COMPUTATIONAL THINKING FICTION BOOKS

     The definition of Computational Thinking provided in the Virginia Computer Science Standards states that it "involves the use of concepts, such as abstraction, recursion, and iteration, to process and analyze data," and relies on "practices such as abstraction, modeling, and decomposition."  These can be very difficult concepts for many students, especially those in K-5.  One way to introduce these ideas might be through the use of fiction/children's literature.  A good resource site for ideas and resources is the Observe Le@rn Do blog found here: www.observelearndo.blogspot.com  There are good discussions of computational thinking, coding, and robotics.  A post closely related to the use of literature is this one:  http://observelearndo.blogspot.com/2018/01/using-picture-books-to-teach_21.html
     As the author points out, it's not necessary to teach about computers or coding to teach the skills associated with computational thinking.  Many books are concerned with ways characters solve problems - how to they define the problem and what skills do they use to find a solution.  Here's an excellent list of problem solving books: https://bookroo.com/books/topics/problem-solving
     Additional books.  These are all available through Amazon.com and cost about $10.00.  Some are a few years old, but since these are concerned with thinking skills rather than directly teaching coding, that shouldn't be an issue.  The first two series (How to Code a ... and Hello Ruby) are for younger elementary, the Girls Who Code books would be better for upper elementary and middle school, and the Jeremy Kubica for middle and high school.

How to Code a Rollercoaster Hardcover – September 24, 2019
by Josh Funk  (Author), Sara Palacios (Illustrator)

How to Code a Sandcastle Hardcover – May 15, 2018
by Josh Funk  (Author), Sara Palacios (Illustrator)

The Hello Ruby series by Linda Liukas (Author):
  • Hello Ruby: Adventures in Coding Hardcover – October 6, 2015
  • Hello Ruby: Journey Inside the Computer Hardcover – October 3, 2017
  • Hello Ruby: Expedition to the Internet Hardcover – October 9, 2018
Jeremy Kubica (author) books.  
  • Computational Fairy Tales Paperback – June 26, 2012
  • Best Practices of Spell Design Paperback – January 21, 2013
  • The CS Detective: An Algorithmic Tale of Crime, Conspiracy, and Computation 1st Edition - August 16, 2016
The Girls Who Code series:
  • The Friendship Code #1 (Girls Who Code) Hardcover – August 22, 2017, by Stacia Deutsch  (Author)
  • Team BFF: Race to the Finish! #2 (Girls Who Code) Hardcover – October 31, 2017,  by Stacia Deutsch  (Author)
  • Lights, Music, Code! #3 (Girls Who Code) Hardcover – March 13, 2018, by Jo Whittemore  (Author)
  • Spotlight on Coding Club! #4 (Girls Who Code) Hardcover – October 2, 2018, by Michelle Schusterman (Author)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PURPOSE

     This blog is meant to serve as a resource for educators looking for ways to assess computational thinking.  It is developed specifically for Virginia K-12 teachers who will be integrating the new Virginia Department of Education K-12 Computer Science standards in their classrooms.  Some of the key concepts discussed will include Algorithms and Coding, Data and Analysis, Computational Thinking, Physical Computing, and Authentic Assessments (Performance Tasks.)  Hardware and software addressed will include the Scratch and Arduino-based programming languages, Microbit and Snapinos boards, and Vernier sensors.  This blog will reflect the emphasis on across-the-curriculum integration of the CS standards, especially for K-8 grade levels.
Read more

MICROBIT EXAMPLE

Image
     There's an introduction to the Microbit on the Data and Analyses page of this site.  The Microbit is a very good option for learning about coding and hardware, and it's relatively inexpensive.  A local Physics teacher developed a great project built around the Microbit and you can see a description of the project, the code he used, and even an .stl file for 3D printing some materials he designed for the project here as the featured post:  http://stemlabsnn.blogspot.com/  (The STEMLabs site was developed for an earlier grant-based project and there's a lot of information about the Microbit, 3D printing and design, and a lot of other interesting tech.)
Read more