Table of Contents

Welcome to Computer Science Fundamentals 1

Code.org Values and Philosophy 3

Curriculum Values 3
Pedagogical Approach To Our Values 4

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Overview 6

Course A 7
Course B 9
Course C 11
Course D 13
Course E 15
Course F 17

Teaching and Learning Strategies 19

Student Practices 22
Debugging 23

Course Resources 25
Code.org Website 25
Course Overview Structure and Iconography 26
Lesson Structure and Iconography 29
Types of Lessons in CS Fundamentals 29
Code Studio Debugging Features 37

Implementation and Planning 38

Lesson Pacing 38
Scheduling The Lessons 38
Approach to Teaching in Common Classroom Scenarios 39
Guide for CS Fundamentals teachers during school closures 39
Tech Requirements and Required Materials 41
Getting Help 42
Thanks and Acknowledgements 42

Appendix A: Worksheets for Intro Workshop 43

Appendix B: Worksheets for Deep Dive Workshop 67

Appendix C: Notes 75

Welcome to Computer Science

Fundamentals 
Welcome to Computer Science Fundamentals, the Code.org curriculum designed for students in
kindergarten through fifth grade (K-5), which includes students 5-11 years old! This guide has been
created to help you navigate the lessons in Courses A-F. It begins with an introduction to the CS
Fundamentals curriculum, provides a look into our core values and methods, and includes a detailed
overview of each course offering. You will also find customized implementation solutions for many
different classroom situations.  

All Code.org curriculum resources are free to use under a Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Our technology is developed as an open
source project.  Common Sense Media lessons are shareable under a Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 licence. No remixing permitted. View detailed license information
at creativecommons.org. Common Sense and other associated names and logos are trademarks of
Common Sense Media, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (FEIN: 41-2024986).

Who is CS Fundamentals for?

CS Fundamentals was built with elementary school educators and students in mind. Courses A-F
have been specifically tailored to students in K-5, and no prior experience is assumed. These courses
work best in a classroom setting, led by an engaged teacher. For scenarios where students will be
learning independently or asynchronously, we recommend our CS Fundamentals Express courses.
The lessons in CS Fundamentals are presented with the understanding that many teachers will not
have any previous computer science experience, and educators are therefore encouraged to learn
along with their students.

Which course is right for my students?

CS Fundamentals Courses A-F 
CS Fundamentals is made up of 6 courses — one course for each grade, K-5. This grade alignment
allows for the most robust content along the entire elementary pipeline, while also allowing for
students and teachers to enter the pathway at any point. 

Course A Course B Course C Course D Course E Course F

Kindergarten 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade
12 lessons,  12 lessons,  18 lessons,  19 lessons,  19 lessons,  19 lessons, ~19-21
~12 hours to ~12 hours to ~18 hours to ~19 hours to ~19-21 hours to hours to complete
complete complete complete complete complete
Concepts
 Digital  Digital  Digital  Sequencing  Sprites  Digital Citizensh
Citizenship Citizenship Citizenship  Events  Digital  Variables
 Sequencing  Sequencing  Sequencing  Loops
 Loops
Citizenship  Data
 Events
 Loops  Binary  Conditionals  Nested Loops  For Loops
 Impacts of  Loops  Binary  Functions  Internet
Computing  Events  Digital  Impacts of  Sprites
 Events  Data Citizenship Computing

All courses make suitable entry points for students. Courses E and F feature “ramp up” lessons which
are intended to introduce or review important concepts from previous courses at an accelerated pace.
CS Fundamentals Express Courses
In addition to courses A-F, CS Fundamentals also offers two “express courses”, which are designed
for situations where the teacher is a less active role in engaging students. An express course might be
used, for example, if a student is learning CS on her own. 

Express courses do not have unplugged lessons (lessons that do not use a computer), and instead
focus on covering the content from their A-F counterparts in a way that can be delivered without a
teacher. The table below maps courses A-F and the two express courses:

Course A Course B Course C Course D Course E Course F

 Kindergarten 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade
Pre-reader Express Course Express Course
Built with lessons from Courses A - B Built with lessons from Courses C - F

Standards Mapping
CS Fundamentals was written using both the K–12 Computer Science Framework (k12cs.org) and the
2017 Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) standards as guidance. Courses have
opportunities to connect to Common Core and NGSS standards. Details can be found at
curriculum.code.org/csf/standards.

Assessments
At Code.org, we believe that you know your students best, which is why we do not attempt to
automatically determine what “grade” students should receive for any given lesson. Instead, we try to
build tools that allow you to easily see student progress and to identify evidence of learning. The
ability to see where a student is succeeding and where they need help is fundamental to providing the
opportunity to tailor their learning experience. For that reason, our teacher dashboard is continually
evolving to better highlight the work done by your class sections. Keep an eye on Code.org Support
(https://support.code.org/) for more information on changes and improvements. 

Please note, we have provided assessment worksheets with most unplugged lessons and
“assessment” puzzles for many online lessons.  

Code.org Values and Philosophy

Curriculum Values
While Code.org offers a wide range of curricular materials across a wide range of ages, the following
values permeate and drive the creation of every lesson we write.

Computer Science is Foundational for Every Student

We believe that computing is so fundamental to understanding and participating in society that it is
valuable for every student to learn as part of a modern education. We see computer science as a
liberal art, a subject that provides students with a critical lens for interpreting the world around them.
Computer science prepares all students to be active and informed contributors to our increasingly
technological society whether they pursue careers in technology or not. Computer science can be life-
changing, not just skill training.

Teachers in Classrooms
We believe students learn best with the help of an empowered teacher. We design our materials for a
classroom setting and provide teachers robust supports that enable them to understand and perform
their critical role in supporting student learning. Because teachers know their students best, we
empower them to make choices within the curriculum, even as we recommend and support a variety
of pedagogical approaches. Knowing that many of our teachers are new to computer science
themselves, our resources and strategies specifically target their needs.

Student Engagement and Learning

We believe that students learn best when they are intrinsically motivated. We prioritize learning
experiences that are active, relevant to students’ lives, and provide students authentic choice. We
encourage students to be curious, solve personally relevant problems and to express themselves
through creation. Learning is an inherently social activity, so we interweave lessons with discussions,
presentations, peer feedback, and shared reflections. As students proceed through our pathway, we
increasingly shift responsibility to students to formulate their own questions, develop their own
solutions, and critique their own work.

Equity
We believe that acknowledging and shining a light on the historical inequities within the field of
computer science is critical to reaching our goal of bringing computer science to all students. We
provide tools and strategies to help teachers understand and address well-known equity gaps within
the field. We recognize that some students and classrooms need more support than others, and those
with the greatest needs should be prioritized. All students can succeed in computer science when
given the right support and opportunities, regardless of prior knowledge or privilege. We actively seek
to eliminate and discredit stereotypes that plague computer science and alienate the very students we
aim to reach.

Curriculum as a Service
We believe that curriculum is a service, not just a product. Along with producing high quality materials,
we seek to build and nourish communities of teachers by providing support and channels for
communication and feedback. Our products and materials are not static entities, but a living and
breathing body of work that is responsive to feedback and changing conditions. To ensure ubiquitous
access to our curriculum and tools, they are web-based and cross-platform, and will forever be free to
use and openly licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Pedagogical Approach To Our Values
When we design learning experiences, we draw from a variety of teaching and learning strategies all
with the goal of constructing an equitable and engaging learning environment.

Role of the Teacher

We design curriculum with the idea that the instructor will act as the lead learner. As the lead learner,
the role of the teacher shifts from being the source of knowledge to being a leader in seeking
knowledge. The lead learner’s mantra is: “I may not know the answer, but I know that together we can
figure it out.” A very practical result of this is that we rarely ask a teacher to lecture or offer the first
explanation of a CS concept. We want the class activity to do the work of exposing the concept to
students, allowing the teacher to shape meaning from what the students have experienced. We also
expect teachers to act as the curator of materials. Finally, we include an abundance of materials and
teaching strategies in our curricula - sometimes too many to use at once - with the expectation that
teachers have the professional expertise to determine how to best conduct an engaging and relevant
class for their own students.

Discovery and Inquiry

We take great care to design learning experiences in which students have an active and equal stake
in the proceedings. Students are given opportunities to explore concepts and build their own
understandings through a variety of physical activities and online lessons. These activities form a set
of common lived experiences that connect students (and the teacher) to the course content and to
each other. The goal is to develop a common foundation upon which all students in the class can
construct their understanding of computer science concepts, regardless of prior experience in the
discipline.

Materials and Tools

Our materials and tools are specifically created for learners and learning experiences. They focus on
foundational concepts that allow them to stand the test of time, and they are designed to support
exploration and discovery by those without computer science knowledge. This allows students to
develop an understanding of these concepts through “play” and experimentation. From our coding
environments to our non-coding tools and videos, our resources have been engineered to support the
lessons in our curriculum, and thus our philosophy about student engagement and learning. In that
vein, our videos can be a great tool for sensemaking about CS concepts and provide a resource for
students to return to when they want to refresh their knowledge. They are packed with information and
“star” a diverse cast of presenters and CS role models.
Creation and Personal Expression
Many of the projects, assignments, and activities in our curriculum ask students to be creative, to
express themselves, and then to share their creations with others. While certain lessons focus on
learning and practicing new skills, our goal is always to enable students to transfer these skills to
creations of their own. Everyone seeks to make their mark on society, including our students, and we
want to give them the tools they need to do so. When computer science provides an outlet for
personal expression and creativity, students are intrinsically motivated to deepen the understandings
that will allow them to express their views and carve out their place in the world.

The Classroom Community

Whether learners are simply conferring with a partner during a warm up discussion, or engaging in a
long-term group project, our belief is that a classroom where students are communicating, solving
problems, and creating things is a classroom that not only leads to active and better learning for
students, but also leads to a more inclusive culture in which all students share ideas and listen to
ideas of others. For example, classroom discussions usually follow a Think-Pair-Share pattern; we
ask students to write computer code in pairs.

