necessary skills before
they run into problems on their own.

Agenda
Warm Up (20 min)
Where did I go wrong?
Activity: Move It, Move It (20 minutes)
Wrap-up (10 min)
Journaling

Preparation
Watch the Teacher Video - Move it, Move it
Print (or otherwise prepare) one Move It, Move It
Teacher Debugging Puzzle - PDF for displaying
to the class
Print one Move It, Move It: Debugging - PDF for
each group of 2-3 students
Print one Move It, Move It: Activity - pdf for
each group of 2-3 students
Prepare blank papers to ﬁll out the rest of the
walking grid (4-7 needed per group)

Links

Extended Learning

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.
For the Teacher
Move It, Move It Teacher Debugging Puzzle PDF
Teacher Video - Move it, Move it
For the Students
Move It, Move It: Activity - pdf
Move It, Move It: Debugging - PDF

Vocabulary
Algorithm - A precise sequence of instructions for
processes that can be executed by a computer
Bug - Part of a program that does not work correctly.
Debugging - Finding and ﬁxing problems in an
algorithm or program.
Frustrated - Feeling annoyed or angry because
something is not the way you want it.
Persistence - Trying again and again, even when
something is very hard.

150

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (20 min)
Where did I go wrong?
 Goal: In this lesson, we want to help students learn to identify

and ﬁx bugs in their own programs. The easiest way to do that is
to ﬁrst present students with a program that contains bugs that
are not their fault. Once they've helped you ﬁx "your" program,
share with them how frustrating it can be to make mistakes, and
help them see that those feelings are completely normal and they
shouldn't feel embarrassed by them.

Display: Put an image of Move It, Move It Teacher
Debugging Puzzle - PDF up on the screen where everyone
can see it.

 Teaching Tip
If your class has not already learned cardinal directions, it will be
worth covering them before they begin Course B. This conversion
will come in handy for nearly all of the online puzzles aimed at ﬁrst
grade, as well as several of the unplugged activities.
Let students know that they will continue to see those directions in
the online programs next to the direction arrows.

Discuss: Get the attention of the class and let them know that you are stuck! You have this challenge, and you thought you had solved it,
but it doesn't seem to be working. Your program has a bug, can they help you ﬁx it?
Take a moment to walk them through the rules: - Start at the compass rose - Follow the instructions step-by-step - End at the happy face

Optional: Walk through your program using your ﬁngers on top of the map, under the document camera. Express frustration when your
ﬁngers end up off the map, instead of at the treasure.
Think: My program says "East, East, North". Can you ﬁgure out why my program doesn't work?
Pair: Let students work together to see if they can ﬁgure out what the program is supposed to say.
Share: Ask students if anyone was able to ﬁgure out a way to solve the problem. When you get a correct answer, let the students know that
they are great at "debugging"!
 Discuss: Ask the students if they could tell how you were feeling when you couldn't ﬁgure out the answer. They might suggest that you were

"mad" or "sad". Instead of telling them "no", describe that you were feeling a little bit mad, a little bit sad, and a little bit confused. When you
put all of those emotions together, it makes a feeling called "frustration". When you are "frustrated" you might think you are mad, sad, or
confused -- and you might be tempted to give up -- but frustration is a natural feeling and it's a big hint that you are about to learn something!
Instead of quitting, practice persistence. Keep trying over and over again. After a few times, you will start to understand how to debug your
problems!

151

Distribute: To make sure that students understand the idea of
ﬁnding and ﬁxing errors (debugging) pass out the Move It, Move
It: Debugging - PDF and have students complete the task in
pairs.
Optional: If you want to move the activity along more quickly, feel
free to complete these as a class, instead.
Transition: Now it's time to play the game!

Activity: Move It, Move It (20
minutes)

 Content Corner
For more on persistence and frustration, try reading Stevie and
the Big Project to your students. It will help them spot moments
of frustration. It will also help give them the tools to deal with it.
If you do not read the book, take a moment to cover tips on
frustration and persistence as a class:
Tips to Help With Frustration

Count to 10
Take deep breaths
Journal about them
Talk to a partner about them
Ask for help

Distribute: Hand each group of 2-3 students a packet of Move It,
Move It maps, as well as the blank papers for the grid on the
ground. Allow students to either cut the halves of each map apart,
or fold the sheets in half so that each map is clearly visible
(without distraction.)
Set-Up: In each group, each player will get a task.

Tips for Being Persistent

Keep track of what you have already tried
Describe what is happening
Describe what is supposed to happen
What does that tell you?
Make a change and try again

Player 1: Choose/set-up the map to play
Player 2: Programmer
Player 3: Walking Machine

Directions for Class:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

Decide who will take each job.
Have player 1 set a grid on the floor made up of pieces of paper (as shown on one of the Move It Maps) except with the gem
Player 3 will start by standing on the page with the compass rose.
Player 2 will then guide player 3 step-by-step through the paper maze using the provided arm signals.
When player 2 gives the signal to “STOP”, player 3 will flip over the page that they are on. If that page is a gem, then th
If there is time, let everyone rotate positions and go again!

Note that the rules are not the most important thing here. Feel free to clarify if the students have questions, but if the students are playing a
bit differently than described, you don't need to hold them to the letter of the game. The crucial bit is that they are moving from immediate
instructions to giving two or three instructions before the Walking Machine moves.

Wrap-up (10 min)
Journaling
Give the students a journal prompt to help them process some of
the things that they encountered during the day. You can choose
one of the prompts below, or make up your own.

 Teaching Tip
Here are some useful links in case your class hasn't yet talked
about the compass rose and cardinal directions:

The Cardinal Directions Geography Song
Cardinal Direction Mnemonics Lesson

Journal Prompts:
Draw a feeling face in the corner of your journal page
What were the four directions on the compass rose?
What tricks can we use to remember North, South, East and West?
Draw another way we could we have given instructions without using our arms
Draw your favorite part about that game

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

X's and O's
Draw a tic-tac-toe board for the class.
Place a single X and a single O somewhere on the board.
Ask the class if they can get the X to the O using arm gestures as a class.

152

X's, O's, and Arrows
Similar to the activity above, but have the students write their programs in advance using arrows instead of hand gestures.
This can be done in groups.
Groups can share their solutions for the class.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
CC - Counting And Cardinality
G - Geometry
MP - Math Practices

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153

Move It Move It
Debugging

Unplugged

Start
N

North

Move East

West

East

South

YAY!

154

Move East
Move North

Revision 180417.1a

Name:

Date:

Move It Move It
Debugging

Unplugged

Each of these algorithms has a mistake. Can you find the mistake and cross it out?

YAY!

Move North
Start

Move North

North

West

East

South

Move East
Start
NW

Move North

YAY !

North

Move East

West

East

South

YAY!

Move South
Move East

Start
N

North

Move South

West

East

South

155

Revision 180417.1a

U
Unplugged

Name:

Date:

Move It, Move It
Multi-Step Adventure Activity Key

These are the moves that you can do to help guide your friend.
Practice a few times to be sure that you both understand what each move does.

No rth

S outh

West

E a st

S top
( D one )

Re s t

(No Instruction)

156

Revision 180417.1a

YAY!

157

Start
N

North

West

East

South

158

Move It Map 1
YAY!

Start
N

North

West

East

South

Revision 180417.1a

Move It Map 2
YAY!

Start
N

North

West

East

South

159

Revision 180417.1a

Move It Map 3

Start

YAY!

North

West

East

South

Revision 180417.1a

Move It Map 4
Start
N

North

West

East

South

YAY!

160

Revision 180417.1a

COURSE

E/F

Lesson E.6/F.6: My Loopy Robotic Friends
Unplugged | Loop | Repeat

Overview

Objectives

Building on the initial "My Robotic Friends" activity, students learn to use loops
when programming their robots in order to build bigger structures more
efﬁciently.

Students will be able to:
Identify repeated patterns in code that could be
replaced with a loop
Write instructions that use loops to repeat patterns

Purpose
This lesson serves as a reintroduction to loops, using the now familiar set of
"robot" programming instructions. Students will develop critical thinking skills by
looking for patterns of repetition in the movements of classmates and
determining how to simplify those repeated patterns using loops.

Agenda
Warm Up (10 min)

Preparation
Make sure each student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal
Watch the My Loopy Robotic Friends - Teacher
Video
Prepare a stack of 20 paper cups for each group of
4 students
(Optional) Print out one My Loopy Robotic
Friends Packet - PDF per group of 4 students

My Robotic Friends Review
Activity (30 min)
Introduction and Modeling
Looping Your Robots

OR
Display the My Robotic Friends - Symbol Key
where students can reference throughout the
lesson.
Print and cut out Paper Trapezoid Template Manipulatives for each group if your class is not
going to use cups.
Print out one set of Stacking Cup Ideas Manipulatives per group.

Wrap Up (5 min)
Flash Chat / Journaling
Extension Activities

Links
Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.
For the Teacher
My Loopy Robotic Friends - Teacher Video
For the Students
My Loopy Robotic Friends Packet - PDF

Vocabulary
Loop - The action of doing something over and over
again.
Program - An algorithm that has been coded into
something that can be run by a machine.
Programming - The art of creating a program.
Repeat - Do something again

161

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (10 min)
My Robotic Friends Review
Goal: This review will refresh the students’ minds about how quickly programs for the
"My Robotic Friends" activity can get intense.

Display: Show the My Robotic Friends - Symbol Key that we used in My Robotic
Friends. For each of the six symbols, ask students to show you what it looks like for
a robot to follow that instruction.
Model: With the class together as a group, pull an easy puzzle from the "My Robotic
Friends" Cup Stack Pack and program together as a reminder of rules and
terminology.
Next, pull a puzzle that’s slightly harder, but also requires a lot of steps like the one below.

Volunteer: Ask a volunteer (or a group of volunteers) to come forward to help program this one on the board. If you make them stick strictly
to the “no symbols other than those on the key” rule, it will probably take a while!
Display: Now, bring up this image:

What is the reaction of the class?

162

Once students have put together the idea of “repeating” code, give them the vocabulary around it. Make sure to share with them that the
terms “repeat something” and “loop something” are often used interchangeably.

Activity (30 min)
Introduction and Modeling
Set Up: Have stacks of cups or cut paper trapezoids available for groups.
Display: Take the program from one of your previous cup stacks and display it for the class, or use the one below.

Think: Ask students to think quietly about where in this program they can ﬁnd a pattern of instructions that repeat uninterrupted (one
repetition after another).
Pair: Turn to a neighbor and share one of the repeating patterns you found.
Share: Ask a few students to share out the patterns they identiﬁed. Try to pull out different approaches to grouping patterns. For each
pattern, ask students to identify how many times the pattern repeats.
Model: Using one of the repeating patterns that the class identiﬁed, model how Circle the instruction or pattern that repeats, write the
number of loops near that circle, then cross out the rest of the arrows.

Repeat this until the entire program has been shortened, then re-write the program in a way where students can see how much more simple
the resulting instructions are.

Looping Your Robots
Group: Place students into groups of 4. Each group should then further break down into two pairs - each pair will develop their own
program for the other pair to "run".
Distribute: Give each group one stack of cups or paper cutouts.
Display: Show Stacking Cup Ideas - Manipulatives to the class or hand out individual copies for groups to use. Have each pair (not
group) choose which idea they would like their robot to do. Encourage pairs to select a more complicated pattern this time around.
 Discuss: Let each group discuss how the stack should be built, then instruct each group to translate the algorithm into the symbols. Make

sure each group writes down the program somewhere for the "robot" to read later. As students are working on their programs, remind them
to be on the lookout for opportunities to replace a repeating pattern with a loop.

163

Do: When groups have ﬁnished their instructions, have each pair take turns "running" their code with another pair. Remind students to be on
the lookout for bugs in their code, but not to interrupt a robot until it's ﬁnished running the program.
Discuss: When all of the pairs have had a chance to run their
programs, ask a few to share their solutions with the class. Use
this opportunity to discuss how groups came up with different
solutions to the same puzzle. In particular, you might ask of each
program:
How did they identify the loops?
Are there other ways those loops could have been written?
How much shorter is the program with loops than it would be
without?

 Teaching Tip

Looking for Loops: Be sure to keep your eyes open for students
using loops. Try to avoid correcting their overall algorithms or
prescribing a solution, but feel free to direct students towards
patterns that could be shortened using a repeat circle.
Watch students as they run through the code. Are there any bugs?
Use the debugging questions to help them ﬁnd a solution.

Is the program easier to understand with loops or written out
longhand? Why?

Wrap Up (5 min)

What does it do?
What is it supposed to do?
What does that tell you?
Does it work at the ﬁrst step?
Does it work at the second step?
Where does it stop working?

Flash Chat / Journaling
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they obtained
today and help to build a review sheet for them to look at in the future.
Flash Chat:

Here are some possible topics:
Do you feel like loops make programming easier or harder?
What other kinds of things in life do we repeat?
Eating - put food in mouth, chew 20 times
Brushing hair - brush through hair 35 times
Routines - Wake up, go to school, come home, go to bed
Write or draw something in your journal that will remind you later what loops are.
What does "repeat" mean to you?
Draw a picture of you repeating something.

Extension Activities
Have students draw their own cup stacking creations for someone else to code.
Provide students with algorithms that utilize repeats, then have them expand the program back out to a full step-by-step version.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MP - Math Practices
OA - Operations And Algebraic Thinking

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

164

Sample Table Arrangement for Cups

4
steps

0
steps

3
steps
1 step
backward

3
165

5
steps

Sample Template for Moving Cups

3
166

Pick Up Cup

Put Down Cup

Step Forward

Step Backward

Turn Cup Right 90°

Turn Cup Left 90°

167

168

169

170

171

To cut quickly:
First cut in horizontal strips, then snip along lines to make trapezoids.
172

COURSE

Lesson 8: My Loopy Robotic Friends Jr.
Unplugged | Loop | Repeat

Overview

Objectives

Building on the initial "My Robotic Friends" activity, students tackle larger and
more complicated designs. In order to program their "robots" to complete these
bigger designs, students will need to identify repeated patterns in their
instructions that could be replaced with a loop.

Students will be able to:

Purpose

Preparation

This lesson serves as a reintroduction to loops, using the now familiar set of
"robot" programming instructions. Students will develop critical thinking skills by
looking for patterns of repetition in the movements of classmates and
determining how to simplify those repeated patterns using loops.

Agenda
Warm Up (10 min)

Identify repeated patterns in code that could be
replaced with a loop
Write instructions that use loops to repeat patterns

Make sure each student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal
Watch the My Loopy Robotic Friends - Teacher
Video
Prepare a stack of 20 paper cups for each group of
4 students
(Optional) Print out one My Loopy Robotic
Friends Cup Stack (Course B) - Image Pack
per group of 4 students

My Robotic Friends Review
Activity (30 min)
Introduction and Modeling
Looping Your Robots

OR
Display the My Robotic Friends Symbol Key
(Course B) - Key where students can reference
throughout the lesson.
Print and cut out Paper Trapezoid Template Manipulatives for each group if your class is not
going to use cups.
Print out one set of My Loopy Robotic Friends
Cup Stack (Course B) - Image Pack per group.

Wrap Up (5 min)
Extension Activities

Links
Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.
For the Teacher
My Loopy Robotic Friends - Teacher Video
For the Students
My Robotic Friends Symbol Key (Course B) Key
Feeling Faces - Emotion Images
Paper Trapezoid Template - Manipulatives
My Loopy Robotic Friends Cup Stack (Course
B) - Image Pack

Vocabulary
Loop - The action of doing something over and over
again.
Repeat - Do something again

173

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (10 min)
My Robotic Friends Review

Goal: This review will refresh the students’ minds about how quickly programs for the "My Robotic Friends" activity can get intense.
Display: Show the My Robotic Friends Symbol Key (Course B) - Key that we used in My Robotic Friends. For each of the four
symbols, ask students to show you what it looks like for a robot to follow that instruction.
Model: With the class together as a group, pull an easy puzzle from the "My Robotic Friends" Cup Stack Pack and program with each other
as a reminder of rules and terminology.
Next, pull a puzzle that’s slightly harder, but also requires a lot of steps like the one below.

174

What is the reaction of the class?

Prompt: Give students the opportunity to brainstorm shorter ways to relay the code that they’re about to create. (This bit can be skipped
over if your students start saying things like: “Move forward 6 times.” Since that will open the discussion about how to show “six times” with
symbols.)
Once students have put together the idea of “repeating” code, give them the vocabulary around it. Make sure to share with them that often
the terms “repeat something” and “loop something” are often used interchangeably.

175

Repeat this until the entire program has been shortened, then re-write the program in a way where students can see how much more simple
the resulting instructions are.

Looping Your Robots
Group: Place students into groups of 4. Each group should then further break down into two pairs - each pair will develop their own
program "run" on the other pair.
Distribute: Give each group one stack of cups or paper cutouts.
Display: Show My Loopy Robotic Friends Cup Stack (Course B) - Image Pack to the class or hand out individual copies for groups
to use. Have each pair (not group) choose which stack they would like their robot to do. Encourage pairs to select a more complicated
pattern this time around.
 Discuss: Let each group discuss how the stack should be built,

then instruct each group to translate the algorithm into symbols.
Make sure each group writes down the symbol algorithm
somewhere for the "robot" to read later. As students are working
on their programs, remind them to be on the lookout for
opportunities to replace a repeating pattern with a loop.

Do: When groups have ﬁnished their instructions, have each pair
trade with another pair to run one another's code. Remind
students to be on the lookout for bugs, but not to interrupt a robot
until it's ﬁnished running the program.

 Teaching Tip

Looking for Loops: Be sure to keep your eyes open for students
using loops. Try to avoid correcting their overall algorithms or
prescribing a solution, but feel free to direct students towards
patterns that could be shortened by using a repeat circle.
Watch students as they run through the code. Are there any bugs?
Use the debugging questions to help them ﬁnd a solution.
What does it do?
What is it supposed to do?
What does that tell you?

Discuss: When all of the pairs have had a chance to run their
programs, ask a few to share their solutions with the class. Use
this opportunity to discuss how groups came up with different
solutions to the same puzzle. In particular, you might ask of each
program:

Does it work at the ﬁrst step?
Does it work at the second step?
Where does it stop working?

