Teaching conditionals

This will be my first year teaching conditionals. I have found many of the suggestions extremely useful especially, if sufficient and appropriate grade level front loading is done comprehension will be more likely, else it may be a confusing concept.

I think one possibility could be to use movement as the conditional game.
If the teacher says 1, you jump, if the teacher says 2, you dock down, if the teacher says 3, you do nothing.
In this way I could incorporate the If and Else.

I would teach conditionals much like in the video with a classroom ā€œreal lifeā€ example. Making decisions, if this then this but if anything else then nothing. I think the students could brainstorm many real life examples of their own. I also like the idea of tying it into video games, facebook, snapchat - programs using code that they use and understand every day.

Just like with teaching sequencing, I think using studentā€™s real lives are great ways to teach this. If you do your chores, you get your allowance else not. If you do your homework, you get credit for it, else no credit. Also tying this to goal setting (growth mindset) helps students see that they are responsible for making effort to improve their lives.

Hi teachers, i will reply in spanish language:
Para enseƱar condiciones, he aplicado problemas de matematica simples, por ejemplo pedirle a los alumnos que escriban un programa que calcule la raiz cuadrada de un numero, peroooo solo si el numero es positivo, de caso contrario que informe al usuario que no es posible calcular la raiz cuadrada de numeros negativos.

Saludos.

I liked the card game conditional approach. Pointing out that you can only have one consequence.

I like the idea of the card game. I did notice that if you are going to teach these conditionals, you must have two possibilities, at least in the beginning. Make sure to have 2 possibilities at the beginning will make it easier to add onto the if-else statement. I hope there is something similar in the CS Discoveries curriculum. I am so excited that I pushed to add Computer Science to my schoolā€™s choices of an elective.

This lesson is also giving me a recap on what I learned so many years ago and has given me more to be excited about.

Thanks.

i used a snake and ladder board game to explain ā€œif conditionalā€. There are a lot of things to write.

4th grade project coordinator. The Conditionals video summed it up pretty well. I like the card games. You could do the same idea with Jacks or bouncing balls. If I pick up two jacks before the ball bounces twoice, I get two points, else I get zero points.

I would relate conditionals back to what my students are doing on the weekend or what they are going to have for lunch that day.

I really like the card example and feel that would be excellent for my younger students. At the high school level I would a dice example, each roll total would equal a point value, if a number is repeated it would subtract from the score. I'm currently teaching 4-7 grades, previously 9-12 grades.

Since English is the second language at my school, I have to draw the meaning and concept using our mother tongue then only move to English. To get the students to understand better, I would use maths questions (addition/ subtraction). Later on, Iā€™ll get the students to come out with their own condition based on specific theme for example class regulation etc.Then, weā€™ll some kind of gallery walk so that the pupils have a chance to explain and correct their own work by othersā€™ help.

An app that allows the user to test their logic.

I am not a teacher. I am a grandparent and I want to practice teaching this code.org program to the kids in my family. Later I hope to organize computer clubs in a few of our k-6 or primary institutions.
I am thinking of building the concept of Ifā€¦ElseIfā€¦Else around a common board game such as chess or snakes & ladder or dominoes. I havenā€™t worked it out yet because I havenā€™t started teaching. Want to get more comfortable with the material and how to use the program.

I currently teach Pre-k thru 1st grade and we really do not get to the idea of conditionals. It is introduced to them in one of my coding stations where they are introduced to Kodable. The students have to give directions to their fuzz with arrows. To get more points sometimes they need to give directions where the fuzz goes a specific direction at a square of a different color. Some of the students catch on quickly others need a little coaching. I do like the card game concept. I also like the similarity with if then statements for science. Though not the same.

I had a problem also. where do I find the solutions?

I think this concept might be difficult for a third graders at first. I will try the conditional lesson with the cards (red & black) a few times before moving on to the other computer activities.

From the perspective of lower primary students I would keep it simple (concentrate on IF/THEN first) and connect it somehow with games and interests of the students (their card exchanging/collecting, sport they do). Depending on their understanding I would do the next step with ELSE. It really depends on their prior knowledge and experiences.

I like the card game example. I think its a great simple way to show students the If/Then concept. I would teach ELSE at a later lesson after students grasp the IF/THEN concept.

My kinders are working on subitizing- I believe I can apply the same card game concepts to subitizing cards.