Coding for Kids
Table of Contents
New! JavaScript School Course Launched
Tynker’s new JavaScript course prepares students for the rigors of AP Computer Science when they get to high school and bridges the gap between block-based coding and text-based coding.
Tynker’s curriculum is the best way to get your students on track to succeed in AP Computer Science and beyond while sparking a lifelong passion for creating with code. This starts by inspiring an interest in coding and teaching Computer Science fundamentals, like computational thinking, data structures, algorithmic problem solving, and abstraction. But to really get to the next level, students need to transition to a mainstream coding language–and that’s where our new JavaScript course comes in.
How Tynker’s Curriculum Works
We start kids in grades K-8 with drag-and-drop visual programming and self-guided online courses in order to eliminate the frustrations of syntax early on. Using Tynker’s block-based coding language, students learn important programming concepts, computational thinking, and debugging in a fun environment as they make games and other projects.
Once students are comfortable with advanced coding concepts and ready to take on the challenges of syntax, they can transition to JavaScript with our new course JavaScript 101. We recommend JavaScript 101 for intermediate or advanced coders in upper middle or high school.
What Students Learn in JavaScript 101
In this advanced lesson plan, students will be introduced to JavaScript as they complete engaging lessons, solve challenging puzzles, and build their own games in JavaScript. As they work through the different modules in JavaScript 101, students gain a strong mastery of JavaScript syntax, as well as the ability to creatively program games and other projects and debug their own code. Students learn conditional logic, loops, nested loops, variables, keyboard and mouse events, expressions, the HTML canvas, collision detection, arrays and objects, and much more.
Students solve puzzles to learn about sequencing, syntax, expressions, loops, variables, and more. These puzzles allow them to experiment with JavaScript in a structured environment and focus on building algorithms to solve problems.
Students use Tynker’s JavaScript notebooks to program their own games from the ground up. They implement classic games like Snake, Breakout, Pong, Flappy Bird, Alien Invaders, and Geometry Dash, all while learning about the HTML canvas, collision detection, mouse and keyboard events, and keeping score.
How to Use JavaScript 101 with Your Class
JavaScript 101, like all Tynker courses, comes with comprehensive teacher guides and answer keys that make it easy to teach programming even if you don’t have any previous programming experience. Tynker does all the teaching for you and students progress through lessons at their own pace. This frees you up to mentor students on their projects and help students who are struggling.
JavaScript 101 is included with any K-8 or Middle School license. If your school has one of these licenses, you already have access to this course.
