All resources in The Center for Educational Partnerships (TCEP) at ODU

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Graph It!

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Organizing and graphing data connects well with our math standards.  Students are constantly collecting data without even realizing it.  Often students will say “Raise your hand if you like Spiderman” or something similar.  By completing the activities contained in this lesson plan, students can take topics that they are interested in and collect more data to analyze.  The first activity gets students up and moving.  They can immediately see how their peers feel about a topic.  Using that data to create graphs will help students to better connect to the data and become invested in the results.   The lesson could be modified to support English Language Learners and students with disabilities by providing data sets with fewer responses and providing scaffolding for creating their graphs.  Question stems could also be provided to help students write questions about their graphs.  The lesson could be extended by providing students with the opportunity to use a graphing program to create their graphs digitally.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Alexis Tharpe

Snow Day! Classroom Transformation Packet

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 The lesson is designed to build a classroom transformation theme while integrating computer science SOLs into the core curriculum.  These lessons introduce students to basic algorithms and programming vocabulary they would use every day.  The lessons show how easy it is to integrate computer science with a multidisciplinary approach.  The engaging theme of a snow day allows the students to use real-world situations to learn the necessary standards.  “Snow Day!” is a one-day classroom transformation that integrates all of the content areas with computer science.  Students learn new vocabulary from interaction with prior experiences.  By the middle of first grade, they already know how to retell a story in the correct sequence, plan and write sentences, add and subtract, and cut shapes.  They also already know that snow melts.  They will learn simple computer science vocabulary such as algorithm, loop, and debug. 

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Alexis Tharpe

The Water Cycle Game

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The students will model the water cycle by pretending to be a water molecule and simulating the movement of water through the water cycle.  They will diagram and label the steps of the water cycle to demonstrate an understanding of algorithms by following the stages of the water cycle.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Alexis Tharpe

Where Do I Belong? - Classifying Objects Using Physical properties

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In this lesson, the students will sort and group (classify) objects into appropriate groups (categories) based on one or two attributes, label attributes of a set of objects that have been sorted, and name multiple ways to sort a set of objects.  This lesson, integrates math, science, social studies, and computer science.  This lesson could be modified to support more diverse learners by changing the plants and animals to reflect different cultures.  It provides students the opportunities to engage in a VR experience to explore the content, which is very engaging and then they get to create their own project.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Alexis Tharpe

How to Code a Sandcastle!

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This lesson on sequencing, also known as coding/programming, is designed for kindergarteners.  It introduces a wonderful book, “How to Code a Sandcastle”.   The lesson exposes the students to technology, critical thinking, and problem-solving.  It allows them to think about situations differently and shows kindergarten teachers the ease of integrating computer science standards.  It will hopefully create a spark in the teachers’ and students' interests.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Alexis Tharpe

Ordering Fractions with a Sorting Network

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This lesson is designed to be a fun and interactive way to help reinforce comparing and ordering numbers.  It is a great unplugged way to show how we solve problems by constructing algorithms to include loops, variables, and conditionals.  This lesson also leaves the door wide open to use that same sorting network with other types of sorting or ordering activities.  The sorting network template will grab the students' attention, and the repetition and practice will reinforce the skills.  Because this is a large group activity, it is easy to offer extra support to learners who need extra help.  Because the teacher is choosing the fractions for input each time, she has control over how easy or difficult the tasks are made. I’m excited to try out this lesson!

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Alexis Tharpe

TCEP Computer Science-Integrated Lesson for 3rd Grade History & English

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Grade Level: 3rd Grade Subject: Social Studies, Computer Science, and Language Arts Integration Topic: Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs and Algorithmic Thinking Duration: Three 45-minute Lessons Objective: Students will learn about Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, apply computer science concepts (algorithm debugging, loops, and planning), and create a symbolic artifact that models the concept of hieroglyphs, meeting Virginia Computer Science Standards of Learning (SOLs) and History SOLs.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Authors: Margaret Friedenreich, Lisa Steffian

CS-Integrated Lesson with Social Studies for 2nd Graders

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Grade Level: 2nd GradeSubject: Social Studies and Computer Science IntegrationTopic: Natural, human, and capital resourcesDuration: 2 (30 minute lessons) or (1- 60-minute lesson)Objective: Students will identify and categorize natural, human, and capital resources by creating a digital or physical model. They will demonstrate understanding by accurately representing these resources in a model using basic shapes and labels.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Authors: Margaret Friedenreich, Lisa Steffian

TCEP CS-Integrated Lesson Plan for 1st Grade: Algorithms and Programming

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One 45 minute lesson plan integrating computer science, english language arts, and history/social studies. As students listen to stories, they realize that these stories have a beginning, middle, and an end. Planning a story is like writing an algorithm or program in that there are steps that are followed as the author determines the beginning, middle, and end of the story.  Authors use multiple ways of planning and telling a story; stories can be told using story maps, storyboards, or other sequential graphic organizers.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Authors: Margaret Friedenreich, Lisa Steffian

TCEP CS-Integrated Lesson Plan for Kindergarten: Algorithms and Programming

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One 45 minute lesson plan integrating computer science, english language arts, and history/social studies. As students listen to stories, they build reading comprehension and historical skills by realizing that stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Authors use multiple ways of creating a story; stories can be told using story maps, storyboards, or graphic organizers. Just as authors sequence events in a story, people may use computers as they work together to plan, create, and test programs. Programming is used as a tool to create products that reflect a wide range of interests, such as video games, interactive art projects, and digital stories

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Authors: Margaret Friedenreich, Lisa Steffian

TCEP Lesson Plan: 5th Grade History/Social Studies and Computer Science (Impact of Computing)

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Three 45 minute lesson plans integrating history/social studies and computer science. To better understand connections across time and place as well as the positive and negative impact of technology/inventions on society, students examine these issues in the present since they experience computer technologies in their daily lives.  Later, students explore the Industrial Revolution period and how past technology/inventions impacted daily life in the 19th Century. The lesson will culminate with exploring and making connections between the impact of various technologies on people in the present and the past. 

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Authors: Margaret Friedenreich, Lisa Steffian