CS Fundamentals Curriculum Overview

At the highest level, each CS Fundamentals course is organized into concept chunks. 

Concept chunks are the big ideas that provide structure to a course. Concept chunks
make it easy for teachers to see at a glance what is covered in a course.
Each CS Fundamentals course has between 4 and 6 concept chunks, and each chunk can have one
or several lessons. In most cases, concept chunks begin with a computer-free lesson called an
Unplugged Lesson, which is meant to introduce a concept before students engage with programming
lessons. Programming lessons require students to use computers and consist of Skill Building,
Application, and End of Course Project lesson types.

Each course is composed of the following concept chunks: 

Course A Course B Course C Course D Course E Course F

Kindergarten 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade
 Digital  Digital  Digital  Sequencing  Sprites  Digital
Citizenship Citizenship Citizenship  Events  Digital Citizenship
 Sequencing  Sequencing  Sequencing  Variables
 Loops
 Loops Citizenship
 Events
 Loops  Binary  Conditionals  Nested Loops  Data
 Impacts of  Loops  Binary  Functions  For Loops
Computing  Events  Digital  Impacts of  Sprites
 Events  Data Citizenship Computing

To illustrate, below are the five lessons contained in the “Loops” concept chunk in Course C, as they
appear on Code Studio.

You will learn more about how the curriculum is organized in the ‘Course Resources’ section
below.

The following pages provide an overview of each of the 6 courses in the CS Fundamentals
curriculum. For each course, there is one page giving an overview, describing the core concepts,
attitudinal goals, and teaching tips.  Then, there is one page that follows, outlining each lesson of the
course. 
Course A
Overview
Course A offers a computer science curriculum for beginning readers in early elementary grades.
Students will learn to program using commands like loops and events. The lessons featured in this
course also teach students to collaborate with others meaningfully, investigate different problem-
solving techniques, persist in the face of difficult tasks, and learn about internet safety. By the end of
this course, students create their very own custom game in the Play Lab programming environment
on Code.org.
Core concepts:
 Digital Citizenship
 Sequencing
 Loops
 Events

Attitudinal goals:
 Programming is fun.
 It’s okay not to get it right the first time.
 I can solve problems if I keep trying.

Key teaching tips:

 Use the stories as a read-aloud and discuss the scenarios as a class.
 Use pair programming and encourage students to help each other.
 Work through sample problems with students as a class.
 Connect unplugged lessons to the online lessons using “bridging activities”.
 Celebrate persistence as well as successes.
 Remind students that they can go back and fix mistakes.
 Honor the humor in the lessons and add more where possible.

Course A: Lesson Outlines

Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are bolded.

Concept
# Lesson Name Description
Chunk

Safety in My
Digital Created by Common Sense Education, students practice
1 Online
Citizenship Neighborhood
staying safe while exploring online.

The main goal of this lesson is to build students'

experience with computers. By covering the most basic
Learn to Drag and
2 computer functions such as clicking, dragging, and
Drop
dropping, we are creating a more equal playing field in
the class for future puzzles. 

This activity will help students gain experience reading

3 Happy Maps
and writing in shorthand code.

This lesson begins with a brief discussion on computer

Sequencing Sequencing with
4 lab manners, then students progress into using a
Scrat
computer to complete online puzzles.

In this set of online puzzles, students will build on the

Programming with
5 understanding of algorithms, debugging, and general
Scrat
computer literacy. 

In this lesson, students will use their newfound

Programming with
6 programming skills in more complicated ways to navigate
Rey and BB-8
a tricky course with BB-8.

Loops 7 Happy Loops Students learn about an easier way to solve problems
using loops.
 This lesson builds on the idea of using loops in a
8 Loops with Scrat
program.

Continuing practice with loops, students will help Laurel

9 Loops with Laurel
the Adventurer collect treasure.

Here, students use loops to create patterns. At the end of

Ocean Scene with
10 this lesson, students will be given the opportunity to
Loops
create their own images using loops.

This lesson demonstrates that events are a great way to

11 The Big Event Jr.
add variety to a sequential algorithm. 
Events
Students will have the opportunity to learn how to use
On the Move with
12 events in Play Lab and apply their coding skills to create
Events
an animated game. 

Course B 
Overview
Course B was developed with first graders in mind. Tailored to a novice reading level, this course also
assumes limited knowledge of shapes and numbers. 

While the concepts in Course B parallel those in Course A, students will be exposed to more
sophisticated unplugged lessons and a greater variety of puzzles. Students will learn the basics of
programming, collaboration techniques, investigation and critical thinking skills, persistence in the face
of difficulty, and internet safety. At the end of this course students will create their very own custom
game in the Play Lab programming environment on Code.org.

Core concepts:
 Digital Citizenship
 Sequencing
 Loops
 Impacts of Computing
 Events

Attitudinal goals:
 Programming is fun.
 It’s okay not to get it right the first time.
 I can solve problems if I keep trying.

Key teaching tips:

 Use pair programming and encourage students to help each other.
 Work through sample problems with students as a class.
 Connect unplugged lessons to the online lessons using “bridging activities”.
 Celebrate persistence as well as successes.
 Remind students that they can go back and fix mistakes.
 Honor the humor in the lessons and add more wherever possible.

Course B: Lesson Outlines

Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are bolded.

Concept
# Lesson Name Description
Chunk
 Created by Common Sense Education, students will learn
Digital that the information they put online leaves a digital
1 Digital Trails
Citizenship footprint or “trail.”

This lesson mentally prepares students for the coding

2 Move It, Move It exercises that they will encounter over the length of this
course. 

This lesson begins with a brief discussion on computer

Sequencing with
3 lab manners, then will progress into using a computer to
Angry Birds
complete online puzzles.
Sequencing
In this set of online puzzles, students will build on the
Programming
4 understanding of algorithms, debugging, and general
with Angry Birds
computer literacy. 

Programming Students will apply the programming concepts that they

5
with Harvester have learned to the Harvester environment. 

Students will dance their way to a better understanding of

6 Getting Loopy
how to use repeat loops.

Building on the concept of repeating instructions, this

Loops with
7 lesson will have students using loops to more efficiently
Harvester
get to the veggies.
Loops Loops with
8 Students use loops to collect treasure more efficiently.
Laurel 

Here, students use loops to create patterns. At the end of

Drawing Gardens
9 this stage, students will be given the opportunity to create
with Loops
their own images using loops.

Students exercise empathy and creativity to sketch their

Impacts of
10 The Right App own smartphone app that addresses the needs of an
Computing imaginary user.

The Big Event This lesson shows that events are a great way to add
11
Jr. variety to a pre-written algorithm. 

Events In this online activity, students will have the opportunity to

A Royal Battle learn how to use events in Play Lab and apply all of the
12
with Events coding skills that they've learned to create an animated
game. 

Course C
Overview
Course C was developed for students in and around the second grade. Lessons in this course may
assume a limited understanding of shapes and elementary math concepts.  

Students will create programs with sequencing, loops, and events. They will translate their initials into
binary, investigate problem-solving techniques, and develop strategies for building positive
communities both online and off. By the end of the course, students will create interactive games that
they can share. Each concept in Course C is taught from the beginning, graduating toward
experiences that allow for growth and creativity to provide all students a rich and novel programming
experience.

Core concepts:
 Digital Citizenship
 Sequencing
 Binary
 Loops
 Events
 Data

Attitudinal goals:
 I can read code and predict the outcome.
 Programming can make repetitive tasks easy.

Key teaching tips:

 Talk with students before you begin about how they may experience frustration.
 Use pair programming and encourage students to help each other.
 Provide lesson examples to set students off on the right foot.
 Connect unplugged lessons to the online lessons using “bridging activities”.
 Celebrate persistence as well as successes.
 Remind students that they can go back and fix mistakes.

Course C: Lesson Outlines

Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are bolded.

Concept
# Lesson Name Description
Chunk

Putting a STOP to Created by Common Sense Education, students learn about

1
Online Meanness meanness and what to do if they encounter it online.
Digital
Citizenship Password Power- Created by Common Sense Education, students learn about
2
Up how strong passwords can help protect their privacy.

This lesson teaches students about the connection between

My Robotic Friends
3 algorithms and programming, as well as the valuable skill of
Jr.
debugging.

Programming with Students will develop sequential algorithms to move a bird

4
Angry Birds from one side of the maze to reach a pig at the other side. 

Students will step through existing code to identify errors,

5 Debugging in Maze including incorrect loops, missing blocks, extra blocks, and
Sequencing blocks that are out of order.

Students continue to develop their understanding of

Collecting Treasure
6 algorithms and debugging by creating sequential algorithms to
with Laurel
pick up treasure with Laurel the Adventurer.

This Artist lesson will allow students to create images of

Creating Art with
7 increasing complexity   using new blocks like `move forward
Code
by 100 pixels` and `turn right by 90 degrees.

Binary 8 Binary Bracelets This lesson helps demonstrate how it is possible to take
something from real life and translate it into a series of ons
 and offs.

Using the language from the first ‘My Robotic Friends Jr.’
My Loopy Robotic
9 activity, students find that they can build big structures faster
Friends Jr.
using loops.

Loops with Rey and Students will use loops to traverse mazes more efficiently
10
BB-8 than before.

Harvesting Crops Students will loop new actions to help the harvester collect
11
Loops with Loops multiple veggies growing in large bunches.

Students will get the chance to practice ideas that they have
Looking Ahead with
12 learned up to this point, as well as getting a sneak peek at
Minecraft
conditionals.

This lesson builds on the understanding of loops from

Sticker Art with
13 previous lessons and gives students a chance to be truly
Loops
creative. 

Students will learn that events are a great way to make their
14 The Big Event
program interactive.

In this special stage, students get to build their own Flappy

Events 15 Build a Flappy Game Bird game by using event handlers to detect mouse clicks
and object collisions. 

Chase Game with

16 It's time to get creative and make a game in Play Lab.
Events

Students create visualizations of data to help them reason

Data 17 Picturing Data
and predict about what they observe.

End of Course Students plan and build a game using Play Lab, totally from
Project 18
Project scratch.

