As computer science teacher there is often difficulty in getting younger students to be able to code, and see how coding can be used to solve problem in real world contexts.

As a dad the challenge needed to be something that both my sons could create.

We have built a game using the scratch platform to allow students in lower secondary to develop their programming skills over a number of weeks while helping them explore nasa content to add additional data and content to improve their game

Scratch was the platform that we have chosen to use as this is a common program that primary/ secondary students know how to use. Its easy to access as a novice, and as it is web based it is easy to distribute and allow students to remix the original code.

The game provides the basic idea of the game with elements that would allow students to develop and refine the game further as their learnign progresses.

The game is accompanied by a series of lesson worksheets for students to work through using the PRIMM method. Predict (using extracts of code already created) Run (see what it actually does in the game) Investigate (annotate the code with key computing constructs) Modify (using existing code, modify it to improve) Make (add their own script from scratch to the game).

The project will be rolled out in my school from mid November for 8 weeks, there will be a student feedback forum on the content, structure and improvments that could be made before an improved version will be made available on www.learntechandcode.co and it will also be offered as a resource for download on www.computingatschool.co.uk

The folder with our presentation video, the basic early version of the starter game project and a sample lesson worksheet can be found here, this folder will be updated when new worksheets and reources are developed in the coming weeks

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1d_9xt-eGuK...