General Information
Hour of Code happens each year during Computer Science Education Week, and is a global phenomenon. The goal of the project is that every child should spend at least 1 hour coding each year. The Hour of Code website is well organized with resources for teachers and students who are new to programming, or already comfortable with programming. Some activities are self-guided, while others are teacher guided. Some require computers, while others are unplugged can be done with low tech resources.
The website started to support Hour of Code, but has grown to include resources beyond Hour of Code. Use it next week during Hour of Code, but also continue to use it for integration into your classroom with Math, Language Arts, Modern Languages, Unit of Inquiry, Arts, Science, etc. Interested in programming robots? There are resources for that too, even if you or your students are beginners. Resources cover Dash and Dot, Sphero, Ozobot, Lego Wedo, Hummingbird, Arduino, Finch.
Prepare for Hour of Code:
- Go to the Hour of Code website and sign up to participate in the Hour of Code (optional).
- Look through the activities shared, or on the website, and decide which option you’d like to use with your students.
- Make sure that any necessary software is installed, and go through the lesson or try some of the steps yourself.
During Hour of Code
If a student is stuck, here are some suggestions to help him/her with problem solving:
- Work with a partner where the partner says the steps and the stuck student does the coding.
- Ask questions to help the student get past the point where he/she is stuck. Try to resist the temptation to solve the problem or show a completed solution.
- Have the student trace the code by showing/testing what each step does, or even acting out steps. (I’ve noticed some of the kindergartens naturally doing this when working in Lightbot.)
Not sure what activity to select, these tables may help you:
K-5 Hour of Code Selections
| Grade | Option 1 (First time programmers) | Option 2 (Some programming experience) |
| Kindergarten | Codespark Academy: The Foos or Kibo Robots | Daisy |
| Grade 1 | Codespark Academy: The Foos | Lightbot |
| Grade 2 | Lightbot | Tynker |
| Grade 3 | ScratchJr | Kodable |
| Grade 4 | All Can Code Run Marco | Tickle |
| Grade 5 | Scratch Hour of Code | RoboMind Academy or Roboblockly |
Sample School Sequence for Hour of Code
| Kindergarten | Grade 1 | Grade 2 | Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 + | |
| Beginner | Tynker: Peep Nature Walk | Tynker: Puppy Adventure | Tynker: Tell a Joke | Tynker: Scavenger Hunt | Roboblockly One Hour Coding | Tynker: Peep Dance with Friends | Tynker: Hot Wheels Obstacle Course |
| Lightbot: Hour of Code | The Foos: 1 hour play | Code.org: Moana Wayfinding with Code | Code.org Minecraft Designer | Tickle Swimming Orca | Code.org Infinity Playlab | Code.org Angry Birds | |
| Kodable: fuzzFamily Frenzy Beginner | Kodable: fuzzFamily Frenzy Beginner | Box Island Hour of Code | ScratchJr: Make the Characters Greet each other | ScratchJr: Spooky Forest | Robomind Academy Program a Virtual Robot | Makeschool Build an iPhone Game in your Browser | |
| Intermediate | Tynker: Platform Starter Kit | Tynker: Platform Starter Kit | Tynker: Brick Breaker | Tynker: Code Monsters | Tynker: Brick Breaker | Tynker: Debugger | Getready.io: Create a Pong version |
| Advanced | Kodable: fuzzFamily Frenzy Advanced | Tynker: Brick Breaker | Kodable: fuzzFamily Fitness | Kodable: Violet’s Variables | Kodable: Similar but Different | Kodable: this.name | Repl.it |