Hour of Code

Hour(s) of Code!

Hour of Code is an annual event to promote Computer Science. According to their website: 

The Hour of Code takes place each year during Computer Science Education Week. The 2017 Computer Science Education Week will be December 4-10, but you can host an Hour of Code all year round. Computer Science Education Week is held annually in recognition of the birthday of computing pioneer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906). 

We're starting Hour of Code and changing the name to Hours of Code!

Thank you, Hadi Partovi for creating this project!

To prepare for our coding lessons, we did a collaborative unplugged activity involving building. The challenge was to build a free-standing tower out of 20 pieces of spaghetti. At the top of the tower was a marshmallow. Only 1 meter of tape and 1 meter of string were allowed to create the tower. 

This building challenge was a great chance to practice the strategy of trial and error. If your design didn't work, try another tactic! 

In preparation, we watched a building video on BrainPop.

Then it was time to start building!

Some spread out the sticks for a broad base. 

The pyramid base was an idea from the BrainPop video! 

After about 18 minutes, the building time was up!

1st Place :: 22 inches

2nd Place :: 20in

3rd Place :: 17 in

Everyone enjoyed the first build! 

After learning about the importance of trial and error, the class signed into our Hour of Code class. 

We needed our secret image to sign in! What a cute array! 

Let the coding begin!

What are you enjoying about the Hour of Code?

What skills have you learned?

What can you do with coding?

Terrific Teamwork!

These last few weeks the class has been working on Teamwork challenges

According to dictionary.com, teamwork is:

            noun

1.cooperative or coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together as a team or in the interests of a common cause.

2. work done with a team.

How do you show teamwork?

Students began with the Marshmallow Challenge

Students were given 12 spaghetti sticks, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow!

The object of the challenge: create the tallest free standing structure with the marshmallow on top. 

See their hard work below:

All photos by Ms. Tulbure

And the winner is:

Team 1- their tower stood 19 inches tall!

What was their strategy?

Photo by Ms. Tulbure

Team 5 was the runner up team. 

Their tower stood 11 inches tall

Can you see their strategy?

Photo by Ms. Tulbure

This week we also met our fifth grade buddies. Together, students worked as a team to make a plastic cup tower using only a rubber band and string. The instructions were to build a tower without using any hands, only the tools provided. Wow!

 It took communication and determination to succeed at this challenge. 

All photos by Ms. Tulbure

Some teams worked together to build and even bigger tower! 

All teams succeeded in building their tower. Great work!

Tell us about how you worked together as a team to complete a task?

What was the best part?