This lesson is to help students build up the skills to create a game for the periodic table where the

program
leads the user to an element of the periodic table. The product of this lesson will not be shared with an
audience wider than the classmates but will be used to determine scaffolding for students. For example, one
class may be able to make the periodic game from scratch, while other students may need a pre-made
program that can be adapted to different element groups.

Module 6 Lesson Plan

Unit: Periodic Table and Computational Thinking

Day 6 (may take more than one Creating a Decision Tree on Scratch
class period depending on the
experience of the class)

Objectives/Standards

Computer Science 3A-AP-19

Students will test algorithms and provide feedback.

Students will respond to feedback, reworking an algorithm.

Iowa Core: Employability 21.9-12.ES.1

Communicate and work productively with others, incorporating different

perspectives and cross cultural understanding, to increase innovation
and the quality of work.

Iowa Core: ELA EE.SL.9–10.1

Engage in collaborative discussions.

Prepare for discussions by collecting information on the topic.
Work with adults and peers to set rules for discussions.
Relate the topic of discussion to broader themes or ideas.
Indicate agreement or disagreement with others during discussions.

Overview of Lesson

Teacher Students

1. Discuss the lesson from the 1. Participate in discussion

previous class: virtually (Google Classroom) or in
● How does 20 Questions class
utilize algorithms?
● How do we use algorithms
in daily life?
Equibility: Wheel decide to draw
student names

2. Review the goal of the decision 2. Participate in discussion

tree virtually (Google Classroom) or in
● What is a boolean phrase? class
● What are boolean phrases
used for in computer
science? How does that
 relate to other parts of our
lives? (i.e. decision trees)
Equibility: Wheel decide to draw
student names
3. Demonstrate decision tree with
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/55
9533844/
4. Time to work on decision trees
(on paper) and convert them to
digital (via Scratch) remixing the
code Mrs. Crist created.
Meeting diverse needs:
● Students who are
struggling could create a
slideshow with links to
different scenarios (like a
choose your own
adventure)
● Students who are excelling
can start their code from
scratch (no pun intended).
5. Time to give feedback on other
decision trees.
Informal Assessment
● Did the students collaborate well? (All students had a role and
performed that role.)
● Did the code work?
● Was the analog decision tree able to be recreated digitally?
● Can students define boolean phrase and algorithm? (This would
probably be assessed as a bell ringer or exit ticket.)
3. Students access the link on
Google Classroom in their groups
[already made the lesson before,
3-4 students per group], click
through the program.
4. Students should complete
analog decision trees (paper and
pencil/marker that was started or
completed the lesson before).
● Students should pair/group
code.
● They need to decide how
they want to approach the
problem.
● They should be working in
assigned roles (i.e. Time
keeper/timer, Cheerleader/
Encourager, Facilitator,
Spokesperson, Quality
Control, Process Analyst,
Manager, Recorder,
Reader, Materials
Manager, Document
Controller, Technician
[POGIL roles]).
5. Groups will be matched up with
other groups to run the program
and provide feedback.
● Did the code work?
● Did the group playing the
program understand the
goal of the coders?