U
UNPLUGGED
HappyMaps
Lessontime:20MinutesBasiclessontimeincludesactivityonly.IntroductoryandWrap-Upsuggestionscanbeused
todelvedeeperwhentimeallows.
LESSONOVERVIEW
Attherootofallcomputerscienceissomethingcalledanalgorithm.Theword“algorithm”maysoundlike
somethingcomplicated,butreallyit’sjustalistofinstructionsthatsomeonecanfollowtoachievearesult.To
provideasolidbasefortherestofyourstudents’computerscienceeducation,we’regoingtofocusonbuildinga
securerelationshipwithalgorithms.
TEACHINGSUMMARY
GettingStarted-10minutes
1)Vocabulary
2)Step-by-Step
Activity:HappyMaps-20minutes
3)HappyMaps:Single-StepAdventure
Wrap-up-5minutes
4)FlashChat-Whatdidwelearn?
5)VocabShmocab
Assessment-10minutes
6)MovetheFlurbsAssessment
LESSONOBJECTIVES
Studentswill:
Liststepstomovecharacteraroundamap
Arrangedirectionstoreachpredeterminedgoal
Predictwherecharacterwillland,givenalistofsteps
TEACHINGGUIDE
MATERIALS,RESOURCESANDPREP
FortheStudent
MapsandarrowsfromHappyMaps:Single-StepAdventure
GamePieces:Flurbs,Arrows,andThings
AssessmentWorksheet:MovetheFlurbsAssessment
Scissors
Glue
FortheTeacher
LessonVideo
TeacherLessonGuide
PrintoneHappyMaps:Single-StepAdventureforeachgroup
PrintoneMovetheFlurbsAssessmentforeachstudent
GETTINGSTARTED(10MIN)
1)Vocabulary
Thislessonhasonenewandimportantword:
Algorithm-Sayitwithme:Al-go-ri-thm
Alistofstepsthatyoucanfollowtofinishatask.
2)Step-by-Step
Askyourstudentsfordirectionstothechalkboard.
Iftheystartshoutingsimultaneously,explainthatyoucanonlyhearoneinstructionatatime.Callon
studentsindividuallyifthathelps.
Whenyoureachtheboard,askforinstructionstodrawasmileyface.
Again,requestonestepatatime.
Explainthatmanytaskscanbedescribedusingaspecificlistofinstructions.Thatlistiscalledanalgorithm.
Challengeyourstudentstoworktogetherinsmallgroupstocomeupwithalgorithmsfortheirsingle-stepand
double-stepmazes.
LESSONTIP
Studentscanworkinpairstocreatetheadventures,thenworkinpairstosolvetheadventuresof
others.Ifthisfeelstoochaoticyoucanworktogetherasaclassandcreatetheadventureona
documentcamera,thenworktogethertosolveit.
ACTIVITIES:(20MIN)
3)HappyMaps:Single-StepAdventure
ThisworksheethelpsteachstudentshowtothinkaheadinordertoplanashortroutefromtheFlurb’sstart
locationtothefinallocation,justonesquareaway.
Printoutanactivitypacketforeverygroup(ideally2to4students)andcuttheMapsapart.Leavethearrow
symbolsforthestudentstocutapart.
Explaintherulestotheclass,makingsuretoemphasisethenewword"algorithm."
Flurbsarehappy,fuzzylittlethings.
Flurbslovetoeatfruit.FruitishardtofindinFlurbTown.UsethemapstohelptheFlurbfindsomefruit.
WorkwithyourgrouptodecidewhichdirectiontheFlurbneedstosteptogettothefruit.
DirectionsforClass:
1)Cutoutanarrowforeachmemberofyourteam.
2)StartwithMap1tohelptheFlurblookforfruit.
3)HaveeachmemberofyourgroupputanarrownexttothemaptovoteforwhichwaytheFlurb
shouldstep.
4)Ifnotallarrowsarepointingthesameway,talktoeachotheranddecideasagroupwhichwaythe
arrowshouldpoint.
5)Whenyourwholegroupagreesonadirection,yourteamcanshareyouranswerwiththeteacher.
6)Ifyouransweriscorrect,moveontothenextmap.
WRAP-UP(5MIN)
4)FlashChat:Whatdidwelearn?
DidyoufeellikeyouwereactuallytellingtheFlurbwhattodo?
Whatwoulditbeliketocontrolarobotthatway?
Whatwouldyoucreateifitwerethateasytotellacomputerwhattodo?
LESSONTIP
FlashChatquestionsareintendedtosparkbig-picturethinkingabouthowthelessonrelatestothe
greaterworldandthestudents'greaterfuture.Useyourknowledgeofyourclassroomtodecideifyou
wanttodiscusstheseasaclass,ingroups,orwithanelbowpartner.
5)VocabShmocab
Whichoneofthesedefinitionsdidwelearnawordfortoday?
"Breakingsomethingintoexactlytwopieces"
"Alistofstepsthatyoucanfollowtofinishatask"
"Theplasticcoatingontheendofashoelace"
...andwhatisthewordthatwelearned?
ASSESSMENT(10MIN)
6)MovetheFlurbs
Handouttheworksheettitled"MovetheFlurbs"andallowstudentstocompletetheactivityindependentlyafter
theinstructionshavebeenwellexplained.
EXTENDEDLEARNING
Usetheseactivitiestoenhancestudentlearning.Theycanbeusedasoutsideofclassactivitiesorother
enrichment.
CreateYourOwn
Allowthestudentstoguideyoutowardsolvingaproblem(thatyouprovide)onestepatatime.Pointoutthat
everytimetheymakeastep,therestoftheadventuregetseasier.Ifthestudentsarestillexcitedbythe
exercise,givethemamorecomplicatedconfigurationtosolve.
FlurbFlash
Cyclequicklythroughsingle-steppuzzlesonyourprojector.Havethestudentsholdupanarrowcardorsimply
pointinthedirectionthattheythinktheFlurbshouldmove.
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