How did they identify the loops?
Are there other ways those loops could have been written?
How much shorter is the program with loops than it would be without?
Is the program easier to understand with loops, or written out longhand? Why?

176

Wrap Up (5 min)
Journal Prompts:

Draw one of the Feeling Faces - Emotion Images that shows how you felt about today's lesson in the corner of your journal page.
Have the students write or draw something in their journal that will remind them later what loops are. This can come from a prompt like:
What does "repeat" mean to you?
Draw a picture of you repeating something.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MD - Measurement And Data
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

177

Traveling Circuits

Lesson 3: My Robotic Friends

My Robotic Friends
Symbol Key (Course B)

Unplugged

Pick Up Cup

Put Down Cup

Step Forward

Step Backward

178

179

180

To cut quickly:
First cut in horizontal strips, then snip along lines to make trapezoids.
181

COURSE

E/F

Lesson E.1/F.1: My Robotic Friends
Algorithms | Debugging | Unplugged

Overview

Objectives

Using a special set of ofﬂine commands, students will design algorithms to
instruct a "robot" to stack cups in different patterns. Students will take turns
participating as the robot, responding only to the algorithm deﬁned by their
peers. This segment teaches students the connection between symbols and
actions, the difference between an algorithm and a program, and the valuable

Students will be able to:

skill of debugging.

Reframe a sequence of steps as an encoded
program
Identify and address bugs or errors in sequenced
instructions

Preparation

Purpose
This unplugged lesson brings the class together as a team with a simple task to
complete: get a "robot" to stack cups in a speciﬁc design. Students will work to
recognize real world actions as potential instructions in code. The art of
following precise instructions will also be practiced, as students work to
translate algorithms into code, using the symbols provided. If problems arise in
the code, students should work together to recognize bugs and build solutions.
This activity lays the groundwork for the programming that students will do
throughout the course as they learn the importance of deﬁning a clearly
communicated algorithm.

Agenda
Warm Up (5 min)
Talking to Robots

Watch the My Robotic Friends - Teacher Video.
(Optional) Print out one My Robotic Friends Symbol Key per group or 4 students. Alternatively,
ﬁnd a place to display this information where
students can reference throughout the lesson.
Prepare a stack of 10 disposable cups per group of
4 students, OR
(Optional) print and cut out Paper Trapezoid
Template - Manipulatives for each group if your
class is not going to use cups.
Print out one set of Stacking Cup Ideas Manipulatives per group.
Make sure each student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.

Activity (45 min)
Introduction and Modeling
Differentiation Options:
Programming Your Robots

Links

Wrap Up (10 min)

For the Teacher

Journaling

My Robotic Friends - Teacher Video
For the Students
Stacking Cup Ideas - Manipulatives
Paper Trapezoid Template - Manipulatives
My Robotic Friends - Unplugged Video
(download)
My Robotic Friends - Symbol Key

Vocabulary
Algorithm - A list of steps to ﬁnish a task.
Bug - Part of a program that does not work correctly.
Debugging - Finding and ﬁxing problems in an
algorithm or program.
Loop - The action of doing something over and over
again.
Program - An algorithm that has been coded into
something that can be run by a machine.
Repeat - Do something again

182

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (5 min)
Talking to Robots
 Discuss: Start by asking the class if anyone has heard of

robotics. Has anyone seen a robot or touched one? Does a robot
really “hear” you speak? Does it really “understand” what you
say?

Say: Robots can only do what they've been instructed or
programmed to do. In order to accomplish a task, a robot needs
to have a list of instructions (sometimes called an algorithm) that
it can read. Today, we are going to learn what it takes to make that happen.

Activity (45 min)
Introduction and Modeling
Display: Display the My Robotic Friends - Symbol Key or write the allowed actions on the board - make sure these are in a place
where they can be seen for the whole activity. Explain to the class that these will be the only six actions that they will be using for this
exercise. For this task, they will instruct their “robot” friend to build a speciﬁc cup stack using only the commands listed on the key.

Model: In order to explain how the instructions are intended to work, model for the class how to create and follow an algorithm for
replicating a simple pattern. Place a single stack of cups in front of you to start.
Display: Hold up the pattern you plan to model. A simple three cup pattern is a great place to start.

Prompt: Ask the class what the ﬁrst instruction should be, using only the six instructions allowed. The ﬁrst move should be to "pick up
cup." If students suggest something else from the list, perform that action and allow them to see their error. If they suggest something not
from the list, make a clear malfunction reaction and let them know that the command is not understood.
With cup in hand, ask the class to continue giving you instructions until the ﬁrst cup is placed. This is a great place to clarify that a "step
forward" and "step backward" each imply moving half a cup width. See the image below for reference.

183

 Teaching Tip

Differentiation Options:
Simplify: Does this all feel a little complicated for your
classroom? Here are a couple of tips to simplify the process:
Load lots of steps into the ups and downs
Up means that the cup automatically goes up as high as it
needs to
Down means that it automatically goes down until it lands on
something
Hand automatically returns to cup stack after setting down a
cup

Intensify: Are your students more advanced? Do you want this
lesson to relate more closely to the online puzzles? Here are some
modiﬁcations that you can make:
One arrow corresponds to one movement
When a cup is removed from the stack, it returns to tablelevel before moving
Students need to use multiple "up" arrows to lift the cup
multiple levels
Students need to use multiple "down" arrows to lower the
cups multiple levels
Students need to use the "back" arrows to get back to the
cup stack

Set Up: Have stacks of cups or cut paper trapezoids
available for groups.

Continue asking for instructions from the classroom until you have completed the entire design.
Once your stack is complete, point out that they just gave you a list of instructions for completing a task. That's an algorithm. Algorithms are
great for sharing ideas, but spelling them out word by word can take a long time. That's what the symbols are for! When you encode an
algorithm into symbols that a robot (or computer) understands, that's called programming.
Ask the class to help you write the "program" for that ﬁrst move, and then the rest of the moves necessary to complete the pattern.
Depending on the conﬁdence of your students, you might switch back and forth frequently between acting as the "robot" and writing down
the code, or you might push them to write the whole program before you will implement it. One possible solution looks like this:

184

Volunteer: Once the class has completed the model program, ask one of the students to come up and act as the "robot" to ensure that the
program really works. Encourage them to say the instructions out loud as they "run" the code.

Programming Your Robots
Group: Place students into groups of 4. Each group should then further break down into two pairs - each pair will develop their own
program to be "run" by the other pair.
Distribute: Give each group one stack of cups or paper cutouts.
Display: Show Stacking Cup Ideas - Manipulatives to the class or hand out individual copies for groups to use. Have each pair (not
group) choose which idea they would like their robots to do. Try to push for an easier idea for the ﬁrst time, then have them choose a more
complex design later on. Encourage pairs to keep their choice secret from the other half of their group.
Discuss: Give each pair time to discuss how the stack should be built, using only the provided symbols. Make sure each group writes down
the "program" somewhere for the "robot" to read later.
 Do: Once both of the group's pairs have decided on their

algorithms, they can take turns being "robots" for each other by
following the instructions each pair wrote. Encourage students to
watch their "robot" closely to ensure that they are following
instructions. If a student sees a bug and raises their hand, have
the robot ﬁnish the instructions to the best of their ability.
Afterward, have the students discuss the potential bug and come
up with a solution. Continue repeating until the stack is built
properly.

 Teaching Tip

Enforcing the rules: While the robot is working on the stack
make sure that the class knows:
Programmers are not allowed to talk when the robot is working.
This includes blurting out answers or pointing out when the
robot has done something wrong.
Programmers should raise their hand if they see a bug.

Circulate: Look for groups who are trying to take shortcuts by
adding things (like numbers) to their code. Praise them for their ingenuity, but remind them that for this exercise, the robots do not
understand anything but the provided symbols. If you like, you can hint that they should save their brilliant solution for the next time they
play this game, since they might get the chance to use it soon!
Iterate: Depending on your time available, mix up the pairs and give them a chance to do a different pattern. Each time groups repeat the
process, encourage them to choose a more challenging pattern.
 Discuss: After everyone has had a chance to be the robot, bring

the class back together to discuss their experience. In particular,
discuss as a class:
What was the most difﬁcult part of coming up with the
instructions?
Did anyone ﬁnd a bug in your instructions once your robot was
following them?

 Discussion Goal

Sense making: The goal of this discussion is to give students
space to make sense of their experience both as robot and
programmer. The questions are intentionally broad, but designed
to get students thinking about the challenges of writing a clear
program and the constraints of a robot or computer in interpreting
your instructions.

What was the bug?
Why do you think you didn't notice it when writing the
program?
When you were the robot, what was the hardest part of following the instructions you were given?

185

Wrap Up (10 min)
Journaling
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they obtained
today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Journal Prompts:

What was today’s lesson about?
How did you feel during today’s lesson?
Draw a stack of cups that the robot made today.
Draw a stack of cups that you would like a robot to make someday!

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

186

Sample Table Arrangement for Cups

4
steps

0
steps

3
steps
1 step
backward

3
187

5
steps

Sample Template for Moving Cups

3
188

Pick Up Cup

Put Down Cup

Step Forward

Step Backward

Turn Cup Right 90°

Turn Cup Left 90°

189

190

191

To cut quickly:
First cut in horizontal strips, then snip along lines to make trapezoids.
192

COURSE

Lesson 4: My Robotic Friends Jr.
Algorithms | Debugging | Unplugged

Overview

Objectives

Using a set of symbols in place of code, students will design algorithms to
instruct a "robot" to stack cups in different patterns. Students will take turns
participating as the robot, responding only to the algorithm deﬁned by their
peers. This segment teaches students the connection between symbols and
actions, the difference between an algorithm and a program, and the valuable

Students will be able to:

skill of debugging.

Purpose
This unplugged lesson brings the class together as a team with a simple task to
complete: get a "robot" to stack cups in a speciﬁc design. This activity lays the
groundwork for the programming that students will do throughout the course as
they learn the importance of deﬁning a clearly communicated algorithm.

Agenda
Warm Up (5 min)
Talking to Robots
Activity (30 min)
Introduction and Modeling
Handy Rules:
Differentiation Options:
Programming Your Robots

Attend to precision when creating instructions
Identify and address bugs or errors in sequenced
instructions

Preparation
Watch the My Robotic Friends - Teacher Video.
(Optional) Print out one My Robotic Friends
Symbol Key (Course B) - Key per group or 2-3.
Alternatively, ﬁnd a place to display this information
where students can reference throughout the
lesson.
Prepare a stack of 10 disposable cups per group of
2-3 students, OR
(Optional) print and cut out Paper Trapezoid
Template - Manipulatives for each group if your
class is not going to use cups.
Print out one set of My Robotic Friends Cup
Stack Pack (Course B) - Image Pack per group.
Make sure each student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.

Links

Wrap Up (10 min)
Journaling

For the Teacher
My Robotic Friends - Teacher Video
For the Students
Feeling Faces - Emotion Images
My Robotic Friends Symbol Key (Course B) Key
My Robotic Friends - Unplugged Video
(download)
My Robotic Friends Cup Stack Pack (Course
B) - Image Pack
Paper Trapezoid Template - Manipulatives
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Algorithm - A precise sequence of instructions for
processes that can be executed by a computer
Bug - Part of a program that does not work correctly.
Debugging - Finding and ﬁxing problems in an
algorithm or program.
Program - An algorithm that has been coded into
something that can be run by a machine.

193

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (5 min)
Talking to Robots
Display: Watch one of the videos below to give students context
for the types of things that robots can do:
Asimo by Honda (3:58)
Egg drawing robot (3:15)
Dancing Lego Robot (1:35)

 Discuss: Refer to the video that you chose and ask students how

they think that the robot knew what to do. Does a robot really
“understand” what you say? Is it worried about getting in trouble if it doesn't do what it's told?

Say: Robots can only do what they've been told to do, but we don't just tell them using words. In order to do something, a robot needs to
have a list of steps that it can read. Today, we are going to learn what it takes to make that happen.

Activity (30 min)
Introduction and Modeling
Set Up: Have stacks of cups or cut paper trapezoids available for groups.
Display: Display the My Robotic Friends Symbol Key (Course B) - Key or write the allowed actions on the board - make sure these
are in a place where they can be seen for the whole activity. Explain to the class that these will be the only four actions that they can use for
this exercise. For this task, they will instruct their “robot” friend to build a speciﬁc cup stack using only the commands listed on the key.

Prompt: Ask the class what the ﬁrst instruction should be, using only the four instructions allowed. The ﬁrst move should be to "pick up
cup." If students suggest something else from the list, perform that action and allow them to see their error. If they suggest something not
from the list, make a clear malfunction reaction and let them know that the command is not understood.
With cup in hand, ask the class to continue giving you instructions until the ﬁrst cup is placed. This is a great place to clarify that "step
forward" and "step backward" each imply moving half a cup width. See the image below for reference.

194



195

Continue asking for instructions from the classroom until you have
completed the entire design.
Once your stack is complete, point out that they just gave you a
list of steps for completing a task. That's an algorithm. Algorithms
are great for sharing ideas, but spelling them out word by word
can take a long time. That's what the symbols are for! When you
change an algorithm into symbols that a robot (or computer)
understands, that's called programming.
Ask the class to help you write the "program" for that ﬁrst move by
changing the text into an arrow. Then work with them to write
down the rest of the moves necessary to complete the pattern.
Depending on the conﬁdence of your students, you might switch
back and forth frequently between acting as the "robot" and
writing down the code, or you might push them to write the whole
program before you will implement it. One possible solution looks
like this:

 Teaching Tip

Handy Rules:
Up means that the cup automatically goes up as high as it
needs to
Down means that it automatically goes down until it lands on
something
The hand automatically returns to cup stack after setting
down a cup

Forward means the robot moves one step (1/2 cup width)
forward
Backward means the robot moves one step (1/2 cup width)
Backward
Note: Students may not use backward at this age unless
they want to build the cup stacks in reverse (which is also
okay)
Programmers are not allowed to talk when the robot is working.
This includes blurting out answers or pointing out when the
robot has done something wrong
Programmers should raise their hand if they see a bug

Differentiation Options:
Simplify: Does this all feel a little complicated for your students?
Don't forget to model this in front of the class until students
understand all of the rules. If it's still confusing, try running this
whole activity together as a classroom using volunteers as robots,
instead of breaking up into groups!

Volunteer: Once the class has completed the model program,
ask one of the students to come up and act as the "robot" to
ensure that the program really works. Encourage them to say the
instructions out loud as they "run" the code.

Programming Your Robots

level before moving
Students need to use multiple "up" arrows to lift the cup
multiple levels

Group: Place students into groups of 4. Each group should then
further break down into two pairs - each pair will develop their
own program to be "run" by the other pair.

Students need to use multiple "down" arrows to lower the
cups multiple levels

Distribute: Give each group one stack of cups or paper cutouts.

Students need to use the "back" arrows to get back to the
Display: Show My Robotic Friends Cup Stack Pack
cup stack
(Course B) - Image Pack to the class or hand out individual
copies for groups to use. Have each pair (not group) choose
which idea they would like their robots to do. Try to push for an easier idea for the ﬁrst time, then have them choose a more complex design
later on. Encourage pairs to keep their choice secret from the other half of their group.

Discuss: Give each pair time to discuss how the stack should be built, using only the provided symbols. Make sure each group writes down
the "program" somewhere for the "robot" to read later.
Do: Once both of the group's pairs have completed their programs, they can take turns being "robots" for each other by following the
instructions the other pair wrote. Encourage students to watch their "robot" closely to ensure that they are following instructions. If a student
sees a bug and raises their hand, have the robot ﬁnish the instructions to the best of their ability. Afterward, have the students discuss the
potential bug and come up with solutions. Continue repeating until the stack is built properly.
Circulate: Look for groups who are trying to take shortcuts by adding extra things (like numbers) to their code. Praise them for their
ingenuity, but remind them that for this exercise, the robots do not understand anything but the provided symbols. If you like, you can hint
that they should save their brilliant solution for the next time they play this game, since they might get the chance to use their invention soon!
Iterate: Depending on the time available, mix up the pairs and give them a chance to do a different pattern. Each time groups repeat the
process, encourage them to choose a more challenging pattern.

196

 Discuss: After everyone has had a chance to be the robot, bring the class back together to discuss their experience. In particular, discuss

as a class:
What was the most difﬁcult part of coming up with the
instructions?
Did anyone ﬁnd a bug in your instructions once your robot
started following them?
What was the bug?
Why do you think you didn't notice it when writing the
program?
When you were the robot, what was the hardest part of
following the instructions you were given?

 Discussion Goal

Draw one of the Feeling Faces - Emotion Images that shows how you felt about today's lesson in the corner of your journal page.
Draw your own stack of cups that you would like to see a robot build.
Can you create a program for that cup stack?

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MD - Measurement And Data
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

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197

Traveling Circuits

Lesson 3: My Robotic Friends

My Robotic Friends
Symbol Key (Course B)

Unplugged

Pick Up Cup

Put Down Cup

Step Forward

Step Backward

198

199

200

To cut quickly:
First cut in horizontal strips, then snip along lines to make trapezoids.
201

COURSE

Lesson 4: Paper Planes
Unplugged | Algorithms | facilitating discussion

Overview

Objectives

In this lesson, students will relate the concept of algorithms back to everyday
activities. After discussing their steps, students will make paper planes using an
algorithm. The goal here is to start building the skills to translate real world
situations to online scenarios and vice versa.

Students will be able to:

Purpose

Preparation

This lesson exists to help students see that an "algorithm" is just a list of steps
that someone can take to ﬁnish a task. Students will also learn that the order of
the individual steps can make a difference in the ﬁnal product. This should help
lay a foundation of understanding for arranging blocks into programs.

Agenda
Warm Up (15 min)
Main Activity (20 min)
Wrap Up (15 min)
Journaling
Assessment (15 min)
Extended Learning

Decompose large activities into a series of smaller
events.
Organize sequential events into their logical order.

Watch the Real-Life Algorithms: Paper Planes Teacher Video.
Watch the Real-Life Algorithms: Paper Planes Lesson in Action Video.
Gather paper for students to construct paper
airplanes from.
Print out Real-Life Algorithms: Paper Planes Worksheet for each student.
Print Daily Algorithms - Assessment for each
student.
Make sure every student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.

