Coding Instruction at SLS

 

Coding Instruction at St. Louis School

 

Grades K, 1, and 2  

In Grades K-2 students learn how to create basic algorithms to solve problems using drag and drop coding programs and robots. Students complete cross-curricular collaborative STEM lessons using their coding skills in social studies (maps), math (measurement, time, and money), and language arts (story retelling and sequencing).

 

Tools:

 

 

Grade 3

By Grade 3 and beyond, students learn that our interconnected technological world is built on computer software. How do things work? Everything needs software/code to make things happen. Students begin gaining a basic understanding of the underlying software that drives our modern world. 

 

  • Code.org (Course 2 - Lessons 1 - 10)

    • Introduction to the three basic programming structures - sequence, selection, loops and how these come together to form the most basic instructions and algorithms for all types of software.

    • Introduction to algorithms and syntax

    • Debugging

  • Ozobot - Color coding robots

  • Introduction to Scratch drag and drop block programming - Scratch is a free web-based drag and drop programming language developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

  • Dash robot programming using Blockly App (drag and drop language)

    • Winter Olympics project

 

Grade 4

  • Code.org (Course 2 - Lessons 3 - 13)

    • Review of the three basic programming structures - sequence, selection, and loops and how these come together to form the most basic instructions and algorithms for all types of software.

    • Review of algorithms and syntax

    • Debugging

    • Conditionals

  • Programming with the Scratch drag and drop block programming

  • Dash Robot programming using Blockly App (drag and drop language)

    • Iditarod Sled Dog Race project (Design and build sleds following the engineering design process then code the robots to pull the sleds and race)

 

Grade 5

  • Code.org (Course 3 - Lessons 2 - 14)

    • Review of the three basic programming structures - sequence, selection, and loops and how these come together to form the most basic instructions and algorithms for all types of software.

    • Review of algorithms and syntax

    • Functions

    • Debugging

    • Conditionals

    • Nested Loops

  • Programming with the Scratch drag and drop block programming

  • Dash Robot programming using Blockly App (drag and drop language)

 

Grade 6, 7 and 8

  • Code.org (Express Course 2021 - Lessons 2 - 12)

    • Review of the three basic programming structures - sequence, selection, and loops and how these come together to form the most basic instructions and algorithms for all types of software.

    • Review of algorithms and syntax

    • Functions

    • Debugging

    • Conditionals

    • Nested Loops

    • Prediction

    • Creating Art with Code

  • Programming with the Scratch drag and drop block programming

  • Dash Robot programming using Blockly App (drag and drop language)

  • Introduction to CUE Robot programming - Transition from block programming to text-based programming. The CUE robots are new and were purchased through a grant from AFCEA (Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association). 


 

Example of students' Scratch projects:

 

Grade 3 basic student project work.

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/612566578

 

Grade 5 - Retro Asteroid “like” game

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/642257927

 

Grade 8 - Retro Pong Game

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/688248733

 

Our Cyber STEM after-school program (Grades 4 - 8) includes an introduction to the Python programming language.