Hour of Code & Giveaway [Week 12]

CN Elementary Teaching Team:

Here are a few highlights for this week:

Week 12 (November 4 – November 8)

Thursday Giggles:                What animal is always at a baseball game?
A bat.

Video Blog. My highlight emails have significantly slowed down this year.  I have a few innovative tools on my plate and have devoted a lot of time to the process of developing curriculum and lesson scope and sequence for these tools.  Here’s why my area-wide emails have slowed down: VIDEO LINK HERE

Hour of Code.
I strongly encourage you to introduce your students to coding.  Even if you know nothing about computer programming, the kids are champs and they figure it out.  Clever has a few bits loaded in there ready-to-go.  You can certainly use those.  Or, you can head HERE.  Form your search query, locate tools that you think work well, and share those out via Google Classroom.  Or, give that link to your kids and let them choose.

Image credits HERE.

If you want to give your kids an entire unit of coding all year long, use these two videos if you are teaching grades 1, 2, 3, or 4. VIDEO LINK HERE
Student video here:

Teacher video here:

VIDEO LINK HERE

The newly released content makes it easy for teachers to determine the right course for their students:
Course A - Kinder
Course B – grade 01
Course C – grade 02
Course D – grade 03
Course E – grade 04

MakeCode.org. If you teach grades 5 and 6, consider using this tool instead.  I share this video with the students and post this material in Google Classroom.

Image credit HERE.

Hour of Code. If you participate in the Hour of Code event, let me know HERE.  Use the long form of your email to sign in (@clovisusd.k12.ca.us). Two lucky winners will each win one Starbucks gift card ($15/ea).  Deadline to submit your participation in that online form is Friday, January 10.  Winners will be announced the week of January 13.  #Giveaway

Kindly,

Melissa Culver