This lesson will give students an idea of what to expect when they head to the computer lab. It begins with a brief discussion introducing them to computer lab manners, then they will progress into using a computer to complete online puzzles.

This lesson has students recognize that computer science can help people in real life. First, students empathize with several fictional smartphone users in order to help them find the “right app” that addresses their needs. Then, students exercise empathy and creativity to sketch their own smartphone app that addresses the needs of one additional user.

Events are a great way to add variety to a pre-written algorithm. Sometimes you want your program to be able to respond to the user exactly when the user wants it to. That is what events are for.

This lesson will work to prepare students mentally for the coding exercises that they will encounter over the length of this course. In small teams, students will use physical activity to program their classmates to step carefully from place to place until a goal is achieved.

As we start to write longer and more interesting programs, our code often contains a lot of repetition. In this lesson, students will learn about how loops can be used to more easily communicate instructions that have a lot of repetition by looking at the repeated patterns of movement in a dance.

Building on the concept of repeating instructions from "Getting Loopy," this stage will have students using loops to pick corn more efficiently on Code.org.

This lesson helps children to recognize that it is essential to tell a trusted adult if something online makes them feel angry, sad, or scared.

Students learn that other people can sometimes act like bullies when they are online. They will explore what cyberbullying means and what they can do when they encounter it. After reading a scenario about mean online behavior, students discuss what cyberbullying is, how it can make people feel, and how to respond. Finally, they use their knowledge to create a simple tip sheet on cyberbullying in their journal.

In this online activity, students will have the opportunity to learn how to use events in Play Lab and apply all of the coding skills that they've learned to create an animated game. It's time to get creative and make a game in Play Lab!

In this lesson, students will use their newfound programming skills in more complicated ways to navigate a tricky course with BB-8.

Part puzzle, part word search, the Spelling Bee asks students to program a bee to find common words in a grid.

The curriculum section provides over one hundred garden-based lessons to create, expand, and sustain garden-based learning experiences. It offers practical ideas and resources for every level of garden-based learning from sprouting seeds to understanding the food system.

This curriculum section was compiled by the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Garden-Based Learning Workgroup. The content for this section was borrowed, with permission, from various resources. It was our goal to use existing resources as not to “recreate the wheel” and to give a broad example of the garden-based learning resources that are currently in print.

The section is divided into 12 theme areas with applications for primary and upper grade level students.

In this unit, students will explore the meaning of true friendship by reading Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. Charlotte’s Web, a classic novel written in 1952, clearly illustrates how difficult and scary it can be to make a friend, yet how rewarding a true friendship really is. Over the course of the novel, students will consider what it means to be a good friend, whether or not friendship is always easy, and whether or not conflicts and struggle really are an important part of strengthening friendships. By deeply connecting with the characters, students will learn about the power of helping others, how creativity and determination can help solve problems, and that people can and do change. Students will also begin to understand the cycle of life and beauty, and the emotional responses that come with death through the eyes of Wilbur. It is our hope that this unit, in connection with other units, will provide the foundation for developing empathy and understanding about true friendship and life.

Charlotte’s Web was chosen not only because of the strong theme of friendship and life, but because it is a classic in children’s literature. Charlotte’s Web was written in the early 1950s and contains themes and language that are more archaic than other texts from the year. Therefore, students will learn how to analyze themes, settings, characters and language that are less familiar and relatable.

This activity assumes that students have some familiarity with using the Chrome browser, most likely a Chromebook before (probably in a previous grade). Using a simple KWL chart on a Google Doc, students can collaborate and acquire shortcuts for using a Chromebook (or just the Chrome browser) more efficiently.

Two blobs of clay go on an enjoyable adventure as they transform themselves into fun shapes and new things throughout their escapade. What will they be by the end of the book? The resource includes a lesson plan/book card, a design challenge, and copy of a design thinking journal that provide guidance on using the book to inspire students' curiosity for design thinking. Maker Challenge: Design a stop-motion video that morphs an item of your choice into another item. Before you begin, sketch out the process you’ll take to transform your item.

A document is included in the resources folder that lists the complete standards-alignment for this book activity.

In Opening A, students are guided through a research reading share. Consider using the Independent Reading: Sample Plans (see the Tools page) if you do not have your own independent reading review routines. This review is designed to hold students accountable for their research reading completed for homework. This volume of reading promotes students' growing ability to read a variety of literary and informational texts independently and proficiently (RI.3.10, RL.3.10, SL.3.1).
In this lesson, students complete a close read of pages 1-11 of Nasreen's Secret School to better understand the lesson or message and how it is conveyed through the details in the text (RL.3.1, RL.3.2, RL.3.3, RL.3.4, L.3.4). In preparation for the end of unit assessment in Lesson 11, students work in triads for this close read to answer the questions without teacher guidance. The questions are in a similar format to those on the assessment to provide students with adequate practice.
Continue to reinforce the habits of character introduced throughout the unit, particularly as students may be sensitive to the content of this story.
Continue to use Goal 1 Conversation Cues to promote productive and equitable conversation.
The research reading that students complete for homework will help build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to overcoming challenges in access to education, books, and reading near and far. By participating in this volume of reading over a span of time, students will develop a wide base of knowledge about the world and the words that help describe and make sense of it.

Padlet is an online post-it-like board that you can use as an easy collaboration platform for students. Padlets can be created by you or students. Once created, student can share ideas and comment on other students as well.

It’s easy to take today’s ubiquitous colored crayons for granted, but they were the result of one individual’s innovation. Biebow introduces Edwin Binney—a mustachioed man and head of a carbon black factory—who wished to make color-pigmented wax crayons that reflected the world outside. The resource includes a lesson plan/book card, a design challenge, and copy of a design thinking journal that provide guidance on using the book to inspire students' curiosity for design thinking. Maker Challenge: Think about the school/community/world in which you live and identify a problem that could be solved with a new invention.

A document is included in the resources folder that lists the complete standards-alignment for this book activity.

Lucidchart is a visual platform for creating flowcharts and graphic organizers in real-time. Students under the guidance of teachers can use the free version.

The curriculum map is the single-best source to understand the year’s work in the module lessons for each grade level: a detailed view of the scope and sequence of the modules showing module titles, topics, targets, and standards explicitly taught and formally assessed in each module.

Review the environmental factors that make the Earth habitable and compare them to other worlds within our Solar System. Use creative thinking to design an alien life form suited for specific environmental conditions on an extra-terrestrial world within our Solar System.