Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:

It's another year of the Hour of Code. Are you ready yet? It's okay if you're not because in this episode, I will share a 3 hour of code lesson that you can try last minute in your classroom. Before we jump on in, I wanted to read another awesome podcast review from 1 of you.

Naomi Meredith [00:00:53]:

If you haven't already, I would love for you to leave a review. So go in on Apple Podcasts and write a review. It would mean the world to me. Not only will let me know if you're enjoying the show but will also help other teachers like you find this show to learn all about the world of elementary STEM. This is from n c meg 1118, STEM power. If you are a STEM teacher or just a teacher who wants to incorporate more STEM into your classroom, this Elementary STEM Coach podcast is for you. Naomi is full of tried and tested and revised ideas and is a joy to listen to and learn from. Go no further if you are new to teaching STEM and want to learn and be empowered by one of the best. That is so nice of a review and it just makes my day.

Naomi Meredith [00:01:50]:

Like I said, I am in my cute little pink office when I am recording these. My little dog, Frederick, listens to me the whole time, and I'm just talking to my camera and to my microphone. So, reading these reviews totally make my day and just lights up a fire for me knowing that what I'm doing is especially important for you out there in elementary STEM and also, in turn, your students. If this is your first time hearing about the Hour of Code and you're wondering what this is, let me give you a little snapshot of what the Hour of Code is. This is like your Spark Notes version. If you know what I'm talking about, you know I'm talking about millennials, and the Hour of Code got started in 2013 as a way to engage kids and get them excited about computer science and coding. Now, I don't know about you, but with my series when it comes to computer science.

Naomi Meredith [00:02:48]:

I had a lot of it growing up, especially with my dad being a computer engineer. I had a lot of experience with having new technology all the time and problem solving with that technology. About one thing I for sure did not grow up with, and maybe this is unique to me, but also maybe you have a similar pathway, is I did not learn how to code as a kid. And it's so funny because when I talked to my dad, a little bit about elementary STEM, and I've joked about this before. When I first got my K through Five STEM job. He was like, how did you get that job? You don't know anything about computers. I'm all dad. This is basic stuff for little kids, like, if a little kid can do it, I can do it.

Naomi Meredith [00:03:35]:

So we joke about it now, and he'll ask me questions about what coding is like for little kids. But, anyway, this isn't always as common in the elementary space to teach younger students how to code, and even to this day in 2023, it's still not that common And so the hour of code is just one of many ways to spark this in a school of any kind. The 1st time I experienced the hour of code itself as an event was when I taught 3rd grade. It was one of those 1st couple years that I taught 3rd grade, and I was so amazed by what this actually meant with coding. Again, typically, with coding for younger students, you start with arrows or directional coding. There is no reading involved. Oftentimes that will move into still that directional coding but with some words attached to those arrows, and then they move into different forms of block coding where the block coding, they are blocks, like, just like you think of. They look like puzzle pieces, the block coding will move into blocks that have images on them that represent the action. Oftentimes, they are put together from left to right, but not always, it depends on the coding language, and then from there, the coding language will get more advanced, and it will be more of that traditional block space coding that you see in Scratch or a lot of popular programs where students are dragging the codes, and there are words that represent the action, and they are put together from top to bottom.

Naomi Meredith [00:05:19]:

You don't have to be an expert in coding to implement the hour of code. I will say I'm not an expert coder, but I can effectively teach younger children how to code and what this all means. And if you haven't done this with your students yet, you don't have to be a STEM teacher. This is a great way to get kids excited about this world of coding, how important it is in our lives, how relevant, and how much behind the scenes coding actually is. I've put together for you an hour of code freebie where I break down different examples of lessons that you can get started with your kids k through 5. Again, it's absolutely free. These are things that I've tried with my students over the years. That will be linked in the show notes, but you can also grab it at nami meredith.com/tpthourofcode.

Naomi Meredith [00:06:14]:

It breaks up different lessons and different little things that you can try with your students, different websites or apps, or maybe you find a similar website that has a certain language that aligns with that, but it's just a great way to help you get started because I know the Hour of Code website is an amazing, amazing resource, but it can also get very overwhelming. And we'll refer back to that because that is very important to remember when you launch this with your students. Also, go ahead and check out episode 38 of this podcast, where I talk about even more ideas when it comes to hour of code lessons that you can use in your classroom. Alright. So, if you haven't started planning yet and you're wondering how I should implement this in my classroom. Do I still have time? Yes. You still have time. I did hour of code for a month because I had 4 groups of kids, and I saw them 5 days in a row for 45 minutes each for each class.