Course D
Overview
Course D was created for students who read at roughly a third grade level. Angles and mathematical
concepts are introduced with helpful videos and hints.

The course begins with a review of the concepts found in Courses A, B, and C. This review can be
used to introduce or refresh basic ideas, such as loops and events. Afterward, students will develop
their understanding of algorithms, nested loops, while loops, conditionals, and events, as well as learn
about digital citizenship. This course is crafted to build a strong foundation of basic concepts before
opening up to a wide range of new and exciting topics.

Core concepts:
 Sequencing
 Events
 Loops
 Conditionals
 Binary
 Digital Citizenship

Attitudinal goals:
 Struggle is good and a sign that I’m growing.
  I can read programs and predict their outcomes.
 Programs can be written to make simple choices.

Key teaching tips:

 Talk with students before you begin about how they may experience frustration.
 Use pair programming and encourage students to help each other.
 Provide lesson examples to set students off on the right foot.
 Remind students of the importance of persistence.
 Begin to teach students the importance of solving their own issues.
 Encourage students to use a journal during and after activities.
 Give students the opportunity to share successes.

Course D: Lesson Outlines

Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are in bolded text.

Concept
# Lesson Name Description
Chunk
Graph Paper In this lesson, students will program their friends to draw
1
Programming pictures.
Introduction to This lesson will give students practice in the skills they will
2
Online Puzzles need for this course.
Sequencing
Relay This lesson builds on the previous lessons by introducing
3
Programming teamwork.
Debugging with In this lesson, students will learn about the secrets of
4
Laurel debugging. 
5 Events in Bounce Students get to make their own video game in this lesson.
Build a Star Wars
6 Students build their own Star Wars game in this lesson.
Events Game
Time to celebrate! In this lesson, students will program their
7 Dance Party
own interactive dance party.
As a quick update (or introduction) to using loops, this
8 Loops in Ice Age lesson will have students using the repeat block to get Scrat
to the acorn more efficiently.
Loops Drawing Shapes In this lesson, loops make it easy for students to make even
9
with Loops cooler images with Artist.
Nested Loops in This lesson will teach students what happens when they
10
Maze place a loop inside another loop.
Conditionals with It's time to play a game in which students earn points only
11
Cards under certain conditions.
Now that students understand conditionals, it's time to
12 If/Else with Bee program Bee to use them when collecting honey and
nectar.
Conditionals
While Loops in This lesson will teach students about a new kind of loop:
13
Farmer while loops.
14 Until Loops in Maze Students learn to use until loops in this lesson.
Harvesting with This lesson will help students practice deciding when to use
15
Conditionals each conditional.
 Students learn how computers store pictures using simple
16 Binary Images
ideas like on and off.
Binary
Binary Images with In this lesson, students will learn how to make images using
17
Artist binary.
Digital Be A Super Digital Created by Common Sense Education, students learn how
18
Citizenship Citizen they can be upstanders when they see cyberbullying.
End of Course This capstone lesson takes students through the process of
Project 19
Project designing, developing, and showcasing their own projects!

Course E
Overview
Course E in CS Fundamentals was tailored to the needs of students in the fourth grade. 

At this point, students should be growing in their confidence with using basic programming concepts
and are ready to start using them to solve more novel problems. Throughout this course, students will
learn to identify when to apply and combine the many concepts they’ve learned in previous courses.
Students will begin with some light review, followed by a deep dive into the idea of functions. For
many, the lessons in Course E will provide the first puzzles where difficult concepts are mixed
together, making it one of the most challenging courses in the series.

Because of the complexity of Course E, it is important to be consistent with expectations from the very
beginning. With fourth graders, it is advised that students are encouraged to work together to find
solutions rather than relying on help from the teacher or another experienced supervisor.  Students
should be empowered to try multiple techniques and should be given praise for persistence and for
helping others.

Ultimately, Course E will set the foundation for Course F in the fifth grade. This means that it is as
critical for students to understand the ideas behind each puzzle as it is for them to successfully solve
it. For this reason, you might want to show students how to use peer interaction or journaling to help
with difficult puzzles. Mainly, they should be able to ask and answer four questions:
 What does the puzzle want me to do?
 What did I try to make that happen?
 Where did it go wrong?
 What might be the next thing I could try?
 
Core concepts:
 Sprites
 Digital Citizenship
 Nested Loops
 Functions
 Impacts of Computing

Attitudinal goals:
 There are often many ways to solve a problem.
 Reflecting on past problems helps me solve new ones.
 Programming is creative.

Key teaching tips:

 Talk with students before you begin about how they may experience frustration.
 Use pair programming and encourage students to help each other.
 Require students to make a first attempt at problem solving before asking for help.
 Remind students of the importance of persistence.
 Encourage students to use a journal during and after activities.
  Promote an environment of cross-team collaboration for group activities and projects.

Course E: Lesson Outlines

Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are bolded.

Concept
# Lesson Name Description
Chunk
Sequencing in Students will practice sequencing and debugging before adding
1
Maze new skills. 
This lesson gets students thinking about why loops are better than
2 Drawing with Loops
longhand. 
Ramp Up Conditionals in Students will get the chance to practice ideas that they have
3 Minecraft: Voyage learned up to this point, as well as getting a sneak peek at
Aquatic conditionals.
Conditionals with This lesson introduces students to `while` loops and `if / else`
4
the Farmer statements.
In this lesson, students will play a game intended to get them
thinking about the way commands need to be given to produce the
5 Simon Says
right result. This will help them more easily carry over to the Sprite
Lab programming environment in the upcoming lessons. 
Sprites
Swimming Fish In this lesson, students will learn about the two concepts at the
6
with Sprite Lab heart of Sprite Lab: sprites and behaviors. 
Alien Dance Party Using Sprite Lab, students create their own alien dance party with
7
with Sprite Lab interactions between characters and user input.
Private and Created by Common Sense Education, this lesson is about the
8 Personal difference between information that is safe to share online and
Information information that is not.
Digital By creating an interactive poster in Sprite Lab, students will apply
About me with
Citizenship 9 their understanding of sharing personal and private information on
Sprite Lab
the web.
Students will learn the proper way to use content that is not their
10 Digital Sharing
own. 
Nested Loops in In this online activity, students will have the opportunity to push
11
Maze their understanding of loops to a whole new level.
Fancy Shapes Students will create intricate designs using Artist. By continuing to
Nested Loops 12 using Nested practice nested loops with new goals, students will see more uses
Loops of loops in general.
Nested Loops with This lesson will take students through a series of exercises to help
13
Frozen them create their own portfolio-ready images.
This lesson will help students intuitively understand why combining
14 Songwriting
chunks of code into functions can be such a helpful practice.
Functions in Students will begin to understand how functions can be helpful in
15
Minecraft this fun and interactive Minecraft adventure.
Functions Students will use functions to harvest crops in Harvester. This
Functions with
16 lesson will push students to use functions in the new ways by
Harvester
combining them with `while` loops and `if / else` statements.
Functions with Students will be introduced to using functions with the Artist to
17
Artist create and modify magnificent images. 
In this lesson, students will learn about accessibility and the value
Impacts of Designing for
18 of empathy through brainstorming and designing accessible
Computing Accessibility
solutions for hypothetical apps. 
 End of Course Students will be given their own space to create their project with
Project 19
Project either Artist or Sprite Lab.

Course F

Overview
The final course in CS Fundamentals is tailored to the needs of students in the fifth grade. 

In this course, students will investigate problem-solving techniques and discuss societal impacts of
computing and the internet. By the end of the course, students will have created interactive stories
and games that they can share with their friends and family.

In Course F, students begin to understand how the concepts that they have learned impact the world
around them and how they can be applied to solve interesting and personally-relevant problems. By
this point, students should be cognitively mature enough to think about plans that they want to bring to
life and have the skills to start down that path. 

Starting with the first few lessons, students are given greater autonomy and creative freedom in
programming, which also necessitates an increased emphasis on debugging and problem solving.
Students in the fifth grade should be expected to take the first steps in solving all of their own coding
problems as they arise. When solving problems, they should be encouraged to work with peers to
overcome obstacles rather than relying on the teacher to do so.   

Remember, solving a puzzle is not as important as understanding a puzzle, so when students are
stuck, encourage them to look at several angles until a solution begins to appear. 

Core concepts:
 Digital Citizenship
 Variables
 Data
 For Loops
 Sprites

Attitudinal goals:
 I can use computer science to solve real and meaningful problems.
 Programming is creative.

Key teaching tips:

 Talk with students before you begin about how they may experience frustration.
 Use pair programming and encourage students to help each other.
 Require students to make a first attempt at problem solving before asking for help.
 Remind students of the importance of persistence.
 Encourage students to use a journal during and after activities.
 Promote an environment of cross-team collaboration for group activities and projects.

Course F: Lesson Outlines

Online lessons are in regular text and unplugged lessons are bolded.

Concept Lesson
# Description
Chunk Name
 Functions in Students will begin to understand how functions can be helpful in
1
Minecraft this fun and interactive Minecraft adventure. 
This lesson is designed to introduce students to the Sprite Lab
Swimming Fish
2 programming environment and allow them to apply concepts they
with Sprite Lab
learned in other environments to this tool. 
Alien Dance Party Using Sprite Lab students create their own alien dance party with
Ramp Up 3
with Sprite Lab interactions between characters and user input. 
Drawing with This Artist stage will allow students to create images of increasing
4
Loops complexity using new blocks and the concept of loops. 
In this online activity, students will have the opportunity to push
Nested Loops in
5 their
Maze
understanding of loops to a whole new level. 
Created by Common Sense Education, students learn what they
Digital The Power of
6 should do when someone uses mean or hurtful language on the
Citizenship Words
internet.
Envelope
7 This lesson explains what variables are and how to use them.
Variables
Variables with Students explore the creation of repetitive designs using variables
8
Artist in Artist. 

