Tennessee Computer Science: Kindergarten
- Level Elementary School
- Number of Lessons 37
- Grade K
This course is aligned to TN standards and is designed to provide computer science instruction for Tennessee kindergarten students. It is meant to be taught approximately once per week. This course also includes interdisciplinary lessons in math, science, ELA, and social studies to support cross-curricular integration.
See the full syllabus for all topics and activities, or explore the course to try it out.
UNITS - 8 (37 lessons)
Students learn foundational sequencing and event concepts without devices by creating step-by-step instructions and acting out how events trigger actions.
Students explore computer basics, develop mouse and keyboard skills, and learn to use technology safely and responsibly.
Students follow a story-driven adventure through the CodeHopJr interface, learning to add characters, backgrounds, and pages to their programs.
Students create programs that respond to user interactions, combining motion blocks with event blocks to bring animated underwater scenes to life.
Students use a variety of blocks including pages, transportation sounds, and loops to create diverse programs and practice debugging skills.
Students participate in guided steps to solve simple problems through programming animations while learning the foundations of design thinking.
Students conduct simple research, work with data about their school, learn online safety, and understand the importance of being kind online.
Students apply programming skills to math problems, science concepts, language arts activities, and social studies topics.
Explore a sample lesson from this course!
Students learn block-based programming fundamentals including sequences (step-by-step instructions), events (actions triggered by user input), loops (repeated actions), and how to create simple interactive programs.
Students work in CodeHopJr, a user-friendly block-based programming environment with visual, drag-and-drop blocks designed specifically for young learners.
Each lesson is approximately 30 minutes long, delivered once per week across a full school year for a total of 36 hours of instruction.
Students create animated stories, interactive games, wildlife scenes, and programs that respond to mouse clicks and keyboard input. They also engage in unplugged activities and design projects.
The course includes interdisciplinary lessons integrated with math, science, language arts, and social studies. Teachers can flexibly incorporate these based on their curriculum needs.
Students develop computational thinking, problem-solving, creativity, debugging skills, and digital citizenship. The course also emphasizes research skills and understanding how to use technology safely.
