Chapter 1: Sequencing

Lesson 1: Graph Paper Programming

Type: Unplugged | Sequencing

In this lesson, you will program your classmate to draw pictures!

Overview

By "programming" one another to draw pictures, students get a chance to experience some core ideas of programming in a fun, easy-to-understand way. The class starts by using symbols to instruct each other how to color squares on graph paper, trying to recreate an existing picture. If time allows, students can finish by designing their own images.

Purpose

The goal of this activity is to build critical thinking skills and get students excited for the course, all while introducing key programming concepts they'll use throughout their learning. By teaching basic ideas like sequencing (putting steps in the correct order) and algorithms through an unplugged (no-computer) activity, even students who feel nervous about computers can build a strong foundation of understanding. In this lesson, students will learn how to create an algorithm and turn it into a program.

Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Turn a sequence of steps into a coded program
• Explain the challenges of translating instructions from everyday human language into a language a machine can understand

Vocabulary

• Algorithm – A list of steps used to complete a task.
• Program – An algorithm that has been turned into code so a machine can run it.

Agenda

• Warm Up (10 min): Introduction to Graph Paper Programming
• Main Activity (30 min): Practice Together, then The Students' Turn
• Wrap Up (15 min): Journaling / Class Discussion
• Optional Assessment (10 min): Extended Learning

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Teaching Guide

Warm Up (10 min): Introduction to Graph Paper Programming

In this activity, students will give each other coded instructions to create drawings—without letting their partners see the original picture first. This warm-up sets the stage for the rest of the lesson.

Watch: Show one of these videos to give students an idea of the kinds of things robots can do:

• Asimo by Honda (3:58)
• Dancing Lego Robot (1:35)

Discuss: How do you think robots know how to do the things that they do? Do they have brains that work the way ours do?

Guide the discussion toward the idea that people must program robots to perform specific actions using specific commands. Students might think of robots from movies or TV shows that act like humans—push them to think of real robots too, like a Roomba vacuum or a digital assistant like Amazon Alexa. The point is that robots aren't actually thinking like people—they're simply following the instructions they've been given.

Main Activity (30 min): Practice Together

In this activity, students act as both programmers and "robots," coloring in squares based on programs written by their classmates.

Materials: Give each student a 4x4 grid (or graph paper with a 4x4 section marked off) and an image worksheet.

Display these five commands where everyone can see them:

• Move one square right
• Move one square left
• Move one square up
• Move one square down
• Fill in square with color

Say to the class: "Today, we all get to program robots, and they're already here in the room—it's you! We'll use symbols with special meanings to help each other recreate a picture. First, we'll practice together, with me acting as the robot and you as the programmers. Then we'll break into groups so everyone gets a turn."

Display the image you want the class to recreate, along with a blank grid you'll fill in as you follow their instructions. Keep the instructions, the blank grid, and the goal image visible the whole time.

Explain: Imagine you have an "Automatic Realization Machine" (ARM) that can only follow the five commands listed above. Starting at the upper left corner of the grid, have students guide your ARM out loud, step by step.

Model the process: As students give instructions, repeat each one aloud before doing it, so everyone can follow along. For example, they might say:

1. Move One Square Right
2. Fill In Square with Color
3. Move One Square Right
4. Move One Square Down
5. Fill In Square with Color

Keep going until the sample image is complete, writing down each step as you go so students can see the whole list of instructions.

Say: "You just gave me a list of steps to finish a task. In programming, we call that an algorithm. Algorithms are great because they're easy for you, the programmer, to understand. But what happens when we want to write out the algorithm for a much more complicated drawing?"

Show a more complex image and begin writing out the instructions needed to recreate it—for example:

1. Move One Square Right
2. Fill In Square with Color
3. Move One Square Right
4. Move One Square Right
5. Fill In Square with Color
6. Move One Square Down
7. Move One Square Left
8. Fill In Square with Color
9. Move One Square Left
10. Move One Square Left
11. Fill In Square with Color

...plus 12 more instructions!

At this point, students should notice that writing every single step out in full sentences quickly becomes long and messy.

Introduce symbols: Show students a list of symbols that can stand in for each instruction.

Discuss: How could we use these symbols to make our instructions shorter and easier to follow?

Guide students toward the idea that instead of writing out full sentences, they can represent each command with a simple symbol. For example, the instructions "Move one square right, move one square right, fill in square with color" could be replaced by just three symbols. Point out that turning a written-out algorithm into this kind of shorthand code is what we call programming.

Once students understand this idea, have the whole class work together to recreate the larger, more complex image—this time using only symbols instead of full instructions.