Naomi Meredith [00:07:15]:

So I did Hour of Code for a month, and I usually started in mid-November because that's just the way it lined up with all of my lessons. So you can do this at any time, but all of these are easy ways that you can implement this, and honestly, it is the easiest unit that I have ever taught in STEM because everything else I've created from scratch, no pun intended, Scratch is a coding program, but everything else I created from scratch, the arrow code for me is so nice because I can just fit it in and everything is done for me. So, let's jump into those ideas. The first great way to implement Hour of Code in your classroom is to create a very, very simple choice board, and I did this in a couple of different ways for k through 5. For my 2nd through 5th graders, I created a 6 choice board with different coding challenges that went from a beginner level to a more intermediate experience for my students. I tried to pull in a variety of different coding languages that they could experiment with, especially for my students who had had me for many years. This is really great for them to experience different types of coding languages. So what I would do is I would start off my day with a coding video that would teach more about a concept.

Naomi Meredith [00:08:44]:

BrainPOP and BrainPOP Junior have a lot of great options when it comes to computer science and coding and different backgrounds of how different things came to be. I couldn't even finish all of the videos within the week, but there are so many amazing things on there. So, if you have a subscription to BrainPOP or BrainPOP Junior, check those out. There are so many different ones. You can also browse things on YouTube. SciShow Kids has some fun things about computer science that you can implement as well. So what I would do is we would introduce a coding concept, and then I would go over some of that key vocabulary.

Naomi Meredith [00:09:25]:

Most of that vocabulary is actually in my vocabulary cards or little anchor charts that I created that are in my hour of code bundle. So, I put together a bundle of activities that you can use and be ready to go. I even have a bulletin board in there for you where it's winter-themed, and you can hang that up as well. We would start with that video, we would go with the vocabulary, and then I would introduce the choice board. And I pre-created this choice board because, as I said, the Hour of Code website is absolutely amazing, but it is very overwhelming. It is pages and pages and pages of different coding programs. The one thing that is a little bit tricky on there is you do have to test them out or read more about that activity when you click on them because it will let you know what types of devices it's compatible with or not compatible with. There are some search features that you can click through that will help filter out those activities, but still, double check if you can even try to test it on your student devices just to make sure it will work.

Naomi Meredith [00:10:40]:

I initially made a choice board for my students where I linked all of those activities on the choice where it had an image of the game and then I had the link. That was it. That's that's the choice. And I made it at home, and one of them was so cool. It was about the FIFA World Cup, but the game actually didn't end up working at school, for some reason, it was blocked by our Wi-Fi server. So I was super bummed about that. So, just double check. It will help with the search features, but just make sure it will work on your student devices.

Naomi Meredith [00:11:17]:

So, on the 1st day, a little more talking, but I would talk through the different towns just kinda show them how they would all work, and then I sent the choice board into their Seesaw accounts. The cool thing about having this shared with them is if I had a substitute or something last minute, I could refer them to the hour code choice board for the second half of the year because I knew they already used it when they were with me. If you don't use Seesaw, you can share it on another platform of your choice, like Google Classroom, Schoology, or any of those types of places as well. But make it very, very simple. Have a picture. You can link the picture if you even make it in Google Slides. You can even make it in Canva if you want to, but having that 1-page grid, no more than 6 challenges. Even 10 is overwhelming because kids are just gonna click around and test them the whole time, and they're not gonna sit and focus.

Naomi Meredith [00:12:12]:

Six is plenty, and they can have at it. I also recommend having students bring their headphones, or if you have a class set of headphones on hand, especially if you teach all the classes in the school, the game sounds get super annoying when you hear at least 4 classes a day. I definitely recommend having the kids bring headphones. It will keep your sanity. For k through 1, I actually did something similar. I had access to iPads, and I had the students experiment with different apps I found that would work well for their grade level. So check out the different apps I mentioned in episode 38. I'm not gonna go through all of those, but definitely, if you can just search for great free coding apps for younger children, there are a lot of great options for you.

Naomi Meredith [00:13:04]:

But I would do the same thing where I had certain apps loaded on the iPads for this hour of code time, and then I had the same thing on the screen just on my TV screen, where I have the different pictures of the apps and then the students could all try them during our class time together. So I also did the video and the vocabulary thing, but when it came to the actual devices, we used the iPads. Another tidbit with this is I actually didn't keep my iPad loaded up with apps all the time. I only kept certain apps on the iPads for very specific units. And if we were done with that unit, I would actually take the app away because I knew I wasn't gonna be using that, and I wanted kids to be focused, and I didn't mess with any of that management software because also we weren't allowed to use that in my district. But I actually would take away applications, so the iPads weren't very fun because I didn't leave any games on there throughout the year. So we did that the 1st day and then the 2nd and 3rd ish days, we would do half and half. So half of the class would be coding on the iPad, trying those different applications.

