The "Hour of Code" at the Lower School: Programming in the Classroom

In honor of Computer Science Education Week (December 9-15, 2013), the website code.org launched the "Hour of Code" program with the idea that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn code.  There are several opportunities for our Lower School students to program:

Kindergarten used the BeeBot, a programmable robot, in literacy in January.

In December, 2nd graders completed the first hour of code on the code.org website.  In January and February they did also used the LightBob app and the BeeBot app.  After March break they plan to create math word problems in MIT's Scratch programming environment.

During several technology classes this winter, 4th, 5th, and 6th graders also used the code.org website, creating online accounts so they could continue their progress at home if desired.  4th graders have been learning Scratch as well and are now learning how to use Scratch with the LEGO WeDO kits' sensors and motors.

5th graders will spend their spring trimester in the technology lab learning how to program in LOGO, an educational programming language (in fact, the first programming language for children) originally designed in 1967.

6th graders have been spending a lot of their time in the technology lab exploring the new online Scratch 2.0 programming environment.  They are currently working on programming challenges from the Creative Computing Curriculum Guide, a design-based introduction to computational thinking.

The Bee-Bot in Beginners and Kindergarten

A new piece of technology we have at the Lower School is the Bee-Bot. It is a great tool for teaching sequencing, estimation, problem-solving, and just having fun. The Bee-Bot is already being used in Beginners and Kindergarten. Students in both grades are solving maze-like problems, sending the Bee-Bot from one point to another, sometimes going under bridges or around obstacles. Kindergarteners are also using the Bee-Bot to study rhyming. The Bee-Bot starts on a square with a picture and a word on it. They then have to guide the Bee-Bot to another square that has a picture and word that rhymes with the first. The students are having a lot of fun with the Bee-Bot!