MrsMBTeacherPortersPoint: February 2018

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Hour of Code and Reading Buddies

When I asked students how video games are made, they had offered ideas such a someone took a photo with their phone photos or made the game a movie. After some discussion, they were surprised to find out that someone actually writes the instructions in a programming language that run them... along with apps, websites and computer software. Their interest peeked when I told them that they could learn to write computer code for others to enjoy, just like video game programmers.

Coding practice provides a wide range of benefits for young learners. It gives them the opportunity to embrace their creativity while practicing problem solving, mathematics, critical thinking and persistence. As we say in reading workshop, we never give up when we use our persistence power. The same goes for coding. In our classroom we presented kids with coding challenges using the app Scratch Jr. We studied the various codes and connected the process to work we were doing in EveryDay Mathematics centered on ordering. By choosing various directions and putting them in a particular order, we discovered how to solve a challenge problem with a programming code.

Next, we partnered with Mr. Shepherd's second grade class for several coding challenges. With a second grade partner students created several coding projects. But the fun did not end there... we now have second grade reading partners to grow our reading skills. Check out the video with our second grade buddies.