Coding Adventure: TEACHER NOTES

Computer Science Education Week

overview

Join an adorable monkey in an hour-long jungle adventure that will introduce your students to the basics of computer science. In the activity, students will advance through a self-paced progression of 30 challenges in which they will help a monkey catch bananas as they write real lines of code. No coding experience needed!

specifications

learn coffeescript
No matter how much or little coding experience you and your students have, CodeMonkey is engaging, entertaining & educational

ABOUT CODING ADVENTURE

THE HOUR-LONG VERSION

30 levels

In an hour, students will progress through 30 fun coding challenges

CodeMonkey rat

3rd - 8th GRADE

Coding Adventure is great for beginner coders, no matter the age

REAL CODING

Students will learn CoffeeScript, a programming language that is easy and functional

CodeMonkey chicken

EASY TO FOLLOW

The platform is intuitive and instructions are easy to follow

how to host an hour of code

codemonkey banana

STEP 1: PREP

Go through as many coding challenges as you can to get familiar with the program. We also recommend reading CodeMonkey's post on how to host a successful hour of code.

codemonkey banana

STEP 2: PRINT

Print out certificates for your students to take home. Students who have their own email can request a certificate at the end of the hour of code.

codemonkey banana

STEP 3: WRITE

Write www.codemonkey.com/hour-of-code/coding-adventure/ on the board so students know where to begin.

codemonkey banana

STEP 4: WATCH

Play the following trailer to get the class excited.

codemonkey banana

STEP 5: DISCUSS

Discuss the following topics:
- Computer Science: the art of blending human ideas and digital tools to create anything from phone apps, animated movies, and robots.
- Program: a set of instructions for your computer to follow.
- Commands: what you use to build a program

codemonkey banana

STEP 6: START

Instruct students to go to the link and click on ‘Start Playing’ to get started. Once in a while, discuss different ways to solve challenges. We recommend doing so with challenges 16 and 25.

codemonkey banana

STEP 7: GO BEYOND!

Continue the fun with the full Coding Adventure course.
Read more below:

FAQ

Coding Adventure uses the programming language of CoffeeScript. CoffeeScript is similar to JavaScript in that it is primarily used for web applications, however it has a much friendlier syntax that resembles the way we write in English.

The activity starts off with very simple tasks in order to gradually teach students different aspects of coding.

Yes, you can print out certificates for your students to take home. Students who have their own email address can request a certificate at the end of the hour of code. If not, you can print certificates out here.

Encourage them to go back and try to get 3 stars in all 30 challenges.  Ask them to help classmates who are having trouble or start a new activity here.

Encourage them to read the instructions carefully and double check their code if something is not working.

Encourage students to start each challenge by pressing “run” and watching what the initial code does. This will help them clarify where the code needs fixing.

A challenging puzzle is challenge 27. Refer to the screenshot for a 3-star solution.

Coding Adventure Solution

After every challenge, students will get a star score based on their solution.

  • One star means you earned all the bananas.
  • Two stars means you earned all the bananas and incorporated learned topics.
  • Three stars signifies that you caught all the bananas, incorporated learned topics, and did so in the fewest possible steps.

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