Get ALL your students involved in coding with this fun free site

My Take

After attending a code.org workshop, I realized it was more than just having the students use and learn coding skills on their own. The workshop demonstrated how 5-10 minute whole class lessons could accompany each session, and can be found on the website. By following this, I was able to teach the students the specific skill that went along with the coding session. When other teachers and administration walked into the classroom, the excitement of the kids explaining what the learned was clear. I like how the website's interface is extremely user-friendly! I teach kindergarten through fifth grade, and students with special needs in a computer lab. Each group of students I see for about 40 minutes. Code.org not only benefits students of all ages and skill, it keeps them engaged for the provided time period. I feel this site provides students with the beginning thought process that accompanies skills with coding. In the beginning stages, students are not learning the language of coding, which can be highly complicated, but are learning the thought process behind. For the students who are more advanced, though they are still engaged by the site, I don't think they are learning as much. With those students, I like to use a program called Scratch.