Warm Up (4 min)

Introduction

Students will either be learning a lot of new concepts or reviewing a lot of basic concepts. Based on your class's experience, you can cover the following vocabulary or move on to a bridging activity. We recommend using the words in sentences if the definitions aren't explicitly covered.

Bridging Activity - Programming (10 min)

This activity will help bring the unplugged concepts from "Graph Paper Programming" into the online world that the students are moving into. Choose one of the following to do with your class:

Unplugged Activity Using Paper Blocks

Similar to "Graph Paper Programming", have the students in your class pair up. Pass out multiple fill 1, turn left, turn right, and move forward blocks from the Unplugged Maze Blocks - Manipulatives to each pair. Have each pair of students draw a design on a four by four graph from Graph Paper Programming - Worksheet. Next, have the students work together to write the program needed to draw this design using the paper Blockly blocks. Make sure the students know that the program goes from top to bottom and the blocks need to touch!

Preview of Online Puzzles as a Class

Pull up a puzzle from CSF Express Course 2018 - Website. We recommend puzzle 5. Break up the students into groups of three or four. Have them "program" Red, the angry bird, to get to the pig using arrows from "Graph Paper Programming."

The class will not need to use the last arrow.

Once all the groups have an answer, discuss the path as a class.

Previewing Online Puzzles as a Class (3 min)

Students should now be ready to see a real puzzle in action!

Model: Pull up Lesson 2, Puzzle 5 to do in front of the class. This will be the same puzzle that they just saw in the bridging activity. While working through this puzzle with the class, remind students that making mistakes is okay and remind them that the only way to be successful is to be persistent. Remind them that finding the solution might be harder with limitations, but that you believe in them.

Discuss: Does anyone remember how to solve this puzzle?

As the teacher, you should decide if you will have the students remind you how to solve it from their seats, or come to the computer to drag the actual blocks in one-by-one.

Transition: Now that students have seen an online puzzle in practice, they should be ready to start solving puzzles of their own. Continue to the lab or bring out their classroom machines.

Main Activity (30 min)

CSF Express Course 2018 - Website

Circulate: Teachers play a vital role in computer science education and supporting a collaborative and vibrant classroom environment. During online activities, the role of the teacher is primarily one of encouragement and support. Online lessons are meant to be student-centered, so teachers should avoid stepping in when students get stuck. Some ideas on how to do this are:

• Utilize Pair Programming - Student Video whenever possible during the activity.
• Encourage students with questions/challenges to start by asking their partner.
• Unanswered questions can be escalated to a nearby group, who might already know the solution.
• Remind students to use the debugging process before you approach.
• Have students describe the problem that they’re seeing. What is it supposed to do? What does it do? What does that tell you?
• Remind frustrated students that frustration is a step on the path to learning, and that persistence will pay off.
• If a student is still stuck after all of this, ask leading questions to get the student to spot an error on their own.

Discuss: After providing students with end-of-class warnings, grab everyone's attention and get them to reflect on the experiences that they just had.

• Did anyone feel frustrated during any of the puzzles?
• Did anyone notice the need to be persistent?

Transition: Have students grab their Thinkspot Journals and take a moment to leave lessons for themselves.

Wrap Up (5 - 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 an activity you like to do that you struggled with the first time. Draw or describe how you got better.

Extended Learning

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

Create Your Own

In small groups, let students design their own mazes and challenge each other to write programs to solve them. For added fun, make life-size mazes with students as the pig and bird.