PACs 5th grade students have been exploring the power of Computer Science for the past three weeks.
Introductions started with "unplugged" lessons where students learned what algorithms and programs were. Class discussion started simple to ensure understanding and then progressed into more challenging tasks where students were writing their own algorithms and exchanging with class members -where they had to sketch the algorithms and see if they got the intended results of the written "code".
Students were excited to transition into their "plugged" lessons.
It really doesn't get better than this. Students were "thinking" outloud as they were moving their coding blocks to get the desired results for Lesson 3. Students were helping students - powerful!!
You could see on their faces the thinking that was transpiring.
Giving student exposure into the world of Computer Science encourages and supports creative expression and problem-solving. These opportunities will be onramps to a world where students can be passionate and powerful to express their imaginations. Our Makerspace room next Fall will faciliate coding connections where students can program robots, sphero balls, lego creations or anything else they can dream of.
The thinking skills that coding builds - creativity, collaboration, persistence and abstractions - it really doesn't get better than this!