Starting from Scratch

As part of my secondment to the Royal Society of Edinburgh (Scotland’s national academy) and the British Computer Society, I’ve developed a series of resources aimed at supporting the teaching of computer Science in early high school.

Starting from Scratch is the first resource in the series and introduces learners to computer science via Scratch. Each resource comprises both learner and teacher materials:

 

LEARNER MATERIALS

Introduction & investigations
background computer science study

Example projects for students to create with:

• Tutorial screencasts
  these may also be viewed on the RSE's YouTube channel

• Box-outs
  to highlight key CS principles and ideas

• Core tasks
  so that all learners can achieve success

• Extension tasks
  to explore ideas further and stretch students

• “Did you understand?” exercises
  assessing students’ “deep understanding” of computational thinking principles

Group project

 

TEACHER MATERIALS

Background and pedagogy

Setup and other practical issues

Suggested approaches

Lesson materials including:

• screencasts

• sample apps and media files

• exemplar solutions

• student tracking

Mapping to curricular experiences and outcomes
- but a flexible resource that any teacher can follow and adapt to local circumstances