Elementary Coding K-3

While there is no explicit coding curriculum in place until Grade 6 ADST, earlier elementary grades are ideal places to begin the exploration of coding and computational thinking concepts. One easy way to start is by identifying areas of your existing curriculum where Computational Thinking already exist.

Computational Thinking

Computational thinking is recognized as a key skill set for all 21st century learners – whether they intend to continue with Computing Science or not, it’s an important skill to identify and often exists within existing curriculum and classroom assignments. These can be grouped into four main areas:

seeing a problem and its solution at many levels of detail (abstraction)
thinking about tasks as a series of steps (algorithms)
understanding that solving a large problem will involve breaking it down into a set of smaller problems (decomposition)
appreciating that a new problem is likely to be related to other problems the learner has already solved (pattern recognition)

Read more about Computational Thinking here…

Goal: Develop a working understanding of problem decomposition and pattern recognition as computational thinking skills.

These two areas are key aspects of critical thinking and problem solving. They are also two vital computational thinking skills. Think about how many ways these two skills manifest themselves in your classroom.

K-3 Coding Resources

The following was purchased for every elementary school:

Cubetto Coding Playset

Rechargeable batteries and charger

Computational Thinking and Coding for Every Student

No Fear Coding: Computational Thinking Across the K-5 Curriculum

Hello Ruby: Adventures in Coding

The Official Scratch Jr. Book

Scratch Jr. pour les Kids (dual track schools only)

Suggested instructional tools:

CS Unplugged – Offline, non-technology based lessons and resources to teach computational thinking skills.

Unplugged Lesson 1: Colour by Numbers

Unplugged Lesson 2: The Emotion Machine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOYy4kyLEHs

Cubetto Playset

Cubetto Playset – A Montessori inspired coding toy that allows children ages 3 to 6 to program a friendly wooden robot without screens or literacy, and it is powered by a programming language you can touch.

Cubetto Website in English

Cubetto Website in French

Cubetto Teacher’s Guide

Cubetto Instruction Guide

Cubetto Lesson Plans (UK)

SetBC – Cubetto Task Card

Cubetto: An Introductory Guide to Programming and Computational Thinking for Kids Aged 3-6

Cubetto Instructions – French

Découvrir Cubetto – French

Cubetto: Guide D’Activité – French

Cubetto: Apprendre à coder dès 3 ans sans écran – French

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzF_ng0ELZw&t=671s