Year 1 Bulletin
Learning Intention:
To learn how coding can control characters in games.
Learning Experience Overview:
Every Friday students complete a 1 hour session of STEM. This term's focus has been coding, which focuses on creating codes that give directions to an object or character. Students have had the opportunity to use iPads to complete challenge tasks, they have worked in pairs to collaborate and strategise what directions will give the desired outcome.
Whole:
Our session began with a whole class discussion. As this has been a new topic this term for the students we started by brainstorming what we already knew and had learnt in previous sessions. Students then watched a video on clickview which discussed the reasons why we should learn coding and the process that is involved.
Link to video
Prompts:
- What do you think coding could be?
- What do we already know about coding?
- What places do you think you could find coding in?
- Have you used or played something that could have been created with coding?
Small:
In pairs the students worked together through an activity on the iPads which took them step by step through creating and using codes that would make characters move and perform certain actions. Students were given an objective or goal to achieve across each level, and using the set code options and a target goal of steps they could write they had to place it together and run the code through to discover if it would achieve the objective.
Whole:
Share & Reflect:
We gathered again as a class at the end of the session and revisited the level they had worked on. The students then guided the teacher through the different levels and discussed why different steps worked and others did not.
How you might like to continue learning at home:
- Explore different coding games online through Hour to Code.
- List the machines or electronics around the house that use coding to function.
- Brainstorm jobs people might have where they would use coding.
- Allow your child to explore coding games on a device.
From
Stef, Georgia & Cliodhna 🙂
Year 1 Team
Stephanie.Lampard@education.vic.gov.au
georgia.kargiotis@education.vic.gov.au