Home teaching: what's in store for week 2?

04 May 2020

Hello! We hope you enjoyed your first week on our new Home teaching programme.

Lots of parents and teachers have contacted us with pictures of the fantastic projects they’ve been making with their young people. Here's a nice one from Dan Smith and his five year old.

Thanks @WeAreComputing for the KS1 Algorithms task. My 5 year old loved it! 🧐 pic.twitter.com/vVKrMpOhnH

— Dan Smith (@MrDWSmith) April 28, 2020

Cutest. Algorithm. Ever. If you want to get your projects featured next week, send us a message on Twitter or Facebook!  

Ready for more? Below is a quick-access guide for this week's activities, but before you begin, there are three important things you should know...

1. If you've just come across our lessons on week 2, don't be afraid to go back and start at week 1 if you need to.
2. The activities are designed to be run by teachers AND parents.
3. You and the young people you are working with can get help with this week's topics by joining our daily drop-in web chats. The timings for these are on each key stage homepage.

Week 2 Activities

Key Stage 1

• Who dreams of being part-human, part-robot? Barefoot clearly do as they've created this awesome activity where children create and sort a sequence of instructions to programme their Human Robot to move. An 'exoskeleton' made from tin foil and cardboard is highly recommended for all human robots.  

Key Stage 2

• Grab your space suits, because we are about to get Lost In Space! with this stellar activity. Programme your own animation in Scratch and soon you'll be in a galaxy far, far, away!

Key Stage 3

• If Python's your thing, this week we are looking at coding the classic game 'Rock, Paper, Scissors'. Maybe you could even add a few other variables in there. Anyone for 'Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock'?

• If you're more into app development, check out our second set of lessons where you'll build your own 'Tappy tap app'.

Key Stage 4

• More basic Python programming here, but this time by following our online course on the FutureLearn platform: Programming 101: An Introduction to Python for Students. This week, Martin takes you through how to create your own chatbot.

• If you are more experienced with Python, you can start with Programming 102 for Students: Think Like a Computer Scientist. You’ll discover how to break down problems into smaller parts, and then design and apply algorithms to data. You’ll also explore list structures and their various uses.

• If you are transitioning from GCSE to A level next year, try our Object-oriented Programming in Python for Students course. You get to build a text-based 'Choose Your Own Adventure' game! Are you ready to become the next Ian Livingstone?

Key Stage 5

• For A level students, you can also take our Object-oriented Programming in Python for Students course. Could you create the next Bandersnatch?