Variables Changing
9 Variables with Students will get further practice with variables with the bee.
Bee
Changing
10 Variables with This artist level takes variables to new heights. 
Artist
By running a simple simulation in Sprite Lab, students will
Simulating
11 experience how computing can be used to collect data that identify
Experiments
trends or patterns.
This tutorial is designed to quickly introduce students to machine
learning, a type of artificial intelligence. Students will explore how
Data 12 AI for Oceans
training data is used to enable a machine learning model to
classify new data.
  In this lesson, students will pretend to flow through the internet, all
13 The Internet the while      
learning about connections, URLs, IP addresses, and the DNS. 
Students play a game with dice to learn a powerful new
14 For Loop Fun
programming concept: for loops. 
For Loops with This lesson focuses on `for` loops as students look for patterns in
For Loops 15
Bee puzzles with the bee. 
For Loops with
16 Students continue to practice `for` loops, this time with Artist. 
Artist
Behaviors in Here, students will use Sprite Lab to create their own customized
17
Sprite Lab behaviors.
Sprites
Virtual Pet with In this lesson, students will create an interactive Virtual Pet that
18
Sprite Lab looks and behaves how they wish.
End of Course Students will be given their own space to create their project with
Project 19
Project either Artist or Sprite Lab.

Teaching and Learning Strategies

The following teaching and learning strategies for CS Fundamentals are used repeatedly in many
different lessons and units. They represent our ideal approach to delivering these lessons in a
classroom and are at the core of the ways the curriculum is designed as we believe these are critical
to positive classroom culture and ultimately student learning.

Lead Learner
What is it?
The curriculum has been written with the idea that the instructor will act as the lead learner. As the
lead learner, your role shifts from being the source of knowledge to being a leader in seeking
knowledge. The lead learner’s mantra is: “I may not know the answer, but I know that together we can
figure it out.” The philosophy of the lead learner is that you don’t have to be an expert on everything;
you can start teaching CS Fundamentals knowing what you already know and learn alongside your
students. To be successful with this style of teaching and learning, the most important things are
modeling and teaching how to learn.

How does it connect to the curriculum?

One of the Code.org curriculum values is developing teachers who are new to computer science. In
order to support those teachers, the curriculum is set up to create an engaging and relevant class that
helps students uncover and develop the knowledge they need. This makes it possible for a teacher to
lead the course without knowing all of the answers at first, as long as they embrace the lead learner
role. In addition, it is not possible to have complete command over every rapidly-changing facet of
computer science, no matter how much experience you have. Rather than feeling daunted, the lead
learner welcomes this fact. 

We believe that the lead learner technique represents good teaching practice in general. Acting as the
lead learner is an act of empathy toward your students and the challenges they face in learning
material for the first time. One important job of the teacher in the CS Fundamentals classroom is to
model excitement about investigating how things work by asking motivating questions about why
things work the way they do and or why they are the way they are. With your guidance, students will
learn how to hypothesize; ask questions of peers; test, evaluate, and refine solutions collaboratively.

How do I use it?

 Allow students to dive into an activity without front loading the content first.
 Encourage students to rely on each other for support.
 Don’t give the answer right away, even if you know it.
 Feel open to making mistakes in front of students so that they see it is part of the learning
process.
 Ask students questions that direct their attention toward the issue to investigate without giving
away what they need to change.
  Model the steps you would go through as a learner of a new subject. Explain the different
questions you ask yourself along the way and the ways you go about finding answers.
Pair Programming
What is it?
Pair programming is a technique in which two programmers work together at one computer. The
“driver” writes code while the “navigator” directs the design and setup of the code. The two
programmers switch roles often. Pair programming has been shown to:
 improve computer science enrollment, retention, and students' performance.
 increase students' confidence.
 develop students' critical thinking skills.
 introduce students to a "real world" working environment.

How does it connect to the curriculum?

In CS Fundamentals there are many lessons on the computer (plugged lessons) during which
students develop programming skills. Pair programming can help to foster a sense of camaraderie
and collaboration and can promote diversity in the classroom by reducing the "confidence gap"
between female and male students, while increasing the programming confidence of all students.

How do I use it?

To get students pair programming:
1. Form pairs.
2. Give each pair one computer to work on.
3. Decide upon initial roles.
4. Have students start working.
5. Ensure that students switch roles at regular intervals (every 3 to 5 minutes).
6. Ensure that navigators remain active participants.

It can be hard to introduce pair programming after students have worked individually for a while, so
we recommend that teachers start with pair programming in the first few lessons. Just like any other
classroom technique, you may not want to use this all the time as different types of learners will
respond differently to working in this context. Once you have established pair programming as a
practice early on, it will be easier to come back to later.

Resources
Code.org also has a feature to help both students get “credit” on their accounts for the work they do
together. Check out the blog on Pair Programming: https://goo.gl/MorPnx. 

Videos: 
 For Teachers: youtu.be/sxToW3ixrwo
 For Students: youtu.be/vgkahOzFH2Q

The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) has a great resource about the
benefits of pair programming. Check it out at: www.ncwit.org/resources/pair-programming-box-power-
collaborative-learning 
Authentic Choice
What is it?
Authentic choice is the practice of allowing students to decide on the focus of their creation when they
are working on a project. This can be scoped in different ways with different projects, but the central
point is to allow students to work on something they are personally invested in.

How does it connect to the curriculum?

In the curriculum, we give students many opportunities to work on projects that we hope will feel
personally relevant. Whether it be a small freeplay level at the end of a lesson or a course project
designed by students in upper elementary, every student should get ample opportunity to develop
creations of their own. 

In addition, we encourage teachers to help students utilize their new skills in creative ways at the end
of each lesson using the Lesson Extras option. There, students will find challenge puzzles and open-
canvas projects to use for deeper learning and self-expression.

How do I use it?

 Give students time to get creative and find something they are passionate about in the project
that they are working on.
 Encourage students to find personally relevant contexts for the work they do.
 Try to keep the projects as open to students’ interests as possible while still keeping them
focused on the learning at hand.

Journaling
What is it?
In CS Fundamentals, students are encouraged to keep a journal nearby to write down thoughts and
answer questions.

How does it connect to the curriculum?

Courses A-F of Computer Science Fundamentals were written with the importance of journaling in
mind. Journaling for reflection is a popular tool in education, but we take that one step further. Like a
chemist would catalog strategies and solutions, so do we ask our budding computer scientists to take
notes on their trials and achievements. Journals are useful as scratch paper for building, debugging,
and strategizing, and they offer a fantastic resource for referencing previous answers when struggling
with more complex problems.

How do I use it?

 Encourage students to keep their journals beside them at all times when coding.
 Remind students that they can write solutions out longhand, then circle patterns to find prime
opportunities for loops and functions.
 Have students copy down answers to puzzles that they might need in future levels.
 Ask students to draw emoticons at the top of the pages to help them identify how they’re
feeling about concepts.
  End each lesson with a thought or question that students can answer in writing as a way of
reflecting on their growth for the day.

Student Practices
Lessons in CS Fundamentals help students work in a wide array of contexts, but these experiences
are tied together by a core set of practices and skills they develop throughout each course. These
student practices provide coherence and serve as helpful reminders of the high-level skills and
dispositions we want students to develop. 

Problem Solving
 Use a structured problem solving-process to help solve new problems.
 View challenges as solvable problems.
 Break down larger problems into smaller components.
Persistence
 Value and expect mistakes as a natural and productive part of problem solving.
 Continue working towards solutions in spite of setbacks.
 Iterate and continue to improve partial solutions.
 Keep track of elements that worked and elements that did not to avoid repeating mistakes.
Creativity
 Incorporate your own interests or ideas into your work.
 Experiment with new ideas and consider multiple possible approaches.
 Extend or build upon the ideas and projects of others.
Collaboration
 Work with others to develop solutions that incorporate all contributors.
 Mediate disagreements and help teammates agree on a common solution.
 Actively contribute to the success of group projects.
Communication
 Structure your work so that it can be easily understood by others.
 Consider the perspective and background of your audience when presenting your work.
 Provide and accept constructive feedback in order to improve your work.

Debugging 
Everyone gets bugs! Therefore, debugging is an essential skill all students should develop that builds
on the student practices discussed above. Without strong debugging skills, students can become
frustrated. Help keep students moving by implementing both active and reflective debugging
strategies in your classroom.

Active Debugging
New programmers are prone to writing long chunks of code without pausing to read or test their work
along the way, which can snowball into a program that is very hard to debug. To prevent this, we
suggest implementing active debugging as part of a general coding philosophy.

Active debugging describes the practice of debugging while coding. This generally means students
taking time during coding exercises to read, process, and test small pieces of code that they have just
written. “Small pieces of code” is relative, of course, particularly if students are tasked with coming up
with a solution that requires just one or two blocks. However, the practice itself can be tremendously
helpful as students write longer programs, which gradually occurs in all CS Fundamentals courses.

A practical student-facing guide to active debugging exists in our Debugging Guide, which can be
found on the Course Overview Page of each course, and is shown below. This guide lists active
debugging strategies for students. We suggest making this document available to students as a
classroom poster or individual handout, then referring to it as students progress through your course. 
Guide to Debugging

Reflective Debugging
While students are working, you will notice the same issues appearing again and again. Some
students are able to quickly move through these issues, while others are left behind. Even with active
debugging practices in place, these experiences can be disheartening for any teacher. However, they
can, in fact, inspire a productive reflective debugging session at some point during the class.

Active debugging is how individual students can find and fix their own bugs. Reflective debugging, on
the other hand, is a practice in which students participate in debugging as an entire class. ‘Bug Talks’
and keeping a ‘bug tracker’ are two examples of  strategies that can be used to implement reflective
debugging in your classroom and are described below:
Bug Talks
Bug Talks are very similar to “Number Talks” from the world of mathematics education. Teachers can
use Bug Talks before, during, or after class to help students clear up misconceptions that manifest as
common bugs. A typical Bug Talk should last 5-10 minutes and might proceed as follows:

1. A problem is displayed for students to solve on their own, quietly. The problem should be
small enough that they can solve it mentally or with scratch paper. Students who were able to
solve the problem very quickly should try coming up with more than one solution. An example
problem might be a buggy solution to a puzzle on the website, perhaps similar to the one
students are currently struggling with.
2. After having time to work alone, students can share their ideas with a neighbor.
3. After sharing with a neighbor, students raise hands to share answers with the class.
4. The teacher neutrally records as many answers as possible on the board. That is, the teacher
does not say which are correct or incorrect. Duplicate answers are given +1, +2, and so forth.
5. Teacher calls on students to explain the reasoning behind their answers. Students can
respond to each other’s arguments with sentence starters like, “I agree/disagree, because…”.
6. Finally, students discuss and vote on which answer they collectively believe is the best
solution. 

