Teach
About
Elementary School
Our Computer Science Fundamentals courses have between 14 & 28 lessons (varies by age) that may be implemented by unit or over the course of a semester. Students create computer programs that will help them learn to collaborate with others, develop problem-solving skills, and persist through difficult tasks. They will study programming concepts, computational thinking, digital citizenship, and develop interactive games or stories they can share.
If you like teaching CS Fundamentals, invite other teachers by sharing this handout.
Our curriculum was created with the 2017 Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) standards in mind, but also includes opportunities to support national Math, English Language Arts, and Science standards. View the full standards reinforcement document for CS Fundamentals Courses A-F.
Our elementary school curriculum can also help students succeed in other subjects as well; a recent research study by Outlier Research & Evaluation found that 3rd–5th-grade Code.org classrooms with resourceful teachers see higher scores on English, math, and science standardized tests.
Our courses are available at no cost for anyone to teach. For more information about our goals and the approach to our courses, please see our curriculum values and our professional learning values.
New to teaching computer science?
No worries! Most of our teachers have never taught computer science before.
Try one of our courses yourself to learn ahead of your students. Sign up as a teacher to see the lesson plans, join the teacher forums, and get access to all the resources you need.
We also offer high-quality, 1-day workshops at no cost to you or your school. Join other teachers in your area for a hands-on intro to computer science, pedagogy, teacher dashboard, and strategies for teaching “unplugged” classroom activities.
Courses
Selecting the right course for your class
For students new to computer science, each course begins with a grade-appropriate entry point and structured ramp-up of concepts. The progression of Courses A-F builds upon each other to ensure continuing students stay interested and learn new things. This allows you to use the same course at any grade level for all students, regardless of their experience. If you’re looking for a more comprehensive course, the Express Course combines the best of Courses A-F into a single condensed course (with a simpler option for pre-readers). You can download the 2018 version of the curriculum guide for Courses A-F here.
If you've been teaching Courses 1-4 and want to know how to transition to teaching Courses A-F, check out our Transition Guide.
Courses A-F
Course A
Recommended for Kindergarten (Supports pre-readers)
Teaches basic programming concepts such as loops and events. Lessons also teach students to collaborate with others meaningfully, investigate different problem-solving techniques, persist in the face of difficult tasks, and learn about internet safety. At the end of this course, students create their very own custom game or story they can share.
Course B
Recommended for 1st grade (Supports pre-readers)
Closely parallels Course A, but provides more complex unplugged activities and more variety in puzzles. Covers the basics of programming, collaboration techniques, investigation and critical thinking skills, persistence in the face of difficulty, and internet safety. At the end of this course, students create their very own custom game they can share.
Course C
Recommended for 2nd grade
Students will create programs with loops and events. They will translate their initials into binary, investigate different problem-solving techniques, and discuss how to respond to cyberbullying. By the end of the course, students will create interactive games that they can share.
Course F
Recommended for 5th grade
Students review the use of loops, events, functions, and conditionals before learning about variables and for loops. They will investigate helpful problem-solving techniques and discuss societal impacts of computing and the internet. In the second part of this course students design and create a capstone project they can share.
Express Course
CS Fundamentals Express combines the best of Courses A-F into a single condensed course (with a simpler option for pre-readers). We recommend Courses A-F for most classrooms, but if your school only offers one computer science course or you want to have your students work through multiple courses in a single year, the Express course is a better choice. By removing the ramp up between years, the express course provides a smoother path and doesn’t repeat concepts for students unnecessarily. This is also our recommended option for students studying computer science on their own, outside of a classroom.
International CS Fundamentals: Courses 1-4 and Accelerated
We are working on translating Courses A-F and the Express Course to languages beyond English. In the meantime, we recommend using Courses 1-4 and the Accelerated Course. These courses cover the same basic concepts and have already been translated into 25+ languages.
Looking for unplugged activities?
If you don't have computers in your classroom, these unplugged lessons can either be used alone or with other computer science lessons on related concepts.
Examples of student creations
In this puzzle, the student created a honeycomb pattern.
This student created a game with multiple levels in which you play against different characters. Game on!
This student created a Flappy Bird game.
Recommended courses from 3rd parties
| Organization | Curriculum | Professional Development |
|---|---|---|
| Code Monkey | Over 300 story modes & skill mode challenges. Can be taught full year, 1/2 year, or quarterly. $10/student | Free online course, $250/webinar, $3500/onsite PD |
| Code Red Education | 150 lessons over 7 modules, $3500/site | Online PD included with site fee |
| Project Lead The Way | 6 10-hour computer science modules, $750/school | Face-to-face and online, $700 for school-level lead teacher |
| ScratchEd | A 6-unit intro to Scratch, FREE | In-person educator meet-ups and online MOOC, FREE |
| Tynker | Free tools, tutorials, and a 6-hr introductory lesson plan. 200+ lessons with assessments: $399/class, $2,000/school | 2-day PD, $2000/day + travel |
