This week in digital Technologies I planned a lesson in which children would be asked to create their own twist on a fairy-tale using the coding app Scratch Jr. This lesson bundled literacy outcomes with technology outcomes and gave children some practical experience with coding.
To do this I had to familiarise myself with Scratch Jr., which I had never used before. I had around half an hour to get used to the app. This lesson would need to be carried out in a class with a good amount of prior experience coding using Scratch Jr. I created my own twist on the Princess and the Frog which could be used as a hook at the beginning of the lesson to help engage and inspire students. It would be important in this lesson to highlight the breadth of possibilities in this task – for instance writing the fairy tale from the perspective of the villain or sidekick. It would be important to suggest some ideas to minimise the chance of anxiety for students when attempting to create their story. The Experiences and Outcomes that would be explored in this lesson are as follows:
- By considering the type of text I am creating, I can select ideas and relevant information, organise these in a logical sequence and use words which will be interesting and/or useful for others. LIT 1-26a
- I can convey information, describe events, explain processes or combine ideas in different ways. LIT 2-28a
- I can demonstrate a range of basic problem solving skills by building simple programs to carry out a given task, using an appropriate language. TCH 1-15a
- I can create, develop and evaluate computing solutions in response to a design challenge. TCH 2-15a
(Scottish Government, 2004).
Learning to code as early as primary school is important to ensure that “that the next generation of digital natives will not just be able to consume digital content but create it.” (Curtis, 2013). Obviously, it will equip children with practical skills needed to succeed in STEM fields, but another, lesser known, benefit of learning to code is the variety of problem-solving skills it develops. Coding will give children valuable experience in breaking processes and problems down into smaller segments to be solved (Naughton, 2012).
Coding in the classroom using an application such as Scratch Jr. is a valuable way to create engaging lessons across the curriculum. It is also useful in helping to develop a number of transferable skills in problem-solving for a generation immersed in technology.
References
Curtis, S. (2013). Teaching our children to code: a quiet revolution. The Telegraph. [Online] 4th November. Available: The Telegraph. [Accessed: 8 February 2018].
Naughton, J. (2012). Why all our kids should be taught how to code. The Observer. [Online] 31st March. Available: The Guardian. [Accessed: 8 February 2018].
Scottish Executive (2004). Curriculum for Excellence. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive.
