Coding with Colby

As a new adventurer in MakerSpace and learning stations, I used my year-end budget for some cool toys I saw. One purchase was a coding set designed for early coding learners. One product that I noticed right away was the Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set. I purchased mine from The Library Store; however, the set is actually made by Learning Resources and can be purchased directly from their site.

When we begin teaching coding, we start unplugged. Here's our lesson using The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Please excuse my super, ultra, very Southern accent. I'm from the south, y'all. Each image from the story was laid on the carpet. Students "programmed" me through the story by telling me which steps I needed to take to get to the next item. This particular lesson focuses on sequencing.

When coding with Colby, students must use the same concept. In order for the mouse to make it's way through the maze, it must be programmed with the correct algorithm (set of steps). Our students lay out the steps on a grid before entering their code. I also made a cheat sheet for each action button.

Students are loving the challenge of problem-solving through the mazes. They are required to work with their partner to solve two mazes before being able to build their own.

By solving two mazes, students are able to take turns, and it provides the opportunity for me or Ms. Denise to check their work.

Also, be sure to check out CodeSpark Academy for more beginning coding games. They just added a new game (Crocodile Catch) that focuses on conditionals, variables, and inequalities.