Links
Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.
For the Teacher
Real-Life Algorithms: Paper Planes - Unplugged
Video (download)
Real-Life Algorithms: Paper Planes - Teacher
Video
Real-Life Algorithms: Paper Planes - Lesson in
Action Video
Real-Life Algorithms: Paper Planes - Worksheet
Answer Key
For the Students
Real-Life Algorithms: Paper Planes - Worksheet
Daily Algorithms - Assessment
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Algorithm - A list of steps to ﬁnish a task.

202

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (15 min)
This warm-up will help your students get perspective on what it means to create a list of steps to ﬁnish a task.

Prompt: Ask your students what they did to get ready for school this morning.
Discuss: Write their answers on the board. If possible, put numbers next to their responses to indicate the order that they happen. If
students give responses out of order, have them help you put them in some kind of logical order, pointing out places where order matters
and places where it doesn't.
Say: Introduce students to the idea that it is possible to create algorithms for the things that we do everyday. Give them a couple of
examples, such as making breakfast, brushing teeth, and planting a ﬂower.

Main Activity (20 min)
Real-Life Algorithms: Paper Planes - Worksheet

You can use algorithms to help describe things that people do every day. In this activity, we will create an algorithm to help students fold a
paper plane.

Pair: Have students pair up with an elbow partner to cut the
individual steps apart. They should discuss among themselves
which six are needed and which three can be recycled.
Distribute: Hand out some blank paper (or the back of other
papers) for students to glue/tape their instructions to once they've
decided on the order. Make sure they have a second peice that
they can actually fold into the ﬁnal plane.
Share: Finally, have students trade their ﬁnished algorithms with
another pair and have them use one another's algorithms to make
a paper plane.
Circulate: Walk around during the activity and check that
students are trying to debug mistakes. If they get stuck, have
them check-in with the group who originally coded their algorithm
and see if they can work together to ﬁx it.

 Lesson Tip
If you think it will be too difﬁcult for your students to decide which
steps are correct, do that piece together as a class before you
break up into pairs.

 Lesson Tip
If you are concerned about injury when your students begin ﬂying
their paper planes, we recommend having them blunt the tip of the
plane by either folding it inward or ripping it off and covering the
ripped edges with tape.

Discuss: What did we learn?
How many of you were able to follow your classmates' algorithms to make your planes?
Did we leave anything out when making the plane?
What would you have added to make the algorithm even better?
What if the algorithm had been only one step: "Fold a Paper Plane"?
Would it have been easier or harder?
What if it were forty steps?
What was your favorite part about this activity?

Wrap Up (15 min)
Journaling
Having students write about what they learned, why it’s useful, and how they feel about it can help solidify any knowledge they obtained
today and build a review sheet for them to look to in the future.
Journal Prompts:

What was today’s lesson about?
How did you feel during today’s lesson?
Can you imagine an algorithm for building a real plane? What do you think that would look like?
Write out an algorithm that would take you from your desk to the front of the class.

203

Assessment (15 min)
Daily Algorithms - Assessment

Hand out the Daily Algorithms - Assessment and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have
been well explained.
This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

Go Figure
Break the class up into teams.
Have each team come up with several steps that they can think of to complete a task.
Gather teams back together into one big group and have one team share their steps, without letting anyone know what the activity was
that they had chosen.
Allow the rest of the class to try to guess what activity the algorithm is for.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
G - Geometry
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

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204

Name:

Date:

Real-Life Algorithms

Unplugged

Paper Airplane Worksheet

You can use algorithms to help describe things that people do every day. In this activity,
we will create an algorithm to help each other make paper airplanes.
Cut out the steps of making an airplane below. Glue the six the correct steps, in order, onto
a separate piece of paper. Trade your finished algorithm with another person or group and
let them use it to make an actual flying model paper plane!

CUT CENTER OUT OF
PAPER

CREASE PAPER
DOWN THE CENTER

CRUMBLE PAPER

FOLD TOP CORNERS
TO CENTER

RIP CORNER OFF
PAPER

FOLD CORNER SIDES
TO CENTER

TOSS FINISHED PLANE

FOLD PAPER
IN HALF AGAIN

PULL SIDES DOWN

205

Revision 140710.1a

Name:

Date:

Daily Algorithms

Unplugged

Assessment Worksheet

An algorithm is a list of instructions for accomplishing a task. We follow algorithms
everyday when it comes to activities like making the bed, making breakfast, or
even getting dressed in the morning.
These images are not in order. First, describe what is happening in each picture on
the line to its left, then match the action to its order in the algorithm. The first one
has been done for you as an example.

Step 1

Teeth are clean!

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Sometimes you can have more than one algorithm for the same activity. The order
of some of these steps can be changed without changing the final product. Use the
letters on the images below to create two algorithms for making a paper airplane.

ALGORITHM 1:
ALGORITHM 2:

206

Revision 140710.1a

COURSE

Lesson 3: Plant a Seed
Unplugged | Algorithms

Overview

Objectives

In this lesson, students will relate the concept of algorithms back to everyday,
real-life activities by planting an actual seed. The goal here is to start building
the skills to translate real-world situations to online scenarios and vice versa.

Students will be able to:
Decompose large activities into a series of smaller
events.
Arrange sequential events into their logical order.

Purpose
In this lesson, students will learn that algorithms are everywhere in our daily
lives. For example, it is possible to write an algorithm to plant a seed. Instead of
giving vague or over-generalized instructions, students will break down a large
activity into smaller and more speciﬁc commands. From these commands,
students must determine a special sequence of instructions that will allow their
classmate to plant a seed.

Agenda
Warm Up (10 min)
Vocabulary
What We Do Daily

Preparation
Watch the Plant a Seed - Teacher Video.
Prepare supplies for planting seeds. You'll need
seeds, dirt, and paper cups for each student or
group.
Print one Real-Life Algorithms: Plant a Seed Worksheet for each student.
Print one Real-Life Algorithms: Plant a Seed Assessment for each student.
Make sure each student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.

Links

Main Activity (20 min)
Real-Life Algorithms: Plant a Seed - Worksheet

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Wrap Up (10 - 20 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Journaling
Assessment (15 min)

For the Teacher

Real-Life Algorithms: Plant a Seed - Assessment

Real-Life Algorithms: Planting a Seed Unplugged Video (download)

Extended Learning
Go Figure

Plant a Seed - Teacher Video
Real-Life Algorithms: Plant a Seed - Worksheet
Real-Life Algorithms: Plant a Seed - Worksheet
Answer Key
Real-Life Algorithms: Plant a Seed Assessment
Real-Life Algorithms: Plant a Seed Assessment Answer Key
For the Students
Feeling Faces - Emotion Images
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Algorithm - A precise sequence of instructions for
processes that can be executed by a computer

207

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (10 min)
Vocabulary
This lesson has one vocabulary word that is important to review:
Algorithm - Say it with me: Al-go-ri-thm
A list of steps that you can follow to ﬁnish a task

What We Do Daily
Ask your students what they did to get ready for school this morning.
Write their answers on the board
If possible, put numbers next to their responses to indicate the order that they happen
If students give responses out of order, have them help you put them in some kind of logical order
Point out places where order matters and places where it doesn't
Introduce students to the idea that it is possible to create algorithms for the things that we do everyday.
Give them a couple of examples, such as making breakfast, tying shoes, and brushing teeth.
Let's try doing this with a new and fun activity, like planting a seed!

Main Activity (20 min)
Real-Life Algorithms: Plant a Seed - Worksheet
You can use algorithms to help describe things that people do
every day. In this activity, we will create an algorithm to help each
other plant a seed. Directions:
Cut out the steps for planting a seed from Real-Life

Algorithms: Plant a Seed - Worksheet.

 Lesson Tip
You know your classroom best. As the teacher, decide if you
should all do this together, or if students should work in pairs or
small groups.

Work together to choose the six correct steps from the nine
total options.
Glue the six correct steps, in order, onto a separate piece of paper.
Trade the ﬁnished algorithm with another person or group and let them use it to plant their seed!

Wrap Up (10 - 20 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?

 Lesson Tip
If deciding on the correct steps seems too difﬁcult for your
students, do that piece together as a class before you break up
into teams.

How many of you were able to follow your classmates'
algorithms to plant your seeds?
Did the exercise leave anything out?
What would you have added to make the algorithm even better?
What if the algorithm had been only one step: "Plant the seed"?
Would it have been easier or harder?
What if it were forty steps?
What was your favorite part about that activity?

Journaling
Ask the students to go back to their desks to reﬂect individually on what they learned. Write a couple of the questions up above on a
whiteboard. Ask the students to discuss these in their journal. Sample prompts include:
Journal Prompts:

Draw one of the Feeling Faces - Emotion Images that shows how you felt about today's lesson in the corner of your journal page.
Draw the seed you planted today.
Write the algorithm you used to plant the seed.

208

Assessment (15 min)
Real-Life Algorithms: Plant a Seed - Assessment
Hand out the Real-Life Algorithms: Plant a Seed - Assessment and allow students to complete the activity independently after the
instructions have been well explained.
This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
G - Geometry
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
LS - Life Science

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209

Name:

Date:

Real-Life Algorithms
Plant a Seed Worksheet

Unplugged

You can use algorithms to help describe things that people do every day. In this activity,
we will create an algorithm to help each other plant a seed.
Cut out the steps of planting a seed below, then work together to glue the six correct
steps, in order, onto a separate piece of paper. Trade your finished algorithm with another
person or group and let them use it to plant their seed!

PUT POT IN SUNLIGHT

PUT SEED IN HOLE

HUG AN ELEPHANT

PUT GLUE ON SEED

FILL POT WITH SOIL

POKE HOLE IN SOIL

WATER POT

COVER SEED WITH SOIL

POUR SODA POP IN POT

210

Revision 140710.1a

U
Unplugged

Name:

Date:

Real-Life Algorithms
Assessment Worksheet

An algorithm is a list of steps that you can follow to finish a task. We follow
algorithms every day when it comes to activities like making the bed, making
breakfast, or even getting dressed in the morning.
Pria the Programmer just woke up and is still feeling very sleepy. Can you put
together some algorithms to help Pria get ready for the day?

Help Connie Put on Shoes:
G

2 3

Help Connie Brush her Teeth:
G

2 3 4

Help Connie Plant a Seed:
G

2 3 4 5 6
211

Revision 171129.1a

U
Unplugged

Name:

Date:

Real-Life Algorithms
Assessment Worksheet

These items are out of order. To help Princess Pria, cut out each picture and
rearrange them into the right sequence.

Put on Shoes

PUT FOOT IN
SHOE

PICK UP
SHOES

TIE SHOE

BRUSH
TEETH

DIRTY TEETH

CLEAN
TEETH

PUT POT IN
SUNLIGHT

PUT SEED IN
HOLE

POKE HOLE
IN SOIL

Brush Teeth

PASTE ON
BRUSH

Plant a Seed

FILL POT
WITH SOIL

212

WATER POT

COVER SEED
WITH SOIL

Revision 171129.1a

COURSE

Lesson 13: The Power of Words
Common Sense Education | Cyberbullying

Overview

Objectives

Students consider that while they are enjoying their favorite websites they may
encounter messages from other kids that can make them feel angry, hurt, sad,
or fearful. They explore ways to handle cyberbullying and how to respond in the
face of upsetting language online.

Students will be able to:

Students discuss all the ways they use technology for communication and
explore the similarities and differences between in-person and online
communication. Students then brainstorm ways to respond to cyberbullying.

Purpose
This lesson will provide students with the tools that they need to handle
cyberbullying if they are ever in the situation of having someone negatively
responds to their online postings.
Students may not ever have the misfortune of experiencing cyberbullying, but
they should understand what it is so that they can spot it online. Students will
learn how to identify cyberbullying and what steps they should take to make it
stop. This may become helpful in later puzzles when students have the
opportunity to share their work.

Agenda
Warm Up (5 min)
Introduction
Main Activity (35 min)

Empathize with those who have received mean and
hurtful messages.
Judge what it means to cross the line from harmless
to harmful communication online.
Generate solutions for dealing with cyberbullying.

Preparation
Preview the Common Sense Education - Power
of Words - Teacher Prep Guide and prepare to
show it to your class.
Print out the Words Can Hurt Handout from
Common Sense Education - Power of Words Teacher Prep Guide (page 7) for each group of
four.
Print out the Talk and Take Action Handout from
Common Sense Education - Power of Words Teacher Prep Guide (page 6) for each student.
Print out the assessment on page 8-9 of Common
Sense Education - Power of Words - Teacher
Prep Guide.
Obtain colored pencils and a string the length of the
classroom.

Links

What's the Problem?
Crossing the Line
Talk and Take Action

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Wrap Up (15 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn today?
Journaling
Assessment (10 min)

For the Teacher
Common Sense Education - Power of Words Teacher Prep Guide
The Power of Words - Lesson Video
Common Sense Education - Website
CSF Digital Citizenship - Resource List
For the Students
Feeling Faces - Emotion Images
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Cyberbully - Using technology tools to deliberately
upset someone else.

213

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (5 min)
Introduction
Draw a series of expressive faces on the board. View Feeling Faces - Emotion Images for examples.
Invite the students to suggest emotions that match each face's expression. With every suggestion, write the emotion next to the feeling
face. Answers will vary.
Tell students that not everyone will react to a particular situation in the same way, but just because a reaction is different from our own,
doesn't mean we should discount others' feelings.
Explain to students they are going to watch a video about how words, whether typed or spoken, can impact how someone else feels.
Show students The Power of Words - Lesson Video.
Ask:

Who has heard of the saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me"?
What did Guts mean in his text that sometimes words can hurt?
Words are powerful. Sometimes it is hard to ignore what someone is saying when it's a mean name. Names can make you feel sad or
hurt.

Remind students to keep Leg's question in the back of their mind during this lesson: How do you treat others online?

Main Activity (35 min)

What's the Problem?
Organize students into groups of four and have each group pick a person to record their ideas.
Distribute the Words Can Hurt Student Handout. Have the groups of students read the scenario about Rani and Aruna receiving
mean messages through a children's game website.
Have each group answer the questions, then have them share their responses with the class. Look for responses that show empahty for
Rani and Aruna and acknowledge that the messages sent to them were mean and hurtful. Ask the students to read the 'Use Common
Sense!' section on the Words Can Hurt Student Handout.
Invite students to share their own stories.
Ask:

Have you seen mean messages sent to you or others online? Tell us about it, but do not use real names.

Divide students into pairs.
Invite one partner to write the phrase "You're weird" on a piece of paper, then hand it to their partner. Tell them that they just received this
text.
Ask:

What are the reasons the person might have texted "You're weird"?
They’re continuing an inside joke; the ﬁrst person did something silly at an earlier time; a group of kids is teasing the kid; the person
who sent the text really does think the person is weird but is afraid to say it to his or her face.
How did the partner feel about being called weird?
Possibly like the other person was kidding around, but maybe that the person was teasing or being hurtful.

Tell one person from each pair to say to the other person, "You're weird," with a smile on their face.
Ask:

Why might you feel differently if you could see the person?
People give non-verbal cues through facial expressions and body language.

214

Crossing the Line
Place the piece of string across the length of the classroom. Ask students to stand on one side of the line. Then ask them to imagine that
they are online and somebody has sent them a message, which you will read to them. Tell the students to stay where they are if they think
the message is okay; to cross over the line if they think the message is not okay; or to stand on the line if they think the message is in
between.
Read:

You are my friend.
You are an idiot.
I'm having a party and you're not invited.
I like your new haircut.
You are ugly.
Thanks for the advice. Next time, will you tell me in person rather than through text?
Did you ﬁnish your homework?
Why is it taking you so long to ﬁnish it?
You are such a freak.

Review with the students that kids like to go online and use cell phones to email, chat, watch videos, send messages, play games, and do
homework. But sometimes the language can get mean or scary. Messages that make people feel bad cross the line. Sometimes that
meanness is unintentional, but when people use tools such as the internet and cell phones to deliberately upset someone else over and
over, that's cyberbullying.

Talk and Take Action
Have students return to their seats.
Discuss how easy is it to feel angry or upset when somebody sends you a mean or scary message online.
Define:

Cyberbullying: Using technology tools such as the internet and cell phones to deliberately upset someone else.
Explain that cyberbullies deliberately try to make you feel that way, just like real-life bullies.
Discuss:

Cooling down can be a good ﬁrst step when you receive a mean message online. Taking a deep breath, counting backwards from 10, or
pausing to think about what you will do next can give you time to think of the BEST way to handle the situation.
Finding help or telling a trusted adult or friend can be a good way to take action. You shouldn't deal with the cyberbullying situation alone.
The person you tell should be someone who wants to hear what you have to say and will help you work on a solution. Adults can be
especially good because they often have the power to inﬂuence the situation or they can give you advice about what to do.
Ignoring the person who is cyberbullying you can be very effective. Those who bully often like attention.
Whatever you do, remember to keep a copy of your communication with the individual who is cyberbullying you. If you delete the
communication, there is no proof of how the bully treated you if you need to show a trusted adult.

Distribute the Talk and Take Action Student Handout to each student. Encourage them to depict a cyberbullying scenario and
possible solution. They can use pencils and paper to make the comics.

Wrap Up (15 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn today?
You can use these questions to assess your students' understanding of the lesson objectives. You may want to ask students to reﬂect in
writing on these questions in their Think Spot Journal - Reflection Journal.
Ask:

Why is it a bad idea to send mean or scary messages online?
Because they can make the person who gets the message upset, angry, or scared.
Why might there be more misunderstandings between people when they send online messages as opposed to a face-to-face discussion?
Online messages can be more confusing or scarier than face-to-face messages because there are no face-to-face cues to help you
understand people's intentions.
What can kids do when they get cyberbullying messages?
1. Stay calm and take a deep breath
2. Tell a friend or trusted adult who can help develop a plan to handle the situation
3. Ignore the bully
4. Keep a copy of the communication with the bully.

215

What was today's lesson about?
How do you feel about today's lesson?
What is cyberbullying?
Who are some people you can go to if you are ever bullied online or in person?

