Video Tutorial: Dance Party Teacher Guide

Summary

● Coding skill level: Beginner ● Recommended grade level: Grades 3+ (U.S.), Years 4+ (U.K) ● Time required: 30 minutes ● Coding Language: Tynker Blocks

Teacher Guide Outline

Welcome! ● Introduction ● How to Prepare Activity ● Overview ● Getting Started ● Video Tutorial (30 minutes) ​ ● Extended Activities Going Beyond Dance Party ● Supporting Schools Help

Welcome! Who's ready to learn how to code from talented engineers? Tynker is excited to bring you a series of video tutorials. Each week, a developer at Tynker will create fun, interactive tutorials for you and your students. This week, Amanda will show your students step-by-step directions on how to animate a dance party.

Introduction In this lesson, students will combine creativity, dance, and code to create a Dance Party project in Tynker. Unlike previous Tynker projects, this lesson uses a video tutorial. You can access the video tutorial by clicking this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI4WLFIvZgA&feature=youtu.be

Students will begin the lesson by completing the "Getting Started" activity where they'll dance to music and prepare for today's coding adventure. Next, they'll move onto the Dance Party video tutorial to bring their dance moves to life using code. By the end of the lesson, students will have a snazzy project they can dance to. They'll also reinforce coding concepts such as animation, direction and turning, simple loops, and simple ​ ​ ​ sound playing. Let's get this coding party started! ​

Note: The tutorial walks students through exactly what they need in order to create a ​ Dance Party project. However, students are encouraged to add their own ideas and further customize the project.

How to Prepare This activity is designed for self-directed learning. The best way to prepare is to read ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ through this teacher guide and complete the activity before assigning it to students.

Activity Overview Objectives Students will... ● Watch a video tutorial ● Animate Actors ● Use code blocks to create a Dance Party project

Materials ● Computers, laptops, Chromebooks, or tablets with an internet connection ​ ​ ​ ​

Vocabulary ● Code: The language that tells a computer what to do ​ ● Actor: A Tynker character or object that can talk and interact with others ​ ● Stage: The background of the project where the Actors are placed ​ ● Sequence: The order in which steps or events happen ​ ● Command: A specific action or instruction that tells the computer to do ​ something

U.S. Standards ● CCSS-ELA: RF.3.4, RF.3.4.A, RF.4.4.A, RF.4.4, RF.5.4.A, RF.5.4, WHST.6-8.4, ​ ​ W.9-10.3, W.11-12.3 ● CCSS-Math: MP.1 ​ ● CSTA: 1B-AP-08, 1B-AP-12, 1B-AP-15, 2-AP-15, 3A-AP-13 ​ ● CS CA: 3-5.AP.10, 3-5.AP.14, 3-5.AP.17, 6-8.AP.10, 6-8.AP.16, 9-12.AP.12 ​ ● ISTE: 1.c, 1.d, 4.d, 5.c, 5.d, 6.b ​

U.K. Standards National Curriculum in England (computing): ● Key Stage 2 (Years 4-6) ○ Design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts ○ Use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs ○ Understand computer networks, including the internet; how they can provide multiple services, such as the World Wide Web, and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration ○ Use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact

● Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9) ○ Design, use and evaluate computational abstractions that model the state and behaviour of real-world problems and physical systems

○ Create, reuse, revise and repurpose digital artefacts for a given audience, with attention to trustworthiness, design and usability ○ Understand a range of ways to use technology safely, respectfully, responsibly and securely, including protecting their online identity and privacy; recognise inappropriate content, contact and conduct, and know how to report concerns

Getting Started ● Help students tap into their inner dancer by encouraging them to demonstrate some of their favorite dance moves. Optional: Provide music and allow them to ​ ​ express themselves through dance.

