Coding and Writing

Insights Gained: The last session I thought was really helpful to my understanding of how to design a STEM task.  The Designing for Intellectual Engagement template was a really good tool to go through.  It helped you clarify the connections to the Program of Studies, clarify what you wanted students to know and do, create your sub tasks, and plan how you will assess the learning.  When I went through connecting my “learning task” back to the Program of Studies it was neat to see how cross curricular STEM projects can be.

Code.Org as Writer’s Workshop

One of the challenges I have is that my role is currently more around the literacy piece.  Therefore, I attempted to design a STEM style task that could be used as a vehicle to teach writing.  One of the things I’m tasked with doing at my school is implementing a writer’s workshop in each classroom.  Part of our school development plan is to write across the curriculum and develop our writing for problem solving.  To this end, I am combining the basic skills of coding with writing and analyzing the similarities between the two forms of communication.  The students are developing a video game using Code.org and writing up the manual to go with the game.

Step one was that I went through the Code.Org coding challenge process while the students watched, answered questions, and provided suggestions.  Step two was to have the students explore Code.org on their own: moving through the coding challenges and developing a basic understanding of the coding skills required to design a game.  Throughout these processes I tried to teach some coding vocabulary such as algorithm and statements.  We then did a comparison of the purposes of coding and how it relates to writing.  At this point I will model, using a video game that I have designed and a template that I have developed, how to translate their game into the writing needed to create a manual to go with the game.  The next step is to have them work at designing their game while simultaneously filling out their manual template.  I will have them do their writing piece before they finished their video game design.  Since the coding is more exciting, the written piece has to be approved before they can get back to the coding.  They will finish the design of their game and complete the finished product of their manual.  As a culminating activity, they will show their grade one buddies how to play their video game.