Assessment (10 min)
Print out the assessment from Common Sense Education - Power of Words - Teacher Prep Guide (page 8-9) and distribute it to the
class. Give students enough time to complete the assessment, but make sure there is enough time to go over answers.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
NI - Networks & the Internet

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

216

TALK AND TAKE ACTION

The Power of Words
Directions
Create a cartoon about a cyberbullying situation. Each frame should
show a different part of the situation:
FRAME 1: Make a cartoon about something that a cyberbully might do or write
online. Remember to use language appropriate for school.
FRAME 2: Show what you might do if you saw what the cyberbully has done or written.
FRAME 3: What might be a positive outcome, or result, of the situation?
What might a cyberbully say or do?

What would you do in response?

What would a positive outcome be?

Use Common Sense!
• If someone is mean to you online, take a breather and ignore them. Save a copy of
your conversation between you and the bully.
• If you, or someone you know, is cyberbullied, talk to a trusted adult – like a parent,
family member, or teacher. Together, you can think of a plan for how to respond.

DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2017

www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE

217

WORDS CAN HURT

The Power of Words
Directions
Read the story below and then answer the questions that follow.
Rani and Aruna love a website
that has games and chatting
for kids. Their parents let them
play on the site. Lately, though,
Rani and Aruna have been
receiving mean messages on
the site, including:

Group Chat:
 Player A:
 Player B:
 Player C:
 Player D:

I hate you!
You are ruining the game!
You are so stupid.
You are a dork.
send

1. How do you think Rani and Aruna feel when they read those messages?

Rani and Aruna feel

2. How would you feel if you received messages like these?

I would feel

3. Why do you think people send these kinds of message to people they don’t know?

People send these kinds of messages because

Use Common Sense!
There’s an old saying: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

I think that this saying is TRUE/NOT TRUE (circle one) because

DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2017

www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE

218

ASSESSMENT

The Power of Words
1. Alicia receives a text message from her friend Ronald. The message says, “I am
having a party. You are not invited.” Circle the word that shows how Alicia might feel
after she receives the message.
a) hurt
b) excited
c) popular

2. Theo is having fun playing Dragons and Knights online. Then he sees a message
from another player. It says, “You’re ruining the game, stupid!” What should Theo do
about the message? What shouldn’t he do? Use the chart below to fill in the letters
that go with each answer.
a) Ignore the player who sent the mean message
b) Write a message back that says, “You’re so stupid, you’re the one ruining the game”
c) Pretend that he doesn’t feel hurt by the message
d) Save the message in case the other player sends Theo another mean message
e) Tell an adult about the message
f) Never play Dragons and Knights online again

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ASSESSMENT

The Power of Words
3. The following acronym, STOP, gives advice on what to do when something goes
wrong online. Explain what each letter means.
What is the meaning of each phrase?
Explain in your own words.

STOP
S tep away
Tell a trusted adult
O kay sites first
Pause and think online

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COURSE

Lesson 12: Private and Personal Information
Common Sense Education | Personal Information | Private Information | Identity Theft

Overview

Objectives

Developed by Common Sense Education, this lesson is about the difference
between information that is safe to share online and information that is not.

Students will be able to:

As students visit sites that request information about their identities, they learn
to adopt a critical inquiry process that empowers them to protect themselves
and their families from identity theft. In this lesson, students learn to think
critically about the user information that some websites request or require. They
learn the difference between private information and personal information, as
well as how to distinguish what is safe or unsafe to share online.

Purpose
Common Sense Education has created this lesson to teach kids the importance
of security on the internet. By discussing the difference between personal and
private information, students will be able to recognize what information should
and shouldn't be shared. Students will also learn what signs you should look for
to determine if a website is safe or not.

Agenda
Warm Up (5 min)
Introduction
Main Activity (35 min)
Log In
Private and Personal
What's Safe to Share Online?

Learn about the beneﬁts and risks of sharing
information online.
Understand what type of information can put them at
risk for identity theft and other scams.

Preparation
Copy the Protect Yourself Student Handout (7th
page of the teacher prep guide), one for each
student.
Copy the All About Me Student Handout (6th
page of the teacher prep guide), one for each
student.
Print out an assessment (8th page of the teacher
prep guide) for each student. Teacher version is the
page after the student assessment.
Preview websites like Neopets, Nickelodeon, and
BookAdventure and prepare to show them to the
class.
Review CSF Digital Citizenship - Resource List
for more online safety content.

Links
Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Wrap Up (15 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn about today?
Journaling
Assessment (10 min)

For the Teacher

Private and Personal Information

Common Sense Education - Private and
Personal Information - Teacher Prep Guide
Common Sense Education - Website
CSF Digital Citizenship - Resource List
For the Students
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Identity Theft - When a thief steals someone’s
private information in order to pretend to be that
person.
Personal Information - Information that can’t be
used to identify you.
Private Information - Information that can be used
to identify you.
Register (Online) - To enter your information in
order to sign up and get access to a website.

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Teaching Guide
Warm Up (5 min)
Introduction
Ask:

What types of information do you think are okay to share publicly online such as on an online proﬁle that others will see?
Interests and favorite activities
Opinions about a movie
First name
What are some examples of websites where you must register in order to participate?
Social networking sites
Video-sharing sites
Youth discussion sites
Ask-an-expert sites
Game sites

Write the names of the websites on the board. Explain that it's important to know that sharing some kinds of user information can put you
and your family's privacy at risk.

Main Activity (35 min)

Log In
Project for the class, or have students go online to Neopets,
Nickelodeon, or BookAdventure. Do not ask the students
to sign up for these sites!

 Teacher Tip
As an ofﬂine alternative, print out and copy the website pages that
ask for registration and log-in information. Distribute these to the
students.

Discuss with the students the kinds of information that each
website requires or requests before the users can participate.
Ask:

What information is required? Why do you think it is required?
First name, username, password, password hint, gender, the state you live in, parent's permission, etc. This information is required
because it helps distinguish one person from another. Or perhaps the website is keeping a record of who uses it.
What information is optional? Why do you think it is optional?
Parent's email, birthday, state, country, gender, etc. This information is likely optional because the website does not require it for
payment or to distinguish people. Or perhaps the website wants to keep track of this kind of information.
Why do you think websites ask for this kind of information?
They want to get people to pay in order to use the site, they want to send messages to people who are signing up, or they want to try
to sell things to those people.

Point Out that you do not have to ﬁll out ﬁelds on websites if they are not required. Required ﬁelds are usually marked by an asterisk (*) or
are highlighted in red.

Private and Personal
Explain to the students that some kinds of information are generally safe to share on the internet and some are not. However, the
information that's considered safe should not be shared one-on-one with people the students don't already know ofﬂine.
Define:

Personal Information: Information that can’t be used to
identify you.
Private Information: Information that is about you and can
be used to identify you.

 Teacher Tip
If you'd like a more clear distinction between "personal" and
"private" information in these deﬁnitions, you can use other
phrases like "friendly information" or "sharable information" to
better deﬁne the line that the students should recognize. We chose
to keep "personal" and "private" to stay true to Common Sense
Education's lesson plan.

222

Emphasize that personal information is usually safe to share
online. Private information is usually unsafe to share online,
meaning students should get permission from a parent or
guardian before sharing this kind of information.

Share the following examples of information that is safe or unsafe to share:

SAFE - Personal Information

UNSAFE - Private Information

- Your favorite food
- Your opinion (though it shoud be done respectfully)
- First name (with permission)

- Mother's maiden name
- Social Security number
- Your date of birth
- Parents' credit card information
- Phone number

Ask:

Why would someone want to steal someone else's identity on the internet?
To steal money
To do something bad or mean
To hide their real identity
Define:

Identity Theft: When a thief steals someone’s private information in order to pretend to be that person.
Explain that an identity thief uses private information to pretend to be the person whose identity he or she has stolen. Once the thief has
taken someone’s identity, he or she can use that person’s name to get a driver’s license or buy things, even if the person whose identity they
stole isn’t old enough to do these things! It’s often not until much later that people realize their identity has been stolen. Identity thieves may
also apply for credit cards in other people’s names and run up big bills that they don’t pay off. Let students know that identity thieves often
target children and teens because they have a clean credit history and their parents are unlikely to be aware that someone is taking on their
child’s identity.
Emphasize the difference between private information (which can be used to steal your identity) and personal information (which cannot be
used to steal your identity). Invite students to answer the following questions (write their answers on the board):
Ask:

What kinds of private information could an identity thief use to ﬁnd out and steal your identity?
First and last name, postal address, email address, phone numbers, passwords, credit card numbers, Social Security number,
mother's maiden name.
What kinds of personal information could you share about yourself without showing your identity?
Your age, gender, how many siblings you have, your favorite music, your favorite food, what pets you have, the name of your pet, your
opinion about something.

Explain to students that on the internet, people you interact with could be your friends next door or strangers who live on the other side of
the world. Because it’s hard to know the intentions of people who you’ve never met before, it is best to remain cautious when sharing your
information. You wouldn’t give strangers your private information in the real world, and you need to be just as careful when you’re online.
Remind students how important it is each time they share information online to stop and think: “Am I giving out information that I should
keep private?” Point out that it can sometimes be safe to give out some private information. For example, a website might ask for your birth
date or email address. But students should always ask their parent or guardian before giving out private information.
Distribute the Protect Yourself Student Handout and have students complete the activity. Review the answers as a class.

What's Safe to Share Online?
Distribute the All About Me Handout. Have students write down all the personal information they would like to share on a public proﬁle
in an online community. Emphasize that even though personal information is safe to share online, it is okay to choose not to share it. Remind
students that everything on the list should be safe to share; none of it should be private information that can put their identity at risk.
Encourage students to share their lists with the class.
Ask:

Is there anything on the lists that could be used by an identity thief? Why?
Guide students to explain their answers and encourage them to use the vocabulary terms.

223

Wrap Up (15 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn about today?
You can use these questions to assess your students’ understanding of the lesson objectives. You may want to ask students to reﬂect in
writing on one of the questions, using a journal or an online blog/wiki.
Ask:

What is identity theft?
Using someone else's private information to pretend to be that person.
How do personal information and private information differ?
Private information, such as a Social Security number, is unsafe to share. It should be kept private so that identity thieves cannot use
it. Personal information, such as your favorite food, cannot be used by identity thieves and is safe to share. Even though personal
information is usually safe to share online, you might choose not to share this information, and that’s ﬁne.
What would be a good rule for kids about giving out private information?
They should not share it online without the permission of a teacher, parent, or guardian.

What did you learn in today's lesson?
How do you feel about today's lesson?
Give an example of personal information and private information.
What's a website that you use often? How do you know it is a safe website to use?

Assessment (10 min)
Private and Personal Information
Hand out the assessment to students. Allow students time to complete the assessment. If there is time left over, go over the answers with
the students.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
NI - Networks & the Internet

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

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224

ALL ABOUT ME

Private and Personal Information
Directions
Pretend you have a public profile in an online community. There are people you
know, and people you don’t know, who can view your profile.
Write down personal information that you would want to share about yourself.
Make sure that everything on your list is safe to share and that it is not private
information that could reveal your identity.

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Use Common Sense!
Each time you share information about yourself online, stop and think: “Am I giving
out information that I should keep private?”
Personal information often is safe to share. But you should never share private
information without the permission of a parent, guardian, or teacher.

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225

PROTECT YOURSELF

Private and Personal Information
Directions
Decide if each piece of information below is an example of personal information or
private information. Then check the box to show your answer.

Information

Personal

Private

Full name (first and last)
Age
Street address
Email address
Date of birth
Gender
How many brothers and sisters you have
Favorite band
Phone numbers
Credit card information
Favorite food
The name of your pet
Mother’s maiden name
Name of your school

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ASSESSMENT

Private and Personal Information
1. If a website asks you for your __________________ online, you should talk to a
parent or family member.
a) favorite color
b) date of birth
c) screen name

2. An identity thief probably would not be interested in your personal information,
such as ___________________ .
a) our full name
b) your street address
c) your favorite movie

3. Clara received two emails. Which email should she NOT respond to?
Circle your answer.

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Private and Personal Information

ASSESSMENT
TEACHER VERSION

1. If a website asks you for your ________________ online, you should talk to a parent
or family member.
a) favorite color
b) date of birth
c) screen name
Answer feedback
The correct answer is b. Your date of birth is an example of private information. If a website asks for
private information, you should ask a trusted adult before doing anything.

2. An identity thief probably would not be interested in your personal information, such
as __________________.
a) your full name
b) your street address
c) your favorite movie
Answer feedback
The correct answer is c. Both your full name and your street address are examples of private information.
Personal information, like your favorite movie, would probably not be useful for an identity thief.

3. Clara received two emails. Which email should she NOT respond to? Circle your answer.

Answer feedback
If an email asks you for private information, such as your full name or address, you should not
respond—especially if you do not know the person who sent the message.

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COURSE

Lesson 3: Relay Programming
Unplugged | Relay Programming | Algorithms

Overview

Objectives

This activity will begin with a short lesson on debugging and persistence, then
will quickly move to a race against the clock as students break into teams and
work together to write a program one instruction at a time.

Students will be able to:
Deﬁne ideas using code and symbols.
Verify work done by teammates.
Identify signs of frustration

Purpose
Teamwork is very important in computer science. Teams write and debug code
with each other, instead of working as individuals. In this lesson, students will
learn to work together while being as efﬁcient as possible.
This activity also provides a sense of urgency that will teach students to
balance their time carefully and avoid mistakes without falling too far behind.
This experience can be stressful (which is expected!) Make sure you provide
students with the tools to deal with potential frustration.

Agenda
Warm Up (15 min)
Where did I go wrong?
Main Activity (20 min)

Preparation
Watch the Relay Programming - Teacher
Video.
Locate a wide open space for this activity, such as
the gym or outdoor ﬁeld.
Print out one Relay Programming Activity
Packet - Activity Packet for each group.
Supply each group with plenty of paper and
pens/pencils.
Print one Relay Programming - Assessment for
each student.
Make sure every student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.

Relay Programming
Wrap Up (15 min)

Links

Journaling
Extended Learning

For the Teacher
Relay Programming - Teacher Debugging Image
Relay Programming - Unplugged Video
(download)
Relay Programming - Teacher Video
For the Students
Relay Programming Debugging Packet
Relay Programming Activity Packet - Activity
Packet
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Algorithm - A list of steps to ﬁnish a task.
Bug - Part of a program that does not work correctly.
Debugging - Finding and ﬁxing problems in an
algorithm or program.
Frustrated - Feeling annoyed or angry because
something is not the way you want it.
Persistence - Trying again and again, even when
something is very hard.
Program - An algorithm that has been coded into
something that can be run by a machine.

229

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (15 min)
Recall that in "Graph Paper Programming" we guided our teammate's Automatic Realization Machine (ARM) using arrows. This warm up will
bring back these ideas, which will be needed in the main activity.

Where did I go wrong?
Goal: In this lesson, we want to help students learn to identify and ﬁx bugs in their own programs. The easiest way to do that is to ﬁrst
present students with a program that contains bugs that are not their fault. Once they've helped you ﬁx "your" program, share with them how
frustrating it can be to make mistakes, and help them see that those feelings are completely normal and they shouldn't feel embarrassed by
them.
Display: Show your students the provided Relay Programming - Teacher Debugging - Image.

Discuss: Get the attention of the class and let them know that you are stuck! You have this challenge, and you thought you had solved it,
but it doesn't seem to be working. Your program has a bug, can they help you ﬁx it?
Take a moment to walk them through the rules: - Start at the star - Follow the instructions step-by-step - End when all of the right squares
are ﬁlled in

Optional: Follow along by ﬁlling in a blank grid. Express frustration when the picture doesn't turn out the way that you wanted it to.
Think: Can you ﬁgure out why my program doesn't work?
Pair: Let students work together to see if they can ﬁgure out what the program is supposed to say.
Share: Ask students if anyone was able to ﬁgure out a way to solve the problem. When you get a correct answer, let the students know that
they are great at "debugging"!
 Discuss: Ask the students if they could tell how you were feeling

when you couldn't ﬁgure out the answer. They might suggest that
you were "mad" or "sad". Instead of telling them "no", describe
that you were feeling a little bit mad, a little bit sad, and a little bit
confused. When you put all of those emotions together, it makes
a feeling called "frustration". When you are "frustrated" you might
think you are mad, sad, or confused -- and you might be tempted
to give up -- but frustration is a natural feeling and it's a big hint
that you are about to learn something! Instead of quitting, practice
persistence. Keep trying over and over again. After a few times,
you will start to understand how to debug your problems!

Distribute: To make sure that students understand the idea of
ﬁnding and ﬁxing errors (debugging) pass out the Relay
Programming Debugging Packet and have students
complete the task in pairs.
Optional: If you want to move the activity along more quickly, feel
free to complete these as a class, instead.
Transition: Now it's time to play the game!

Count to 10
Take deep breaths
Journal about them
Talk to a partner about them
Ask for help
Tips for Being Persistent

Keep track of what you have already tried
Describe what is happening
Describe what is supposed to happen
What does that tell you?
Make a change and try again

230

Main Activity (20 min)
Relay Programming
With Graph Paper Programming in mind, it's time to split up into teams and prepare to run the activity as a relay!

Set-Up: Prepare the Relay Programming Activity Packet - Activity Packet by printing out one copy for each team of 4-5 students.
Cut or fold each page along the center dotted line.
Go over the rules of the game with your class:
Divide students into groups of 3-5.
Have each group queue up relay-style.
Place an identical image at the other side of the room/gym/ﬁeld
from each team.

 Clariﬁcations
Here are some clariﬁcations that need to be shared from time to
time:
Only one person from each group can be at the image at one
time.

Have the ﬁrst student in line dash over to the image, review it,
and write down the ﬁrst symbol in the program to reproduce
that image.

It is okay to discuss algorithms with the rest of the group in line,
even up to the point of planning who is going to write what
when they get to the image.

The ﬁrst student then runs back and tags the next person in
line, then goes to the back of the queue.

When a student debugs a program by crossing out an incorrect
instruction (or a grouping of incorrect instructions) this counts
as their entire turn. The next player will need to ﬁgure out how
to correct the removed item.

The next person in line dashes to the image, reviews the
image, reviews the program that has already been written,
then either debugs the program by crossing out an incorrect
symbol, or adds a new one. That student then dashes back to
tag the next person, and the process continues until one group
has ﬁnished their program.

First group to ﬁnish with a program that matches the image is the winner! Play through this several times, with images of increasing difﬁculty.
Go through the game as many times as you can before time runs out or your students begin feeling exhausted.

