ON BEHALF OF CODE.ORG

 

The Hour of Code is coming next week!

Computer Science Education Week, December 5-11, is nearly here! Are you ready to introduce your students to computer science or explore a new computing concept with a one-hour activity?

We launched several new tutorials this year that are now live on the Hour of Code website. You can explore all of this year’s offerings using several filter views: find offline tutorials, activities that work with robots, lessons for experience high-school students, or subject-area tutorials that connect computer science to social studies, math, language arts, and more!

We’ve listed a few suggestions we think your class might love below. Check them out at the Hour of Code website!

Gumball’s Coding Adventure (Grades 6-8)

Inspired by The Amazing World of Gumball episode “The Signal”, this activity introduces computer science concepts with video based tutorials and Scratch. Students connect with content they love, discover creativity with coding and engage Gumball and his friends!

Make Music with Scratch – do this with a music class! (Grades 2-8)

 

With this Scratch tutorial, you make your own interactive band: choose sounds, create melodies and beats, and play by pressing keys. Printable activity cards are also available for free!

Code the News – do this with a social studies class! (Grade 6+)

 

Students use code to create the special effects that they see on the news, using their creativity and problem solving skills to make logos, graphics and headlines. Finished projects can be uploaded to a school website.

Push your district to expand its commitment to computer science

Does your school district have a robust computer science program? If not, use the Hour of Code as a rallying cry to motivate administrators to expand computer science offerings at every grade band. Here’s a template powerpoint, a template letter to the administration, and more stats you can use to spread the word!

I hope you can motivate your school district to announce a plan to expand computer science. If you’re not sure how, see the Code.org program or the many third parties we recommend. Code.org works with partners across the country to provide free, high-quality workshops and curriculum to entire school districts. At the minimum, I hope the tutorials above give you opportunities to expose other classrooms at your school to computer science!

Inspire your classroom with a local volunteer

 

Invite a local volunteer to inspire your students by talking about the breadth of possibilities in computer science. There are thousands of volunteers around the world ready to help with your Hour of Code. Use this map to find local volunteers who can visit your classroom or join a video chat with your students.

Notice: Code.org hasn’t vetted volunteers listed on the map and makes no assurances about them. We simply offer a matching service, and Hour of Code planners should do their own background checks in compliance with local policies.

Computer Science Education Week (December 5-11, 2016) is almost here! Sign up your Hour of Code event here and check out all the new activities that you can filter on our site based on grade level, experience level, subject area, and more. Find the perfect activity for your class at https://code.org/learn.

Have fun with your class this December, and thank you for leading this movement!

Hadi Partovi,
Code.org

 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________