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Computer Science Discoveries
What is CS Discoveries?
Computer Science Discoveries is appropriate for 6 - 10th grade students and can be taught as a semester or year long introductory course (3-5 hours per week of instruction for 9+ weeks). The course takes a wide lens on computer science by covering topics such as programming, physical computing, HTML/CSS, and data. The course inspires students as they build their own websites, apps, games, and physical computing devices. Our curriculum is available at no cost for anyone, anywhere to teach. For more information about our goals and approach to our courses, please see our curriculum values and our professional learning values.
Computer Science Discoveries
Curriculum Resources and Features
The Curriculum Guide contains details on the classroom and student practices that flow throughout the course, overviews of each unit, and implementation considerations.
Daily lesson plans come with detailed instructions, activity guides, and assessments.
Create and manage your classroom sections, as well as check student progress, administer assessments, and integrate with your Google or Clever classroom, all from your Teacher Dashboard.
Students learn to use HTML and CSS to design their own web pages in Web Lab.
Students explore programming concepts through the development of animations and games in Game Lab.
Students create prototypes of internet-connected physical computing devices using Adafruit's Circuit Playground board and App Lab.
Don't miss these additional resources:
Curriculum Overview
Keep up with CS Discoveries
Let us know how we're doing!
We are always looking for ways to improve our courses. If something's not quite working, or you have ideas about features that you'd like to see, we'd love to hear from you!Subscribe for the latest news
Sign up for our monthly emails, which contain the latest news about tools, videos, and other important updates for CS Discoveries.Chat about CS Discoveries in the forum
We have forums for educators to discuss and trade ideas about CS Discoveries and talk about the curriculum. Code.org forums are used for all of our courses K-12.Spread the word about CS Discoveries
Hand out these fliers around your school and consider sending home to parents.
Hang these posters in your classroom and around your school:
Share these videos with students and administrators:
Frequently Asked Questions
Will CS Discoveries be mapped to standards?
CS Discoveries was written using both the K-12 Framework for Computer Science and the newly revised 2017 CSTA standards as guidance. Currently, every lesson in CS Discoveries contains mappings to the relevant 2017 CSTA standards. The summary of of all CSTA 2017 mappings can be found at curriculum.code.org/csd/standards
How/Where can I get professional development for this course?
Our middle and high school programs offer year-round support. The program kicks off with a 5-day summer workshop where you'll have an opportunity to work hands-on with the curriculum and meet other teachers from your area. Throughout the year, we offer online support for upcoming units, forum support, and follow up workshops. You don't need any prior computer science experience to get started. And teachers love it! 90% rank it the best professional development ever. Click here to learn more.
Want to get notified when applications open for the 2019-2020 school year? Provide your contact information to a Regional Partner.
I’m teaching CS Discoveries but have less than one semester with my students. What would you recommend?
CS Discoveries consists of two semesters that build on each other. Schools can choose to teach a single semester, two sequential semesters, or a single, year-long course. For courses that meet fewer than three hours a week or last for less than a trimester, we recommend CS Fundamentals Express, a 30+ hour course that covers the foundational concepts of programming.
Some schools may want to use parts of the CS Discoveries curriculum without running an entire semester of the course. We always suggest starting with at least the first chapter of Unit 1 to build the classroom culture and problem solving skills the rest of the course depends on. Afterwards, students can move on to any of Units 2 - 5, either completing the entire unit or stopping at the end of the Chapter 1 project. Because of the programming knowledge required for Unit 6, students should only attempt it after completing Unit 3.
What materials and supplies are required for CS Discoveries?
- Normal classroom supplies (pens, pencils, coloring, scissors, extra paper)
- Computers
- Worksheet Printing (There are worksheets with some lessons. Some teachers get around this by doing everything digitally.)
- Couple Decks of Cards
- Aluminum Foil
- Containers that can hold water
- Adafruit's Circuit Playground Boards and Micro USB cables. The curriculum is designed for a ratio of 2 students to 1 board & 1 usb cable.***
*** Participants in our 2018-19 Professional Learning Program who are teaching in schools with 40%+ free and reduced meal rates are eligible to receive a subsidized Adafruit Circuit Playground classroom kit if they are implementing the full course. This kit contains 15 boards and accessories and supports a classroom of 30 students, assuming a 2:1 ratio of students to boards. To learn more about the classroom kit, software requirements, and the details of the subsidy visit code.org/circuitplayground ***
How does CS Discoveries fit with the other Code.org courses?
CS Discoveries is designed to fit naturally between our CS Fundamentals courses and our CS Principles course. While each of these courses is designed to be an age-appropriate entry point to computer science, students with previous experience will find many new topics to explore, and they will revisit familiar topics in novel and more challenging contexts.