Video Tutorial (30 minutes) ​ ​ Dance Party (DIY) ● In this project, students will learn how to use the Tynker Workshop to create an ​ animated project of different Actors dancing to music! ● As students watch the video tutorial, they can follow along with Amanda by completing the following steps:

Steps to Create a Dance Party Project Screenshot Example

Step 1: Choose a Background

Step 2: Add Background Music

Step 3: Choose a Character

Step 4: Program a Dance

Step 5: Duplicate the Dancer

Note: Students are encouraged to expand on the project, experiment with ​ different code blocks, and add their own creative twists.

● The video tutorial uses these code blocks: Code Block What Does It Do?

Starts the program when the Play button is selected.

Keeps repeating the blocks inside the loop forever.

Sets how an Actor behaves when it rotates.

Point the Actor at the specified degree (e.g., 90).

Animate the Actor to perform a specified action.

Play the specified sound file and wait until it is finished playing.

● If students need help opening the video tutorial, please refer to the "Help" section in this teacher guide.

● Do students want to create their own dance? Ask them to explore the different parameters in the "animate and wait" code block:

● See if students can make the Actor look like they're dancing on the ceiling! Hint: ​ Ask students to change the parameter of the "set rotation style" code block to "all around." Here's an example of what their code might look like:

Code Sample Output Example

Extended Activities Short Response Practice your writing and/or typing skills as you respond to this writing prompt:

Today we expressed our creativity through dance and code. What are some of your favorite ways to express yourself? Is it through drawing, playing music, writing stories, or something else?

Let's Keep Dancing Create a unique dance move. Then write or draw the steps. See if you can teach the dance move to a classmate or family member! Bonus: Recreate your dance move on Tynker.

Going Beyond Dance Party If your students enjoyed Dance Party, they’re sure to enjoy the rest of what Tynker has ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ to offer! You can check out Tynker's coding and STEAM curriculum here: ​ ​ https://www.tynker.com/school/coding-curriculum/

Supporting Schools At Tynker, we’re concerned about the impact the COVID-19 coronavirus is having on students and educators. Therefore, as the global leader in computer coding education in schools, we’d like to do our part to help.

If your school or district is planning a closure for preventative health-related reasons, please complete this form to get full access to the entire Tynker curriculum and ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ platform at no cost. This will give you and your students access to our self-paced, ​ ​ on-demand courses until May 2020, but we will happily extend this offer until your school reopens.

Help Need help? Below you’ll find answers to frequently asked questions.

How do my students open the video tutorial? Step 1: Click this image on the Tutorial tab: ​

Step 2: Click the red Play button: ​

Do I need to create Tynker accounts for my students? No, you do not need to create a Tynker account for your students.

How do my students code their project? Students can drag and drop code blocks from the Tynker code block pallet onto the coding panel. Then they can follow along with the video tutorial to create an animated dance project. Make sure students... ​ ​ ● Pause the video tutorial between steps. Once they complete a step, they can unpause the video to continue. ● Check that the code blocks are attached.

Who is this activity for? Dance Party is intended for students in grades 3+ (U.S.) or years 4+ (U.K.) who want to start learning about code.

What devices do I need? Computers, laptops, Chromebooks, or tablets (1 per student) with an internet ​ ​ ​ connection ​

What will my students learn? Students can express themselves as they combine code and dance to create a Dance Party project. By using the Tynker Workshop, students can add a background to their project, animate characters, add sound files, draw backgrounds/Actors, and more. Students will also develop debugging and logical reasoning skills as they experiment with code blocks and further customize their project. The "Extended Activities" section in this teacher guide also includes a writing prompt that reinforces typing and writing skills.

What should my students code next? Keep an eye out for the next video tutorial. In the meantime, your students can check out Tynker's Hour of Code projects which include over 500 challenges! They can explore careers with Barbie™, defeat enemies in Crystal Clash, code space-themed adventures, and more. Here's the link: https://www.tynker.com/hour-of-code/

How can I contact the Tynker support team? If you have any issues or questions, send us an email at [email protected]. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​​ ​