Transition: Once the game is over, circle everyone up to share lessons learned.
Discuss: What did we learn today?
What if each person on a team were allowed to do ﬁve arrows at a time?
How important would it be to debug our own work and the work of the programmer before us?
How about with 10 arrows?
10,000? Would it be more or less important?
Do you think a program is better or worse when more than one person has worked on it?
Do you think people make more or fewer mistakes when they're in a hurry?
If you ﬁnd a mistake, do you have to throw out the entire program and start over?

What was today's lesson about?
How did you feel during today's lesson?
How did teamwork play a role in the success of writing today's program?
Did you start to get frustrated at any point? What did you do about it?

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

Pass the paper
If you don't have the time or room for a relay, you can have students pass the paper around their desk grouping, each writing one arrow
before they move the paper along.

231

Fill It, Move It
As the teacher, draw an image with as many ﬁlled squares as children in each group.
Have the students write as many arrows in the program as it takes to get to a ﬁlled-in square (including actually ﬁlling that square in)
before passing to the next person.

Debugging Together
Draw an image on the board. Have each student create a program for the image. Ask students to trade with their elbow partner and debug
each other's code.
Circle the ﬁrst incorrect step, then pass it back.
Give the students another chance to review and debug their own work.
Ask for a volunteer to share their program.
Ask the class:
How many students had the same program?
Anyone have something different?

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

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232

Game #1
Step 1

Step 16

Step 31

Step 1

Step 16

Step 31

Step 1

Step 16

Step 31

Step 1

Step 16

Step 31

Step 1

Step 16

Step 31

Game #2

Game #3

Game #4

Game #5

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Relay Programming
Relay Image 1

Revision 140710.1a

Relay Programming
Relay Image 2

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Relay Programming
Relay Image 3

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Relay Programming
Relay Image 4

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Relay Programming
Relay Image 5

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Relay Programming
Relay Image 6

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Name:

Date:

Debugging
Assessment Worksheet

Unplugged

Sometimes when you are coding in groups, someone will make an error that will
affect everyone.
Somebody has already written programs for the images below, but each one has a
mistake! Figure out what the programs are supposed to look like, and circle the error
in each one. Then, draw the correct symbol in the box beneath.
Each program should use the symbols below to draw the image to its left.

Move One
Square Right

Move One
Square Left

Move One
Square Up

Move One
Square Down

Fill-In Square
with Color

Start
Here

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Revision 140830.1a

COURSE

Lesson 13: Screen Out the Mean
Common Sense Education | Cyberbullying | Unplugged

Overview

Objectives

This lesson helps children to recognize that it is essential to tell a trusted adult if
something online makes them feel angry, sad, or scared.

Students will be able to:

Students learn that other people can sometimes act like bullies when they are
online. They will explore what cyberbullying means and what they can do when
they encounter it. After reading a scenario about mean online behavior,
students discuss what cyberbullying is, how it can make people feel, and how to
respond. Finally, they use their knowledge to create a simple tip sheet on
cyberbullying in their journal.

Purpose
Students may not ever have the misfortune of experiencing cyberbullying, but
we want to make sure that the students are prepared for and knowledgeable
about it, in case they ever witness it during an online situation. Students will
learn how to identify cyberbullying and what steps they should take to make it
stop. This may become helpful in later puzzles when students have the
opportunity to share their work. If someone negatively responds to a student's
work, this lesson will provide them with the tools that they need to handle the
situation.

Agenda

Analyze online behaviors that could be considered
cyberbullying.
Explain how to deal with a cyberbullying situation.
Recognize the importance of engaging a trusted
adult if the student experienced cyberbullying.

Preparation
Review Screen Out the Mean - Teacher Prep
Guide from Common Sense Education's website.
Print out a worksheet from the link above (page 6)
for each student.
Print out an assessment from the link at the top
(page 7) for each student.
Make sure every student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.
Print or display the Online Safety Poster Student Handout for the class to see.
Review CSF Digital Citizenship - Resource List
for more online safety content.

Links

Warm Up (5 min)
Introduction

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Main Activity (35 min)
What Is Cyberbullying?
What to Do About Cyberbullying
Wrap Up (15 min)

For the Teacher

Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Journaling

Screen Out the Mean - Teacher Prep Guide
Common Sense Education - Website

Assessment (5 - 10 min)

CSF Digital Citizenship - Resource List

Screen Out the Mean - Teacher Prep Guide

For the Students
Online Safety Poster - Student Handout
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Cyberbullying - Doing something on the internet,
usually again and again, to make another personal
feel angry, sad, or scared.
Online - Connected to the internet.

239

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (5 min)
Introduction
Encourage:

Encourage students to share what they know about bullying.
Ask:

What kinds of things count as bullying?
Students should understand that bullying is behavior that is purposefully mean or scary to someone else. For example, making fun of
how someone looks, telling lies about them, or threatening to do something bad to them.
How does bullying make other people feel?
Hurt, angry, upset, scared
What is the best thing to do when you feel bullied, or when you see someone else being bullied?
Students should know to always tell a trusted adult when they experience or witness bullying.
Explain:

Students will be learning about a kind of bullying that can take place when they use the internet.

Main Activity (35 min)

What Is Cyberbullying?
Define:

Online: Connected to the internet
Cyberbullying: Doing something on the internet, usually again and again, to make another person feel angry, sad, or scared
Discuss:

Some kids do not go online very much at all, either because of their family’s rules or because they do not like it very much. Other kids do go
online to do different things.
Ask:

What do you do online, or what do you think you might like to do?
Students may mention activities like sending messages to friends and playing games.
Share:

Most of the time when students go online it is to do fun or interesting things. But sometimes people can be mean to each other online and
this is called cyberbullying.
Ask:

Did you ever see someone make someone else feel bad online?
Answers will vary. Remind students to tell what happened, but not to use real names.
Explain:

Tell students that they will be learning more about how cyberbullying occurs, and what to do when it happens to them or to someone they
know.

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What to Do About Cyberbullying
 Discuss:

Read aloud these two scenarios and discuss them brieﬂy with the class.
Kyle keeps getting instant messages from someone saying means things about him. The person who is sending the messages doesn’t
use a real name, but Kyle can tell the messages are coming from someone who also makes fun of him at school in gym class.
Sasha is a new girl at school, and she’s making a lot of friends. Then Sasha ﬁnds out that another girl sent around an email that had a
picture of a cow with Sasha’s name on it.
Next, pass out the Screen Out the Mean - Teacher Prep Guide worksheet from page 6. Read aloud the story at the top and ask
students to work in pairs or groups to ﬁnish the worksheet.
Ask the class to discuss to Jada's story. Tell the class there are
speciﬁc steps to handling a cyberbully.
Jada should STOP using the computer.

 Discussion Goal
Questions to stimulate discussion include:

Jada should TELL an adult she trusts what happened.

What do you think happened to Jada's game?

Jada should not go back online or return to the pony website
until an adult says it is OK.

How do you think Jada, Kyle, or Sasha felt when these things
happened to them?

If Jada and Michael are good friends, Jada may want to tell
Michael how his actions made her feel after she gets help from
an adult.

How do you know if someone is cyberbullying you?
Why do you think it is important to stop using the computer
when someone starts cyberbullying you?

If Michael continues cyberbullying her, she should play with
other kids who don't cyberbully others.
In general, there are four steps students should take if they or
someone they know are experiencing cyberbullying.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Stop using the computer until it is safe.
Tell an adult you trust.
Go online only when a trusted adult says it is okay.
Play online only with kids who you know and are nice.

It's possible that if students stay online, the cyberbullying
may continue or get worse.

 Teacher Tip:
These scenarios can be read all at once and discussed as a
whole, or be read and discussed individually.

Wrap Up (15 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Ask:

What is cyberbullying. How does it make people feel?
Students should recognize that cyberbullying is any kind of online behavior that makes people feel sad, scared, angry or upset.
What four things can you do to help stop cyberbullying?
S. Stop using the computer until it is safe.
T. Tell an adult you trust.
O. Go Online only when a trusted adult says it is okay.
P. Play online only with kids who are nice.
What is the most important thing to do if someone starts cyberbullying you?
Telling a trusted adult is the most important response whenever someone makes them feel sad, scared, or angry online.

What was today’s lesson about?
How did you feel during today’s lesson?
Write down the names of some trusted adults you can go to if you ever feel bullied.
What are the four steps you should take if you or someone you know is being cyberbullied.

241

Assessment (5 - 10 min)
Screen Out the Mean - Teacher Prep Guide
Pass out an assessment to each student. Allow students a few minutes to complete it then review the answers (page 9 of the link above)
with the class. If there's time, allow for a discussion about the questions.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MP - Math Practices

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

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242

STOP CYBERBULLYING

Screen Out the Mean
Directions
Jada’s parents let her play on a website
where she can take care of a pet pony
and decorate its stall. Her friend Michael
has played with her in the past and
knows her user name and password.
One day Jada goes to the site to care for
her pony. She finds that her pony’s stall
is a mess and that there are some things missing.

What do you think happened?

How do you think Jada feels?

What should you do if someone starts cyberbullying you?

STOP using the computer until it is safe.
TELL an adult you trust.
Go ONLINE only when a trusted adult says it’s OK .

PLAY online only with kids who are nice.
DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2017

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243

ASSESSMENT

Screen Out the Mean
1. Draw lines to show which things a cyberbully would do most and which
things an in-person bully would do most.

Threatens to
pull your hair

Takes your stuff
in an online game

Sends mean
emails

Hits you

2. A cyberbully might:
a) Write an email to make someone feel scared
b) Say mean things at recess
c) Share a knock-knock joke online

3. What should you do if you are cyberbullied?
a) Stop using the computer until it is safe
b) Tell an adult you trust
c) Both a and b

DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2017

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244

ASSESSMENT
TEACHER VERSION

Screen Out the Mean

1. Draw lines to show which things a cyberbully would do most and which things an
in-person bully would do most.

Threatens to
pull your hair

Takes your stuff
in an online game

Sends mean
emails

Hits you

Answer feedback
A cyberbully does and says mean things online. An in-person bully is mean in person.

2. A cyberbully might:
a) Write an email to make someone feel scared
b) Say mean things at recess
c) Share a knock-knock joke online
Answer feedback
The correct answer is a. Cyberbullies are mean online.

3. What should you do if you are cyberbullied?
a) Stop using the computer until it is safe
b) Tell an adult you trust
c) Both a and b
Answer feedback
The correct answer is c. If someone is mean to you online, get off
the computer and tell an adult. Saying mean things to a cyberbully won’t help.

DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2017

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245

COURSE

Lesson 14: Songwriting
Unplugged | Function

Overview

Objectives

One of the most magniﬁcent structures in the computer science world is the
function. Functions (sometimes called procedures) are mini programs that you
can use over and over inside of your bigger program. This lesson will help
students intuitively understand why combining chunks of code into functions
can be such a helpful practice.

Students will be able to:

Purpose

Preparation

The use of functions helps simplify code and develop the student's ability to
organize their program. Students will quickly recognize that writing functions
can make their long programs easier to read and easier to debug if something
goes wrong.

Agenda
Warm Up (20 min)
Vocabulary
Sing a Song
Main Activity (20 min)
Functions Unplugged: Songwriting - Worksheet
Wrap Up (5 min)

Locate repeating phrases inside song lyrics.
Identify sections of a song to pull into a function.
Describe how functions can make programs easier
to write.

Watch the Songwriting and Songwriting with
Parameters (Functions) - Teacher Video.
Watch the Functions Unplugged: Songwriting Lesson in Action Video.
Print several Functions Unplugged:
Songwriting - Worksheet for each group.
Print one Functions Unplugged: Songwriting Assessment for each student.
Access to the internet, or pre-downloaded songs
and lyrics for activity.
Make sure every student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.

Links

Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Journaling

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Assessment (5 min)
Functions Unplugged: Songwriting - Assessment
Extended Learning

For the Teacher
Songwriting with Functions - Unplugged Video
(download)
Songwriting and Songwriting with Parameters
(Functions) - Teacher Video
Functions Unplugged: Songwriting - Lesson in
Action Video
Functions Unplugged: Songwriting - Worksheet
Functions Unplugged: Songwriting Assessment
Functions Unplugged: Songwriting Assessment Answer Key
For the Students
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Function - A named group of programming
instructions. Functions are reusable abstractions that
reduce the complexity of writing and maintaining
programs.

246

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (20 min)
Vocabulary
This lesson has one new and important word:

Function - Say it with me: Func-shun
A piece of code that you can call over and over again.

Sing a Song
Let the class know that today is song day!
We're going to learn a song together.
Start with a simple song, either written out or projected on the screen.
Point to the chorus and be sure that the class knows how it goes before you begin on the song.
Blast through the song, singing it with them in the beginning, then see what happens when you get to the part where it calls the chorus.
 Chorus:

Little bunny Foo Foo
Hopping through the forest
Scooping up the ﬁeld mice
And bopping ‘em on the head
Down came the Fairy
And she said

 Teaching Tip
Little Bunny Foo Foo is being used here as an example only. If
your students know this song, feel free to use it. Otherwise,
choose an appropriate song that they might be more familiar with
(either from music class or the radio.)

“Little bunny Foo Foo
I don’t wanna see you
Scooping up the ﬁeld mice
And bopping ‘em on the head”*

Song:
Chorus
I’ll give you 3 chances.
Then I’ll turn you into a goon!
The next day. . .
Chorus
I’ll give you 2 chances.
Then I’ll turn you into a goon!
The next day. . .
Chorus
I’ll give you 1 chance.
Then I’ll turn you into a goon!
The next day. . .
Chorus
"I gave you two chances.
Now I’ll turn you into a goon!”
(POOF!)
And the moral of the story is:
Hare today, goon tomorrow!
It's quite likely that the majority of the class will sing the lyrics for the chorus when you point to that bit.
Stop the song once that happens, and explicitly highlight what just happened.
You deﬁned the chorus.
You called the chorus.
They sang the chorus.

247

Ask the class why they suppose you only wrote the chorus once at the top of the paper instead of writing it over and over in each place
where it is supposed to be sung.
What are other beneﬁts of only writing the chorus once when you sing it many times?
Now, imagine that this song is a computer program. Deﬁning a
title (like "chorus") for a little piece of code that you use over and
over again is called creating a function.
This is helpful to computer scientists for some of the same
reasons that it is helpful to songwriters.

 Lesson Tip
To hit this point home, you can look up the lyrics for some popular
songs on the Internet. Show the students that the standard for
repeating lyrics is to deﬁne the chorus at the top and call it from
within the body of the song.

It saves time not having to write all the code over and over in
the program.
If you make a mistake, you only have to change it one place.
The program feels less complicated with the repeating pieces deﬁned just once at the top.
We are going to play with songs a little more, to try to really understand how often this technique is used!

Main Activity (20 min)
Functions Unplugged: Songwriting - Worksheet
A fantastic way to compare functions to something we see in our everyday lives is to look at songs. Songs often have certain groups of lyrics
that repeat over and over. We call such a group a "chorus."

Directions:
Divide into groups of 4, 5, or 6.
Give each group several copies of the Songwriting Worksheet.
Play a short song for the class that contains a clear chorus that
does not change from verse to verse.
Challenge the class to identify (and write down) the chorus.
Compare results from each group.
Did everyone get the same thing? Sing your choruses together to
ﬁnd out! Play this game over and over until the class has little
trouble identifying the choruses.

 Lesson Tip
It's most exciting for students to do this lesson with popular music
from the radio, but if you're having a hard time ﬁnding appropriate
songs where the lyrics repeat exactly, here are a few timeless
options:

You Are My Sunshine
Boom, Boom, Ain't it Great
How Much Is That Doggie in the Window

I Love Trash
It is often easier just to have the class listen to (or watch) the
song, then vote on what the chorus is by singing it together,
rather than writing the whole thing down. If you choose this method, consider having the class do a written chorus for the ﬁnal song
selection to be sure that the visual learners get proper reinforcement.

Wrap Up (5 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Would you rather write lyrics over and over again or deﬁne a
chorus?
Do you think it's possible to make multiple choruses for the
same song?
Does it make sense to make a new chorus for every time it's
needed in a song?

What was today's lesson about?
How do you feel about today's lesson?
What is a function and how do you use it?
Can you think of another activity where you might want to call a special group of instructions several times?

248

Assessment (5 min)
Functions Unplugged: Songwriting - Assessment
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
explained. This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

Functional Suncatchers Visit the CS Fundamentals Unplugged Table or click on the link for Functional Suncatchers. This activity
does take a few supplies from the craft store, but it helps students to see the value of calling multiple functions.
Create Your Song
Start by creating a chorus together, then repeat it between verses of a song that you develop around it.
Make a change to the chorus, and ponder how much easier it is to change in just one place.
Change the chorus again, making it much longer than it was originally.
Add a second chorus and alternate between them in your verses.

Songwriting a Program
What if we acted out songs instead of singing them? All of a sudden, our chorus would be a function of repeated actions, rather than
words.
Use the concepts of the arrows from the Graph Paper Programming lesson and create a program with lots of repeating instructions.
Circle those repeating actions so that the class can see where they are.
Deﬁne a function called "Chorus" above the program.
Cross out everywhere the repeating actions appear in the program and write "Chorus" instead.
Repeat until the class can go through this process with little direction.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

249

Name:

Date:

Songwriting
Using Lyrics to Explain Functions and Procedures

Unplugged

One of the most magnificent structures in the computer science world is the function.
Functions (sometimes called procedures) are mini programs that you can use over and
over inside of your bigger program.
A fantastic way to compare functions to something we see in our everyday lives is to look
at songs. Songs often have certain groups of lyrics that repeat over and over. We call such
a group a “chorus.”

Directions:
1) Divide into groups of 4, 5, or 6.
2) Give each group several copies of the Songwriting Worksheet.
3) Play a short song for the class that contains a clear chorus that does not
change from verse to verse.
4) Challenge the class to identify (and write down) the chorus.
5) Compare results from each group. Did everyone get the same thing?

New Word!

Function
Say it with me: F u n c-s h u n
A piece of code that you can
call over and over again.
Let’s make a function for the bits that we use most often
so that we don’t need to write so much as we go.

