Can you see how far you can catapult a Pom Pom? I want to see! We are going to be building a catapult from scratch. Your goal is to see if you can catapult your Pom Pom at least 3 feet. 

Students will analyze a provided math problem with an incorrect answer (bug). Students will demonstrate their understanding of the process by identifying the error, solving the problem correctly and providing an explanation. Math problem solving directly correlates with the step by step process that computer science debugging requires. The purpose of this experience is to provide a jumping off point for a deeper understanding of the Computer Science SOLs. This could be the first time your students are exposed to the vocabulary (algorithm, bug, debugging) and can provide a good foundation of the understanding of the vocabulary in a concrete, low-technology way.

Create an American Revolution adventure story with your class! Students will be able to step back into time and think of the various perspectives of the American Revolution by creating scenarios the different characters might have gone through.

This game created on Baamboozle is comprised of fill-in-the blank and true or false questions from the vocabulary and essential knowledge of the Computer Science SOL 4.4.

This is a list of basic vocabulary with definitions and/or examples that will be used in elementary classrooms K-5 when teaching the concepts of algorithms and programming. 

Events in computer science are the triggers for making action happen, like selecting the play button on any screen. Events in Scratch are represented by the yellow codes including: when flag clicked, when sprite clicked, when key pressed and broadcast. Broadcasting is the most advanced event in Scratch and helps with interactions between sprites like pacing their conversations or changing levels.

Events in computer science are the triggers for making action happen, like selecting the play button on any screen. Events in Scratch Jr. are represented by the yellow codes including: the green flag, clicking on a character, bump code and envelopes. The envelopes are the most advanced concept in Scratch Jr. and help with scene transitions and interactions between characters like pacing their conversations.

Making and eating fry bread is a special event for many Native American people. People began to make fry bread because sometimes in the past they only had a few things to make meals with. This lesson leads students through the history and heritage of fry bread with the book Fry Bread– A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble and consider the similies and metaphors within the story, and then reflect on family traditions in their own culture and household through a flowchart of pseudocode. This lesson was created through a partnership between CodeVA and the Virginia Tribal Education Consortium (VTEC). 

To have students summarize a subject area event (story, science experiment, engineering challenge, historical event, etc.) and then develop a storyboard for the event similar to how animators create storyboards in preparation for animated movies.

This lesson is designed to give students space to collaboratively plan and execute an investigation while having space to design and test something they create. Students will practice the scientific process, engineering skills, problem solving and group work skills while building a balloon car.

Can you see how far you can catapult a Pom Pom? I want to see! We are going to be building a catapult from scratch. Your goal is to see if you can catapult your Pom Pom at least 3 feet. 

Sometimes it can be helpful to take code and work backwards with it. This helps give a greater understanding on how code is actually written and structured. This practice sheet offers opportunity to take pseudocode and convert it to a flowhart by analyzing how inputs and outputs are associated with user choice.4.4 The student will create a plan as part of the iterative design process, both independently and collaboratively using strategies such as pair programming (e.g., storyboard, flowchart, pseudocode, story map).4.8 The student will model how a computing system works including input and output, processors, and sensors.

Students will be introduced to computer science words in conjunction with similar standards already taught in English SOLs.  They will see how actions in a plot are similar to events in a code and how cause and effect is similar to events that trigger actions.  Prewriting will take place as they create a plan and codes for an Ozobot maze.

Students will be learning how art and engineering intersect by using Tinkercad, 3D modeling software, produced by Autodesk, to create a physical, 3d printed, product. In this Tinkercad introduction project, students will produce a text-based keychain.

Students will create flowers using polygons with 3-10 sides, classify and arrange them, based on different attributes (SOL CS 4.5).  This activity would be done with 4th graders,  but it could be modified for 3rd or 5th grades. The students would work both individually and collaboratively.

Students will plan out their family’s vacation to visit important water features in Virginia, then write a fiction story about their vacation.

This lesson sequence offers students and teachers a way to explore gender and cultural identity through analyzing children’s literature and coding with Scratch, specifically exploring the importance of names to our identities. Through read-aloud activities and self-differentiated Scratch projects, students learn about the importance of names in reference to both gender and culture, and have a chance to explore and express ideas about their own names, brainstorm creating school environments supportive of diversity, and reflect on their own bravery and resilience. This sequence is broken into seven lessons, though your students may need additional class time to work on their projects.This lesson sequence is part of CodeVA's committment to the U.S. Department of Education "YOU Belong in STEM" initiative.