Digital Technologies
Year 5 and 6 band description
Digital Technologies Processes and Production Skills
Implement digital solutions as simple visual programs involving branching, iteration (repetition), and user input (ACTDIP020).
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Planning and implementing a solution using a visual programming language, for example designing and creating a simple computer game involving decisions and repetitions, suitable for younger children, that requires user input to make selections, taking into account user responses.
Resources for the years 5 and 6 Digital Technologies band description above include a design brief and various learning activities for students to practise programming.
Design Brief - Game Makers Project
In this design brief, students are to create an educational game for children aged between 6 and 8 involving decisions and repetitions.
The design brief includes -
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Links to other relevant curriculum (general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities)
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Teacher notes (an overview of the prior knowledge required; materials, preparation, and differentiation; safety issues; class management; time management)
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Guided design templates for students' planning
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Rubric
Note - The theme of the game can be changed to integrate the topics students have learned in other curriculum areas.
Learning Activities for Students to Practice Programming - Prior to completing Design Brief
This will depend on your students' experience with programming and the programming tool they have been exposed to. Here are some activities for two free programming tools that are very similar.
Code.org
This activity begins from very basic revision of students' knowledge of programming and introduces the use of repetition scripts within a maze game where students program the zombie to get to the sunflower. It has a series of 15 mini activities building on one another with videos included to explain concepts and instructions as a form of differentiation. The last two activities of the 15 are quiz questions to test their knowledge on using the repetition script.
Similar to the activity above, this series of 11 mini activities introduces the creation of function scripts within a maze game and students practise making and using function scripts to help the bee collect nectar and make honey. Videos are used to explain function scripts.
Following on from Stage 6 (above), the 10 mini activities in this stage builds on the use of function scripts while introducing conditionals (If statements) to help the bee check flowers for nectar to make honey. It also includes video help hints for students if required.
This stage consists of 10 mini activities which scaffold students to create a bounce game.
Within this series of 8 mini activities, students learn to adjust and program different variables within a game (speed of characters, height, and score). At the end, they have the opportunity to practise using what they have learned in this stage to create a game using all those elements.
Scratch
Recommended to start with, as this resource equips students with the essential skills needed to program games. There are 10 different printable taskcards with steps for students to follow and video tutorials. They include a range of tutorials from the movement and looping of sprites to changing effects such as colour, importing new sprites, creating animations, X and Y coordinates, sensing features, broadcasting and receiving, variables and keeping score, putting it all together, and editing sprites.
This activity allows students to learn about sensing (If Touching) scripts and practise programming interactions between sprites. It includes instructions and pictures of the programming sequences for students to follow.
Debug it! is an activity that allows students to review already made scripts and fix the error within them so that they do what is described in the instructions. It includes a student worksheet to record their answers and a reference for teachers of the possible solutions. Another copy of the reference without the solutions may need to be provided for students, as the broken scripts are not included in their worksheet.
Students are provided with different pieces of the script which they must assemble to complete the described task. Again, a reference for teachers with the possible solutions are provided. However, students may also need a copy without the solutions.
In these activities, students are provided with instructions to create their own maze, collision, and guessing game. You can also add some challenge for students in creating different levels or different themes in the guessing game (e.g. Math problems instead of spelling). In relation to the design brief, some of the scripts and themes can be remixed to create their educational game.
Similar to the activities above, the scripts for these games can be viewed for students to copy and create their own games. The links to these activities also include extensions to challenge students and video tutorials for how the game is programmed.