Before teaching with Code4Kids
Check your school setup
Network settings
Download this list of URLs and ensure that they are whitelisted on your network’s firewall.
Create student accounts
* Grade 3 to 9 students only!
Follow these steps to upload students to your Code4Kids dashboard:
- Copy this sheet to create a list of students.
- Save the list as a CSV file.
- Go to the “Students” tab on the dashboard.
- Click on the “Import CSV” button.
Student & Teacher Resources
Grade R - 3
Teacher resources
- Login to the Code4Kids Dashboard.
- Go to “Resources”
- Select “Grade R - 3”
- You will be redirected to a website where you can select the grade you are teaching.
- After selecting the grade, select the term, then select the lesson guide and resources.
Student resources
Grade R to 2
For the optional online component of Grade R to 2, there are application websites for students. Students should follow these steps to access the activities:
- Type in your schools Code4Kids URL.
- Do not login, but go to the “Grade R-3 Resources” Section. Click on “View Resources”.
- Find the activity correlating to the lesson, and bookmark the page for your students.
Grade 3
*Create student accounts first!
Follow these steps to assign the Grade 3 course to your students:
- Go to the “Courses” tab on the dashboard.
- Scroll down to “Additional Courses” and go to the Grade 3 Course Card.
- Click on the “Teacher Actions” button on the course card you want to assign.
- On the dropdown, click on the “Assign Course” button.
- In the pop-up window, select the group you want to assign the course to and click on “Assign Course”.
Grade 4-9
Assign the course to students
*Create student accounts first!
Follow these steps to assign courses to students:
- Go to the “Courses” tab on the dashboard.
- Click on the “Teacher Actions” button on the course card you want to assign.
- On the dropdown, click on the “Assign Course” button.
- In the pop-up window, select the group you want to assign the course to and click on “Assign Course”.
Teacher actions
Before each lesson
We’ve prepared a short video tutorial to help you prepare for each lesson.
Enter the course you want to teach. Go to the lesson card and select “Watch Tutorial”.
After each lesson
When teaching the same lesson to a different class you will need to reset the tabs. This will remove the work you did with the previous class, resetting the lesson to its default state, so you can start the next lesson from scratch.
Each tab needs to be reset individually. To do this, right click on the tab and select “Reset Tab”.
*Students can also use this feature if they have accidentally removed their code and attempted the “undo” shortcut with no success.
Tips to Teach Code4Kids Lessons
Common keyboard keys
Before teaching, familiarise yourself with these keys on the keyboard. You will be using them often!
Tags:
Parenthesis:
Curly brackets:
Colon:
Semi-colon:
Single quotation mark:
+
or
+
or
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or
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Our teaching approach
We follow a simple three step method to problem-solving in the classroom:
1
Ask the student what have they tried.
The student must show you that they have read the question or task, written something or tried something. If this is the case, but the student still can’t do it, we move onto Step 2.
2
Use your mouth, not your mouse.
Let the student ask their neighbour, but don’t let them do it for the student. Their neighbour can tell the student what to do, but the student must do it themselves. If a solution is not reached when students collaborate, move onto Step 3.
3
Answer in the Socratic Method.
Answer in the Socratic Method. This means you must answer the student’s question with a question, for example:
- Have you tried x?
- What if you change this to that?
- Did you do the previous question correctly?
Classroom Resources
Printable posters
We've put together a few posters showcasing some of the coding concepts, technologies, and philosophies, as well as some of the Code4Kids characters that students will meet along the way.
Print them out and put them up in your classroom as reference material for your students.
FAQs
How can students change their own passwords?
To change passwords, students must click on the menu button next to their names, go to “Profile”. Once there, they will have to enter their current password and select new password.
How do I assign a course to students?
Courses can be assigned to different groups of learners by clicking the teacher actions button on the course page of your Code4Kids dashboard -> Assign course
How do I add or remove individual students?
- To add a student:
- Navigate to the “Students” tab on your Code4Kids dashboard and select the “New Student” button.
- To remove a student:
- On the “Students” tab on your Code4Kids dashboard, select the student that you would like to remove and click the “Remove Student” button.
How do I access lesson plans?
Select Resources tab on your dashboard and navigate to Lesson Aids -> Lesson Guides.
How do I assess my students?
Check out this blog for guidelines on assessing your students.