Have students write many small, simple classes in Java to scaffold their learning of the basics of object-oriented programming. Share Have students write many small, simple classes in Java to scaffold their learning of the basics of object-oriented programming. with FacebookShare Have students write many small, simple classes in Java to scaffold their learning of the basics of object-oriented programming. with Twitter
Have students create a Burrito class in Java to practice object-oriented programming using an object they are familiar with. Share Have students create a Burrito class in Java to practice object-oriented programming using an object they are familiar with. with FacebookShare Have students create a Burrito class in Java to practice object-oriented programming using an object they are familiar with. with Twitter
Have students write a program that constructs an n x n Magic Square in Java so they gain practice working with bounds in 2D arrays. Share Have students write a program that constructs an n x n Magic Square in Java so they gain practice working with bounds in 2D arrays. with FacebookShare Have students write a program that constructs an n x n Magic Square in Java so they gain practice working with bounds in 2D arrays. with Twitter
Remind students to spend lots of time carefully reading the free-response questions on the AP CS A exam to prepare them for this portion of the exam. Share Remind students to spend lots of time carefully reading the free-response questions on the AP CS A exam to prepare them for this portion of the exam. with FacebookShare Remind students to spend lots of time carefully reading the free-response questions on the AP CS A exam to prepare them for this portion of the exam. with Twitter
Have students create polygons in Scratch to help them practice debugging and reasoning about geometry. Share Have students create polygons in Scratch to help them practice debugging and reasoning about geometry. with FacebookShare Have students create polygons in Scratch to help them practice debugging and reasoning about geometry. with Twitter
Encourage students to be careful when using sound blocks in Scratch that don’t have durations, as these blocks start sounds immediately rather than waiting until the first sound is done. Share Encourage students to be careful when using sound blocks in Scratch that don’t have durations, as these blocks start sounds immediately rather than waiting until the first sound is done. with FacebookShare Encourage students to be careful when using sound blocks in Scratch that don’t have durations, as these blocks start sounds immediately rather than waiting until the first sound is done. with Twitter
Misconception: Students think that a “repeat 1” block in Scratch will execute the relevant script twice, where the script executes once and then repeats once. Share Misconception: Students think that a “repeat 1” block in Scratch will execute the relevant script twice, where the script executes once and then repeats once. with FacebookShare Misconception: Students think that a “repeat 1” block in Scratch will execute the relevant script twice, where the script executes once and then repeats once. with Twitter
Encourage students to use blocks instead of the user interface when orienting the sprite in Scratch. Share Encourage students to use blocks instead of the user interface when orienting the sprite in Scratch. with FacebookShare Encourage students to use blocks instead of the user interface when orienting the sprite in Scratch. with Twitter
Have students analyze the effects of changing pieces of a loop to improve their understanding of loop structure. Share Have students analyze the effects of changing pieces of a loop to improve their understanding of loop structure. with FacebookShare Have students analyze the effects of changing pieces of a loop to improve their understanding of loop structure. with Twitter
Misconception: Students don’t understand that the right side of an assignment statement is executed before the assignment. They think that variables store unresolved equations. Share Misconception: Students don’t understand that the right side of an assignment statement is executed before the assignment. They think that variables store unresolved equations. with FacebookShare Misconception: Students don’t understand that the right side of an assignment statement is executed before the assignment. They think that variables store unresolved equations. with Twitter
Have students create a reset script and it store in their Scratch backpack so they can use in the future to set the Stage back to a uniform starting point. Share Have students create a reset script and it store in their Scratch backpack so they can use in the future to set the Stage back to a uniform starting point. with FacebookShare Have students create a reset script and it store in their Scratch backpack so they can use in the future to set the Stage back to a uniform starting point. with Twitter
Misconception: Students get confused about whether to set or change variables in Scratch. Share Misconception: Students get confused about whether to set or change variables in Scratch. with FacebookShare Misconception: Students get confused about whether to set or change variables in Scratch. with Twitter
Use constructive and well-formed examples, like Quicksort, to teach recursion so that students have a strong model for building their own solutions. Share Use constructive and well-formed examples, like Quicksort, to teach recursion so that students have a strong model for building their own solutions. with FacebookShare Use constructive and well-formed examples, like Quicksort, to teach recursion so that students have a strong model for building their own solutions. with Twitter
Point out Scratch’s built-in variables before students create their own variables so that students become familiar with variable-related blocks. Share Point out Scratch’s built-in variables before students create their own variables so that students become familiar with variable-related blocks. with FacebookShare Point out Scratch’s built-in variables before students create their own variables so that students become familiar with variable-related blocks. with Twitter
Let students solve problems the long, hard, intuitive way first to motivate the use of more advanced Scratch blocks that can help them solve problems in a shorter, faster, more flexible way. Share Let students solve problems the long, hard, intuitive way first to motivate the use of more advanced Scratch blocks that can help them solve problems in a shorter, faster, more flexible way. with FacebookShare Let students solve problems the long, hard, intuitive way first to motivate the use of more advanced Scratch blocks that can help them solve problems in a shorter, faster, more flexible way. with Twitter
Encourage students to break up their Scratch scripts into smaller chunks to help them test and debug their code. Share Encourage students to break up their Scratch scripts into smaller chunks to help them test and debug their code. with FacebookShare Encourage students to break up their Scratch scripts into smaller chunks to help them test and debug their code. with Twitter
Encourage students to make Scratch sprites smaller when making games in order to ease game play and make it more fun. Share Encourage students to make Scratch sprites smaller when making games in order to ease game play and make it more fun. with FacebookShare Encourage students to make Scratch sprites smaller when making games in order to ease game play and make it more fun. with Twitter
Encourage students to make variables visible in Scratch to help them debug their code. Share Encourage students to make variables visible in Scratch to help them debug their code. with FacebookShare Encourage students to make variables visible in Scratch to help them debug their code. with Twitter
Show students multiple examples of iteration in Scratch to help them understand and recognize more abstract programming patterns. Share Show students multiple examples of iteration in Scratch to help them understand and recognize more abstract programming patterns. with FacebookShare Show students multiple examples of iteration in Scratch to help them understand and recognize more abstract programming patterns. with Twitter
Misconception: Students often forget to include a FOREVER block around IF blocks in Scratch when programming games. Share Misconception: Students often forget to include a FOREVER block around IF blocks in Scratch when programming games. with FacebookShare Misconception: Students often forget to include a FOREVER block around IF blocks in Scratch when programming games. with Twitter