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Intro to Programming with Tracy the Turtle and micro:bit

Description

In this lesson, students are introduced to coding with turtle graphics. Students will begin to recognize programs as sequences and groups of commands. Students will learn a few basic commands and then apply them right away by writing their first program.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Define programming/coding
  • Use basic Tracy commands
  • Write their first program
Description

In this lesson, students will be introduced to the layout of Tracy’s grid world and will learn how to use coordinate pairs to locate Tracy on the coordinate plane. They will add to the list of commands they know and can use to create Tracy graphics.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Locate Tracy on the coordinate plane
  • Use the penup(), pendown(), and backward() commands in their programs
Description

In this lesson, students will learn how to use the left and right commands in order to move Tracy to more locations on the canvas. They will now have many commands that can be used to have Tracy create more complex graphics.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Use the left and right commands in order to move Tracy around her grid world
Description

In this lesson, students are introduced to for loops. They learn how for loops simplify the process of making small changes to a program and help avoid repeating code. For loops are written like this:

for i in range (4):
    // Code to be repeated 4 times
Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Create for loops to repeat code a fixed number of times
  • Explain when a for loop would be a useful tool
  • Utilize for loops to write programs that would be difficult / impossible without loops
Description

In this lesson, students are introduced to the ability to turn Tracy at any angle. With this feature, Tracy can now draw diagonal lines which opens up the possibility to draw multiple shapes that weren’t previously available.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Use angles inside turning commands
  • Turn Tracy at angles in conjunction with for loops
Description

In this lesson, students learn how to use comments to describe their programs. Comments are helpful because they allow programmers to leave notes about the programs they are writing. Students will also learn about the different types of comments that can be used and the benefits of using them.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Use comments throughout their program
  • Describe why comments are helpful for both themselves and anyone else looking at their code
Description

In this short lesson, students will be introduced to the rules for naming elements in their code. Variables and functions that are used inside their programs will be named by students, so the following guidelines should be obeyed to be sure that the programs written are readable and successful.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Name elements of their code by following specific guidelines and rules in order to create readable and working programs
Description

In this lesson, students are introduced to functions. They start with the basics of defining a function and why we need them and will revisit a program they coded earlier in the unit to rewrite it using functions.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Define a function
  • Call a function
  • Explain why functions are used
Description

In this lesson, students are able to add some flair to their turtle graphics programs by controlling color, pensize, and fill. These new commands are added to the list of commands that have been already practiced in order to allow for more creativity in student programs.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Use the extended circle() command to draw different shapes
  • Use the color(), pensize(), begin_fill(), and end_fill() commands to add more creativity to their programs
Description

In this lesson, students are introduced to the concept of Top Down Design. Top Down Design is the process of breaking down a program into functions or smaller parts to avoid repeated code and to make our programs more readable.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Break a large problem down into smaller pieces
  • Write functions to solve each smaller problem
  • Solve a complicated problem using Top Down Design
Description

In this lesson, students will learn about a fundamental aspect of every programming language: Variables. A variable is something that stores information in a program that can be used later.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Describe what variables are
  • Discuss why variables are used in our programs
Description

In this lesson, students will learn how to incorporate user input into their programs. Students will learn how to request user input as both strings and integers, where the input is stored, and how to convert strings and integers.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Incorporate user input into their code in order to customize their programs
Description

In this lesson, students will dive deeper into the concept of functions by exploring how to use parameters to customize their code.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Incorporate parameters into their functions in order to adapt their functions to multiple situations
Description

In this lesson, students will expand their knowledge of for loops. They are aware that for loops execute the same lines of code a given number of times but will learn that i is actually a variable that can be used to control commands inside the loop as it is running.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Use i as a variable inside their for loop to control different commands
Description

In this lesson, students will learn the extended parameters that can be used to control the value of i in for loops. They will then be able to use the variable i to control much more of their code by setting specific values.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Control the value of i using extended parameters
Description

In this first lesson, students will be introduced to their micro:bit device and the MakeCode editor, where they will build and test programs throughout the course. They will also be guided through the process to download programs from the editor to their device and will learn a few basic commands to get started writing micro:bit programs.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Articulate what physical computing is
  • Download and run programs on their micro:bit device in order to physically view programs as they create them throughout the course
  • Use the showNumber and showString commands in micro:bit programs
Description

In this lesson, students will take a deeper look at developing, testing, and running programs on the micro:bit simulator and on their devices. They will learn how the 5x5 grid system is laid out and will utilize more commands to light specific LEDs on the screen.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Develop, test, and run programs both on the micro:bit simulator and on physical devices
  • Use the MakeCode grid numbering system to light specific LEDs on the 5x5 LED screen
  • Use the led.plot, led.unplot, and basic.pause commands in micro:bit programs
Description

