Learning objective

  • To recognise Python as a text-based language and link it to block coding.

Success criteria

  • I can spot similarities and differences between block
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National curriculum

Computing

Pupils should be taught to:

  • Design,
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Before the lesson

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Lesson plan

Recap and recall

Before starting this unit, check that the children can recall: Programs can be explored and tested on the BBC micro:bit to see how they work. Predicting code means thinking about what it will do before running it. Inputs, variables and conditions make programs interactive. Sensor data, such as from pedometers or weather checkers, can control…

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Adaptive teaching

Pupils needing extra support

  • Should use the Activity: Block and Python cards: support version, which includes an output card for each pair so they can focus on matching the code and its outcome without needing to write predictions.
  • Could use a colouring pencil to highlight repeated features in Python (for example, punctuation and spaces) to help them spot patterns before matching the cards.

Pupils working at greater depth

  • Should identify and justify how patterns or keywords in Python (for example, ‘for’, ‘in range’ or ‘display.set_pixel’) replace the visual elements in block coding, using precise vocabulary to explain their purpose in each.
  • Should compare two Python snippets from the Activity: Block and Python cards and explain which one is more efficient or easier to understand.
  • Could extend this by suggesting how one version could be rewritten to improve clarity or efficiency.
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Assessing progress and understanding

Pupils with secure understanding indicated by: matching block and Python code accurately

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Vocabulary definitions

  • block coding

    Programming by dragging and snapping visual blocks together to make a program.

  • Python

    A text-based programming language used to write clear instructions for a computer.

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