Artist

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Week 1 Artist

Key Instructional Lesson  Assessment ✀ Unplugged Lesson

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 Lesson 1: Artist
In this lesson, students will take control of the Artist to complete drawings on the screen. This Artist
stage will allow students to create images of increasing complexity using programming blocks like
move forward by 100 pixels and turn right by 90 degrees .

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Lesson 1: Artist
50 minutes

Overview Objectives
In this lesson, students will take control of the Artist to Students will be able to:
complete drawings on the screen. This Artist stage will
allow students to create images of increasing complexity Break complex shapes into simple
using programming blocks like parts.
move forward by 100 pixels and Create a program to complete an
turn right by 90 degrees . image using sequential steps.

Purpose Preparation
This lesson will work to inspire more creativity with coding.
The purpose of this lesson is to increase knowledge on One Week Before Your Hour
sequencing by introducing programming blocks and goals.
In this case, students learn about pixels and angles using of Code
the programming blocks, while incorporating sequencing
skills. Also, students will be able to visualize new goals such Review the Hour of Code Educator
as coding the Artist to draw a square. Guide and Best Practices from
Successful Educators in order to
begin to plan your Hour of Code
Standards Full Course Alignment
event.
CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards (2017) Register your Hour of Code event
if you’d like to receive swag or
AP - Algorithms & Programming
classroom support.
Review and complete the online
Agenda tutorial yourself: Artist
Be sure to test it first before asking
Warm Up (10 minutes) your students to complete it. Check
Introduction your technology and decide if you
Main Activity (30 minutes) need to troubleshoot anything in
Artist advance of your Hour of Code.
Wrap Up (10 minutes) One Day Before Your Hour
Extended Learning
of Code
Print one or more of the Exit Ticket
examples at the end of this lesson
plan, or create your own.
Each student who completes the
activity should receive a certificate.
Print one for each student in
advance to make this easier at the
end of your Hour of Code.
 Play through the puzzles to find
any potential problem areas for
your class.
(Optional) Obtain protractors for
your class to visualize the angles
they must use to complete the
puzzles.
Print one Turns & Angles - Student
Handout for each student.

Links
Heads Up! Please make a copy of
any documents you plan to share
with students.

For the students

Artist Introduction - Student Video
Turns Angles - Student Handout
&

Turns Angles - Student Video

&

Vocabulary
Code - (v) to write code, or to write
instructions for a computer.
Debugging - Finding and fixing
problems in an algorithm or
program.
Program - An algorithm that has
been coded into something that
can be run by a machine.

Teaching Guide
Warm Up (10 minutes)
Setting the Stage
Welcome students to class and very briefly introduce the day’s activity.
Say: Today we’re going to spend one hour learning to code. Has anyone here heard the term “code”
before? What does it mean?
Students might mention that a “code” is like a secret message, or that it’s related to computers in some
way.
 Teaching Tip 
 One way to introduce the Hour of Code if you are not very familiar with coding yourself is to show one
of our inspirational videos. Choose one you think your students will find inspiring, and share it now. For
young learners, we suggest The Hour of Code is Here.

Explain that in computer science, “code” means a set of instructions that a computer can understand. Let
students know that today, they are going to practice “coding,” “programming.” “events” and “debugging”.
Define:
Coding means to write code, or to write instructions for a computer.
Programming, similarly, means to write code or instructions. Today, you will program with blocks on the
computer (if you’re using an online tutorial) or with pen and paper (if you’re using an unplugged
activity).
Debugging means to check code for mistakes and try to fix errors.
 Teaching Tip 

You’ll want to spend very little time front-loading or introducing your Hour of Code. Especially with
young learners, it’s best to jump in as quickly as possible. Too much explanation or lecture at the
beginning tends to spoil the fun, and fun is the whole point!

Introduction
Show the students one or both of the following videos as an introduction to angles:
Artist Introduction - Student Video (1.5 minutes long)
Turns & Angles - Student Video (2 minutes long)
Use Turns & Angles - Student Handout to show the students interior versus exterior angles for different
shapes. This document can be used as a hand out or you can choose to print it out as a poster for students
to refer to.
Discuss the square and triangle shapes from the document.
How would you code a computer to draw that shape?
What order do the instructions need to be in?
Tell the students that in these puzzles they will be moving a character who leaves a line everywhere he
goes. The students will be writing code that gets the character to draw various shapes, including a square.

Main Activity (30 minutes)

Artist
In this set of puzzles, the artist will not be constrained to 90 degree angles. Having physical protractors
available can help students better visualize the angles they need. Otherwise, the stage provides images of
the angles as the student selects which angle to use. (Please note: Angle choices are limited to two inside
of the dropdown menu, reducing the number of options students have to work through.)
Before sending the students to the computers to work on the puzzles, it might be beneficial to give a brief
presentation of how to use the tools in this level. We recommend puzzle 5 as a good puzzle to show how
to use the protractor online.
Challenge your students to complete this Artist activity.
Depending on the age and ability of your students, you might consider:
For younger students, we suggest you break your class into pairs and ask each group to work together
to complete the tutorial using pair programming.
For learners in the middle grades, we find that working independently on tutorials works well.
Sometimes it helps to allow students to choose their own tutorial. If students aren't interested in
Minecraft, they can get a similar experience with the Code with Anna and Elsa or Star Wars tutorials.
For older or adult learners, the Artist tutorial works extremely well either as an independent challenge
or a pair programming activity.

 1-10

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If a group or individual finishes early, they can attempt another tutorial by visiting code.org/learn.

Wrap Up (10 minutes)

Debrief
Ask students to reflect on the day’s activities. What did they learn about coding? Programming?
Debugging?
What are the interior angles that make up a square. What about for a triangle?
Sketch a simple shape on your paper and imagine the code used to draw it. Can you write that code
out next to the shape?
How do they feel about computer science and coding after spending one hour exploring?
Celebrate
Explain that you are spending one hour coding today, because this week is CS Education Week, and
millions of other students across the globe have also been participating in one Hour of Code this week.
Congratulate students on being part of this world wide movement.
Give each student a certificate with his or her name on it.
Next Steps
Let students know that if they enjoyed today’s activity, they have many options for continuing to code.
Encourage students to visit code.org/learn for a list of options, or, if you’re planning any of the extension
activities that follow, tell students what’s coming next in your classroom.

Extended Learning
Beyond the Hour of Code
After your Hour of Code ends, there are many ways to continue teaching computer science in your K-5
classroom. Here are some ideas:
Teach the Code Studio Computer Science Fundamentals courses. These six courses are designed for
young learners. Students work their way through a series of puzzles that teach them to code, and
 educators have access to engaging lesson plans that help make the learning coming alive. Code.org
offers free professional development for these courses, online or in-person.
Visit You can Teach Computer Science for more course suggestions.
Invite a computer science expert to talk to your class about his or her work. Don’t know any local
computer scientists? Reach out to a volunteer on our volunteer map
Use the following activity to enhance student learning. It can be used as outside of class activities or other
enrichment.
The Copy Machine
Give students two pieces of paper
On one sheet draw a simple image, using straight lines only.
On the second sheet draw instructions for recreating that image commands to move straight and turn
at various angles.
Trade instruction sheets and attempt to recreate the image using only the provided instructions.

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