So many children talk about coding – but do they really understand what it is and why we need it?
Ready, Set, Code! by Heather Catchpole and Nicola O’Brien is a fantastic new book that breaks down what coding is with practical steps that are easy for children (and their adults) to follow.
Each chapter introduces new concepts in coding from the art of coding, creating sensors and making your own music. There are easy to understand facts, steps that outline how to create different codes through the ‘Scratch’ program and ‘Did you know?’ boxes of great facts.
Children will see how understanding swarms in nature can help scientists, what radio waves can be used for and the importance of understanding how to keep yourself safe online from hackers!
They will also learn about Scratch – a coding program. Scratch is a free program that you can download and although I had used it before, I hadn’t gone into too much depth and detail.
This book inspired us all together to try some fun new programming tools and read through why some things work, whilst other do not! It was great to read throughout the book that coding is often based on the real world and that it is possible to learn how to replicate many things in nature.
Ready, Set, Code! by Heather Catchpole and Nicola O’Brien is a great book to have in the classroom or at home to not only inspire some coding but to understand why we code and how knowing more about coding can inspire some great ideas.
There are great links to inspire further coding activities and details on how coding can be a career.
Use this book in your classroom or at home with downloadable teacher notes found at CSIRO Publishing
