Computer programming is not just about logic, creating code and computers. Creativity is also crucial as children must plan, design, and explore solutions to solve problems.
This blog explores the importance of creativity in coding and offers five lesson ideas that will hopefully help to make coding fun, accessible, exciting and spark creativity in your learners.
Why Creativity in Coding Matters
When we think of creativity, many of us will first think of subjects such as art or music. But coding can be just as creative. It may be in a slightly different way but ultimately coding still involves planning, designing, sometimes storytelling and finding ways to solve problems in unique ways.
Encouraging creativity in programming helps children:
- Develop resilience and curiosity when tackling challenges.
- See ‘failing’ as part of the learning process. Debugging is a chance for discovery!
- Practice cross-curricular skills such as storytelling and design.
- Build confidence in expressing and sharing their own ideas.
Programming for beginners
Before diving into complex programming, it is essential that we lay the right foundations. Children need to understand the basics of commands, algorithms, directional language, controls etc. Spending time on this will really help them to explore more complicated programming later on.
One engaging way to do this, is to introduce children to unplugged coding activities that don’t require screens or technology. For example, giving each other commands for a treasure hunt around the classroom or the instructions to carry out a task.
Lesson Idea 1
In this activity, the children will become the robots! They work in pairs to plan and ‘program’ their partner with an accurate algorithm.
Whole Class Activity – Following Instructions
- Ask the children to follow some simple, clear instructions such as ‘stand up, touch your nose with your right thumb, stamp your left foot, clap your hands once, sit down, facing forward on your chair’ etc.
- Ask the children if the instructions were easy to follow? Why?
Explain that algorithms must be very clear so a computer knows exactly what to do, otherwise the outcome might not be quite as you intended.
Paired Activity – Give Instructions
This activity is best done in a large space, such as a playground.
- Children will take it in turns to give each other a set of instructions to follow.
- One child in the pair will pretend to be a robot, such as Bee-Bot, who cannot speak, only move. The other child will give the instructions by saying different commands e.g. ‘move one step forward, turn 90 degrees to the left’.
- Remind the children of some important top tips:
- Clear their partner’s memory when starting a new set of instructions (say ‘clear’).
- Remember to say ‘Go’ after the instruction.
- Give clear instructions that are precise and detailed, for example with the number of steps to move forward.
Get learning ideas for using Bee-Bot across the curriculum here.
Interactive Creative Coding
Combining creative challenges and learning with coding objectives can help to demonstrate the link between coding and creativity. For example, you could plan to use coding in creative subject areas such as art and design, dance or music. Challenges with multiple solutions that require creative thinking and problem solving also create opportunities for creative coding and increase engagement and motivation.
Lesson Idea 2
This lesson idea uses the TTS Loti-Bot robot, with children programming Loti-Bot to create artistic masterpieces.
- Set children the challenge to create a unique piece of artwork by programming Loti-Bot to draw different shapes and patterns.
- You could for example create artwork with tessellation, rotational symmetry or featuring different shapes.
- Encourage children to change the pen colour for different shapes to add extra dimensions or change the distance Loti travels to create small or large scale masterpieces!
Get learning ideas for using Loti-Bot across the curriculum here.
Engaging Young Learners
To help keep younger pupils excited and engaged with coding it can help to link it in with subjects or topics they are engaged and fascinated by, for example a favourite animal or hobby. Storytelling can also be a powerful tool with younger learners.
For example, children might plan and navigate Bee-Bot around a pirate treasure island map, or they might set up a dinosaur landscape to navigate their robot around meeting new friends and telling stories as they go.
Lesson Idea 3
This lesson activity idea focusses on storytelling and would be ideal with the TTS Bee-Bot or TTS Blue-Bot programmable robots.
- Choose from a wide range of mats, or create your own story mat, to set the scene for a familiar story, such as ‘The Three Little Pigs’.
- Get the children to create their own character jackets for Blue-Bot, using the TTS template and plot different story events onto the mat.
- Set children the challenge to program Blue-Bot to travel around the mat and visit the different characters or settings, as they retell the story as a group.
- They could also make up their own stories and program Blue-Bot as they tell their story to a partner.
Get learning ideas for using Blue-Bot across the curriculum here.
Visualising Algorithms
Algorithms can feel abstract for young learners. We need to be able to offer concrete examples and representations to help them visualise the commands and actions so that can plan and predict before turning them into code. Using physical resources such as code sequencing cards, or programmable robots can really support children before moving to more abstract block-based programming environments.
For example, if children are programming a robot to move, it will help them to first understand and visualise what each command will mean within their algorithm. Then it may be beneficial for them to act out their algorithm first before programming it onto the robot.
Lesson Idea 4
This lesson activity idea uses the TTS Tactile Reader Pro, as a tool to support children to practice skills of planning and visualising algorithms. The Tactile Reader Pro enables children to insert a tile for each stage of their algorithm helping to break it down and visualise each step.
- Children will work in partners.
- One partner must look away or sit behind a screen to hide the Tactile Reader Pro from them.
- The other partner will use the Tactile Reader Pro to plan a journey for your robot (Blue-Bot, Rugged Robot or Loti-Bot). If it helps, they might want to move the robot through the algorithm as they plan it with the tiles on the Tactile Reader. Once programmed, the other partner can then watch (without seeing the Tactile Reader Pro).
- The other person should watch the robot move and draw the tiles that have been used. Check – do they match?
- Swap roles and have another go.
Get learning ideas for using the Tactile Reader Pro across the curriculum here.
Group Coding Projects
Collaboration is where creativity really shines through. Group programming projects not only encourage teamwork but also teach planning, designing, and communication skills which are all vital 21st century learning skills.
Children could work on collaborative projects that use a range of skills including programming, design, and presentation, such as designing a game or even a flash mob robot dance!
Lesson Idea 5
This lesson is based on setting the children a challenge to design and create their own game using a robot, such as TTS Loti-Bot. In groups, children will design and create their own interactive, inclusive game to play with Loti-Bot, for example it may be an escape room maze, battleships, or monopoly.
- Begin by giving the children time to research different games they could create. They will need to consider which ones would be adaptable to include Loti-Bot.
- Once decided, children then need to plan, design and create their game board. Give children a selection of questions and prompts to consider which will help shape their games, such as: How many players will the game involve? Will there be any obstacles, clues, questions, quizzes? What inputs and outputs will you build into your game?
- Within their groups, encourage children to play their game and have a test run to identify any aspects that need to be ‘debugged’ and improved.
- They may want to create some ‘rules’ for their game to help.
- Play the game as a group then play another group’s game. Each group will need to explain the rules of the game to the other players as these will be different for each game.
Get learning ideas for computing with Loti-Bot here.
Put Your Computer Programming Lesson Ideas into Practice!
The world of technology is constantly changing and evolving. The chances are that our children won’t need to program a Bee-Bot in their adult lives. But they are likely to need to interact with and understand technology. So, it is important that we help to equip our learners not only with the skills and principles of coding and programming, but also with the skills to be confident, playful, flexible and creative when interacting with the technology around us.
