New CodeHS Course: New Jersey Middle School Computer Science

This CodeHS New Jersey course is fully aligned to state 6–8 computer science standards.

Course Overview

The New Jersey MS Computer Science course is a first year computer science course that is fully aligned to the New Jersey 6–8 computer science standards. Students explore the basics of programming, how information is represented digitally and sent over the Internet, and physical computing with micro:bit devices. The course concludes with a project where students use data to answer any question they have.

Lessons

Programming With Turtle Graphics

Students learn Python commands, functions, and control structures by drawing shapes on the screen and solving puzzles with Turtle Graphics.

Digital Information

Students learn about the various ways we represent information digitally, including number systems, encoding data, and programmatically creating pixel images.

The Internet

Students explore the structure and design of the internet, and how this design affects the reliability of network communication, the security of data, and personal privacy.

Intro to micro:bit

Students learn the basics of physical computing with micro:bit, such as how to light up and change the brightness of LEDs, and how variables can be used to write more versatile programs.

Project: Using Data to Answer a Question

Students synthesize all they’ve learned in this course to complete a project where they use a device to collect and analyze data to find an answer to a question they have.