Like my Kindergarten classes did, first, second, and third grade also began the year with Code.org. (A computer programming introduction in which students move blocks on the computer screen to build programs. Each block stands for a line of actual text-based computer code.) While, this program was completely new to K, most of the older students participated in a similar unit last year. First and second grade continued picked up where they left off in Course 1. The third graders, many of whom completed Course 1 last year, graduated up to Course 2. Both courses are introductory in nature. The primary difference is that Course 1 requires very little reading so students can focus on the thinking process and solving the puzzles. Course 2, is geared towards students who are reading and incorporates some of the higher level programming concepts.
I have found that teaching these programming skills helps students to develop their algorithmic thinking and problem solving skills. Often, students' only consistent practice with these is in math class. The Code.org courses provide a series of computer-based and "unplugged" lessons in which students work on their thinking skills in across the curriculum. Science, art, history, and literacy are all part of the Code.org program. Logical thinking and a creative approach to problem solving are vital in all subject areas.
I have been impressed with how much more skilled the returning students are in approaching the puzzles in Code.org. While some of the vocabulary may have escaped their heads over the summer, the concepts and knowledge have not. Even the 3rd graders who were starting a new level of the program were much more capable than the 3rd graders who started fresh last year.
Going forward, these students will continue to work in Code.org, but they will also learn to apply their knowledge of programming to other tasks. The 3rd graders will move on to Scratch, a block-based program that is completely open-ended. I explain it to the students this way: Code.org is a workbook and a pencil to help them learn the basics, Scratch is a blank sheet of paper and all the paint, makers, crayons, and colored pencils they could want so they have complete creative freedom. All of the students who have been working in Code.org this rotation, will be introduced to robotics next time. The algorithmic thinking skills that they have been honing will take on a physical dimension as they learn to program a robot to perform different tasks. 