Cracking the code to make learning fun

(Above) Mariana Ros and Nevyn Fisher are hard at work having fun while learning the basic principles of coding in Melanie Marreel’s fourth grade classroom at Clear Creek Elementary.  Third, fourth and fifth graders at the school participated in the Hour of Code to introduce students to computer science.-Reporter photo.

Angry Birds, Mindcraft and Star Wars aren’t exactly reading, writing and arithmetic.  Or are they?

Students at Clear Creek Elementary are getting lessons in traditional core subjects while they are gaming on their laptop computers.  It’s all part of the Hour of Code— a mission to introduce students to computer science.  Clear Creek third, fourth and fifth graders took part in the Hour of Code movement last week.

Fourth grade teacher Melanie Marreel and third grade teacher Sara Allen attended a training to become certified to lead Hour of Code exercises with students.  They strongly believe with the movement’s statement that computers are everywhere, but fewer schools teach computer science than 10 years ago. Girls and minorities are severely underrepresented. The Hour of Code project is a strategy for teaching critical skills for 21st century success.

“It promotes computer science in our youth,” said Marreel.  “It feels like a game, but the thinking they are doing applies to so many areas— problem solving, critical thinking, the need to try again a different way.  It promotes thinking outside the box— asking themselves ‘why isn’t this working?’”

This is the second year Clear Creek students have participated in the Hour of Code and the program continues to be extremely popular, according to Marrell.

After watching a short video about the Hour of Code, students were instructed to open their Chrome Books and log into their accounts.  From there, Marreel led them through a series of steps which ultimately opened an Angry Birds game.  Working individually, the students were challenged to make the bird move left, right, up or down a specific number of spaces.  The movements were determined by the code the students devised.  When they successfully completed the task, they were rewarded with a sticker and allowed to advance to the next level.  Success in Angry

[wlm_nonmember]To read more of this article, please login or sign up for our E-Edition[/wlm_nonmember]

Birds led to the Mindcraft challenge, and later the popular Star Wars game.

While some students have tried coding before, it was the first time fourth grader Chase Rose had tried it.

“It’s easier than I thought,” said Rose, who was collecting stickers at a steady pace.

Mariposa Coleman collected plenty of stickers working her way through challenges.  “It got harder at every level, but I liked it.  I figured it out,” she said.  “

In Iowa, more than 800 schools and organizations took part in the “Hour of Code” during Computer Science Education Week, Dec. 7-13.  The global movement reached tens of millions of students in more than 180 countries.