To conclude a Bug Talk, teachers should reiterate why the chosen strategy works best, including any
unmentioned points the class might not have brought up.

Bug Tracker
A Bug Tracker is a poster that can help your students name and understand common problems they
encounter while coding. Throughout a CS Fundamentals course, students collectively drive the
development of their class’ Bug Tracker through teacher-led discussions about coding and problem
solving.

Small misconceptions can lead to big problems when learning to code. You can
help students clear these misconceptions by facilitating class discussions about
specific instances of bugs they catch. During these discussions, your Bug Tracker
can be used as a class-sourced running record that generalizes those instances
Why Create a into more widely applicable and accurate coding concepts.
Bug Tracker?
In addition to identifying and describing common bugs, students should share
debugging strategies on your Bug Tracker as well. This collective exchange of
knowledge can help empower students to persist together through even the
toughest challenges. 

To ensure your class develops the foundation of documenting bugs and

When Should I
debugging as early as possible, the introduction of the Bug Tracker should
Introduce a Bug
coincide with the first programming lesson, then be revisited throughout the
Tracker? 
course as needed.

You may want to discuss bugs students have found at the beginning or end of
class, or even potentially during class if it seems many students are encountering
How Do I Use the same types of problems. Encourage students to refer back to the Bug Tracker
the Bug while they work. You can challenge your students to look for the bugs they
Tracker? spotted as they work. Have them tell a neighbor when they see one. Can they
come up with strategies to get past it? Ask students to hold on to new bugs if they
happen to find them. They can share their bugs during the next Bug Talk.

What “Bugs” This is actually a great question and one that we hope your students will grapple
Might Appear on with as they learn. At least at the beginning of your course, you might hear
a Bug Tracker? students suggest, “The computer won’t turn on,” or “The Internet is slow” be
added to the class’ Bug Tracker. This is a perfect time to discuss, and further
instill, the meaning of “coding” and “debugging,” although relating these CS-
 specific concepts to other difficulties students experience (technical and non-
technical) is certainly worthy of discussion.

Course Resources
The CS Fundamentals curriculum is made up of student-facing and teacher-facing components.
Teachers will access curriculum materials in two different places on the Code.org website: our Code
Studio platform and in the teacher-facing curriculum. The table below outlines what you can do in
each of these places:

Code Studio Teacher-facing Curriculum

 Access all online student-facing lesson  Access teacher-facing lesson plans that
materials provide detailed context for how to deliver
o Review completed student work, lessons
including program code and  Navigate links to all printable materials
assessment questions  needed for the course
 Create and manage sections of students,  Explore course resources, such as
including assigning courses and lessons to standards mapping, vocabulary lists, code
students documentation, PDFs of lessons, etc. 

The following pages contain an overview of the layout and organization of these important course
resources. 

Code.org Website
Log in to Code.org with your teacher account. The website header will help you navigate the site:

The Code.org home page is the starting point for everything in the curriculum. To get started with your
students, you will need to create a section. For details on how to create a section, visit the getting
started support articles at support.code.org.

Once you’ve assigned your CS Fundamentals students to a section, a tile that can be used to access
the course overview page will appear on the homepage. This is your starting point for lesson planning
and all the resources you need to teach the course.
Course Overview Structure and Iconography
Code Studio — Course Overview
The course overview page on Code Studio (e.g., studio.code.org/s/coursea) is a hub for managing
your course and includes the following:

Using the toggle on the top right of the unit overview page in Code Studio yields one of two options: a
detailed view of the unit or a collapsed view: 

Code Studio -  Iconography on Course Overview page 

When looking at the detailed view of the course overview page (e.g., studio.code.org/s/coursea)
described above, you will notice a number of different icons that represent different types of levels
within a given lesson. Those icons are listed below, along with a brief description of what they
represent and how you might use them as a teacher.

These levels contain videos along with any other resources necessary for
students to access while completing unplugged lessons. 

Because the nature of an unplugged lesson means that you might not want
your students on a computer during the lesson, you should feel free to
project these resources at the front of the room and invite any students
who missed the unplugged lesson to use the materials posted here as a
tool to learn more about what they missed.

These levels contain instructions, text, or images to help you run a class
activity. Lesson instructions will indicate how these levels should be
incorporated into the activity. A lesson overview provides a short activity
description and links to documents used throughout the lesson.

Consider going over these as a whole-class activity. These also provide

good stopping points to check in with the students and make sure
everyone is together before moving on to the next set of tasks. 

Video levels contain a video to be used in the curriculum and are typically
hosted in multiple formats, including a downloadable file, to be compatible
with a variety of technology needs across classrooms.

Videos can be watched as a whole class to allow for group discussion

afterward. Remind students that they can use these videos as reference if
they need some extra help during programming.

These levels represent some sort of check for understanding, usually in the form of
multiple-choice or free-response questions. You will find these levels in individual
lessons, indicated with an assessment icon. In that case, these are intended to be
used as formative assessment items. Students can always see them and change
their responses at any time.

Question levels are also in the post-project test found at the end of each unit. In
those cases, the items are meant to be summative assessment items. 

These levels use a Code.org tool or programming environment. An

instructions panel explains any new content introduced in the level,
provides a checklist of tasks to complete, and may include starter code.
Teachers can review their students’ code from the Teacher Panel.

Enable students to develop skills by completing targeted tasks individually

or in pairs. Support them by directing them to available resources and
helping them to develop general coding strategies

Teacher-facing curriculum — Course Overview

The teacher-facing course overview page (e.g., curriculum.code.org/csf/coursea) is a hub for seeing
all lesson plans for a given course and includes the following:
Note that from this view, lessons are organized by concept chunk, and there are direct links to any
materials needed in the lesson. 
Lesson Structure and Iconography
Lessons in CS Fundamentals are written for a wide variety of classrooms. A typical lesson is broken
down with time estimates, but the actual time will vary based on the age of your students, their
background with the material, and their interests. Teachers looking to complete our courses in less
than the suggested time have also found success by looking at clusters of related lessons together.
See Concept Chunks above.

Types of Lessons in CS Fundamentals

The CS Fundamentals curriculum has four main types of lessons, which build in complexity and allow
students to apply their learning in different contexts. Those four lessons types are: 

1. Unplugged. These lessons are done away from the computer and are often used to
introduce a new concept in a hands-on, tangible way.  
2. Skill Building. These lessons are done on the computer and give students structured
practice with a new tool or programming concept.
3. Application. These lessons are done on the computer and give students space to apply
learned concepts in creative ways.  
4. End-of-Course Project. These longer lessons are done both on and off the computer and
provide an open-ended space for students to bring together everything they’ve learned in the
course into a single, creative project. 
These lesson types contribute to the flow of concept chunks, which were described on page 6. See
below for an example of a concept chunk from Course C as seen on Code Studio (left) and in the
teacher-facing curriculum (right): 

Concept chunk in teacher-facing

Concept chunk in Code Studio: Curriculum

The following pages provide more details on each of these lesson types and how they manifest in
concept chunks. 

Unplugged Lessons
We refer to lessons in which students are not working on a computer as “unplugged.” Students will
often work with pencil and paper or physical manipulatives.  These are intentionally placed kinesthetic
opportunities that help students digest complicated concepts in ways that relate to their own lives.
Often an unplugged lesson sets the stage for a subsequent skill-building lesson investigating the
same concept on the computer. Both types of lessons are vital pieces of the curriculum. 

Unplugged lessons are particularly useful for building and maintaining a collaborative classroom
environment, and they are useful touchstone experiences you can refer to when introducing more
abstract concepts. While these lessons sometimes involve more advanced preparation, they provide a
shared and concrete context that can be referenced during other lessons. For a list of all unplugged
lessons covered in the CS Fundamentals curriculum (plus a few extras!) visit:
code.org/curriculum/unplugged
Tips for Effectively Teaching Unplugged Lessons:
 Don’t skip these activities! They’re often an essential introduction to new concepts.
 Teach lessons in the order they are written. The sequence is designed to scaffold student
understanding.
 Help students identify the computer science concepts underlying the activities.
 Refer back to unplugged lessons to reinforce concepts in subsequent lessons.

Skill-Building Lessons
The majority of “plugged” or computer-based lessons in CS Fundamentals are skill building and are
designed to help students get hands-on practice with tools and concepts. On Code Studio, these
lessons typically consist of practice puzzles, videos, prediction puzzles, and free play activities.
You can read more about these Code Studio activity types in the next section.

Skill building lesson plans typically have many of the same features as their unplugged counterparts.
Lessons will begin and end with discussions or activities that help motivate and synthesize learning.
Key moments for you to check in with your students are noted in lesson plans. Students will use a
computer, but the ways students interact with each other and your role as the teacher are still
important considerations.

These puzzle progressions generally start with a sequence of practice puzzles that gradually increase
until reaching a challenge puzzle. There are often additional puzzles after the challenge that
intentionally get easier to help build efficacy and confidence at the end of the lesson.
Bridging Activities
Bridging activities connect our unplugged lessons to our skill building lessons in a real and concrete
way. They often exist as a method of turning an abstract concept or idea learned through unplugged
play into an actionable tool for the upcoming puzzles.

In a given concept chunk that starts with an unplugged lesson, you will find a bridging activity as the
“warm up” in the first skill building lesson that follows. As you become more comfortable with the
curriculum, feel free to come up with your own online/offline blends to keep the curriculum relevant to
your classroom.

