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November 3
5th graders have started their coding lessons. We use the free online curriculum from Code.org. As they work through the course, students will learn about algorithms, nested loops, while loops, conditionals, and events. Digital citizenship lessons are also included. Before we began we talked about how being a little bit frustrated means that your brain is working hard and you're learning. Students know that they can (and should!) help their neighbors with puzzles that are causing a lot of frustration. They also know that "helping" means telling not doing so we don't ever touch someone else's computer and do the puzzle for them. There's a LOT of collaboration that goes on when we're learning to code! Your child is welcome to work on their Code.org lessons at home any time they want. It should work on computers and tablets. Students just need to choose the "Sign in with Google Account" option and login with their Deer Creek Google account.
6th graders spent the week on coding and digital activities as well. First we did an "unplugged" coding activity to become familiar with the ideas of writing algorithms and debugging code. They also started their code.org lessons and worked their way through "Interland". Interland is a free activity that is a part of Google's "Be Internet Awesome" program. It's a digital world with four areas that each focus on a different component of digital citizenship and internet safety. Mindful Mountain teaches about online sharing and privacy. Reality River teaches about phishing and fake profiles. Tower of Treasures teaches about keeping passwords and information secret, and Kind Kingdom teaches about digital etiquette and being nice online. They think they're playing a game but they're also learning!
6th grade also did a digital design challenge using either the Tinker Ball game from EngineeringGames.com or Fidgit from PBS Design Squad. In addition to practicing good critical thinking while building "machines" to get the ball to drop into the cup using specific constraints, they used Google Slides and learned how to take screenshots on their laptops. Both games can be played at home if your student wants more practice.
Note: They both require Flash to play so it may have to be enabled in your browser. Here's how to set it in Chrome (which is what we use at school):
1. Click the i icon next to the site name in the address bar.
2. Scroll down to the Flash row.
3. Click the drop down on the Flash row and choose "Always allow on this site".
4. Click the refresh icon on the page.
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