250

Revision 140610.1a

U
Unplugged

Group Name:

Date:

Songwriting Worksheet Example
Using Lyrics to Explain Functions and Procedures

Song Name:
Chorus:

251

Revision 140610.1a

Name:

Date:

Songwriting

Unplugged

Using Lyrics to Explain Functions - Assessment

Look at the lyrics for the two songs below.
If it were your job to write these songs as computer programs, what chunk of code from
each would you turn into a function so that you could use it over and over again with just
one word?
Circle the segments of each program that repeat most often. Is everything that you circled
exactly the same? If so, that can be your chorus!
Finish by writing the chorus for each song on the Songwriting Worksheet and give it a
name. Those are your functions!

Song 1: I'm a Nut

Song 2: Skip to my Lou
Lou, Lou, skip to my Lou,
Lou, Lou, skip to my Lou,
Lou, Lou, skip to my Lou,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.

I’m a little acorn brown
sitting on the cold, cold ground.
Everybody steps on me
that is why I'm cracked, you see.

Fly's in the buttermilk,
Shoo, fly, shoo,
Fly's in the buttermilk,
Shoo, fly, shoo,
Fly's in the buttermilk,
Shoo, fly, shoo,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.

I'm a nut
I'm a nut
I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut
Called myself on the telephone
just to see if I was home.
Asked myself out on a date.
Picked me up at half-past eight.

Lou, Lou, skip to my Lou,
Lou, Lou, skip to my Lou,
Lou, Lou, skip to my Lou,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.

I'm a nut
I'm a nut
I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut

Cows in the cornfield,
What'll I do?
Cows in the cornfield,
What'll I do?
Cows in the cornfield,
What'll I do?
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.

Took myself to the picture show.
Sat myself in the very first row.
Wrapped my arms around my waist.
Got so fresh, I slapped my face!
I'm a nut
I'm a nut
I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut

Lou, Lou, skip to my Lou,
Lou, Lou, skip to my Lou,
Lou, Lou, skip to my Lou,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.

252

Revision 140610.1a

U
Unplugged

Group Name:

Date:

Songwriting Worksheet
Using Lyrics to Explain Functions - Assessment

Song 1 Name:
Chorus:

Song 2 Name:
Chorus:

253

Revision 140610.1a

COURSE

Lesson 2: Stevie and the Big Project
Fail | Frustrated | Persistence | Unplugged

Overview

Objectives

When students run into a barrier while answering a question or working on a
project, it’s so easy for them to get frustrated and give up. This lesson will
introduce students to the idea that frustration can be an important part of
learning. Here, frustration is presented as a step in the creative process, rather
than a sign of failure.

Students will be able to:

This lession can be done over one or two class sessions. If you have more
time, feel free to draw out the building and revising phase of the Marble Run

Preparation

activity.

Purpose
The goal of this lesson is to help students realize that failure and frustration are
common when working on projects, but that doesn't mean that they should give
up.
In this lesson, students will develop an understanding of what it means to be
frustrated while working on a large project. It's possible that not every student
will experience frustration with this activity, but there are many opportunities to
open a discussion about moments in the past where students have felt
frustrated but nevertheless persisted.

Agenda
Warm Up (15 min)
Stevie and the Big Project
Vocabulary
Marble Run (20 - 45 min)

Identify and point out symptoms of frustration.
Illustrate at least one reason why they will choose to
be persistent in the face of frustration, rather than
giving up.

Watch the Stevie and the Big Project - Teacher
Video.
Pre-read "Stevie and the Big Project" to identify
appropriate questions for your class.
Follow instructions in the Marble Run - Teacher
Prep Guide to make a Marble Run.
Print copies of the Marble Run Ruler (page 2 of
teacher guide) for each student or pair of students.
Prepare a resource station with cardstock, safety
scissors, tape, and anything else you think might be
fun for students to build with. Include a stack of the
“Marble Run Hints” pages from the Teacher Prep
Guide, but do not advertise their existence.
(Optional) Allow students to bring cardboard,
popsicle sticks, string, or other tidbits from home to
add to the resource station.
Make sure each student has a Think Spot
Journal - Reflection Journal.

Links

Before the Project
Building the Marble Run
After the Marble Run

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.

Wrap Up (5 min)
Journaling
Extended Learning

For the Teacher
Stevie and the Big Project - Teacher Video
Marble Run - Teacher Prep Guide

Vocabulary

Stevie and the Big Project - Storybook (PDF)
(download)

F.A.I.L. - First Attempt In Learning
Frustrated - Feeling annoyed or angry because
something is not the way you want it.

For the Students
Feeling Faces - Emotion Images
Stevie and the Big Project - Online Story

Persistence - Trying again and again, even when
something is very hard.

Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

254

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (15 min)
Stevie and the Big Project

 Lesson Tip

This lesson is meant to introduce students to the idea that they
should not give up just because they are frustrated.

Read: Begin by reading Stevie and the Big Project Storybook (PDF). Students will be introduced to the ideas of
persistence and frustration through the relatable challenges of
Stevie the Squirrel and her crew. Chief among these are the
concept that struggle leads to learning and that persistence can
lead to success.

Sample Questions:

How would you feel if you were given a project that feels much
harder than what you are used to?
Do you think it’s okay to try something new, even if it doesn’t
work out the ﬁrst time?
Why do you think Stevie smashed her project?
Do you think that helped her or hurt her when it comes to
reaching her goal?

This book should be read as a classroom story, any other format
exists only for students without access to a teacher.

Discuss: When sharing this story with your class, feel free to use
the reading techniques that work in your classroom. If your
students like to discuss things that happen as they appear in the
book, be sure to stop your class after large plot areas like when
Stevie breaks her structure, or when Laurel explains frustration.

What do you think Stevie should have done instead of
breaking her project?
Can somebody explain what frustration is?
How do you think you can know when you are frustrated?
What face do you make when you are frustrated?
How can you make yourself feel better when you start to get
frustrated?

If your students like to sit through a whole story and discuss at the
end, read through the book, then prompt their memory with some

We all get frustrated sometimes. Does that mean that we
should give up?

“Remember when…” type questions.

Vocabulary

Can someone tell me what persistence is?
Why is it hard to learn if you're not persistent?
Can you tell me why you might be tempted not to be
persistent?

Review: The vocabulary in this lesson in among the most
important of the year. You may need to do a little extra work with
your students at the end of the story to make sure that they
understood that frustration is the feeling of being annoyed or
angry at something and that persistence is choosing not to give
up, and attempting something over and over again.

What happened when Stevie decided to be persistent?
Do you think you can be persistent?

Persistence - Say it with me: Purr-siss-tense. Not giving up. Persistence works best when you try things many different ways, many
different times.
Frustrated - Say it with me: Frus - straight - ted. Feeling annoyed or angry because something is not the way you want it.
F.A.I.L. - First Attempt in learning. When you try to do something, but you don't do it quite right.

Marble Run (20 - 45 min)
This activity is meant to highlight and normalize the feeling of frustration, while giving students a chance to be persistent.

Set-Up: How you conduct this lesson depends heavily on your conﬁdence in your own classroom. If you don't feel that your students are
ready to be taping rolled paper into tubes, then you might want to modify the lesson and its materials to be something that students can be
more successful with. Some alternatives are:
Newspapers taped to the wall/chair/ﬂoor
Cardboard tubes and paper cups
Wooden building blocks with train/car tracks
The options are really endless. Just make sure that the point of the activity remains the same. Students need to struggle with a hard task
long enough to be able to identify the feeling of frustration in themselves, then they must be intentionally persistent.

255

Building the Marble Run

  Remarks

Now, we’re going to do something very fun, and very challenging! I am going to let you all try to make a Marble Run of your own!
This is supposed to be challenging. That’s part of the fun! Your Marble Run probably won’t work right the ﬁrst time, and that’s
alright. The goal for this game is to practice being persistent.
Remember, Stevie showed us that this might be difﬁcult, and
sometimes difﬁcult things are frustrating. It is okay if you get
frustrated during this activity. Most of us probably will at some
point. How should we handle those feelings?
Count to 10
Take deep breaths
Journal about them
Talk to a partner about them
Ask for help
Time to be an engineer!

Group: Break students up into pairs and have them quickly come
up with a team name. This should help to unify them in their work.
Next, point out the resource station that you have set up with all
of the supplies and goodies that students will have access to.
Make sure you are very clear about whether they are limited only
to the items in the resource station or whether they are allowed to
ask for other items for their creation.
 It can be a good idea to give students checkpoints for this activity.

Make sure that they know that there is no penalty for not ﬁnishing
on time.

 Teaching Tip

Before the Project
It is vitally important that students understand that this activity is
meant to help them learn about frustration and persistence. This is
not one of those times when we allow students to experience
something, then give it a name afterward. Students need to know
that they will be feeling some emotions, and that those emotions
are okay.
Take a moment to relate the next activity back to the book that you
just read. The class might be excited that they get to try the same
project that Stevie did, but they might also be apprehensive at the
thought of tackling something difﬁcult.
Encourage your students to have their Think Spot Journals around
during the activity so they can use them to plan, solve, and voice
concerns.

 Teaching Tip
Checkpoint Suggestions:

Preplanning is optional, since prediction is not often a
kindergartener’s strong suit.

Pre-planning time (3-5 minutes)

Circulate: The ﬁrst attempt at building will likely be hectic and a
bit sloppy, but it should give students access to the feelings and
opportunities for persistence that are being studied in this lesson.

Discuss with another group (3-5 minutes)

Try to end the Marble Run build with an opportunity for groups to
collaborate. This will improve the chances of success for students
who have been struggling, without the need for teacher
intervention.

After the Marble Run
Discuss: Time to do some damage control if any is needed.
Remind students that this activity was planned to teach students
how to identify feelings of frustration and work past them to be
persistent.
Discuss the difference between being successful at building their
contraption and being successful for the purpose of this activity.
Allow students the opportunity to celebrate their hard work and
persevering through frustration.

First attempt at building (10-15 minutes) -- For a longer (or two
day) time period -Revision of structure (10-15 minutes) -- Wrap Up Work -Collaborative work time (5-15 minutes)

 Teacher Tip
As you know, tears are a very common byproduct when
kindergarteners attempt difﬁcult lessons. You will likely want to
have a pre-packaged prescription for students who become
emotionally raw.
Can you put into words what you are feeling right now?
Stevie would be so proud of you. What do you think Laurel and
Jorge would say if you told them how you feel?
What would it be called if you said out loud that you are
frustrated, but decided to keep working anyway?
Do you feel like you can be persistent with me today?

Wrap Up (5 min)
Journaling
Goal: Allow students to reﬂect on the emotions and processes experienced during the lesson.
Journal Prompts:

Finish out this lesson by asking students to spend some time in their Think Spot Journal.
Draw one of the Feeling Faces - Emotion Images that shows how you felt about today's lesson in the corner of your journal page.
Draw a picture of what you look like when you’re frustrated.
Draw a picture that shows things you can do to feel better when you’re frustrated.
What does persistence look like?

256

Extended Learning
Add a third piece to the beginning of the Marble Run. Can students start a marble up even higher and get it to ﬂow through the rest of
their contraption?
Talking through frustration. Can students think of things that they can say to classmates to help them be persistent when they are
frustrated?

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
RL - Reading Literature
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
G - Geometry
MD - Measurement And Data
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

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Teacher Prep Guide

This guide will provide assistance through a set of two lessons using a Marble Run contraption.
The first portion of this kindergarten series is the debugging lesson, where students will help
you debug your Marble Run. In order to do this, you need to have a broken prototype that can
be fixed in a predictable way. This guide will suggest an easy step-by-step solution, and give
you tips for making a creation using your own design.
For the second half, we are going to ask students to do something incredibly challenging in
order to stretch their understanding and aptitude for persistence. This guide will provide
additional suggestions and resources to keep the project grade appropriate.

Stage 1: Debugging
The Rules:
The rules of the student version of the Marble Run activity are pretty simple:
1) Build two Marble Runs.
2) Each Marble Run should have at least 3 pieces.
3) Marble Run 1 should take a marble at Start height and finish at Middle height.
4) Marble Run 2 should take a marble at Middle height and finish at End height.
5) Put the two Marble Runs together and watch the marble go from Start to End

There are a couple of additional rules to adapt this to be effective for the lesson on debugging:
1) The teacher’s contraption must not work to begin with.
2) The fix for the issue should be detectable by following the marble’s path and determining
where the change from “expected” to “unexpected” occurs.

The Set-Up:
Use the Marble Run Ruler (provided on page 2) to determine the starting and ending height
for each of the two components, we will call those Component A and Component B.
Component A needs to take in a marble (Input A) at a height that falls somewhere within the
highlighted “Start” region. It should then return the marble (Output A) at a height somewhere
within the highlighted “Middle” region.
Component B should take a marble (input B) at a height that falls somewhere within the highlighted “Middle” region. It should then return the marble (Output B) at a height somewhere
within the highlighted “End” region.
Two simple ways for a teacher to initiate an easy-to-fix failure would be:
A) Have two working components, but connect them in an incorrect way
B) Have Component A release the marble lower than Component B can receive it
Proceed to the teacher guide for Stage 2 for more information on building a Marble Run that
falls into either of those categories.
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Middle

End

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Marble Run
Teacher Prep Guide

Stage 2: Building a Marble Run
The Rules:
These are the rules for the student version of the Marble Run activity:
1) Build two Marble Runs.
2) Each Marble Run should have at least 3 pieces.
3) Marble Run 1 should take a marble at Start height and finish at Middle height.
4) Marble Run 2 should take a marble at Middle height and finish at End height.
5) Put the two Marble Runs together and watch the marble go from Start to End.

Feel free to change the parameters of these heights as you see fit.

The Set-Up:
Set-up of the student resource area is crucial. Supplies should be plentiful and easy to locate.
In addition to the classroom norms (cardstock, tape, safety scissors) volunteers can also
donate extra items if given enough notice (paper cups, cereal boxes, and the like).
For further support, place a stack of copies of “Marble Run Hints” (pages 7 & 8) for students to
find. You do not need to let the class know that those are available. Students will feel more
like they have “discovered” something if the teacher is not involved in the process.

The Build:
We have provided tutorials on four relatively simple pieces that are quite helpful for this
project. These pieces are:
• Tube (fig. 1) - A piece of paper that has been rolled into a cylinder
• Ramp (fig. 2) - Paper folded in a zig-zag fashion to provide a ramp with attaching flaps
• Bridge (fig. 3) - Paper where two sides have been folded into the center to create a bridge
• Cone (fig. 4) - Paper rolled first into a cylinder, then tightened at the bottom and
loosened at the top. Once the basic cone has been created, secure with tape, then
cut the top and bottom to customize.

A low-frills example contraption can be created using the steps that follow.
Component A:
1) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in half lengthwise, then cut one of those
halves lengthwise again. Fold both of the quarter strips bridge style.
2) Lay the bridges on their sides and tape free edges together to form a square or
rectangle.
3) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in quarters (length, then width). Roll two of
the pieces along the long edge and two along the short edge, then secure with
tape, to make a total of 4 tubes.
4) Tape the long tubes to the back of the square case from step 2, and the short
tubes should be taped in front.
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Teacher Prep Guide

Teacher Prep

Component A (continued):
5) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in half widthwise. Fold one piece in half
lengthwise, then fold the long edges back out toward the crease to make a
ramp.
6) Tape the edges of the ramp to the tops of the posts. This gives your main
marble path, but it’s not quite tall enough.
7) Add a cone at the intake point, and you’ll be set!
Component B:
8) Cut an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock in half widthwise and roll one of the pieces
along the short side, to make an 8.5” tube. Secure with tape.
9) Cut the tube at a point anywhere from 2” - 4” at about a 45 degree angle.
10) Rotate one of the pieces to form an elbow, and tape back together.
11) Cut a 1“ strip from the remaining 8.5” x 5.5” cardstock half (lengthwise) and
make a bridge to use as a triangular base for the tube to sit in.
12) Use the remaining cardstock to make an input cone for the top of Component B.
Trim tube and cone to get appropriate height.

Voila! Your very own Marble Run!

Note: It is highly unlikely that your students will come up with anything this clean and
stable. That is OKAY! The version here is meant to be messed with and reused.

Tube

Figure 1

Ramp

Bridge

Figure 2

Figure 3

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Cone

Figure 4

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Teacher Prep

Teacher Prep Guide

Step 1: Fold strips “bridge style”

Step 2: Tape ends of folded strips
together to make a base.

Step 3: Roll quartered paper into
tubes and secure with tape.

Step 4: Tape tubes inside case.
Make sure to tape them near the
top for height.

Step 5: Make a ramp from a half
sheet of cardstock.

Step 6: Tape ramp to base and
check height.

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Teacher Prep Guide

Step 7: Add cone to finish
Component A.

Step 8: Roll 1/2 sheet into tube to
start on Component B.

Step 9: Cut tube at an angle.

Step 10: Tape tubes back together
to make an elbow.

Step 11: Make a base from a thin
strip of cardstock.

Step 12: Add a cone to the top and
trim pieces to size.

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Marble Run Hints

Handout

Student Handout

Try using some of these:
Tube

Ramp

Bridge

Cone

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Marble Run Hints
(Continued)

Handout

Now try putting them together!
Tube

Ramp
or

Ramp

Bridge
or

Bridge

Tube
or

Cone

Tube
or

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COURSE

Lesson 1: Unspotted Bugs
Bug | Debugging | Persistence | Unplugged

Overview

Objectives

This lesson will guide students through the steps of debugging. Students will
learn the mantra: "What happened? What was supposed to happen? What
does that tell you?"

Students will be able to:
Express that they have noticed when something
goes differently than what is expected.

Purpose

Identify what the expected result was before an error
occurs.

Research shows that some students have less trouble debugging a program
than writing one when they ﬁrst learn to code. In this lesson, we introduce the

Determine and describe the difference between what
was expected and what actually happened in the
event of an error.

idea of debugging in a real world sense.
The goal in this lesson is to teach students steps to spot a bug and to increase
persistence by showing them that it's normal to ﬁnd mistakes. In later lessons,
students will debug actual programs on Code.org.