Tips for Effectively Teaching Skill-Building Lessons:

 “Plugged” doesn’t mean the computer is the teacher! In many ways, you will need to take a
more active role in checking student progress since it’s hard to know what’s happening when
students are working on screens.
 Use warm ups, wrap ups, and suggested check-ins to ensure students are synthesizing
concepts.
 Encourage students to work with one another to maintain the collaborative classroom culture
established during unplugged lessons.
 Highlight connections from the preceding unplugged lessons.

Skill-Building lesson example from Course C, “Loops” concept chunk

Application Lessons
While similar in appearance to our other online puzzles, application tasks are special in that they were
designed to allow students to apply what they have learned in a creative way. 
These lessons typically walk students through the creation of a mini-project that will be unique for
them based on their own creative decisions. There are no right or wrong answers here! Unlike skill
building lessons where student work is typically validated for correctness automatically, there is no
validation in these lessons. This is because the mini-project work that students do in application
lessons is much more open-ended. To determine if students are successfully applying learned
concepts, reviewing their code is essential.

Tips for Effectively Teaching Application Lessons:

 Consider completing the lesson’s mini-project yourself ahead of time. This can build empathy
for the student experience and help you to better understand the capabilities and limitations of
the tool.
 Be sure to talk with the class to establish context and expectations for this type of lesson.
 Students may need to determine for themselves when they are ready for the next step in a
mini-project. Stress the importance of reading instructions in these lessons.

Application Lesson Appearance on Code Studio

Application lesson example from Course C, “Loops” concept chunk

End-of-Course Projects
Each course offers the opportunity for students to take what they’ve learned at the end of a lesson
and put it together into a unique project that represents their own creativity. 

In Courses A-B, this takes the format of exercises that have multiple solutions. Course C takes
students through a progression to build a more complex program in which the students drive many of
the decisions. 

In Courses D-F, project development takes the stage. Here, students are encouraged to plan, build,
revise, and present projects of their own. Following a project from inception to delivery offers an inside
look at the software development cycle. These guided projects offer scaffolded rubrics for the benefit
of both student and teacher.

Teacher-Facing Curriculum - Lesson Plans

Every lesson plan has a common structure designed to make it easy to find what you need. As you
plan for a lesson, we recommend starting with the overview, then reviewing the core activity to get a
deeper sense of what will happen in the lesson and how long it might take.
Iconography
Within lesson plans you’ll notice a number of icons and other kinds of callouts. These are intended to
give context about what “mode” you should be operating in for each part of the lesson. Sometimes
you speak directly to the students, and other times you need to understand the goal of a discussion or
give guidance during an activity.
Interactive Code Studio View

Lesson plans give you an interactive view into all of the text content and instructions students see on
the platform.

With this view, you can quickly browse through what students see for each level in the lesson without
having to step through each level on Code Studio.

This should greatly speed up your preparations for class or serve as fast way to remind yourself
what’s in each lesson.

Code Studio - Lesson Iconography

Once students navigate to lesson levels on Code Studio, a new set of iconography is used to
communicate about some types of levels. Those icons are listed below, along with a brief description
of what they represent and how you might use them as a teacher.
You can alway see how levels are classified in a lesson  on the course overview page (e.g.,
studio.code.org/s/coursea) by selecting the expanded view (see the icon to the left)

Practice puzzles are the most common type of online activity found in CS
Fundamentals lessons. Students are given explicit instructions about a task to
perform and provided with a toolbox of programming commands and hints.
These puzzles are automatically validated which means that students receive
instant feedback about the accuracy of their code. Students can typically just be
Practice expected to work through these progressions, either with a partner or at their

own pace.

Most of our skill building lessons contain one “challenge” puzzle near the end of
the lesson series. Challenge puzzles are intended to inspire students to try new
things with the concepts they are learning. It will test their persistence, highlight
misconceptions, and hopefully lead them to the “ah-ha” moment that educators
love. If the lesson you are teaching contains a challenge puzzle, consider letting
students know in advance. Encourage them to persevere and understand that it
may take additional time and effort to complete these tasks. In case it is needed,
all challenge puzzles have a “Skip” button which allows students to move on. Be
Challenge sure to set expectations with your class around how to engage with this type of

activity.

All CS Fundamentals courses feature great videos designed to introduce tools

or to help explain new concepts. Featuring a diverse set of speakers who also
Video share their own connections to the growing field of computer science, these
videos are meant to be viewed by students. Depending on the lesson and your
classroom organization, you may wish for students to watch them on their own
or show them to the entire class all at once.

Prediction Instead of writing or changing code, as they do in practice and challenge

puzzles, in prediction puzzles students are asked to read a provided program
and answer a question about it. The question must be answered before the
student may press the “Run” button. While it is possible to use these questions
as a form of assessment, keep in mind that they are often placed at the start of
a lesson as a way to get students questioning things before they are even
formally shown how something new
 works. 

Many of our skill-building and application lessons end

with a free-play level. This is not only a great place to
point students who are progressing quickly, but a place
for all students to really express their creativity. While
students are not actually required to write any code in
these levels, doing so will allow them to apply what they
have learned in a way that is more meaningful to them.
Encourage your students to take their time
here. 
Free-Play

Mini-projects are made up of a series of online activities

in which students will write code to build something
gradually over the course of the main activity of a lesson.
These activities look similar to practice puzzles but have
a few important differences. Most importantly, any code
that you write in one bubble is carried over to the other
bubbles within the same mini-project progression. This
means that students (and the teacher) will see the same
program when clicking ahead (or behind) within the
project. Because these activities are designed to
Mini-Project encourage creativity, expect each student to create
something a little different. The open-ended nature of
these projects means that Code Studio will not offer
immediate feedback about the correctness of the
student’s work. Pressing the orange “Finish” button will
allow the student to move on to the next step and turn the
associated bubble at the top of Code Studio green.
 Because of the structure of concept chunks and the flow
between unplugged, skill-building, and application
lessons, it is usually ideal to keep the entire class
together on the same lesson instead of letting students
skip ahead to new concepts. For that reason, we have
Lesson Extras provided an area at the end of each lesson where
students can use the concepts that they’ve learned in
new and interesting ways. These puzzles are considered
“optional.” They are a sandbox to keep students who
finish early challenged and working on tasks relevant to
the core CS concept being taught. In addition, the Lesson
Extras can be used to add an additional day onto skill-
building lessons, offering the opportunity for students to
come back and create personal and authentic projects
with their newest concepts.

Code Studio Debugging Features

Some of our puzzles feature special tools to help students debug code on their own.

Debugging Feature  How It Works

Step Button

With the “Step” button, it is possible to

go through a program block by block to
see what happens each step of the wa
This is a helpful tool when the code
moves too quickly to understand where
things get off course.

To use the “Step” button, simply click o

“Step” instead of “Run.” The code will
run exactly one block before coming to
rest again. To continue through the
code, keep pressing “Step” until you
have completed your program or found
your bug.

Found in Maze puzzles 

(Includes skins: Angry Birds, Ice Age, Plants vs. Zombies)
 Speed Slider

In Artist puzzles, the “Step” button is

replaced by a speed slider. For a simila
effect, try moving the slider to the far le
and watching the artist go through each
step very slowly.

Found in Artist puzzles

(Includes Frozen skin)

Implementation and Planning 

This section offers suggestions for implementing a CS Fundamentals course in an elementary school
classroom. CS Fundamentals courses are designed for flexibility in implementation and have been
successfully used in a variety of formats, including in the classroom alongside other subjects, as a
rotating special, in computer lab time, or as stations. 

Lesson Pacing
In general, all students should move lesson to lesson at a pace set by the teacher. This is easy to do
in a teacher-led unplugged lesson but can be trickier in skill-building and application lessons in which
students move through activities at different speeds. The two challenges here are in recognizing when
a class is ready to move on and knowing how to make sure all students are working on something
appropriate for them within the same concept chunk.

Unplugged Lessons: These lessons involve the full class learning a concept together and are a
great way to kick off a concept together as a whole class.
Skill-Building Lessons: These lessons contain optional lesson extras as well as challenge puzzles
that students can actually choose to skip. If a student skips a challenge puzzle or lesson extra but
moves through the rest of the lesson quickly, encourage them to go back and try the challenge and
lessons extras. It is not necessary for all students to complete all challenges and lesson extras before
moving the class onto the next lesson. If a student’s progress shows that they haven’t finished a full
lesson yet, consider seeing if they are stuck at a challenge puzzle or something more basic and
responding appropriately. For some concept chunks there are multiple skill-building lessons. When
this is the case, it is not required that all students do every level of every skill-building lesson. You
should use your judgement about when students are ready to move on to the application lessons or to
the next concept chunk. 

Application Lessons: Due to the more open-ended nature of these lessons, students can actually
pass some levels in these lessons just by clicking “Finish.” This should be discouraged as these
lessons are one of the best ways for students to demonstrate their learning. They are also a great
place to encourage creativity and give students space to apply the concepts they’ve learned in new
ways. If some students move through an application lesson quickly, help them brainstorm ideas or
encourage them to get feedback from peers.

Projects: In addition to the open-ended project lesson at the end of most courses, it is also possible
for students to create a new project at any time by clicking the “Create” button in the top right corner
of Code Studio. If a student has already shown good understanding of a concept, consider having
them build a new project using what they know rather than just moving onto the next lesson ahead of
the class.

Scheduling The Lessons 

The simplest and easiest way to schedule a CS Fundamentals lesson is to dedicate one 45-minute
period to each lesson. However, if this does not seem realistic for your situation, it is possible to teach
the courses, even with less time. In the CS Fundamentals Curriculum Overview section, we explored
how Courses A-F are further divided into concept chunks. These groups of lessons are connected
through shared concepts. However, you are not required to teach every lesson or even every chunk. If
a concept chunk consists of three or more lessons, consider grouping some lessons into one class
period. For example, it may be possible to teach an abridged version of an unplugged lesson in 20
minutes, or you may give students a choice about which skill-building lesson to complete first rather
than giving everyone time to complete all skill-building lessons. If you do need to shorten things, be
sure to end with an experience in which students get to take ownership of something they make
themselves, either in an application lesson or a project.

