Elementary students across all six District elementary schools participated in the “The Hour of Code” on December 5th, participating in lessons planned by the digital literacy teachers to teach computer programming skills through various coding activities. The event is planned as part of computer science education week.
Primary students in K-2 engaged in activities on apps called Kodable, CodeSpark, and BeKids to learn foundational programming skills that use logic and critical thinking to solve puzzles. Grade 3-5 students used a variety of coding activities on the code.org website, including learning to program droids, creating their own Star Wars games, and creating dance animations with code. These activities introduced the core computer science concepts of coding and event programming, while allowing students to express their creativity.
“We love participating in this global event each year during computer science education week,” Birches Elementary School Digital Literacy teacher Nichole Strate said, “because we feel every student should be given the opportunity to learn computer science. We were so excited to bring the event to students again this year. We always receive so much excitement and positive feedback from the students during this week. The kids love it because they can be creative, and they have fun making their way through challenges.”
For more information on The Hour of Code, please visit https://hourofcode.com/us
Birches Elementary School third grader Luke Burke made quick work of his Minecraft-themed coding challenge.
Birches third-grade students Logan Gramm (left) and Mason Edelman receive instructions before launching into their coding challenge.
Birches digital literacy teacher Nicole Strate assists Levi Hamilton as Sienna DiPietro and Hailey Prettiman receive online instructions.
