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Making Sprites: 5th Grade Code.org Lesson

Michelle Gebel

Northwestern College: Methods of Teaching Computer Science

November 1, 2022
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Making Sprites: 5th Grade Code.org Lesson

Code.org is a free computer science curriculum available to K-12 teachers and students.

Code.org’s mission is to provide all students with computer science in their education, with a

focus on female students and minority groups (About Us, n.d.). The program offers courses for

each grade band and express courses to move students through the program faster. The express

courses do not contain unplugged activities. This paper examines a lesson from Course F,

designed for 5th grade; the lesson focuses on making sprites.

Necessary Prior Knowledge

Course F, Lesson 3 begins with a short warm up activity that activates prior student

knowledge and previews new vocabulary words: algorithm, behavior, program, and sprite. This

lesson assumes that students have completed the previous coursework in Code.org. It also

assumes that students learned about different apps and games using Sprite Lab. Students should

understand that sprite scenes can be used to create animations and be able to predict instructions

that create a certain image. The students will be using their own code to create animations during

this lesson after the warmup activity.

Objective

In this lesson, students will complete a series of programming levels on their computer.

They will end the lesson with “free play” where they choose what they want to build. Students

will write programs and learn about sprites and behaviors, which are essential to the Sprite Lab

program. Students will begin to understand the programming model of Sprite Lab and discover

ways it can be used to show their creativity. Students will also be able to create an animation

using sprites, and behaviors and create new sprites and assign them costumes and behaviors.
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The Lesson & Collaboration

Collaboration and discussion are the focus of the warmup activity. After the warm up

activity, students will be asked to make a prediction after reading a program. The discussion will

take place in a whole group setting and will be followed by a short video demonstrating how to

make a sprite. The short video walks students through the process of making a sprite including,

the location, costume, and actions. Students move into the skill building and practice portion of

the lessons. The students will work on five activities to practice building sprites; students will

complete the activities using paired programming. Partners can be chosen randomly or selected

by the teacher for instructional purposes. One student will be the driver, controlling the keyboard

and mouse, while the other student will make sure that the code is written correctly. Students will

switch roles after 2 activities. Paired programming is crucial to computer science, as it creates

collaborative workplaces and allows students to learn from one another.

If time permits, students may go back to the beginning to complete the activities again so

that the original driver navigates first and the original navigator drives first. The lesson then

moves into activity choices and a wrap up activity that includes reviewing vocabulary words and

asking students to reflect on what they learned and how it can be helpful to them in the future.

Connecting the Standards

At the surface level, Sprite Lab seems to be a program that would be used exclusively in

a computer science course, as it focuses on writing code. The lesson covers two Computer

Science Teacher Association standards- “create programs that include sequences, events, loops,

and conditionals” and “modify remix or incorporate portions of an existing program into one’s

own work, to develop something new or add more advanced features (Lesson 3: Making, n.d.).”

Students use block coding to create their own animation with specific sequences, events, loops,
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and conditionals. Their project may start out with a teddy bear and a tree, but they can quickly

add animations, new costumes, and backgrounds to bring their story to life. The possibilities in

Sprite Lab ensures that it can be integrated with other core subjects. Students could animate a

scene from one of their narrative pieces of writing, Iowa Common Core Standard 5.W.3, where

they create real or imagined experiences. Students could also use Sprite Lab to create their own

version of a math game where they collect coins. The program is versatile and can be used to

connect technology to core subjects with proper guidance and instruction.

Evidence of Student Learning.

Sprite Lab is an incredibly engaging program that students use to learn the basis of

coding. Assessment of student learning can be done partially through teacher observation. The

teacher will observe if partnerships of students are struggling or if certain students are unable to

complete the tasks. Students will also complete one or more puzzles at the end of the lesson to

show they have learned how to successfully navigate Sprite Lab. Students have the choice to

create a desert scene, resize the fruit, animate a ship sailing, or a breezy day as their choice

activity. From there, the teacher can decide if the student needs more work as a pair programmer

or independent practice. If students have mastered the lesson in Sprite Lab, they could create

another project using Code.org or help a struggling peer. They will also be able to move on to the

next lesson in the program.

Coding is new to many students, so they may not be excited initially. However, students

quickly discover that coding can be fun. It allows students to break out of the routine of math,

reading, and intervention time. Coding may allow some students who struggle with core subjects

to find success in creating an online aquarium or a game to share with their friends. Students will

be very eager to work with this program and take ownership in a project of their own choosing.
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References

About us. (n.d.). Code.org. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://code.org/

     about.

Lesson 3: Making sprites. (n.d.). Code.org. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from

     https://studio.code.org/s/coursef-2022/lessons/3