Coding for kindergarten? Why yes!
Using the Hour of Code curriculum and iPads, my kindergarten students will be able to learn programming skills several times per week during our math period.
If you were to take a walk through the urban environment where my elementary school is located, you would see university professors, prostitutes, small business owners, international grocery stores, homeless families, engineers, construction workers, venture capitalists and many more.
Each of them have children who attend my school. Our school is incredibly diverse racially, socio-economically, and culturally. September in my classroom is spent getting to know the rich, diverse cultural roots of each student. Our elementary school is enormous with 100 new kindergartners this fall. As a staff we work hard to create a close intimacy between students and staff despite our large, overcrowded size.
My Project
Using iPads to teach programming to kindergartners is valuable for all students. For my students who struggle with logical reasoning, having time each week to program will help them learn to sequence a series of instructions using visual clues. For my highest achieving students who have already learned grade level concepts, coding will allow them to push their mathematical reasoning skills even further. The iPad apps Kodable and Scratch Jr. will give them game-based ways to practice along with the Hour of Code Curriculum we will use.
In pairs, students will learn coding curriculum that has been designed for young students who cannot yet read. It's block programming which relies on pictures for helping them understand the instructions necessary to code. Having regular experiences programming at such a young age will allow students to shine in mathematics as they will have such a strong foundation in problem-solving
Many of my students come from families who don't have the Internet or computers at home.
Although students often learn to type or play games to practice math skills on computers at the primary grades, they rarely use technology to deepen their problem solving skills. Purchasing iPads for my students to learn programming will create more access and equity as EVERYONE will learn STEM skills, not just the students whose families can afford after school or summer enrichment classes.
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