The Process of learning to programme!

How do we get kids to do the thinking without having to write too much? The turn off!

Scratch Junior:
You are a Sprite in Scratch. How can you encourage someone to "keep trying"?
What will you say?
 - talk it through
- act it out, model the possible
- This begins to help us begin the sequence

1. Decide on the characters (Sprites) and objects.
2. 1 Sprite, 1 background - programme that well!
3. Unpack the language or key purpose. (Try to pick apple, try 2-3 times with words, get chair, succeed.)
4. Check bugs - is she toughing the apple, is it logical, does it make sense - de-bug.

Scratch:
How can we calculate the number of days till we get to Rio.
1. Count on 1:1
2. How to programme Scratch to make this happen?
3. Do it unplugged first - what might it look like, unpack the language here.
4. What does it have to have - constraints: store a variable - how to count how many days.

Pseudo Code:

• Variable - month (container that stores 1 piece of information)
• Variable  - date  23rd July (can use this variable in another place in the code.)
• Store month, store date.
• If it is July - count on from date to number of days in the month. 
• If it August - just subtract 5 from the date. 

De-bug:
What is the computer actually doing? (Setting month to 0 - is July a 0? Words don't work)
What did you TELL the computer to do - not what you want?
Is there something there that confuses the computer.
Set month to July then do the calculation - not set to 0 at the start.

Logical, sequence, look away, try a different way,
If, then

Using Unplugged blocks to programme:
Creating a programme or algorithm for another user.

Physically act it out.
What do I need first:
Pencil down, colour, start - add the blocks as you physically begin to create the code.
Add in the things like repeat etc.
Teacher act, kids put up the coding on the board.

Parity Cards:
Detection and correction - debug and fix.
Magic Trick!
Get a kid to come up and make a random grid of 4 x 4, teacher add an additional row and column.
Have one kid turn around, other child ID the one that was turned over.

The teacher's final row and column to make sure that there is a pattern in each row. Teacher makes sure even number in every column, 2 or 4 of each black or white. If there is an odd number - that row was flipped. Which ONE was flipped? Where is the intersection?

Does it work if you flip two?

Can detect the error.

Can you put it back together?

Can we then programme this into Scratch?