Week 1 — Teacher Run Sheet¶
⬇ Download this handout as a PDF
Friday, August 14, 2026 · 45 minutes · Print and keep in your hand. The timing table is on page 1 — that's the only page you need mid-class.
Before students arrive¶
- Projector on, two tabs open:
quickdraw.withgoogle.com·arcade.makecode.com - Binary cards printed and cut (16 · 8 · 4 · 2 · 1)
- Index cards / surveys on the table
- Challenge cards on the tables
- Board: Today: Draw → Discover → Build / The one rule: Stuck is normal. Ask your partner first.
No student logins today. Nothing to set up. Nothing to save.
The 45 minutes¶
| Clock | What | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| :00 | Welcome + the one rule. "By May you'll each have something live on the internet." Devices open. | Skip the name go-round — learn names during work time |
| :04 | Quick Draw. 3 rounds. Let it get loud. | ⚠️ This is your tech check. Walk the room. Any device that fails here will fail at MakeCode |
| :10 | "How did it know?" Take 3 answers. Land it: 50 million human drawings. It learned from us. | Don't over-explain. Plant and move |
| :13 | Binary cards. Screens DOWN. Show 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7. Then biggest (31) and smallest (0). Write 1 0 1 1 1 on the board |
Ask your 9th–10th graders: "How many cards for all 26 letters?" (5) |
| :21 | MakeCode Arcade → Chase the Pizza. No login | Circulate. Learn names. Ask "what did you expect?" Never fix it for them |
| :38 | Share a BROKEN game, not the best one. "This is the best thing that happened all class." | Sets the tone for the whole year |
| :40 | Skills survey. 2 min, index card | ⚠️ Never cut this. It builds Week 2's pairs |
| :43 | Teaser + Think About This | See below |
| :45 | Done |
Fast finishers — say this exactly¶
"See the dropdown that says Blocks? Switch it to JavaScript. That's your same game, written the way professionals write it. Find your speed and change it there."
Same project, same room, no one singled out. Then have them help a neighbor.
🤔 Think About This (read aloud at :43)¶
Somewhere this week a computer will guess what you want before you ask. A video it recommends. A word your phone finishes. A song it plays next.
When it happens, ask yourself: what did it already have to know about me to make that guess?
Bring one example next Friday. Nothing to write down.
🔌 If the internet is down¶
| Clock | What |
|---|---|
| :00 | Same welcome |
| :04 | Binary cards, extended — then write your initials in binary (A=1 … Z=26) |
| :16 | My Robotic Friends — one student is the robot, class stacks 6 cups using only FORWARD TURN LEFT PICK UP PUT DOWN. Robot obeys literally. It will get funny. Debrief: "The robot did exactly what you said." That's programming |
| :32 | Groups write their algorithm on paper, trade, and execute |
| :40 | Same survey, same teaser |
Keep 6 plastic cups in the closet all year. This backup works for any week.
Troubleshooting¶
| If… | Then… |
|---|---|
| Quick Draw blocked | Skip it, go to binary. Send IT the whitelist sheet today |
| MakeCode asks for sign-in | Click past it. Nothing needs saving today |
| Student finishes in 6 min | JavaScript toggle, then peer-help. Not another tutorial |
| "I'm bad at this" | Sit down, take the mouse, break something on purpose. "Watch, I do this constantly." Hand it back |
| Running long | Cut the share-out. Never the survey |
| Device dead | Pair them. Two on one machine is a good outcome |
After class — 10 minutes, same evening¶
Sort the surveys into three piles: 🐣 new · 🙂 some · 😎 confident.
Build Week 2 pairs: each 😎 with a 🐣. Pick for patience, not skill.
Flag anyone who answered "give up" on the stuck question — check in with them personally in Weeks 2–3.