Week of Code

The week of October 19-25 is Digital Citizenship Week in the United States, and what better way to celebrate, than to expose the students to one of the most important parts of future digital literacy...code.

I will be the first to admit that I am far from a coding genius. But just because I'm not an expert, doesn't mean I can't help them find their way in such an important part of future jobs.

“If you close your eyes and think about the world 10 years from now, it will be completely different,” Vedati said.

We are preparing students for jobs that don't even exist yet, and many (most!) of those jobs will include some sort of coding ability.

 As stated earlier, this week is a nationwide Digital Citizenship Week, but in our room, it is all about code. Welcome to the Clarke TAG Week of Code!

First through fifth grades have been using age appropriate coding apps (Daisy the Dinosaur, Scratch Jr., Hopscotch) to learn more about what is behind those video games they play. Below is an example of one of our beginning lessons.

Graphic from IPAD 4 School

The students found out quickly that it takes several commands to make one little square. Wow! Imagine all the code behind an entire game...

If time allows, ask your fourth or fifth grader to show you their "house" or "square" in Hopscotch during conferences....but make sure to look at the code behind it too!