Fruits, Vegetables, Coding, Oh My! Or Strengthening Reading Comprehension Through Coding
By Stephanie Dietrich
| Time Required: 60 Minutes | Technology Required: Beebots or Code & Code Mice |
| Grade(s): K-2 | Materials: Sequencing Map |
Every year, Illinois teachers and librarians look forward to the release of the Association of Illinois School Library Educators (AISLE) Monarch Award book list. Comprised of 20 books that are essential reading for K-3 students, this list is the best place to find high-quality, high-interest books to design learning activities around. My favorite book this year is Avocado Asks: What Am I? from Momoko Abe.
This charming narrative about an avocado who wanders a grocery store wondering where they fit in is sure to be a hit with young readers. Is Avocado a vegetable? A fruit? Or a cheese, perhaps? As a STEAM Educator and Librarian, this is the kind of picture book I love. There are so many activities that can be done with this book, as well as great opportunities for discussions around self-acceptance, emotions, and kindness
Computational Thinking & Early Literacy Sequencing
One of the activities I routinely do with K-2 students is to reinforce early literacy sequencing skills through robotics. According to Meadow Glens Elementary School Reading Specialist, Christy Miller, building strong sequencing skills early on is essential to reading comprehension. “Sequencing increases comprehension and the understanding of time in text, how one event leads to another. Strong sequencing skills help students not only in reading, but in writing. Students achieve a deeper understanding of the way stories are told and how the order in which the events unfold is a critical piece of the process.” Pairing early computational thinking instruction with literacy sequencing makes sense because computational thinking is sequencing. To create a robotics program, you need to create a set of instructions, and the order in which we place those instructions is important.
For this activity, students will be using the major events of the book as a guide to create their programming sequence. When using a picture book as a launching point for coding, I usually choose no more than 4 events from a book for students to navigate to begin with. Make sure you have at least one event from the beginning, middle, and end. For this lesson, I selected the following events:
- Is Avocado a vegetable?
- Is Avocado a fruit?
- Is Avocado a cheese?
- Is Avocado amazing just the way they are?
Materials Preparation
Before the lesson, print out and follow the instructions to construct the sequencing map. I recommend one map for each group of 2-3 children.
Procedure
If your students have never used a Beebot or Code and Go Mouse, offer opportunities prior to this lesson for free exploration with the robots and then a mini-lesson on the basic coding functions of the robot.
- After reading the book, have a discussion around the events in the book. List the events and start asking the students to put the events in the order in which they occurred. What did Avocado do first? Where did they go next?
- Show students the 4 events you selected and ask them to order the events from 1-4, the way that they occurred in the text. (You can leave these visible for students who may need a guide while they are coding the robot.)
- Explain to students that their coding challenge is to program their robot to follow the order of events in the book.
- Model where to start and do a quick review of directional coding.
- Place students in groups of 2-3 and model what paired programming looks like. I usually instruct students that only 1 student has their hands on the robot at a time, and the other student is narrating the coding instructions. After 10 minutes have students switch roles. For groups of 3, one student codes the robot, one student narrates the coding, and one student writes down the coding. Switch roles at least three times, so all students have an opportunity to code the robot.
- Students can use dry erase markers to write their code on the laminated sequencing map as they move along or the coding cards that come with the robot.
- While students are coding, continue to encourage collaboration and communication, making sure all voices are being heard and valued within the group.
- Have fun!
Assessment
You can visually assess students’ success by watching the robot successfully navigate the map or by reviewing the written documentation of their code.
No-Tech Modification
If you laminate the maps, students can use dry erase markers to draw arrows to create their program. You could also use programming cards for students to create their programming sequence.
If you are doing this activity at home, and don’t have access to a robot, contact your local library. Many libraries now have educational robots you can check out that would be great to use with our coding map.
Additional Resources
Basic Coding Instructions for Code and Go Mice
Basic Coding Instructions for Beebots
Reading about avocados has you thinking about food? Check out NIU’s Foodmaster website for free educator resources linking food and nutrition with math and science concepts.
Happy Coding!
