CodeHS JavaScript Insider: Themed Projects, Extra Help, and JS Tutorials!

📚 Themed Projects

Another season, another great selection of themed projects to choose from! Consider assigning one of the ones listed below to add some extra fun to your course this winter.

Here are a few JavaScript projects related to some upcoming holidays:

🧠 Extra Help with Functions

If you haven't already, pretty soon you’ll start diving into the Functions module, where students will learn more about functions with parameters, return statements, and variable scope. These are some of the most important, and most mixed up, fundamental topics in this course. The better they understand this content, the more successful they will be in future lessons and beyond.

Here are a few ideas on how you can provide extra support in this module:

Go through the Examples together as a class, asking questions like, "What would happen if we moved this line of code to line X?" Or "What would happen if we deleted this parameter or this line of code?"
Modify the Examples, or create new programs in the Sandbox (or as new assignments), so that students can get extra practice debugging these topics in programs other than their own.
As a warm up activity, have them each write their own unique function that uses parameters and return statements effectively (ie creating a generalized function that produces an output based on the inputs, which is then stored in a local variable). The function can do anything they'd like it to do.

🤔 Extension Ideas: JS Tutorials

As the semester progresses, you may have a few advanced students who would love to dive into additional topics. Consider pointing them towards a tutorial or two, where they could learn the new concepts, apply them in their own programs, and/or teach them to the class!

Here are a handful to consider:

🚚 Coding in the Wild Blog

The Coding the Wild posts are great for showcasing how professionals use computer science across multiple disciplines. Use them as supplemental material or extra credit to expose students to the broad applications of learning to code.

We recommend using “Coding for Electric Vehicles at Rivian.” Students learn how coding drives innovation in electric vehicles and discover another real-world application of programming.

"The integration of AI in vehicles is just the beginning… We’re on the brink of a new era where vehicles are not only sustainable but also intelligent and adaptive." - Hanlin “Asher” Mai, Engineer at Rivian Automotive.

✏️ Curriculum Feedback Group

CodeHS is interested in learning more about how you use our curriculum and resources in your classroom—what CodeHS materials do you rely on and what do you wish was different for the courses you teach? If you are interested in joining a course advisory group to help improve the CodeHS courses, please complete the short form.

❓ Question of the Day

Have you checked out the Question of the Day (QOTD) for JavaScript yet? The questions run throughout the school year and build from basic concepts covered in the beginning of the course to more advanced concepts as the year progresses. Use QOTD to kick off your class each day and challenge students to keep up the longest streak. Pro users can even track their students' answers with the Progress Dashboard!