I plan to teach Module 1 because it covers the basics. I will then go on to the water module and the ecosystem model. I am presenting CS in our ELT.
I plan to teach module 1, lessons 2 & 3, at the in-person PD, as they are some of the first ones that I will use with my students; so, I think it would be nice to practice those with a group of professionals, so that they can help me adjust my plans as needed.
I will be teaching Module 1 with my advanced class. Some of them started Code.org last year in 7th grade with our enrichment specialist. They’re an awesome bunch of kids and I think they will be my best feedback for how to present Module 1 to my merit level classes. After everyone has conquered the basics from Module 1, I plan to move to Module 4, Chemistry. I do not plan to teach chemistry until the spring, so everyone will have a solid understanding of the process before I get to the chemistry unit.
I’ve already started teaching Module 1 in my classroom and the kids love it. They’re having a lot of fun with the paired programming and working through the flower turtle challenge. We’re going to start with the Ecosystems Unit.
Hi Regnia, this is Su. I hope to see you tomorrow at the phase 3 workshop here in Frederick, and I’m happy to work on this question with you.
I am at the same school and will be focusing on the climate change module for earth science as it fits in well with our catastrophic events unit. I am also interested in learning about how the ecosystem module may fit in with the diversity of life unit that we teach in 6th grade. This year, we will start with module 1 at our school and if we are able to move forward with a second module, we will do so in the catastrophic events unit.
I will be teaching Module 4. For my current curriculum, this module would work best after students have learned something about chemical reactions and this fits nicely into reviewing and modeling reactions. So, I would present these lessons as a way to model and change variables/analyze. I am most looking forward to getting different perspectives from others on how they plan on presenting the lesson and also gaining more understanding of the lesson. Coding still feels very new to me and I feel I am going to struggle and flop my way through this first year of teaching it.
I will be completing Ecosystems as complex systems. I don’t see any drawbacks or areas where i will be getting stuck. I may use a few internet sites such as national geographic to get the students acclimated to how ecosystems work.
My plan is to teach how to teach Unit 1 because that is what we will be doing first when we begin any of the units this year.
I will be teaching the Ecosystems as Complex Systems module. I plan to implement this in my classroom sometime over the next couple months. There have been some issues at my school as far as scheduling time in the technology lab. I haven’t thought too much about how to present lesson 2 or 3. I am going to look more at the lessons and make a plan from there. I am looking forward to the feedback that I will get at next week’s in person training. I am looking forward to showing this to my students. I think they will really enjoy it. I do need a refresher on Code and Star Logo Nova because it has been a while since I’ve practiced with them.
I plan to to introduce unit 1 before as I have sixth grade . I would like to teach and learn so that I can iron out the kinks or trouble shoot possible errors . Besides this is first year I am teaching this course my self.
I will be teaching all 3 modules as part of my elective coding class. It will be challenging, but my students have already spent the last 4 weeks doing the code.org courses, and the JavaScript through Kahn. So maybe they have a foundation to build from.
I will begin with module 1. I felt confident during the summer, but it has been months now since I have looked at the coding, so I will need to both regain confidence and teach it at a pace that all my students will pick up on. I have a feeling that eventually some of my students will be more proficient in it than I am and they will become my teachers. Once I know we are ready to move on, I will do the module about groundwater since I teach earth science. I have not done this one yet, so I am looking forward to having a chance to work with this one in the next training session.
I will be teaching Module 1 and Module 4 to my students. We will begin by doing some of the code.org courses to get their minds thinking logically, then progress into Module 1 from there. Once the students are confident in their abilities, we will begin working through Module 4. Students will have already learned about chemical reactions during class, so they will be familiar with some common chemical reactions and how many substances behave during some of the more common chemical reactions. Lessons 2 and 3 would be done as extension activities for those students (most likely Honors students) that learn quickly and are willing to try new things with their programs. I am looking forward to the entire unit, to be honest. Most of my students don’t really know anything about programming or coding, so I am hoping that this will provide an outlet for those students that are technologically gifted, and maybe inspire them to pursue further technology courses. I am not stuck at the moment, but I am sure that the more I dabble, the more chances there will be for me to get stuck. I am not sure how much help I can offer to others on this board, however, I am planning on showing my colleagues a few of the programs that we created so that maybe I can get them to want to do it with their students as well.
I will start with Module 1 so they understand the importance of why we are coding and how it replicates real-life
I plan to do water resources and predator/prey for my 6th and 7th graders. I saw the geothermal activity and am interested in learning more about that for my 8th grade earth science.
Some of the instructions are not kid friendly, so try to rewrite them with pictures to help students has been my main concern before teaching.
I have forgotten a lot in teaching Module 3 therefore I don’t feel confident at all teaching it. I wil start with Module 1 and will still feel nervous. Hopefully in person PD will help me build little more confidence in starting to teach module 1 to my students since I haven’t started CS yet
I plan on starting with Module 1. If I pilot it and it goes well, I will continue on to other modules.
I will be facilitating my session, so will be observing the TLO, rather than taking part. However, I am preparing to be knowledgeable with all 4 modules.
I’m looking forward to the whole day. In my first session, we did the Chemical Reactions module. My partner and I were able to create some extensions beyond the planned steps. I am hoping to help teachers work to create traits for their agents and play more with sliders and graphs, conditional statements, and procedures.
I will be teaching Module 1 (Introduction to Computer Modeling and Simulation) and Module 3 (Ecosystems as Complex Systems). As what most of us have agreed upon, Module 1 seems to be a requirement: it prepares our students for the more advanced lessons using computer simulation. I am choosing Ecosystems because our 6th grade Science curriculum has been revised to make Ecology as its major theme.
In general, I will start with the basic skills, and letting the students be familiar with the coding language (i.e., which blocks are needed for which turtle behavior). Next, of course is having the students articulate the science concept that they need to model. And then the final phase would be the merging of the science concept and the coding language. Students will be able to create codes to model scientific concepts.
I am most looking forward to mastering these coding skills that I aim for my students to master. This is where the source of my insecurity lies. It is hard to be confident teaching students how to use code to demonstrate science concepts, knowing that I myself have not mastered the skill.
Hence, I do need a lot of time to practice.
What’s your plan for TLO?
What module will you be teaching?
- I would like to work on the ecosystems model.
How will you present lesson 2?
What is your plan for lesson 3?
- I have added a Do Now to each lesson and revised the slides to better fit my students’ needs. (I’ve also corrected some formatting and grammar issues.) I have not had time to think through the HW assignments for those lessons yet, but I have developed homework for Module 1 and plan to do the same for these lessons.
What activities are you most looking forward to?
- My students and I both enjoy the coding, so I am looking forward to adding the predator.
Is there any place that you’re feeling stuck?
- I have already started Module 1, and it is taking FOREVER. We never finish any lesson in the time allotted, and even when I’ve revised the lessons, my revised time estimates still are too short. I am also struggling with how much to just show the kids how to do the coding, and how much to push them to figure it out. Similarly, with the Dice & Data activities, I think the math went over most of the students’ heads.
What help can you offer to others?
- I am happy to share my revisions and experience with Module 1.