Naomi Meredith [00:14:17]:

For the other half, I did something screen free, coding related or or not. It might even have been free building with Lego bricks just to help them, you know, get their energy out, and then they would switch halfway through. Then the 4th and 5th days, I would have them on the iPads, and then I also use the Osmo coding kits, which is so much fun, and it is a great tactile way for kids to actually do coding hands on and what they do in real life. It's augmented reality. So what they do in real life is like a backward augmented reality, what they're doing with the little chips. It reflects back onto the iPad, and then it checks their work, and the kids absolutely loved it. I did that half-and-half method, or I might have even done, like, 3 groups of kids just because I didn't have enough of the Osmo kits.

Naomi Meredith [00:15:14]:

But that was a really cool way to implement those coding kits, and it comes with 3 different apps that actually work with the same pieces. So if you're looking for something to buy, I recommend those. That was a lot. That actually was only one of the 3 ways, but the other 2 won't be as long for you. The 2nd way that you can have some last minute prep ideas for Hour of Code is look for what edtech companies are promoting and providing. Hour of Code is a really cool event where not only teachers who are in this space come together and are bringing this experience for their students, but EdTech companies like to give back during this time and help show you other ways that you can implement coding in your classroom during the hour of code and also beyond. And a lot of times, they're offering free workshops or free resources or things to try. So definitely follow your favorite brands on social media because I'm sure they're talking all about it and want to give that support to you.

Naomi Meredith [00:16:23]:

One of my favorites that I have seen is with Wonder Workshop. Again, they actually have a whole landing page of things to support you with the Hour of Code. Now during the time, the week of Hour of Code, on Monday, so in the afternoon. If you're listening to this live, my episodes come out on Monday. But Monday in the afternoon, they actually have a live webinar from Brian Miller, who I've had on this podcast, you've actually heard from a couple of times, who works for Wonder Workshop and he's hosting a free webinar that is actually for your students. So it's pretty cool where he'll actually chat with the kids, they'll learn a cool coding concept, They'll plan that concept of the code and then they'll actually be able to implement the code and see it in action with virtual dash. So we all know, Dash the Robot is my absolute favorite robot, but they actually have a virtual dash option in their Make Wonder paid platforms, which is so much fun. And I know that they are giving free access to virtual dash for the week of hour of code, which is a huge deal.

Naomi Meredith [00:17:31]:

You can have 1 to 1 robotics coding. So pretty cool. They have some other resources of coding activities, short term thing, and they also have some past challenges from their WonderLink robotics competition, all for free for you to use to help empower your students. So I definitely recommend I'm not sponsored by them to mention all this. I just really love what they do and how they help support teachers in this coding space. So definitely check out Window Workshops and what they're providing and also see what are your other favorite EdTech companies offering and how they can support you in our code. And the last idea to help you with your hour code is trying coding unplugged options. The kids don't have to be on the devices the whole time.

Naomi Meredith [00:18:16]:

They don't. And it's okay if you give them options that are off of the computer. I like to use this station if I did a 3 station rotation with my younger students, is doing a human robot coding where the students are coding their friends to perform different actions, which this is another activity that I have in my hour of code bundle where it has all the cards and all the directions ready to go. I might try this with my dog and see if he will listen to me if I can code my dog unplugged, but we'll see. I don't know if he'll like it very much. I've also seen this too where you have printed block codes that students can create a code and actually plan what their robot might do or plan what the code would do and then implement it with the device. Another fun way that I've done this with my students is we did a Goldilocks game. It was actually it goes along with the story where, for digital citizenship.

Naomi Meredith [00:19:17]:

Goldilocks isn't very safe. She shares unsafe information, and the bears catch her and it's a whole big deal. With actually talking about private and personal information and you create a whole coding unplugged game, which is also in the bundle too. So there are some really neat things also on the hour of code website where it is coding unplugged, so check that out. It is a nice break for students to think through those big problems, how to can they have that computational thinking, and really be hands on with their coding experience where it doesn't always have to involve technology. As a recap, here are my 3 last minute ideas when it comes to our code activities that you can try with your elementary students. 1st is you can create a choice board where there are specific activities that you want your students to try out for the week. Next, look for some online events and resources from your favorite EdTech companies.

Naomi Meredith [00:20:17]:

And finally, try some coding unplugged options where computer devices or robots aren't always needed. I hope you have so much fun with this amazing event and spark that interest when it comes to coding in all sorts of forms for your students. And if you need even more help, I've put together a free hour of code guide that you can download, which will be linked in the show notes. Also, there is a brand new bundle that I put together of Arab code activities and resources. There are many coding unplugged options and vocabulary in there to help support your week and make it not overwhelming but a very fun experience in your classroom.