Like their counterparts across Huntington UFSD, the youngsters who fill Washington Primary School’s classrooms participated in “hour of code” activities during Computer Science Week, learning more about the concepts involved in computer programming.
Washington first grade teacher Lauren Soskil’s class was introduced to these concepts through “hopscotch coding” activities. The youngsters found the topic fascinating and quickly rose to the various challenges they encountered.
“Students worked in groups and used the coding blocks to create and follow codes from start to stop on the ground,” Ms. Soskil said. “Students took this knowledge, along with the information from our December Principal’s book of the month, ‘How to Code a Sandcastle’ to code on the Chromebooks.”
The class explored Kodable, Lightbot and Grinch Hour of Code. The youngsters came to understand that mistakes can help a person learn and that collaboration with classmates can go a long way toward solving a problem.
“We live in a world where everything is impacted by the efficiency of computer programming,” Washington Principal Michelle Richards said. “When our students enter the workforce they will need to tap into skills directly related to programming on a daily basis. They will need to understand sequences, project development, make decisions based on varied possible outcomes, etc.”
Marybeth Robinette, Huntington UFSD’s director of math K-6 and instructional technology and assessment, developed, facilitated and promoted Computer Science Week activities.
“Whether a child grows up to be a programmer or needs coding in their daily lives, they will be exposed to the endless possibilities of having a level of working knowledge of what makes computers so influential in our world,” Dr. Richards said.