Agenda
Warm Up (12 min)
Unspotted Bugs
Vocabulary
Marble Run Breakdown (10 - 20 min)
Debug the Run
Wrap Up (10 - 20 min)
Journaling

Preparation
Watch the Unspotted Bugs - Teacher Video.
Review the Unspotted Bugs Story (Unspotted
Bugs - Online Story)
Pre-read Unspotted Bugs to identify appropriate
questions for your classroom
Follow instructions in the Marble Run - Teacher
Prep Guide to make a Marble Run (which will be
arranged incorrectly at the start)
Give a Think Spot Journal - Reflection Journal
to each student

Links

Extended Learning
Real Life Bug Hunting

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any
documents you plan to share with
students.
For the Teacher
Unspotted Bugs - Teacher Video
Marble Run - Teacher Prep Guide
Unspotted Bugs - Storybook (PDF)
For the Students
Feeling Faces - Emotion Images
Unspotted Bugs - Online Story
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Bug - Part of a program that does not work correctly.
Debugging - Finding and ﬁxing problems in an
algorithm or program.
Persistence - Trying again and again, even when
something is very hard.

266

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (12 min)
Goal: Help students understand the steps involved in debugging.

Unspotted Bugs
This story can be presented in several ways, including:
Circled up story time
Projected with document camera / smartboard
Pair shared with students at their computers
The story of Unspotted Bugs presents many of the ideas that
students will need to understand the debugging process of
coding. This warm-up is meant to tie a memorable story together
with a concept that young kids often ﬁnd to be difﬁcult.

 Lesson Tip
Important ideas from the story:
What happened?

Read the book and discuss the techniques that JD used to
discover and take care of bugs. Make sure those questions and

What was supposed to happen?

tactics get repeated often enough that students can recall (if not
recite) them without the story in hand.

Did it work at the ﬁrst step?

Potential Questions for Storytime:

What does that tell you?
Did it work at the second step?
Where did it go wrong?

Page 3: What do you notice in the picture? What’s wrong with
the ﬂower? (It’s upside down!) What’s wrong with the clock? (The hands aren’t in the center) Why do you think there is something wrong
with these items?(Because there are bugs on them!)
Page 7: What’s wrong with the picture? (The lamp is upside down) Why is that? (There’s a bug)
Page 11: What’s wrong in this scene? (The car doesn’t have wheels!) Why? (Because there are bugs on it!)
What did JD ﬁnd when he went looking for the bug? What was wrong? What does this mean? (JD found an upside down tree. This is
wrong because the tree trunk should be touching the ground! This means there is a bug on the tree!)

Vocabulary
This lesson has three new and important vocabulary words:

Bug - Say it with me: Buhh-g. Something that is going wrong. An error.
Debugging - Say it with me: Dee-bug-ing. To ﬁnd and ﬁx errors.
Persistence - Say it with me: Purr-siss-tense. Not giving up. Persistence works best when you try things many different ways, many
different times.

Marble Run Breakdown (10 - 20 min)
Goal: Help students think critically about the difference between what is happening and what is expected.

Debug the Run
Now that students have been introduced to the idea of looking for problems, they can try to apply it to more places in the real world. This
next activity gives them practice looking for bugs in Marble Runs (a project that they will be working with next week.)
Grab your sample marble run (built from our plans, or something similar.) Show the students how each piece works, then demonstrate
putting them together (but put them together incorrectly, to prevent the ball from ﬂowing properly from A to B.
The goal of this exercise is to help the students identify when something goes wrong, so if they don’t catch it the ﬁrst time, run it again, and
again. It can help to make exaggerated frustration faces when the ball doesn’t do what you would like it to do.
Let the students share hypotheses about what is going wrong, and how to ﬁx it. Students should feel free to try things that you know will be
incorrect. If students misidentify solutions, use the bug ﬁnding formula on their conﬁgurations. Repeat until you get a working run.
Encouragement is key here. If things don’t work right away, praise the class for being so persistent and choosing not to give up. If they start
to get frustrated, encourage them to persist a bit longer, promising them that they will get it soon if they just hang in there.

267

Wrap Up (10 - 20 min)
Journaling
Goal: Students will start to understand the importance of the
activity they just completed by reﬂecting on it verbally, then
through drawing in their journals.
Clear your mind:

It can be distracting to a learner when they have unanswered
questions or doubts. To end this lesson, we’ll give everyone the
chance to get those out so that they can reﬂect on what they’ve
been taught.
Encourage students to share their thoughts and questions either
with the whole class or with an elbow partner.
Reflect:

Once they’ve had time to ponder their own thoughts, get the
students thinking about the purpose of the lesson that they just
learned. Why did you do this activity? How will it help them later?
Can they think of buggy things that they’ve seen in the real world?
Students should ﬁnish by drawing or writing in their journal.
Possible topics include:
Draw one of the Feeling Faces - Emotion Images that

 Lesson Tip
Say:

Great! You all are so good at this, maybe you can help me with my
own problem!
See, I have this marble run that I made. It comes in two pieces.
When I put the ball in here (input A) it’s supposed to come out
here (output A). When I put the ball in here (input B) it’s supposed
to come out here (output B). Now, when I slide them together, I
should be able to put the ball in here (input A) and have it come
out here (output B). But it doesn’t work, watch.
[Slide the pieces together with output B facing output A.]
Watch what happens. [Drop ball at input A and notice that it does
not come out output B.]
BUG!
What happened?
The ball fell on the table.
What was supposed to happen?
The ball was supposed to drop from A into B.
What does that tell you?
You should turn B around so that the ball goes into the right
place!

shows how you felt about today's lesson in the corner of your
journal page.
How do you feel when something that you are working on acts
buggy?

 Lesson Tip

How many times do you think you should try to ﬁx a bug before

Say:

you give up?

What do you think we learned in this lesson?

What would you do if you notice that something is buggy, but
you don't know how to ﬁx it?

Extended Learning
Real Life Bug Hunting
Take your students outside. Do you see any signs of bugs? What
are they? Now look closer... can you ﬁnd the actual bug?

Standards Alignment

Debugging
How to solve a problem
How to make a marble go
How do you think that can help us in other places?

 Lesson Tip:
The signs of real-live bugs won’t be as dramatic as upside down
trees, but it might be dead leaves, spots on ﬂowers, or slime on
the
sidewalk. Have the students brainstorm these before going outside
to look for them.

View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
RL - Reading Literature
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
G - Geometry
MD - Measurement And Data
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
AP - Algorithms & Programming

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

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Teacher Prep Guide

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Start

Middle

End

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Teacher Prep Guide

Feel free to change the parameters of these heights as you see fit.

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Teacher Prep Guide

Teacher Prep

Voila! Your very own Marble Run!

Note: It is highly unlikely that your students will come up with anything this clean and
stable. That is OKAY! The version here is meant to be messed with and reused.

Tube

Figure 1

Ramp

Bridge

Figure 2

Figure 3

272

Cone

Figure 4

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Marble Run

Teacher Prep

Teacher Prep Guide

Step 1: Fold strips “bridge style”

Step 2: Tape ends of folded strips
together to make a base.

Step 3: Roll quartered paper into
tubes and secure with tape.

Step 4: Tape tubes inside case.
Make sure to tape them near the
top for height.

Step 5: Make a ramp from a half
sheet of cardstock.

Step 6: Tape ramp to base and
check height.

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Teacher Prep

Teacher Prep Guide

Step 7: Add cone to finish
Component A.

Step 8: Roll 1/2 sheet into tube to
start on Component B.

Step 9: Cut tube at an angle.

Step 10: Tape tubes back together
to make an elbow.

Step 11: Make a base from a thin
strip of cardstock.

Step 12: Add a cone to the top and
trim pieces to size.

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Marble Run Hints

Handout

Student Handout

Try using some of these:
Tube

Ramp

Bridge

Cone

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Marble Run Hints
(Continued)

Handout

Now try putting them together!
Tube

Ramp
or

Ramp

Bridge
or

Bridge

Tube
or

Cone

Tube
or

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COURSE

Lesson 3: Your Digital Footprint
Common Sense Education | Unplugged

Overview

Objectives

In collaboration with Common Sense Education - Website, this lesson
helps students learn about the similarities of staying safe in the real world and
when visiting websites. Students will also learn that the information they put
online leaves a digital footprint or “trail.” This trail can be big or small, helpful or
hurtful, depending on how they manage it.

Students will be able to:
Understand that being safe when they visit websites
is similar to staying safe in real life.
Learn to recognize websites that are safe for them to
visit.
Recognize if they should ask an adult they trust
before they visit a particular website.

Purpose
Common Sense Education has created this lesson to teach kids the importance
of understanding the permanence of something posted on the internet. By
relating footprints on a map to what a student might post online, students will
make important connections between being tracked by a physical footprint on a
path and being tracked based on information posted online.

Agenda
Warm Up (20 min)
Vocabulary
Pause and Think
Main Activity (20 min)
Follow the Digital Trail - Worksheet
Wrap Up (15 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Journaling
Assessment (5 min)
Digital Footprint - Assessment
Extended Learning

Explore what information is appropriate to be put
online.

Preparation
Watch this Your Digital Footprint - Teacher
Video.
Prepare to show Your Digital Footprint - Lesson
Video.
(Optional) Prepare to show Pause and Think
Online - Video.
Common Sense Education's Follow the Digital
Trail - Worksheet game.
Print one Animal Tracks chart (page 7) for each
student.
Print one Digital Footprint - Assessment for
each student.
Review CSF Digital Citizenship - Resource List
for more online safety content.

Links
For the Teacher
Your Digital Footprint - Teacher Video
Your Digital Footprint - Lesson Video
Follow the Digital Trail - Worksheet
Digital Footprint - Assessment
Digital Footprint - Assessment Answer Key
Common Sense Education - Website
CSF Digital Citizenship - Resource List
For the Students
Feeling Faces - Emotion Images
Think Spot Journal - Reﬂection Journal

Vocabulary
Digital Footprint - The collected information about
an individual across multiple websites on the
Internet.

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Teaching Guide
Warm Up (20 min)
Vocabulary
This lesson has one new and important phrase:

Digital Footprint - Say it with me: Dih-jih-tal Foot-print
The information about someone on the internet.

Pause and Think
Ask What does it mean to be safe?
When you walk down the street or play in your neighborhood without a trusted adult there, how do you stay safe?
Tell students that just as they should stay safe in the real world, they should stay safe when they go into the online world (visiting
websites). Make parallels between the answers students gave you about their neighborhood and the online world.
Play the Your Digital Footprint - Lesson Video.
Introduce the idea that there are three different kinds of

 Lesson Tip

websites that students may have the opportunity to visit.
Green: A “green” website is:

If you have access to a computer, feel free to navigate to sites that
might showcase each of these types (using extreme caution with
your RED selection).

A good site for kids your age to visit
Fun, with things for you to do and see
Has appropriate words
Doesn’t let you talk to people you don’t know
Yellow: A “yellow” website is:
A site you are not sure is right for you

One that asks for information such as who you are, where you live, your phone number or email address, etc.
A place where you are allowed to communicate freely with others
Red: A “red” website is:
A site that is not right for you
A place you might have gone to by accident
Filled with things that are for older kids or adults
Discuss examples of each of these kinds of sites.
Now, let's see what we can do to keep ourselves safe.

Main Activity (20 min)

Follow the Digital Trail - Worksheet
Peruse the Follow the Digital Trail - Worksheet lesson on the Common Sense Education webpage.
Give each student an Animal Tracks Chart (page 7).
Mizzle
the Mouse

Electra
the Elephant

Whose full name do you know?
Whose house could you ﬁnd?
Whose birth date do you know?
Whose user name and password do you know?

Who let out a secret on the internet?
Which animal can you describe better from his or her photo?

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 Lesson Tip

Directions:
Place the Digital Trail Squares on the ground, face down, in
two different trails, keeping Mizzle the Mouse and Electra the
Elephant’s trails separate from one another.
Share the stories of Mizzle and Electra. These animals
decided it would be fun to put some information about
themselves online. They went onto www.wildkingdom.com
and posted information. The only problem is that they forgot to
ask their parents if it was okay ﬁrst.

If your students have trouble writing, feel free to do this activity as
a group and have students raise their hand when they ﬁnd clues.
This will allow you (or a teacher aide) to help communicate and
record the information being shared.
For more in-depth modules, you can ﬁnd additions to this
curriculum at the Common Sense Education - Website page
on Scope and Sequence.

Explain to students that they are from the “Things Big and Small” Detective Agency. A hunter has hired them to ﬁnd out as much as
possible about Mizzle the Mouse and Electra the Elephant. The more the detectives learn, the better for their plan to take over the animal
kingdom.
Divide students into groups of four. Tell them that each group should have a detective that will keep detailed notes.
Invite students to go on a hunt for information. Let them know that the information that Mizzle and Electra post can be seen by anyone,
including the detectives. Each group should follow the digital trail of both animals, starting with the mouse and then the elephant. Stagger
the groups so they are on the trail at slightly different times. Students should ﬁll out their handout as they go.

Wrap Up (15 min)
Flash Chat: What did we learn?
Who can the detectives ﬁnd out more about, and why?
Which animal has a bigger digital footprint?
Mizzle says some interesting things about himself on the
Internet. What are they?
Is there anything that Electra posted on the Internet that could
become a problem for her? If so, what and why?

Take the time to discuss what is appropriate information to share
on the Internet, and what is not:

Appropriate

Not Appropriate

Interests

Address

Hobbies

Full Name

First Name

Information that would hurt others

Assessment (5 min)
Digital Footprint - Assessment
Hand out the assessment worksheet and allow students to complete the activity independently after the instructions have been well
explained. This should feel familiar, thanks to the previous activities.

279

Extended Learning
Use these activities to enhance student learning. They can be used as outside of class activities or other enrichment.

Common Sense Education
Visit Common Sense Education - Website to learn more about how you can keep your students safe in this digital age.

Standards Alignment
View full course alignment
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
L - Language
SL - Speaking & Listening

Common Core Math Standards
MD - Measurement And Data
MP - Math Practices

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
IC - Impacts of Computing

Next Generation Science Standards
ETS - Engineering in the Sciences

If you are interested in licensing Code.org materials for commercial purposes, contact us.

280

LESSON PLAN
GRADES K-2

Follow the Digital Trail

UNIT 2

Essential Question
What information is appropriate in a digital footprint?

Estimated time: 45 minutes

Standards Alignment –

Lesson Overview
Students learn that the information they put online leaves a digital
footprint or “trail.” This trail can be big or small, helpful or hurtful,
depending on how they manage it.

Common Core:

Students follow the digital information trails of two fictional animals.
They make observations about the size and content of each trail, and
connect these observations by thinking critically about what kinds of
information they want to leave behind.

W.2, W.5, W.7, W.8, W.10, SL.1a,

grade K: RL.1, RL.3, RL.4,
RL.10, RI.1, RI.4, RI.10, RF.4,
SL.1b, SL.2, SL.3, SL.4, SL.6, L.6

grade 1: RL.1, RL.3, RL.4, RI.1,
RI.4, RI.10, RF.4a, W.5, W.7,
W.8, L6

Learning Objectives

grade 2: RL.1, RL.3, RI.4,

Students will be able to ...

RI.10, RF.4a, W.2, W.5, W.7,

• learn that the information they put online leaves a digital footprint
or “trail.”

W.8, SL.1a, SL.1b, SL.1c, SL.3,

• explore what information is appropriate to be put online.

NETS•S: 1a, 1d, 2d, 3d, 4a-c

• judge the nature of different types of digital footprints by following
the information trails of two fictional animals.

SL.6, L.6

Key Vocabulary –
trail: a path or track

Materials and Preparation
• Cut apart the Digital Trail Squares (found at the end of the lesson plan),
keeping the elephant and mouse squares separate. Be prepared to lay out
each animal’s “tracks” in different locations in the classroom after the
lesson introduction.
• Copy the Animal Tracks Student Handout, one for each group
of four.

digital footprint: the
informatiom about you on
the Internet

Family Resources

permanent: there forever

• Send home the Privacy and Digital Footprints Family Tip Sheet
(Elementary School).

DIGITAL LIFE 101 / ASSESSMENT / DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE / REV DATE 2015

www.commonsense.org | CREATIVE COMMONS: ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE

281

introduction
Warm-up (5 minutes)
SHARE with students that you can place information online much like you pin something to a bulletin board.
ASK:
What kinds of things are on the bulletin
board or walls in our classroom?

Sample responses:
• Student work
• Photos of students
• Birthday chart

INVITE students to imagine that all of the information on the walls of their classroom was pinned up on a
bulletin board at a local grocery store.
ASK:
Would you be comfortable with this
information being up for everyone to see?

Guide students to think about how some information is better
kept for only their eyes or the eyes of people close to them.

EXPLAIN that there is certain information that might be fine to show anyone. But there is also personal and
private information – such as their addresses, birth dates, and photos of their family vacations – which is not
meant for most people’s eyes.

teach 1
Follow the Digital Trail (15 minutes)
DEFINE the Key Vocabulary term trail.
PLACE the Digital Trail Squares on the ground, face down, in two different trails,
keeping Mizzle the Mouse’s and Electra the Elephant’s trails separate from each another.
SHARE the stories of Mizzle and Electra. These animals decided it would be fun to put some information
about themselves online. They went onto www.wildkingdom.com and posted information. The only problem is
that they forgot to ask their mamas if it was okay first.
EXPLAIN to students that they are from the Things Big and Small Detective Agency. An evil human has hired
them to find out as much as possible about Mizzle the Mouse and Electra the Elephant. The more the detectives
learn, the better for their plan to take over the animal kingdom.
DIVIDE students into groups of four. Tell them that each group should have a detective that will keep
detailed notes.
DISTRIBUTE the Animal Tracks Student Handout to each group.
INVITE students to go on a hunt for information. Let them know that the information that Mizzle and Electra
post can be seen by anyone, including the detectives. Each group should follow the digital trail of both animals,
starting with the mouse and then the elephant. Stagger the groups so they follow the trails at slightly different
times. Students should fill out their handout as they go.

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teach 2
Digital Footprints (20 minutes)
INVITE each group to report to the rest of the class what they learned about each of
the animals, using the Animal Tracks Student Handout.
Mizzle the Mouse

Electra the Elephant

1. Whose full name do you know?

2. Whose house could you find

3. Whose birth date do you know?

4. Whose username and password do you know?

5. Who let out a secret on the Internet?

6. Which animal can you describe better from his or her photo?

DEFINE the Key Vocabulary terms digital footprint and permanent.
ASK:
Who can the detectives find out more about,
and why?

