STEM: Coding Progression

As our world becomes progressively technology-mediated, with computers running everything from our cars to our home security systems, the U.S. must cultivate its next generation of innovators.

For this generation, coding is the fourth literacy. Children who have some level of understanding of how the digital world works will have a much more productive work life and the opportunity to fill the gaps in a growing and diversifying market.

​Just as with traditional reading and language ability, learning to code should begin at an early age. The coding curriculum must have purpose and creativity at its core, in order to provide multiple opportunities for practice and problem solving. Successful and interactive ways to introduce coding to children is to engage them in educational games. A well-designed game may instill an affinity and aptitude for programming by allowing the child to see their algorithms in action. 
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​-David Miller

BeeBots
BeeBots are robots designed to introduce young children to the very basics of coding.  It is colorful and easy to program  and teaches sequencing, estimation, and problem-solving.  There are limitless possibilities with the simple directional commands which keep students actively working together in classroom centers or small groups within a classroom.
Letters and Numbers Centers
Utilize the letters and numbers mats that came with the BeeBots or create your own grids.  
BeeBot Clock Activity
In this lesson, students will discuss  what time means. They will learn the difference between analog and digital and practice reading analog and digital clocks. Students will practice converting between analog and digital time. They will discuss relative time (earlier, later, etc.). 
BeeBot Activities 1-2-3
In this activity you and your students will learn about programming, debugging, algorithms and persevering. You will also be introduced to decomposition, logic and collaborating.  Allow time for children to understand how to work effectively with Bee-Bots. Once they understand how to work out (design) an algorithm, it can be useful to record it. Students use their algorithm to create their program. The basic concepts and approaches they learn now will be used as they move to program in other programming languages. ​

OzoBots
Ozobot is one of the world's smallest programmable robots, measuring just over 1 inch in height & diameter. But don't let its small size fool you. Ozobot is a powerful learning tool that teaches children the basics of coding & programming in fun, interactive ways. Its easy to understand color based coding language makes Ozobot the perfect choice for introducing young minds to concepts that will be vital to their success in the 21st century.
With structured STEM lesson plans and workshops available for free on ozobot.com, teachers and parents can use Ozobot as a cutting edge educational tool that helps kids learn while playing.
Who Can Find the Pot of Gol?
This is a fun game that challenges your students to program Ozobot to find the pot of gold.You can even make a race out of it and see who can get there first! Students will work on their ability to decipher and think “in code” while they are playing this game. It is an activity for all ages since it can be adjusted to your students’ abilities. 
Ozobot Fairy Tales
This lesson connects writing and programming. Students  act out”a fairytale using Ozobot as the main characters. Part of the story will require programming the Ozobot to complete a task or engage in a behavior related to the story. 
The Great Divide: A Fraction Challenge
The Ozobot robot is bored of traveling on a simple square track; in this lesson we will divide squares to create new tracks for Ozobot to travel on! To start,the class will shade gridded squares to explore various fractions.This motivation will exercise students’ capacity to visualize spatial relationships and prepare them for the lesson’s main activity, dividing a square to make a track for Ozobot. In the main activity, students are given a square grid as a framework for creating a new, more complex track. Students are prompted to divide the square into equal areas, remembering the traveling limitations of the Ozobot robot.Then,using Ozobot commands, students are challenged to code the tracks to lead Ozobot around particular paths within the larger complex track. 
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Spheros/BB8
Sphero is the world's first app-enabled robotic ball and a sophisticated companion for your tablet. Learn and explore with this awesome robot. Sphero rolls at speeds of up to 4.5 mph and pairs to your device via Bluetooth with a range of up to 100 feet. Powered by induction charging, Sphero 2.0 is three times brighter than the original and is pet proof, waterproof, and ready for any adventure. You can choose from over 30 apps to launch a whole new world of mobile problem solving.
SPHERO Bridge Building Activity
SPRK STEM challenges are fun, interactive activities that challenge student to use creativity and team- work to move through simple steps of the design process in order to build Sphero-based creations. In this challenge students will build bridges from finite resources and then program Sphero to drive across. Students have the opportunity to research bridges and brainstorm potential concepts, as well as determine design specifications, and effectively communicate their vision for the bridge before building it. 
Multi-Directional Bowling
Students will create a bowling course for their Sphero that includes three different targets at the points of a triangle. The course will be created using standard classroom materials from a scale drawing, with attention to detailed angles and measurements. Each point of the triangle will hold a different number of cups set up as pins and Sphero will be placed at its center. Students will develop a strategy to knock down as many pins as possible and create a program that knocks over as many of the cups as possible by adjusting speed, delay and heading. They will then test and improve their program for accuracy and consistency. 
Orb Basics Part 1
Students will use Sphero to explore the computer science concepts of program flow and variables. They will use OrbBasic, which is a text-based programming language for the Sphero. They will write a simple program that rolls Sphero out a distance and back. Then they will modify it by making it repeat until stopped, and then they will use a variable to modify the amount of time the Sphero is rolling, eventually making the variable increase over time. For the challenge, they will make the variable decrease so that the Sphero rolls shorter and shorter distances. 

Dash and Dot
Dash and Dot are two robots that can work together to do amazing things. They come with a number of apps that grow with the learners experience. At its most basic, Dash can be piloted like a remote control car. At its most advanced, learners can program the device to complete specific tasks that incorporate sound, movement and math! 
Lesson Ideas for Blockly.
This app requires your students to put together blocks of code to make Dash go! This document has activities for students aged 5 to 12, and works across multiple domains. If you are looking for a users manual combined with a curriculum guide, this is it!
DANCE THE LOOPEY-LOOP
The goal of a good programmer is to write a program that is a short, clear, and effective as possible. In this lesson, students will learn how write programs using loops. 

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A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
We all react to events that happen around us, be it cheering when the school team wins, crying at a sad movie, or dancing when we hear music. In this lesson, students will learn how to teach Dash and Dot to respond to events that happen around them!