2nd Grade Massachusetts Digital Literacy and Computer Science
- Level Elementary School
- Number of Lessons 36
- Grade 2nd
This course is designed to provide digital literacy and computer science instruction for Massachusetts 2nd grade students.
UNITS - 12 (36 lessons)
Students review Kindergarten and 1st grade programming basics, including logging in, events, and loops, for those who need extra practice before starting 2nd grade content.
Students use computational thinking to identify patterns and sequence steps in a school-day routine to kick off the year.
Students use the grid to move characters to precise locations and continue building their debugging skills with events and sequences.
Students expand on earlier loop skills by using timers, incorporating peer feedback, and creating algorithms to move characters along a path.
Students build on message events by creating multi-page programs, modeling cycles, debugging, and applying the design process.
Students apply a year of programming skills across three culminating projects, including a coding review, a racing game, and a moving-targets game.
Students explore how computers work, how people collaborate digitally, and how devices connect over networks.
Students learn about digital citizenship, digital footprints, and responsible technology use.
Students develop investigative questions, collect data through surveys, learn how data is stored, and complete choice-based research projects.
Students explore how computing shapes careers and everyday life through fashion-retail and community-focused projects.
Students learn how AI assistants answer questions and how tools like AutoDraw use AI to recognize and suggest drawings.
Students transition from CodeHopJr to the CodeHop Blocks editor they will use in 3rd grade.
Explore a sample lesson from this course!
This course builds on earlier grades' programming skills using a block-based language, expanding into loops, message events, and multi-step culminating projects like a racing game and a moving-targets game. Students also cover digital citizenship, data analysis through surveys and research, computing systems, and an introduction to AI, and finish the year by transitioning to the CodeHop Blocks editor used in 3rd grade.
The course is aligned to the Massachusetts Digital Literacy and Computer Science (DLCS) standards for grades K-2, covering strands including Computational Thinking (CT), Computing Systems (CS), Digital Tools and Collaboration (DTC), and Community, Global, and Ethical Impacts (CAS). Lessons that meet specific standards are labeled accordingly in the syllabus.
No, there are no prerequisites. The course is designed to support all learners in 2nd grade, regardless of prior computer science experience, and includes an optional review unit for students who need extra practice with Kindergarten and 1st grade content.
The course includes 36 lessons, each approximately 45 minutes long, for a total of 36 hours. It provides a full year of instruction when taught once per week, with some lessons required to meet state computer science standards.
Students use CodeHopJr, a block-based, teacher-led programming environment with a consistent lesson structure (Introduction, Guided Practice, Independent Practice, Extension, and Reflection). By the end of the year, students begin transitioning to the CodeHop Blocks editor they'll use starting in 3rd grade.
