Unplugged

Unplugged

Lesson plans for offline (unplugged) Hour of Code activities.

Lesson 1: Programming Unplugged: My Robotic Friends Relay

Grades K-2 | Grades 3-5

  • Warm Up
  • Main Activity (15 min)
  • Wrap Up (15 min)
  • Extended Learning

This activity will begin with a short review of "My Robotic Friends," 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.

Teacher Links: Teacher Prep Guide Students Links: Symbol Key | Manipulatives | Paper Trapezoid Template | Reflection Journal

Lesson 2: Text Compression

Grades 6-8 | Grades 9-12

  • Getting Started (5-7 mins)
  • Activity (45 mins)
  • Wrap-up (10 mins)
  • Extended Learning

At some point we reach a physical limit of how fast we can send bits and if we want to send a large amount of information faster, we have to find a way to represent the same information with fewer bits - we must compress the data.

Teacher Links: Activity Recap Students Links: Activity Guide | Activity Guide | Video | Widget

Lesson 3: Simple Encryption

Grades 6-8 | Grades 9-12

  • Getting Started (15)
  • Activity (35)
  • Wrap-up (10)
  • Extended Learning

In this lesson, students are introduced to the need for encryption and simple techniques for breaking (or cracking) secret messages. Students try their own hand at cracking a message encoded with the classic Caesar cipher and also a Random Substitution Cipher. Students should become well-acquainted with idea that in an age of powerful computational tools, techniques of encryption will need to be more sophisticated. The most important aspect of this lesson is to understand how and why encryption plays a role in all of our lives every day on the Internet, and that making good encryption is not trivial. Students will get their feet wet with understanding the considerations that must go into making strong encryption in the face of powerful computational tools that can be used to crack it. The need for secrecy when sending bits over the Internet is important for anyone using the Internet.

Students Links: | Video

Lesson 4: Dance Party: Unplugged

Grades K-2 | Grades 3-5 | Grades 6-8

  • Warm Up (10 min)
  • Main Activity (25 min)
  • Wrap Up (5 min)
  • Go Viral!

Have a class dance party to learn about events.

Teacher Links: | |

Lesson 5: Our AI Code of Ethics

Grades 6-8 | Grades 9-12

  • Warm Up (10 mins)
  • Activity (40 mins)
  • Wrap Up (5 mins)
  • Extended Learning

Collaboratively research about AI ethics and create a shareable code of conduct.

Teacher Links: Slides Students Links: Student Handout | Student Handout | Video Series