In this lesson, students will learn about comments and pseudocode, why they are important, and how they help organize and plan programs. They will also learn the basic difference between analog and digital components and how to use the plotBrightness and clearScreen commands in their programs.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Use comments to write more readable programs
  • Develop pseudocode in order to properly plan and organize their programs
  • Use the plotBrightness and clearScreen commands in micro:bit programs
Description

In this lesson, students will build their first physical circuit using their micro:bit devices. They will learn to use variables to control components, along with the analogWritePin and digitalWritePin commands.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Articulate what a variable is and why they are used
  • Assign and utilize variable in their programs
  • Create a simple circuit using micro:bit pins
  • Control an external LED by using the analogWritePin and digitalWritePin commands in micro:bit programs
Description

In this lesson, students review content with a 15 question Unit Quiz.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Prove their knowledge of basic coding concepts through a multiple choice quiz
Description

In this lesson, students will learn how to use If Statements which will allow them to use conditions to determine how their code should run.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Use if statements in order to tell Tracy how to make decisions
Description

In this lesson, students will learn how to expand on If Statements by including a way to have Tracy make decisions between multiple scenarios.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Use if/else statements in order to have Tracy make decisions between multiple scenarios
Description

In this lesson, students will learn that while loops allow code to be executed repeatedly based on a condition. They will also be warned that infinite loops are created if the exit condition of the while loop is never met, causing the code inside the while loop to repeat continuously which causes the program to crash.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Effectively use while loops in their programs
  • Identify infinite loops
Description

In this lesson, students will connect a speaker to their physical circuit to play music using their micro:bit! They will learn to use for loops to control components, along with the playNote command.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Use for loops to control the flow of their programs
  • Control an external speaker by using the playNote command in micro:bit programs
  • Understand the correlation between frequency values and the pitch of a tone
Description

In this lesson, students will learn how to use the built-in buttons to control their programs and will learn to use while loops to control components.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Use while loops to control the flow of their programs
  • Use buttons to control their programs
Description

In this lesson, students will learn about sensors and why they are so important in physical computing. They will use various internal sensors to detect attributes of the micro:bit’s environment and write programs that will complete certain tasks based on these values.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Use operators to control the flow of their programs
  • Use the reading of internal sensors to control commands in micro:bit programs
Description

In this lesson, students will connect a micro servo motor to their physical circuit and control its location using their device. They will learn to use conditionals to control components, along with the servoWritePin command.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Use conditionals to control the flow of their programs
  • Control the position of a servo motor by using the servoWritePin command in micro:bit programs
Description

In this lesson, students will use their first external sensor, an ultrasonic range finder, to measure distance and control components in the programs. They will develop and use functions with and without parameters to more clearly organize their code and make it more reusable.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Use functions with and without parameters to create more organized and reusable programs
  • Use an ultrasonic range finder to sense distance and control components in their micro:bit programs
Description

In this lesson, students review content with a 14 question Unit Quiz.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Prove their knowledge of basic coding concepts through a multiple choice quiz
Description

In this lesson, students will put together all the concepts they’ve learned thus far. They will be able to use top down design and to write programs that will solve complex problems.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Identify the different control structures we can use to modify the flow of control through a program
  • Combine control structures to solve complicated problems
  • Choose the proper control structure for a given problem
Description

In this lesson, students review content with a 25 question End-of-Unit Quiz.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Prove their knowledge of control structures and coding concepts through a multiple choice quiz
Description

In this lesson, students will learn why and how breadboards are used to build more complex circuits. They will experiment with different built-in Gestures and will use all of the concepts they’ve learned up to this point to complete their first larger projects- a digital watch and an Inchworm.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Use control structures to develop readable, concise, and effective programs
  • Use breadboards to build more complex circuits
Description

In this lesson, students will research, develop, and present a lesson to their peers on the use of a new sensor with their micro:bit devices.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Research how to use a new sensor with their micro:bit devices
  • Develop and present a lesson to their peers instructing them on how to use a new sensor in their programs
Description

Students will get a chance to follow instructions written by someone they’ve never met to replicate a project in this lesson. They will then evaluate and improve these directions to make them more effective for a target audience.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Follow step-by-step instructions to build complex circuits using breadboards
  • Evaluate the clarity and effectiveness of given instructions
  • Improve directions to more effectively serve a specific audience
Description

In this final lesson, students will put together all of the concepts learned throughout the course to create a project of their choice. They will work individually, or with partners or groups to creatively develop a program of their choosing.

Objective

Students will be able to:

  • Synthesize concepts and skills learned in the course to create their own final project
  • Scope their project (eliminate features that aren’t necessary) so that it fits in the timeframe allotted
  • Present their project to their classmates and talk about how the project was developed