LESSON PLANS:

Lesson 1 – Let’s Get Started

This lesson introduces students to the fascinating world of computers and to the CodeMonkey platform. Some of your
students may be familiar with the terms “coding” and “programming” and feel comfortable working with computers.
For others, learning to code may be an intimidating experience. As educators, our goal is to help students learn and
explore a variety of subjects, including computer science. We want to create an environment where students can
learn from their mistakes and build their foundational knowledge to create something new.
Good luck!

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LESSON 1: Let’s Get Started

Objectives

In this lesson, students will:

• Define coding and computer programming
• Become familiar with the CodeMonkey
platform
• Complete challenges 0-5

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LESSON 1: Let’s Get Started

Components

step x
Instructions: “step”,
step -x (stepping “turn”
backwards)
Terms: challenge, CoffeeScript
turn left/right
times

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LESSON 1: Let’s Get Started

U.S. Standards Addressed

CSTA-K12 Computer Science Standards

• 1B-AP-12 • 2-AP-10
• 1B-AP-15 • 2-AP-14
• 2-AP-16
• 2-AP-17

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LESSON 1: Let’s Get Started Part 1: 15 Minutes
Introduction
Discussion 2 mins.

1. How many of you have ever used a computer?

2. Have you ever created something on a computer, like a presentation, a drawing, or maybe even a game?
3. Let two or three students tell the class what they created.

Explanation 1 min.

In order for all of our favorite applications and games to work on a computer, we have to give instructions to the computer.
Computers can’t think for themselves, they do whatever we tell them to do. Giving instructions to the computer is called computer
programming or coding.

Activity 3 mins.

Play a short game with your students to illustrate instructions. Place an object somewhere visible in the classroom. Ask your students
to give you instructions to guide you from where you are standing to the object.

What instructions did the students use? Step, turn right, turn left?

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LESSON 1: Let’s Get Started Part 1: 15 Minutes
Introduction Cont.
Discussion 2 mins.

Do computers speak the same language as people?

Computers have their own languages; they cannot understand human language as we understand it. Java, JavaScript, and Python are
just a few of the languages computers speak. Each language is different, but they all have something in common: they require a
certain way of thinking, clear instructions and structure. Basically, learning a coding language is just like learning a new language.

Video 7 mins.

Today you will start learning basic coding principles through a game called Coding Adventure. The language we will learn is
called CoffeeScript.
Show the CodeMonkey Trailer to your class.
Show your class the video of Getting Started with Coding Adventure – A Guide for Students.

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LESSON 1: Let’s Get Started Part 2: 25 Minutes
Playtime

Log-in Information 3 mins.

Go to www.codemonkey.com.
Instruct your class on how to log in to their CodeMonkey accounts.
If your students use usernames and passwords to login, make sure they store their usernames and passwords where they can easily
access them in the future. Optional: hand out user log-in cards.
If a student forgets their password, you can reset it by visiting the classroom dashboard, locating the student’s username, and
clicking on the edit button which will appear if you hover over the username.

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LESSON 1: Let’s Get Started Part 2: 25 Minutes
Playtime Cont.

Walk-through (1) 4 min.

Walk your students through the basic appearance of Coding Adventure:
• Click on the “play now” button on the homepage
• Watch the short introductory clip
• Read the instructions out loud
• Coding Adventure is built out of levels called challenges. This is what a challenge looks like.
• The editor on the right is where you will write your code. You can also use the buttons at the bottom of your screen for easy
access.
• On the left is the stage. This is where you will see your code come to life. Your goal is to complete every challenge by helping the
monkey catch the banana.
• The monkey on the lower left corner is called Gordo; he will give you instructions and sometimes even hints if you are stuck. At
any time, you can click on Gordo to see the instructions again.

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LESSON 1: Let’s Get Started Part 2: 25 Minutes
Playtime Cont.
Walk-through (2) 3 mins.

• In every challenge, you will execute the code by clicking on the “run” button to see what the starting code will do.
• The code on the right says “step 15”, so when we will click on “run” the monkey will step 15 steps forward.
• Click on run.
• We completed the first challenge. After every completed challenge, you will get a star-score rating your solution. 3 stars is the
highest score and is rewarded for catching all the bananas, implementing newly-learned ics and writing short code. If you get less
than 3 stars, a hint will help you get them all. You can try to solve a challenge as many times as you want, it will not affect your
star score!
• Click on replay to see your solution again.
• Edit the solution to change it from
step 15
to
step 5
step 10
• Click “run” again to execute your solution. Show the students that this solution only got 2 stars and draw their attention to the
hint that tells them how to get the third star.
• Click replay again, fix the solution to get 3 stars and execute it again by clicking “run”.

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LESSON 1: Let’s Get Started Part 2: 25 Minutes
Playtime Cont.
Walk-through (3) 3 mins.

• Let us move onto the next challenge, click on “next challenge”.

• Read the instructions out loud
• The code on the right says “step 10”, let us click on run and see what happens.
• The monkey did not walk far enough, and the hint told us to try “step 15”, so let us change the number 10 to 15, and click “run”
again.
• It is always a good idea to use the pre-existing code, since it helps guide us to the correct code. Before we try to change the code,
click “run” to see what happens, read the hint, and then try to solve the challenge. Since your score does not get affected by
running a wrong solution, it is always a good idea to click on “run” before you begin a challenge. After all, the code is there for a
reason, so there is no reason to delete it.
• Another good strategy for when you are stuck is to start again from the beginning, in cases like these you can reset your code by
clicking on the reset button.
• Click the replay button and then click the reset button to show your students how to reset the code to what it was in the
beginning.
• Solve again by editing the code and click “run” to execute the solution.
• Show your students how to go back to challenge 0 by clicking on the map in right hand corner and clicking on challenge 0. Note
that unlike you as a teacher, your students will not be able to skip forward beyond challenges they have not yet solved.

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LESSON 1: Let’s Get Started Part 2: 25 Minutes
Playtime Cont.

Playtime 10 mins.

All students should complete challenges 0-5 with at least two stars. (Students from the age of 12 and up should get three stars.) Use
your classroom dashboard to keep track of students’ achievements. If students are having trouble confusing right and left, draw their
attention to the watch on the monkey’s left wrist. Tell them that turning in the direction of the watch is left.

Review 2 mins.

Open challenge 2 and show the ruler animation. Follow the instructions to measure the distance between the monkey and the
banana, and then use that distance to fix the code. Make sure your students understand how to use the ruler.

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LESSON 1: Let’s Get Started Part 3: 5 Minutes
Debriefing

Discussion 3 mins.

1. What instructions did you learn today?

2. What did you like most about Coding Adventure?
3. Besides instructions, what else did you learn today?
4. How do you get 3 stars in a Coding Adventure challenge? Does it matter how many times you try to solve the challenge? (No, it
does not!)
5. What do you do when you are stuck?
6. In a CodeMonkey challenge, how do you display the instructions again?
7. In a CodeMonkey challenge, how do you reset the code to what it was in the beginning?

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LESSON 1: Let’s Get Started Part 3: 5 Minutes
Debriefing Cont.

Review 1 mins.

Open challenge 6 and solve it with your class. They will solve it by themselves in the next lesson.

Assignment 1 mins.

Due next lesson, create a map with your route to school by writing the directions as computer instructions, just like you learned
today. You can also route the way from your room to other places in your house, or even from your homeroom at school to the
playground. Be sure to use the basic instructions used in CodeMonkey.
Show an example of such a sequence of instructions on the whiteboard.

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