Approach to Teaching in Common Classroom

Scenarios
Here are implementation tips for common situations in elementary schools: 

Everyone doing the lesson together

Keeping the class together on the same lesson helps to build a sense of community and prevents
struggling students from feeling left behind by their peers. Make sure students feel empowered to
travel at their own pace within a lesson and consider what you want to do with students who finish
early. See the “lesson pacing” section above for more details and tips. 

1:1 computers
Even if you have 1:1 computers, consider grouping students up for pair programming. This setup
allows students to gain insight into the problem-solving processes of their peers while helping them to
develop collaboration and communication skills.

Always in the computer lab

If your class is regularly held in a computer lab, look for rooms to “visit” for unplugged lessons (like the
library or the gym). This will give students room to spread out and feel like they are learning
authentically rather than trying to “make do” in the available space.
Only a few computers
Some classrooms have a small number of computers set up in one area, and teachers use these as
activity centers. This can be still effective once the class has already gone through the unplugged
lessons for a concept together.

Limited time
If you are short on time, choose a concept and teach it thoroughly. In elementary school, the main
goal is to teach students that they are capable of learning computer science. If you ditch a deep dive
on concepts in favor of a shallow introduction, students might be left feeling as if they don’t
understand any of it.

Guide for CS Fundamentals teachers during school

closures
In response to school closures due to COVID-19 pandemic, many Code.org classrooms are moving to
using our CS Fundamentals courses in a virtual setting or giving their students activities to keep
learning at home. Note that the following guidance also applies to longterm school closures caused by
other incidents schools may face (e.g., inclement weather). 

Resources to keep learning

Computer science is a great way to add some fun to extended time at home. However, the learning
will take a different form when some kids are engaged regularly, some have only a little time, some
have computers, and some don’t.
Rather than trying to teach a synchronous class remotely, many teachers will be giving elementary
school students activities they can do to maintain their interest as well as providing structure during
their time at home.

We are compiling a list of activities on code.org/athome that are ideal to share with students or
families interested in doing some computer science on their own. This list includes activities for
students with no computers or internet access.

Teaching CS Fundamentals Remotely

If your school is asking you to continue to teach virtually and you’re part way through CS
Fundamentals, we recommend you have students continue their existing courses at home, but skip
the unplugged lessons.

We designed the lessons in CS Fundamentals for use in a classroom with an actively engaged
teacher, but many lessons can adapt well to at-home learning. Learning with CS Fundamentals does
require an internet-connected device with a modern browser, something we realize not all students
can access right now.

You can track your students’ progress to see where they are. You may be able to use resources like
video conferencing or email to assist students and provide feedback.

Where can I get help?

You are highly encouraged to share any questions or insights on our CS Fundamentals Forum where
you can connect with other teachers. You can also email us at [email protected]. We are here to
help!

We also recommend you consider CSTA's Resources to Support Teaching During COVID-19 for an
extensive set of options for continuing to teach computer science during school closures.
Tech Requirements and Required Materials
Technical Requirements
A computing device and an Internet connection
We work hard to build an environment that supports all modern web browsers on desktops and mobile
devices. This includes Internet Explorer 11+ and the latest versions of Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and
Edge. 

Our instructional videos may be affected depending on your school's internet filters. If YouTube is
blocked at your school, our video player will attempt to use our non-YouTube player instead. For more
details about the IT requirements for accessing and playing our embedded videos, see our IT
requirements page at code.org/educate/it. We’ve made all of our videos available for download using
a link located in the bottom corner. If all fails, some videos have a “Show Notes” tab that provide a
storyboard equivalent of the video.

Required Materials / Supplies

One potentially significant cost to consider when teaching this course is printing. Many lessons have
handouts that are designed to guide students through activities. While it is not required that all of
these handouts be printed, many were designed to be printed, and we highly recommend printing
when possible. 

Beyond printing, some lessons call for typical classroom supplies and manipulatives, such as student
journals,  poster paper, markers, colored pencils, scissors, scrap paper, glue or tape. 

The following items are called for in specific lessons as listed:

Cours
Lesson Materials
e
Course A Marble Run (optional activity)  Kid friendly marbles or round cereal (1-5/group)*
Lesson 3: My Robotic Friends
Plastic cups (10/group of 2-3)*
Jr.
Lesson 7: Creating Art with
Optional - Protractors (1/student)
Code
Course C
Markers. Optional – 18 black/18 white beads, 1 pipe
Lesson 8: Binary Bracelets
cleaner per student
Lesson 9: My Loopy Robotic
Paper cups (20/group of 4)
Friends Jr.
Lesson 7: Dance Party Optional - Headphones (1/student)
Lesson 10: Conditionals with
Deck of cards or something similar (1/group of 4-6)*
Course D Cards
Optional - Groupings of opposite items to display to
Lesson 16: Binary Images
students 
Course E Lesson 10: Digital Sharing Smartphone or tablet
Lesson 6: The Power of Words Colored Pencils, string the length of the classroom

Course F Lesson 7: Envelope Variables Envelopes (1-4/group of 2-4)

Lesson 14: For Loop Fun Dice (3 dice/group of 2-4)*

*These items can easily be re-used between multiple classes
Getting Help
The curriculum is completely free for anyone to teach anywhere. For support, click on the question
mark in the upper right-hand corner of the website. 

Here, you’ll find our “Help and support” forum where you can email us or find how-to articles. You’ll
also see a link to our “Teacher community” forums where you can connect to other teachers for
support, teaching tips, or best practices. 

When you’re in a puzzle, you’ll see an additional “Report a problem” link for that puzzle. Thank you for
helping us find and fix any issues.

Thanks and Acknowledgements

Launched in 2013, Code.org is a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding access to computer
science and increasing participation by women and underrepresented students of color. Our vision is
that every student in every school has the opportunity to learn computer science. We believe
computer science should be part of core curriculum, alongside other courses such as biology,
chemistry, or algebra. 

Code.org increases diversity in computer science by reaching students of all backgrounds where they
are — at their skill-level, in their schools, and in ways that inspire them to keep learning. Read about
our efforts to increase diversity in computer science at code.org/diversity. In order to support this
vision of diverse and meaningful access to computer science, Code.org has developed a full pathway
of learning opportunities that span K-12. The CS Fundamentals curriculum is specifically designed to
meet the needs of elementary school students and teachers along that pathway. 

As always, it is thanks to our generous donors that we were able to develop and offer this curriculum
at no cost to schools, teachers, or students: Microsoft, Infosys Foundation USA, Facebook, Omidyar
Network, Google, Ballmer Family Giving, Ali and Hadi Partovi, Bill Gates, The Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, BlackRock, Jeff Bezos, John and Ann Doerr, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan,
Quadrivium Foundation, Amazon Web Services, The Marie-Josee and Henry R. Kravis Foundation,
Reid Hoffman, Drew Houston, Salesforce, Sean N. Parker Foundation, Smang Family Foundation,
Verizon.

Appendix A: Worksheets for

Intro Workshop
This appendix contains all necessary handouts for lessons that could be explored in the Intro
Workshop. Consult the table of contents below for page numbers: 
 Lesson Planning Guides

Unplugged Lesson Implementation Planning Guide 44 - 45

Plugged Lesson Implementation Planning Guide 46 - 47

Unplugged Lesson Handouts

Course Lesson Page Number

A.3 - Happy Maps 48 - 51 

Course A A.7 - Happy Loops 52 - 54

A.11 - The Big Event Jr. 55

B.2 - Move It, Move It 56

Course B
B.6 - Getting Loopy 57

C.3 - My Robotic Friends Jr. None 

Course C C.9 - My Loopy Robotic Friend Jr None 

C.14 - The Big Event 55

D.1 - Graph Paper Programming 58 - 59

Course D D.3 - Relay Programming 60

D.11 - Conditionals with Cards 61

E.5 - Simon Says None 

Course E E.8 - Private and Personal  Information None 

E.14 - Functions: Songwriting 62

F.7 - Envelope Variables 63 - 64

Course F
F.14 - For Loop Fun 65 - 66

Unplugged Lesson Implementation Planning Guide

Course  _______________            Lesson ________

Make a Plan 
Goal
You have thought about and made a detailed plan for how you might teach an unplugged
lesson in a way that leverages the CS Fundamental instructional practices and supports
students 
 What’s happening Where can this
happen in the
lesson? 

Instructional approaches to use in this lesson

What instructional techniques or approaches do you want to be sure to
use in this lesson? Where do you want to use them? 

Role as the teacher 

When/where in the lesson do you want the whole class to discuss a
topic? What role do you plan to take and when? 

Classroom environment and student interaction

When do you want students to interact during this lesson? What should
that look like? 

What’s happening Where can this

happen in the
lesson? 
Assessing student learning in the lesson  
How can you assess if students have learned what they need to learn
during this lesson? 

Connecting to computer science 

Where do you think students might need a push to see the connection
between this unplugged activity and computer science? How do  you
plan to support that?

Making connections 
Where is there space in this lesson to make connections to the real
world/other things students are learning in school?

Plugged Lesson Implementation Plan

 Course  _______________            Lesson ________

Make a Plan 
Goal
You have thought about and made a detailed plan for how you might teach the lesson in a
way that leverages the CS Fundamental instructional practices and supports students 

What’s happening Where can this

happen in the
lesson? 

Connecting to Unplugged lesson

How will you scaffold and support students in seeing the connection
between the previous unplugged lesson and this plugged lesson?

Instructional approaches to use in this lesson

What instructional techniques or approaches do you want to be sure to
use in this lesson and where do you want to use them? 

Role as the teacher 

When/where in the lesson do you want the whole class to discuss a
topic? What role do you plan to take and when? 

What’s happening Where can this

happen in the
 lesson? 

Classroom environment and student interaction

When do you want students to interact during this lesson? What should
that look like? 

Assessing student learning in the lesson  

How can you assess if students have learned what they need to learn
during this lesson? 

