Thursday, June 7, 2018

Unplugged: Teaching Coding with Storybooks

This week I'm spending my time at a computer science workshop. Before this class, I only thought of coding for middle and high school students and maybe upper elementary. Now I see that even pre-kindergarten kids can handle basic coding.

There is a wonderful blog called JDaniel4smom. She has a list of storybooks that is occupied by a printable. A group in my class presented this as a lesson to do with kindergarten. Since Jack is starting school in August I thought I would give it a try with him. The most important skill your child will need for this lesson is the ability to draw an arrow. Jack's arrows are not perfect by any means but I can tell which direction he is pointing. 

The first time we did this activity we did the coding activity using the book We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Jack loved it so much that he asked to do another so we did The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Here is what The Very Hungry Caterpillar printable looks like:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Algorithm Activity - This is a great way to introduce children to coding. They are probably already familiar with this wonderful story.

Here is what Jack's paper looks like (you will notice some mistakes and it probably wasn't the best idea to let him use a marker but it made him happy).


It's never too early to start teaching following steps (algorithms), directional words (up, down, left, right), and sequencing. This activity is a great way to blend literacy, math, and computer science.  

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