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"Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all"

Aristotle

Algorithmn/Programming Plan

 

The following programming plan has been largely based on using Scratch.  It is equally (if not more) important to develop computational thinking as teaching the language of programming.  Using the blocks in Scratch enables even very young children to begin to programme without having to worry about mistakes in syntax.  Using a single programming environment allows for greater progression of skills. Although, children will also be introduced to Tynker and Rapid Router to allow them to evaluate the benefits and disadvantages of different applications.

The plan aims to introduce skills progressively from year 1 to year 6.  At the end of each unit pupils are given the opportunity to use the skills they have learnt to create their own project.

At all times pupils are encouraged to develop resilience and to find their own solutions to problems.  They are also encouraged to work collaboratively.  Children are invited to join the online Scratch community and there is a school studio where they can share and comment on one another’s projects.  Therefore learning from one another.

By the end of year 6 pupils will also have had experience of using textual language. 

The skills have been linked to the progression pathways.  Many skills are repeated throughout all units but have only been mentioned when first introduced.

Wherever possible activities are linked to the class topic.

Many of these ideas based on activities suggested by Phil Bagge

 

Year Group

Planning/unplugged  Activity

Programming Activity          

Skills

Concepts/ Computational thinking

1 -Develop

 

 

Create symbolic algorithm (ie using arrow cards)

Use this to program Beebots to follow given route.

Use Bee Bot maze planning sheet to plan route.  (with symbols)

Use ready made Scratch “games” to direct object along given route

(also use Rapid Router for some tasks)

Is able to express a linear algorithm symbolically

Inputs precise instructions

Executes, checks and changes programs

 

Knows that computers need precise instructions (AL)

Knows what an algorithm is

2 -Engage

None – this is “tinker time”

Exploration – adding sprites, changing sizes, looks, making sprite move, turn

Inputs commands to control objects for a predicted outcome

Know that users can develop their own programs

 

 

2- Develop

Dress child in a different costume.  Are they now a different child?  Change the costume?  Are they still the same child?  How many children did we have?

Changing costumes – dressing up game

Create various costumes for a sprite, when sprite clicked the costume changes

Creates and edits digital content

 

 

Understands the difference between programming an object to change and creating a new object

2- Develop

 

Discuss actions in real life which happen repeatedly – what words could we use to describe these?

Make a face go repeatedly from sad to happy using costumes

Uses loops within programs

Applies solutions to different situations

Knows that solutions can be applied in different situations

2 - Develop

 

Conversation algorithm planning sheet

 

Stress each line is what characters do simultaneously

Create a conversation between 2- 3 sprites. 

Use their algorithm to write script for each sprite so that sprites “take turn” in speaking

Test program/debug algorithm and program as required

Can program be tidied up? (eg combine wait commands)

Sequences and pauses

Debugging

Coding multiple sequences alongside each other

Use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of programs/outcomes

Understands that algorithms are implemented on digital devices as programs

 

Detects and corrects error in algorithms

 

2 - Innovate

 

 

Draw on prior knowledge or by experimentation to add elements to conversation (background/animation/sound)

 

 

3 - Develop

“program”  the teacher to draw a square.

Express this as an algorithm

How could we shorten/tidy up this algorithm?

 

Design algorithms to draw other shapes

Test algorithm by using blocks to write procedures to draw shapes.

Combine this with other commands to create pattern

Duplicate and edit the block to draw other shapes (direct pupils with online accounts to save these to their backpack)

Using repeat

Creating “efficient” code

Create a program that implements algorithms to achieve a given goal

Design a solution that uses repetition

Uses logical reasoning to predict outputs, showing an awareness of inputs

Uses diagrams to express solutions

Abstraction (removing part of the procedure and making a sub-procedure)

Generalisation/patterns (solutions which can be adapted to suit any shape)

Knows that a procedure can be used to hide the detail with a sub-solution

Recognise that different solutions exist for the same problem

3 - Develop

Play ready made dressing up games on line. 

Think about how they work.

Create a dressing up game. Create/upload a character.  Add or create clothes/accessories, when sprite clicked go to set position

Using co-ordinates

Setting costume centre

 

3 - Innovate

 

Create a musical instrument in Scratch

Combine what learnt so far to create an exciting animation

 

 

4 - Develop

Look at animations.  Consider how they work.  Explain the physical theory behind cartoons.

Recap changing costumes.

Use webcam to take photos of their teeth.  Duplicate costume and alter by blacking out teeth. Create an animation to show how they would feel if their teeth decayed.

Create an animation showing the human digestive process.

 

 

4 - Develop

Think about “forever until” loops in daily life. 

Tease out language used. 

 

Create game based on round the river bend.  

Add a score

 

Using “if/then” statements

Using loops

Using co-ordinates

Use relational operator within a loop to govern termination

Use a variable

  

 

 

 

 

 

4 - Innovate

Use game planning sheet to plan a game using what learnt so far

Program game using plan.

Can we adapt some of the things we know how to do already to do something else?  (eg increase speed of a sprite)

Adapting and applying solutions

Debugging

Abstraction

Decomposition

Know that different solutions exist for the same problem

Know that a procedure can be used to hide the detail

4 - Innovate

 Recap code used to create music in Scratch.  Compare with language used in Python

Use Sonic Pi to create a piece of music. 

Has practical experience of high level textual language including using standard libraries when programming

Understand that programming languages are text based. Opportunities for de-bugging as this is live coding.

5 - Develop

Play “Simon Says” discuss rules of the game.  Add “if”, “then”, “else” to the instructions.

Design a quiz game and represent this as a flowchart

Create a quiz game using two way selection and repetition

Create code using simple and  two way selection

Uses nested statements

Use diagrams to express solutions

Design algorithms using loops and selection

Understands the difference between if and if, then and else statements

5 - Develop

What if we could get the computer to select the numbers to create a number quiz?  “program” volunteer to select a number card from two pots and multiply them together

How is this different/better than the last quiz game we made?

Create a times table games using random selection

 

Uses a range of operators and negation expressions (eg Boolean )

Uses arithmetic operators

Uses random selection

 

Shows an awareness of tasks best completed by humans or computers

Can identify similarities and differences in situations and can use these to solve problems

Understand that iteration is the repetition of a process such as a loop

5 - Innovate

Use decompose planner to design an algorithm to program game to play between levels

 

 

Add new levels to the times table game. 

Can pupils apply/adapt prior knowledge to create a fun game to play in between levels 

Uses broadcast and receive

Recognise that different algorithms exist for the same problem

Understands the notion of performance for algorithms

6 - Develop

After experimenting with greater than/less than code pupils design an algorithm to create a program to calculate and record how many coins there are in a given number of pence

(Phil Bagge coin programme)

Pupils write program using their flowcharts

They will use Boolean operators (< >) and loops to

Reading a flow chart

Converting algorithm into code

Subtracting from a variable

Pattern recognition

6 - Develop

Place selection of  numbered balls 1-50  under cups.  Devise an algorithm to guess what the number might be using least possible guesses

Use the algorithm to write a program to guess a number

Converting algorithm into code.

Recognises that some problems share the same characteristics and use the same algorithm to solve both

6 - Engage, Develop, Innovate

Gather selection of pictures for idioms

Create an idioms game in Powerpoint using a VBA code to check if answer correct

Detects and corrects syntactical errors

 

 

6

 

Create own websites using HTML

(although HTML is a markup text  it is   useful in teaching syntax

Debugging – finding and correcting errors in code