Computer Programing in Summer School

I did a "brave."

I've taught English and writing based curriculum for many years now (well, a few more than twenty). The farthest I've branched out is journalism at the high school level.  

I had been itching for a change before I got the job as the technical coach for Gretna Public Schools.  To feed that desire the switch things up, I applied to teach computer programming in summer school for Logan Fontenelle Middle School.  Luckily, I was approved and I started working with the Apple "Learn to Code 1" materials to design a four-week course. 

The GOOD:

• Wow, I had some awesome kids.  
• The curriculum from @Apple went relatively smoothly with slight adjustments for temperament and age of the class. 
• This was a big step up from Scratch and block type codes and the kids really responded to it.
• I had fun.

The INTERESTING:

• Incoming 7th graders are 6th graders (seems intuitive, but I was absolutely surprised when reflecting on differences in behaviors, attention, gaming, and cognition. 
• The curriculum provided by @Apple needs augmentation for a group as young as 6th graders.   I relied on @Flocabulary, @Kahoot, @Quizizz, @Quizlett, @Classkick, @Piccollage, @Parrot, @WonderWorkshop to give the lessons the needed "pop" and reinforcement.