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EASTSIDE ELEMENTARY<br />
CPSD fifth-graders learn computer science,<br />
coding<br />
Eastside Elementary teachers are<br />
training this summer to teach their<br />
fourth- and fifth-graders computer science<br />
and coding this fall. “This is the way<br />
children learn now,” said Eastside Principal<br />
Cindy Hamil. “We are moving forward<br />
with technology to keep them interested<br />
and engaged.”<br />
Kimberly Lane, trainer with code.org, held a workshop on<br />
June 10 for 25 teachers, covering critical thinking topics, teaching<br />
strategies, games and activities, and planning strategies.<br />
Teachers got hands-on experience with the curriculum and<br />
learned how it can be incorporated into other instruction.<br />
“We learned a lot of collaborative activities for students to<br />
work on together to understand new concepts,” said Jesse<br />
Emling, who will join Eastside’s faculty this fall to teach<br />
computer science.<br />
Today’s job market is moving more and more toward technology,<br />
he said, and teaching children how to code will prepare<br />
them for the careers of tomorrow.<br />
“By teaching this at a young age, they<br />
can carry it with them and figure out what<br />
they like over a long period of time,” he<br />
said. “That’s better than waiting until they<br />
are seniors in high school and learning it<br />
in one year, and then having to decide on a<br />
college or career.”<br />
Emling said the code.org curriculum<br />
is game-based, so it’s tied to the things students are already<br />
interested in. “This will appeal to them because it looks like the<br />
games they play,” said teacher Schnita Gladney. “But they can<br />
put their own spin on things. They will learn how to make the<br />
characters do what they want them to do.”<br />
In the future, she said, students can use the same skills to<br />
build apps, design Web sites, and create other digital media.<br />
“The new accountability standards are moving us in the<br />
direction of deep thinking and critical thinking,” Hamil said.<br />
“Coding does that. It engages students in a very hands-on lesson<br />
and makes them think at a deeper level.”<br />
For more information, visit www.code.org.<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Clinton</strong> • 57
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