Electra, because we now know where Electra lives, what she
looks like, and private and personal information about her
life. Point out to students that having a bigger digital footprint
means the detectives can learn more about them too.

Which animal has a bigger digital footprint?

Electra, because she put more private and personal
information online than Mizzle.

Mizzle says some funny things about
himself on the Internet. What are they?

He says he likes Swiss cheese, his photo is of cheese, and
he has a pet flea.

Is there anything that Electra posted on the
Internet that could become a problem for
her? If so, what and why?

Private and personal information (e.g., address, full name)
allows others to learn more about her. This could be
unsafe. Saying that she fights with her brother could hurt
her brother’s feelings because it is public.)

CREATE a chart with students that summarizes which information is okay to share online and what is not okay.

Okay to Share

NOT Okay to Share

Interests

Address

Hobbies

Full name

First name

Information that would hurt others

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DISCUSS how Mizzle and Electra both had very interesting information online, but Mizzle used better
judgment about what was most appropriate to post. Mizzle had a smaller digital footprint. Electra put some
information online that might make her unsafe or might upset her brother.
REMIND students that the Internet is a public space where people they do not know will likely see their
information. And this information is very hard to remove. It is basically permanent.
EMPHASIZE that it’s important for students to ask their parents or caregives for permission before sharing
information about themselves online.

closing
Wrap-up (5 minutes)
You can use these questions to assess your students’ understanding of the lesson objectives.
ASK:
What is a digital footprint, and what did
Mizzle’s and Electra’s footprints look like?

A digital footprint is the information about you on the
Internet. Mizzle’s footprint is pretty small and does not
reveal private or personal information. Electra’s is large
and contains information that could make her unsafe or
upset others.

What kind of information is okay to share
on the Internet? What kind of information
is NOT okay to share on the Internet?

Appropriate: interests, hobbies, first name.
Inappropriate: full name, address, hurtful information about
others.

Can you put interesting and
funny information online and still
be appropriate?

Absolutely. Just look at the information that Mizzle posted.

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Digital Trail Squares

Mizzle the Mouse

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Electra the Elephant

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ANIMAL TRACKS

Follow The Digital Trail
Directions
Follow the trails of Mizzle the Mouse and Electra the Elephant. Fill in the
chart below. Then answer the questions.
Mizzle
the Mouse

Electra
the Elephant

1. Whose full name do you know?
2. Whose house could you find?
3. Whose birth date do you know?
4. Whose username and password do
you know?
5. Who let out a secret on
the Internet?
6. Which animal can you describe
better from his or her photo?

Question
1. Who can the detectives find out more about, and why?

2. Which animal has a bigger digital footprint?

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3. Mizzle says some funny things about himself on the
Internet. What are they?

4. Is there anything that Electra posted on the Internet that
could become a problem for her? If so, what and why?

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ASSESSMENT

Follow the Digital Trail
1. What is a digital footprint?
a) A track that animals leave behind
b) Shoes that you buy on the Internet
c) The information about you on the Internet

2. What kind of information is safe to share online?
a) Your birth date
b) Your first name or computer username
c) Your address
3. Which animal below has the digital footprint that leaves him or her
most unsafe?
HINT: Think about which animal shares the most private information online.
a) Fran the Fish
b) Betty the Bird
c) Tony the Tiger

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ASSESSMENT
TEACHER VERSION

Follow the Digital Trail
1. What is a digital footprint?
a) A track that animals leave behind
b) Shoes that you buy on the Internet
c) The information about you on the Internet

Answer feedback
The correct answer is c. Your digital footprint is the information
about you online, such as a news story with your name in it or something that you write online.

2. What kind of information is safe to share online?
a) Your birth date
b) Your first name or computer username
c) Your address
Answer feedback
The correct answer is b. It is okay to share your first name or your
username online. But sharing your address or birth date could make your information unsafe
because other people might use your information to pretend to be you!

3. Which animal below has the digital footprint that leaves him or her most unsafe?
HINT: Think about which animal shares the most private information online.
a) Fran the Fish
b) Betty the Bird
c) Tony the Tiger
Answer feedback
The correct answer is c.
Tony the Tiger put private
information online, like his
address, which is not safe.
Fran and Betty shared
information, but they did
not share anything private
about themselves.

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U
Unplugged

Name:

Date:

Your Digital Footprint
Staying Safe and Responsible Assessment

Just because you can share something online doesn’t mean that you should!
Cross out the information that you should not share online. Use the words that are leftover
as the key to what you should find in the word search.
WORDS
1) Your Real Name (NAME)
2) Your Online Name (NICKNAME)
3) Your Address (ADDRESS)
4) Your Email (EMAIL)
5) Your Favorite Color (COLOR)
6) The Last Book you Read (BOOK)
7) Your Credit Card Info (CARD)
8) Your Favorite Band (BAND)
9) Your Phone Number (PHONE)
10) What You Ate Today (FOOD)
11) Your Birthday (BIRTHDAY)

Which animal below has the digital footprint that leaves him or her most unsafe?
HINT: Think about which animal shares the most private information online.

Circle One:
A) Fran the Fish
B) Betty the Bird
C) Tony the Tiger

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Appendix B:
Glossary of Vocabulary

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Vocabulary
Encouraging students to learn and use official computer science terms will enable them to
communicate correctly and efficiently with others and builds their knowledge such that it can be
further developed without having to relearn terms and concepts at a later time. The terms and
concepts used in the unplugged lessons are defined using words that young students can
understand.
abstraction
Pulling out specific differences to make one solution work for multiple problems.
accessibility
The design of products, devices, services, or environments taking into consideration the ability for all
users to access, including people who experience disabilities or those who are limited by older or
slower technology.
algorithm
A list of steps to finish a task. A set of instructions that can be performed with or without a computer.
For example, the collection of steps to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is an algorithm.
binary
A way of representing information using only two options.
binary alphabet
The two options used in your binary code.
bit
A contraction of "Binary Digit". A bit is the single unit of information in a computer, typically
represented as a 0 or 1.
block-based programming language
Any programming language that lets users create programs by manipulating “blocks” or graphical
programing elements, rather than writing code using text. Examples include Code Studio, Scratch,
Blockly, and Swift. (Sometimes called visual coding, drag and drop programming, or graphical
programming blocks)
Blockly
The visual programming language used in Code.org's online learning system for K-5 students.
bug
An error in a program that prevents the program from running as expected.
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byte
the most common fundamental unit of digital data eg. Kilobyte, Megabyte, etc. A single byte is 8
bits-worth of data.
call (a variable)
Use a variable in a program.
call (a function)
This is the piece of code that you add to a program to indicate that the program should run the code
inside a function at a certain time.
click
Press the mouse button.
code
One or more commands or algorithm(s) designed to be carried out by a computer. See also: program
command
An instruction for the computer. Many commands put together make up algorithms and computer
programs.
computational thinking
Mental processes and strategies that include: decomposition, pattern matching, abstraction,
algorithms (decomposing problems into smaller, more manageable problems, finding repeating
patterns, abstracting specific differences to make one solution work for multiple problems, and
creating step-by-step algorithms).
computer science
Using the power of computers to solve problems.
conditionals
Statements that only run under certain conditions or situations.
crowdsourcing
Getting help from a large group of people to finish something faster.
cyberbullying
Doing something on the internet, usually again and again, to make another personal feel angry, sad,
or scared.

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data
Information. Often, quantities, characters, or symbols that are the inputs and outputs of computer
programs.
debugging
Finding and fixing errors in programs.
decompose
Break a problem down into smaller pieces.
define (a function)
To add code inside a function so that the program knows what it is supposed to do when the function
is called.
digital citizen
Someone who acts safely, responsibly, and respectfully online.
digital footprint
The information about someone on the Internet.
DNS (domain name service)
The service that translates URLs to IP addresses.
double-click
Press the mouse button twice very quickly
drag
Click your mouse button and hold as you move the mouse pointer to a new location
drop
Release your mouse button to "let go" of an item that you are dragging
DSL/cable
A method of sending information using telephone or television cables.
event
An action that causes something to happen.
event-handler
A monitor for a specific event or action on a computer. When you write code for an event handler, it
will be executed every time that event or action occurs. Many event-handlers respond to human
actions such as mouse clicks.
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F.A.I.L
First Attempt In Learning
fiber optic cable
A connection that uses light to transmit information.
for loop
A loop with a predetermined beginning, end, and increment (step interval).
frustrated
Feeling annoyed or angry because something is not the way you want it.
function
A piece of code that you can easily call over and over again. Functions are sometimes called
‘procedures.’ A function definition is a segment of code that includes the steps performed in the
function. A function call is the code segment, typically within the main logic of the program, which
invokes the function.
function call
The piece of code that you add to a program to indicate that the program should run the code inside a
function at a certain time.
function definition
The code inside a function that instructs the program on what to do when the function is called.
if-statement
The common programming structure that implements "conditional statements".
input
A way to give information to a computer.
Internet
A group of computers and servers that are connected to each other.
IP address
A number assigned to any item that is connected to the Internet.
iteration
A repetitive action or command typically created with programming loops.
loop
The action of doing something over and over again.
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online
Connected to the internet.
output
A way to get information out of a computer.
packets
Small chunks of information that have been carefully formed from larger chunks of information.
pattern matching
Finding similarities between things.
parameter
An extra piece of information that you pass to the function to customize it for a specific need.
persistence
Trying again and again, even when something is very hard.
pixel
Short for "picture element" it is the fundamental unit of a digital image, typically a tiny square or dot
which contains a single point of color of a larger image.
program
An algorithm that has been coded into something that can be run by a machine.
programming
The art of creating a program.
repeat
To do something again.
run program
Cause the computer to execute the commands you've written in your program.
search engine
A program that searches for and identifies items in a database that correspond to keywords or
characters specified by the user, used especially for finding particular sites on the World Wide Web.
servers
Computers that exist only to provide things to others.
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toolbox
The tall grey bar in the middle section of Code.org's online learning system that contains all of the
commands you can use to write your program.
trustworthy
Able to be relied on as honest or truthful.
try
Attempt to do something
URL (universal resource locator)
A relatively easy-to-remember address for calling a web page (like www.code.org).
username
A name you make up so that you can see or do things on a website, sometimes called a “screen
name.”
variable
A placeholder for a piece of information that can change.
website
A location connected to the Internet that maintains one or more pages on the World Wide Web.
while loop
A loop that continues to repeat while a condition is true.
Wi-Fi
A wireless method of sending information using radio waves.
workspace
The white area on the right side of Code.org's online learning system where you drag and drop
commands to build your program.

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Appendix C:
Student Skills and Strategies for
Tackling Difficult Challenges

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This appendix outlines specific strategies that you can encourage students to take in tackling challenges in CS
Fundamentals.

Approaching Lesson Progressions
Growth Mindset
Throughout these lessons, it is critical that students understand that nobody is born knowing computer science.
Everyone starts at the beginning, experiences failure, learns from mistakes, then experiences success.
Students should not view frequent programming failures as a sign that they lack talent, but should instead be
proud of their own persistence as they make changes and try again. All computer scientists fail. The best
programmers are the ones who keep trying long enough to learn from the problems that they encounter.
Here are some tips to help your students stay persistent:
● Keep track of what you have already tried
● Figure out what is happening
● Understand what is supposed to happen
● Look at what that tells you
● Make a change and try again

Frustration
Frustration is a natural part of learning. Instead of trying to avoid frustration at Code.org, we embrace it. The
key to persistence is in learning that frustration is a positive sign, not a negative one. When a student gets
frustrated, it means that they are about to learn something new. It can be compared to the pain you feel in your
mouth before you get a new tooth, or the soreness in your muscles before you get stronger. Congratulate
students on recognizing and persevering through frustration.
Here are some tips to help your students deal with
frustration:
● Count slowly to 10
● Take some deep breaths
● Write your worries in a journal
● Talk to a partner about your feelings
● Ask for help

Paper and Pencil
It is common for a teacher to expect students to work out code in their head. This puts unfair stress on
students, as programs can get complicated and confusing. Encourage students to code with a piece of paper
and pencil nearby so that they can scribble down predictions and trace out paths for solving puzzles. Paper
can be helpful to record the ideas that have already been tried, as well as thoughts about what can be tried
next. It might even help students to write a little about what they did to pass a level so that they can share with
classmates who are in need of a little help.

Trying (Then Skipping) Challenges
When Code.org places so much value on persistence, it is hard to justify skipping puzzles because they feel
too difficult or confusing. It is, however, how our challenge puzzles were designed.
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CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Most of our online lessons contain one “challenge” puzzle near the end of the series. This puzzle was carefully
placed to inspire students to practice new concepts in a different way. It will test their persistence, highlight
misconceptions, and hopefully lead them to the “ah-ha” moment that educators love! Additionally, spending a
fair amount of time with the challenge puzzle will help the following levels feel simple in comparison, even
though the levels that follow demonstrate the exact target of understanding expected from a student by the
time they finish each lesson.
In order to provoke those strong accomplishments, challenge levels must all but guarantee that they cannot be
solved quickly. Because of this, they will be far too hard for many students, which means that the messaging of
these challenges is extremely important. Keep these things in mind, and make sure that you review them with
your students before each visit to the computer lab.
● When you get to the challenge puzzle, give it your best try!
● Keep notes as you try to solve the puzzle so that you don’t lose your place or try the same thing over
and over again.
● These puzzles are supposed to be hard. You don’t have to solve it in order to learn from it, but you do
have to try your best!
● Remember that you can come back to the challenge puzzle later. If you start to get frustrated, go ahead
and skip the challenge until you complete the rest of the lesson. You can come back to it when you’ve
finished everything else!

Lesson Extras
Many teachers like to keep their entire class on the same lesson instead of letting students skip ahead to new
concepts. For that reason, we have provided an area at the end of each lesson series where students can use
the concepts that they’ve learned in new and interesting ways. These puzzles are considered “optional.” They
are a sandbox to keep the quickest students challenged and entertained until the end of class. In addition, the
Lesson Extras can be used to add an additional day onto concept lessons, offering the opportunity for students
to come back and create personal and authentic projects with their newest concepts.

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CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide
Copy/Paste
Though we do not make it obvious, most individual blocks in CS Fundamentals are able to be copied/pasted
within the same level. If you feel that the ability to copy and paste blocks will enhance your student’s learning
experience, then you can share the copy/paste method with them:
1. Highlight the block that you want to copy
2. Press ctrl+c to copy
3. Press ctrl+v to paste
4. Move your pasted block to where you would like it
While this “hack” generally only allows you to copy one block at a time, there is a work around for duplicating
larger chunks of code. All you need to do is pull a statement block (like a loop, conditional, or simple function)
from the toolbox and place all of the code to be copied inside. Now, select the statement block and copy/paste.
All of the code inside will be duplicated. You can now pull the extra code out of the statement block and use it
as desired.

Puzzle/Problem Solving Recipe
Start a Puzzle with Understanding
Often, the quickest way to pass a level is to know where you’re headed from the start. Help students
understand that being successful means taking a look at what is required before dragging anything out to the
workspace. Here are some important questions that students should ask:
● What do the instructions say?
● What am I supposed to do?
● What has already been done?
● Are there any questions that I need answers to?
● Have I solved another problem like this one?
● Can I put the puzzle’s goal into my own words?

Debugging
Small misunderstandings can lead to big problems! Help keep students moving by showing them some basic
debugging skills.
Step Button
Most puzzles in CS Fundamentals have a “Step” button (excluding Artist, Play Lab, and BB-8 levels.) With the
“Step” button, it is possible to go through a program block by block to see what happens each step of the way.
This is a helpful tool when your code moves too quickly to understand where things get off course.
To use the “Step” button, simply click on “Step” instead of “Run”. Your code will run exactly one block before
coming to a rest again. To continue through the code, keep pressing “Step” until you have completed your
program, or found your bug!
In Artist puzzles, the “Step” button is replaced by a speed slider. For a similar effect, try moving the slider to
the far left and watching the artist go through each step very slowly.
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CS Fundamentals Curriculum Guide

Example of level with “Step” button.

Example of level with speed slider..

Example level with no “Step” button.

Finger/Paper Tracing
For puzzles that don’t have a “Step” button, students can find a great amount of help looking through their
program on their own.
The ability to predict what a program will do is an amazing skill, but it takes a lot of practice. Students can find
opportunities to grow in this area by using finger tracing and/or paper tracing as they code in CS
Fundamentals.
● Finger Tracing
○ Use your finger to point to the first block on the screen. What does everything look like? What
values do the variables hold (if there are any)? What happens to that landscape after the current
block is executed?
○ Drop your finger to the next block and ask the same questions.
○ Can you run through the whole program and predict the outcome?
● Paper Tracing
○ Draw a line down the center of your paper
○ On one side, write the code for your program
○ On the other side, write notes on the starting state of the program: Where are the characters?
What are the values of the variables? Anything else to note?
○ Now look at the first line of your program. What changes when it is executed? Write the new
details in your notes area.
○ Continue to run through the written code until you reach the end. Is everything as you
expected?
Critical Questions
If looking through your code does not provide the answers you need, you will have to dig a little more deeply.
These questions will help students to highlight the clues provided by their program when things are not
working:
● What does it do?
● What is it supposed to do?
● What does that tell me?
● Is it right at the first step?
● Is it still right at the second step?
● Where is the first place that it goes wrong?
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Asking for Help
In computer science, there’s a fine line between the benefit that you get from figuring out something on your
own, and the benefit of learning from the experience of a peer. For this reason, CS Fundamentals encourages
a “Try three / Try three / Ask me” system.
With this system (3/3/Me) students are asked to tackle a problem with three different solutions before asking
peers for help. Once their classmates get involved, they should try three more solutions together before
involving a teacher. At that point, as an educator, you should ask them to put in words what they tried and what
that told them. Also ask them if they have narrowed down any places where the problem is not. If they have
not yet solved their problem, guide them in trying a few additional options.
In all cases, make sure that you and your class are familiar with the right way to help a student:
● Don’t sit in the classmate’s chair
● Don’t use the classmate’s keyboard or tablet
● Don’t touch the classmate’s mouse
● Make sure the classmate can describe the solution to you out loud before you walk away
If, after all of this, issues still persist, you might consider filing a bug report with Code.org through the website
or by emailing support@code.org.

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