Supporting debugging 
Where do you think students might need to engage in debugging during
this lesson (which levels/activities)? How can you support them with that
debugging? 

Making connections 
Where is there space in this lesson to make connections to the real
world/other things students are learning in school?

Course A Lesson 3 - Happy Maps

Course A Lesson 3 - Happy Maps
Course A Lesson 3 - Happy Maps
Course A Lesson 3 - Happy Maps
Course A Lesson 7 - Happy Loops
Course A Lesson 7 - Happy Loops
Course A Lesson 7 - Happy Loops
Course A Lesson 11 and Course C Lesson 14 - The Big Event (Jr.) 
Course B Lesson 2 - Move It, Move It
Course B Lesson 6 - Getting Loopy
 Course D Lesson 1 - Graph Paper Programming
Choose one of the images below. Don’t let your partner see which one you pick!

  

                Image 1         Image 2   Image 3       Image 4     Image 5 Image 6

1) Write a program. (Use → ← ↑ ↓ ) 3) Draw! Follow your partner’s program:

Step 2 3 4 5 6

☆
1

7 8 9 1 11 12
0

13 14 15 1 17 18
6

19 20 21 2 23 24
2

25 26 27 2 29 30
8

2) Trade this worksheet with a

partner.

 Play Again! 
1. Write a program. (Use → ← ↑ ↓ ) 3) Draw! Follow your partner’s program:
Step 2 3 4 5 6

☆
1

7 8 9 1 11 12
0
 13 14 15 1 17 18
6

19 20 21 2 23 24
2

25 26 27 2 29 30
8

2) Trade this worksheet with a

partner.
Course D Lesson 1 - Graph Paper Programming Assessment
Course D Lesson 3 - Relay Programming Assessment
Course D Lesson 11 - Conditionals with Cards
Course E Lesson 14 - Functions: Songwriting
Course F Lesson 7 - Envelope Variables
Course F Lesson 7 - Envelope Variable
Course F Lesson 14 - For Loop Fun
Course F Lesson 14 - For Loop Fun
Appendix B: Worksheets for
Deep Dive Workshop
If you are a US teacher and you'd like to attend a free training on our K-5 Computer Science
curriculum, you can find links to local workshops by visiting https://code.org/professional-
development-workshops.

Scavenger Hunts

Creating and managing sections 68 - 70

Navigating and accessing course materials 69

Viewing and assessing student work 70

Lesson Planning Guides

Lesson Implementation Planning Process 71 - 72

Lesson Implementation Plan Template 72 - 73

Implementation Unconference 74

Session: Scavenger Hunt

Instructions for this session
The goal of this session is to give you space to learn about pieces of the website and the organization
of Code.org resources with which you might not currently be familiar. This activity is broken into three
scavenger hunts that progress in order (e.g., you need to know the things in hunt 1 before moving on
to hunt 2). If you have some comfort navigating the code.org resources already, feel free to start the
hunt on whatever category covers topics with which you are unfamiliar. If you feel very comfortable
with all topics, partner up with someone new and support them! 

1. Creating and managing 2. Navigating and accessing course 3. Viewing and assessing
sections:  materials: student work:

 Hiding and showing lessons for  Viewing student progress

  Creating a classroom section students and work
 Add students to your section  Accessing lesson plans  Viewing sample solutions
 Changing a section’s
assigned course
 Moving students between
sections

Resources
All of the topics explored in this scavenger hunt have support articles associated with them. If at any
time you want help finding answers, see the support resources linked at the top of the shared notes
(“code.org resources”) or visit support.code.org and use the search box to find what you need.

1. Creating and managing sections

Answer /
Category What to Find notes to
self
There are 4 types of account logins to choose from when
creating a section. What are they? 

When might you use each of the login types? 

Creating a
classroom
section When setting up a classroom section, there is an option
to enable “lesson extras.” What are those? 

Pause and practice: If you haven’t already, go create a

section of your own for your students using the login type
and course that best suits their needs.

Which login types require you to add students to the

section yourself? 

For “personal logins” (in which students use their own

Add students to email addresses), where do students need to go to type
your section in your section code? 

BONUS: Where can you see all of the sections you have
JOINED on code.org? 

If you decide you want to teach a section of students a

CS Fundamentals course that is different from what you
originally assigned it, what can you do? 

Changing a When you assign a new CS Fundamentals course to a

section, what happens under “my courses” on the
section’s dashboard for you and the students in that section? 
assigned course
Pause and Practice: If you haven’t already, grab a
buddy and have them join one of your sections. Once
they’ve joined, practice changing the assigned course
and see what happens on their dashboard.
 How do you move students from one classroom section
to another? 

Moving students Do you have to move students one at a time, or can you
between sections move multiple students at once? 

Pause and Practice: If you haven’t already, move your

partner to a different section and see what happens.

2. Navigating and Accessing Course Materials

Answer /
Category What to Find notes to
self

Where do you go to hide and show lessons? How does it

work? 

When you show and hide lessons, are all of your

Hiding and students impacted or just some? 
showing lessons
(for students) Is it possible to hide lessons for someone with a teacher
account? 

Pause and Practice: If you haven’t already, practice

hiding and showing lessons for one of your sections. As
a reminder, you can always toggle on ‘student view’  to
see what the course looks like when lessons are hidden. 

How do you access lesson plans for CS Fundamentals?

(There are two ways.) 

Accessing
Pause and Practice: If you haven’t looked over the
Lesson Plans curriculum page (which houses all of the lesson plans for
a given course), take a minute or two and check in out
now. 

3. Viewing and Assessing Student Work

Answer /
Category What to Find notes to
self
Viewing student What are the two ways to view student work on
progress and code.org? 
work
Pause and Practice: Do you have any students in your
 sections who have  made progress that you can view? 

Where can you find the ‘see a solution’ button on

programming levels? 

Viewing sample
solutions How do you exit the solution once you’re looking at it? 

Pause and Practice: If you haven’t already, try out

viewing a sample solution for yourself!

Session: Lesson Implementation Planning

Lesson Implementation Planning Process
Choose what type of lesson you want to plan today. Here are recommendations for
what type of lesson to plan, based on your experience level:

Fairly new to CS Fundamentals? We recommend you choose one of these lesson

types, focusing on the type you haven’t spent much time planning in the past:  
 Unplugged — explore concepts away from the computer
Step  Skill-Building — the style of lesson we saw in the model lesson earlier
1 Have you been teaching CS Fundamentals for a while? We recommend you plan 
 Application — levels build off of each other up to a final product (typically a
game)
Have a ton of experience with CS Fundamentals? We recommend you plan 
 End of Course projects — entirely student directed projects about a topic of
the students’ choice 

Choose which course you’re going to explore today, based on the grades you
teach:

Step IfIf you teach a single grade, choose the course associated with that grade.
you teach CS Fundamentals to multiple grades, choose which course to explore
2 today based on considerations like: 
 Which course you have the least experience with 
 Which grade you spend the most time with

Step Find your lesson recommendation below by matching up the lesson type and
3 course you want to explore:
Plugged — Plugged — Plugged — End of
Unplugged
Skill-Building Application Course Projects
A.10: Ocean A.12:  On the There are currently no open ended
Course A A.7 - Happy projects written into courses A-B,
Kindergarten Loops
Scene with Move with but if you’re interested in
Loops Events developing an open ended project
you can start with the materials in
Course B B.10 - The B.9: Drawing B.12:  A lesson C.18
First Grade Right App Gardens with Royal Battle
Loops with Events
 Course C C.13: Sticker C.16: Chase
C.8: Binary C.18 - End of Course
Second Art with Game with
Grade Bracelets Project
Loops Events
D.17: Binary D.6 - Build a
Course D D.16: Binary D.19 - End of Course
Third Grade
Images with Star Wars
Images Project
Artist Game
Course E E.17: E.13 - Nested
E.14 - E.19 - End of Course
Fourth Functions Loops in
Grade Songwriting Project
with Artist Frozen
F.8 -
Course F F.7 -
Fifth Grade Changing F.18 - Virtual F.19 - End of Course
Envelope
Variables Pet Project
Variables
with Artist

Access your lesson plan materials and read the lesson

Step
 All lesson plans are available at curriculum.code.org/csf
4  Access all digital materials via the code.org website: code.org > course
catalog> “learn more” on elementary school tile > scroll down to course tiles. 

Read your lesson and prepare to make an implementation plan.

Step
Once you have read the lesson plan, you are ready to use the Code.org Lesson
5 Implementation Planning Guide as a template to help you think about how you will
teach this lesson.

CS Fundamentals Lesson Implementation Plan Template

Course  _______________            Lesson ________

Make a Plan 
Goal
You have thought about and made a detailed plan for how you might teach the lesson in a
way that leverages the CS Fundamental instructional practices and supports students 

What’s happening Where can this

happen in the
lesson? 
Instructional approaches to use in this lesson
What instructional techniques or approaches do you want to be sure to
use in this lesson and where do you want to use them? 

Role as the teacher 

When/where in the lesson do you want the whole class to discuss a
topic? What role do you plan to take and when? 

What’s happening Where can this

happen in the
lesson? 

Classroom environment and student interaction

When do you want students to interact during this lesson? What should
that look like? 

Assessing student learning in the lesson  

How can you assess if students have learned what they need to learn
during this lesson? 
Supporting debugging 
Where do you think students might need to engage in debugging during
this lesson (which levels/activities?) How can you support them with that
debugging? 

Making connections 
Where is there space in this lesson to make connections to the real
world/other things students are learning in school?

Session: Implementation Unconference

Reflect and write

How much of
CS
Fundamental
s do you want
to teach to
your
students?
Now that
we've spent
more time
digging into
CS
Fundamental
s, what is top
of mind as a
barrier for
making CS
Fundamental
s work in
your
classroom? 

Think both in
terms of getting
as far as you
might like and in
terms of making
those lessons as
effective as
possible.

What goals
do you have
for your CS
Fundamental
s Class? 

Appendix C: Notes 
Use the following pages to jot down questions,
ideas, and reflections as you engage with
curriculum at workshops and while teaching.