Express Course 2021 for Middle School?

Hello,
This is my first year teaching coding. I was wondering if the Express Course (2021) is age/academic appropriate for 7th graders. If not, any recommendations? I see there are courses designed for MS, such as CS Discoveries, but I just don’t want to overwhelmed my students. Any advice?
Thanks!

@lolsen1

I think you can use either (and I have used both). I think it depends on what you want to accomplish. They do pick up on the Express Course a little faster, but I really like all of the unplugged activities in CS Discoveries units 1 & 2. If you have an entire semester or year, I think CS Discoveries does work for 7th graders and I have colleagues who have used it even with 6th graders.

If you only have a short period of time, the Express course is a good one. The biggest difference is that the Express course is mostly just coding while the CS Discoveries is a full course on Computer Science.

Good luck!

Mike

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I’m curious to know what you decided and how it went? I am trying to decide between the same to courses for 7th grade now.