Blog Archives

Hour of Code

11/18/2019

Discover.

With technology changing every industry on the planet, computing knowledge has become part of a well-rounded skill set. But fewer than half of all schools teach computer science! Good news is, we’re on our way to change this. If you heard about the Hour of Code last year, you might know it made history. 100 million students have now discovered how accessible and fun computer science can be by doing just one Hour of Code.

The Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics. Discover how to run an Hour of Code below.

Learn

To make implementation easy for you and fun for your students, I've curated resources for art, music, PE, and Young5s - 12th grade! Learn more by reading the short description of the activity that corresponds to your grade or subject area below and clicking the image to the right to access the resource.

Young 5s - Kindergarten

Code Monkey Jr. is a free app designed for students 4-6 years old. Young coders will help a monkey collect bananas and unlock a treasure chest by counting and using arrows to control his movements. Click the app icon to the right for teacher info.

1st - 2nd

Scratch Jr. is a great app for storytelling and authentically weaves into classroom curriculum. In this activity, students will learn how to create a scene for a story that has a night sky with twinkling stars. Click the image to the right for teacher info.

3rd - 4th

Dance Party is web-based and easily accessible on the iPad by opening hourofcode.com/danceparty in a browser. Students will use drag-and-drop coding blocks to program characters to dance to popular songs. Headphones are highly recommended!

5th - 6th

Lightbot: Code Hour is a free app that starts out simple and gets trickier. In this programming puzzle game, students will use game mechanics, logic, and problem-solving to light up tiles.

7th - 8th

Don't Drop the Phone is an entertaining Hopscotch activity that teaches students about sequencing and loops. A teacher lesson plan and 14 minute student video were created to seamlessly guide students. Download the free app, Hopscotch, today!

High School

In this Hour of Code activity, students will be introduced to JavaScript through step-by-step video tutorials. They will practice newly learned concepts and apply their understandings to a final creative project. Students will type hourofcode.com/khan in a browser.

Art

KANO Art Playground is web-based but easily accessible on the iPad. Students are provided 8 art challenges that use simple drag and drop coding blocks. Students type hourofcode.com/kanoart in a browser.

PE

You won't need access to iPads for this Hour of Code activity. There is a slideshow with dance moves already created and a recommended school-appropriate Spotify playlist. It's computer science, without a computer and gets you groovin'!

Music

Students will visit codehs.com/hoc_music and watch video tutorials to learn how computer science relates to music. Students will choose various instruments and adjust the tempo as they create musical loops and share their beats.

Do

Run an Hour of Code with your students from December 9th - 13th! Want an extra hand? I would love to come in and support you and your students. If that would be helpful, book time with me at your school. Please check your email for more information.

Print participation certificates for your students and share about Hour of Code in your class newsletters:

Next steps and FAQ

Newsletter Blurbs

Participation Certificates

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The Great Thanksgiving Listen

11/5/2019

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Discover.

The Great Thanksgiving Listen is an initiative that is encouraging and empowering students to create an oral history of the United States by recording interviews with their elders using the free Story Corps app. And while the program requires students be over 13 to publish their work using this specific app, the curricular ideas (check out the toolkit at the bottom of this page) can be modified and used by students of all ages. Discover more in this quick 1 minute video.

Learn.

The best way to learn more about this movement is to listen to some the heartwarming, and sometimes heartbreaking, stories. Below is a video of one animated story, as well as a link to many of the stories Story Corps has captured over the years. You can sort the stories by collection (i.e. justice, military, parenthood, etc.), date, and more.