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Ask HN: How should I teach code to kids?

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Re: Ask HN: How should I teach code to kids?

#131

Post by ThePhysicist »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #76
ThePhysicist wrote: post #21

In my (very limited) experience, building text adventures is a great way to teach kids programming: * You don't need any complicated stuff for it, just printing to stdout and reading from stdin. * Kids love making up stories and games * When they understand the basics you can gradually increase the complexity: Add if/then/else conditions (do you wanna go left or right?), functions (e.g. to parse answers to questions)…

>I'd recommend a scripting language to get started, as it removes the need to compile code // Or use a REPL (eg repl.it)?

Yes good idea!

Re: Ask HN: How should I teach code to kids?

#132

Post by 8bithero »

I get that kids' brains are malleable at that age, but they still have a tendency of thinking in a certain way. Programming requires quite a sequential and linear way of thinking that some kids just don't show a preference to it.

I've got two nieces, one is 4 and the other 2. For the four year old I tried using different games that are similar to ScratchJr. She's a lot more arty/dancey so even though she likes playing games on the tablet, these sequential typed games really didn't do it for her. She would just get a bit bored. The other kid, never plays with toys(ever!) she only draws and plays dress-up, but regardless, I bought her a code-a-pillar (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fisher-Price-DKT39-Code-a-pillarTM-...) which is for ages 3-6. So even at the age of two she started playing with the code-a-pillar (obviously with the help of her mum), and managed to make it snake around all of her other (unplayed with) toys. So she clearly showed an interest an inclenation to sequential thinking. (Next I'm gonna try get her using ScratchJr, then getting her a Kano or moving to Scratch.)

Personally I would have loved getting them both involved, but ultimately I think only the two year old show's a preference to that "type of thinking".

Re: Ask HN: How should I teach code to kids?

#133

Post by jdietrich »

Get a couple of BBC micro:bit boards. There's something inherently exciting about using code to do tangible things in the real world. I don't know why, but blinking an LED feels totally different to "hello world".

You can start out with a drag-and-drop programming interface and work up to JavaScript or Python. The BBC and their partners have created a wide range of educational resources based on the micro:bit. The boards are really easy to attach to other things and have bluetooth on-board.

http://microbit.org/

Re: Ask HN: How should I teach code to kids?

#134

Post by ess3 »

I've had a small course on programming for kids in ages 9-12. The biggest challenge by far is the setup part. I asked them to type an URL and they ended up googling it instead.

That's why I decided to do as much unplugged activities as possible. The concepts are so much easier to grasp I think when you're in a familiar environment (the physical world). Of course it's important to mix though.

Re: Ask HN: How should I teach code to kids?

#138

Post by bykovich »

Do your cousins want to code? Is it good for them to sit in solitude in front of a terminal instead of playing with other kids? Does it help them thrive to spend even more of their childhood staring at a screen than they already will? Will they be happier writing CSS than climbing a tree, or even reading a book or playing an instrument?

Please do not make your cousins learn to code.

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