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Instructor Resources

A guide to the resources

This resource page is for Boolean Girl staff.  The courses on this page here fall into five categories:

  • Scratch Coding
  • Scratch Physical Computing
  • Python Coding
  • Python Physical Computing
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)

For each course, you will find a title and brief description of what you can expect to teach your students. In the links below each course description you can access comprehensive teacher guides with learning objectives, customizable slides, suggested schedules, reference sheets, and student worksheets. You will also find finished sample programs that you can use to familiarize yourself with the material, and step-by-step instructions to help you explain and model each topic for your students. In addition to coding, you will find students are exposed to skills like collaborative problem solving, creative writing, visual design, critical thinking, and giving and receiving feedback.

To view self-paced lessons and instructional videos, check out our courses on Boolean U.

All materials are shared under the Creative Commons License.

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

Level 1: Animate My Story

Category: Scratch Coding

In this course, your students will learn basic programming skills by using Scratch to build an animated story of their choice. You will begin by going over the building blocks of a story while students identify and explore the fundamental aspects of good storytelling. Next, your students will become storytellers by conceptualizing and designing a story of their own. Finally, through a combination of instructor modeling and individual experimentation, students will bring their story to life in Scratch. By the end of this course, you and your students will understand important computer science concepts like algorithms, sequencing, and loops. They will also leave the course with a thorough understanding of the Scratch platform and the knowledge they need to continue coding and creating in Scratch.

Recommended Grades: 3-8

Level 2: Code Your Own Adventure (CYOA)

Category: Scratch Coding, Scratch Physical Computing (Optional)

In this course, your students will build on their coding and storytelling skills from the previous course by developing a “Code Your Own Adventure” program in Scratch. We provide everything you need to guide your students as they build an interactive Scratch program in which the user makes decisions that affect the direction and conclusion of the story. You can use the provided sample programs and worksheets to help students review the basics of Scratch and design the program on paper using flowchart diagrams. Students will refer to their diagrams as they implement advanced coding techniques like conditionals, decision-making, user input, and variables in Scratch. The materials linked here will give you everything you need to model, explain, and evaluate Code Your Own Adventure programs. Additionally, we have linked lessons that you can use to add physical computing, like simple circuits and lights, into the course.

Recommended Grades: 3-8

Level 3: Build Games in Scratch

Category: Scratch Coding, Scratch Physical Computing (Optional)

The curriculum for this level 3 Scratch course will show you how to teach your students to build video games in Scratch. Throughout the lesson, students will explore classic platformer video games like Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong, and review the skills they learned in “Animate My Story” and “Code Your Own Adventure.” You and your students will then learn advanced game-making concepts like player movement, interacting with objects, level design, and keeping score. These lessons and activities encourage students to show their creativity and individuality by incorporating visual design into their Scratch video games. At the end of class, your students will have a multilevel, platform-style video game with Scratch. If you would like to add physical computing to the course, we have included a module in which students use circuits and buttons to create a game controller.

Recommended Grades: 3-8

Scratch Projects

Category: Scratch Coding, Scratch Physical Computing (Optional)

Looking for extra material, ways to extend a lesson or just need some standalone projects? Below are materials and sample projects.

Project Google Doc PDF Sample Code
Adaption and the Environment Sample on Scratch
Frogger math Sample on Scratch
Ghosts and Wizards Open Google Doc Download PDF Sample on Scratch
Pong Game Open google Doc
Mad Libs Open google Doc

Level 5: Getting Started In Python (Python 1)

Frequently introductory classes are boring and spend lots of time writing short pieces of code that produce statements like Hello World. In the first class girls dive and use Python to create art.

Python is one of the most widely used programming languages in the world – it is used by many well-known tech companies including Wikipedia, …Google, Yahoo!, NASA, Facebook, Amazon, and Spotify. In this course, students will learn coding and computational thinking using Python syntax. Students will encounter important coding concepts like loops, variables, and lists while they use Python to build a drawing application that creates a work of art. In addition to coding, interested students will have a chance to express their creativity through visual design. If your learner is ready for Python, this class will give them foundational knowledge and skills while having fun.

Recommended Grades: 6-8

Level 6: Code Your Own Adventure in Python (Python 2)

If you’ve completed an Introduction to Python with Boolean Girl, you are ready to apply your current skills and learn new skills as you build a challenging text adventure in Python. Part game, part story, a code your own adventure program is inspired by the famous Choose Your Own Adventure book series in which the reader makes decisions that affect the steps and outcome of the story.

In this Python version, students will review concepts from the previous course and learn how to implement new concepts like conditionals, functions, and user input.  Students will demonstrate and celebrate their problem solving skills and perseverance as they build a custom user-driven adventure in Python.

Recommended Grades: 6-8

Python Projects

To further the skills and extend the lessons about the following projects are recommended.

Python Turtle Race

Recommended Grades: 6-8

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    Lesson 1

    Python Turtle Race – Teachers Guide(Google Doc)

    Python Turtle Race – Slides (Google Doc)

    Python Turtle Race example files ( Zip File)

Level 7: Minecraft Python

Recommended Grades: 6-8

AI

Level 7: AI 1

Category: AI

The curriculum for the Intro AI Course

Recommended Grades: 5-8

Level 8: AI 2

Category: AI

The curriculum for the AI – Machine Learning Course

Recommended Grades: 5-8

Level 1: Crafty Circuits, Intro to micro:bit

Category: Physical Computing

The curriculum for this level 1 Physical computing course introduces the micro:bit.

Recommended Grades: 3-8