Inside the Episode: Turtle Snowflake

Game-U LIVE is all about learning. We provide kids with interactive, engaging instruction using hands-on projects. How do we do this? Take a look inside a LIVE class to find out!

Over in the Code Games channel, instructor Rebecca recently taught an episode called Turtle Snowflake. How are turtles and snowflakes related? The kids soon found out!

Python, a popular and widely used scripting language, includes a module (a way to extend the functionality of a given script) called turtle. The turtle module offers a user-friendly way to learn how to code graphics, using, yes, turtles!

Rebecca introduced her students to the turtle module by demonstrating a finished project, where one of the turtles draws a snowflake using geometry, for loops, and methods. Together, she and her students explored the turtle's movements to get a better idea of how the program worked.

To help her students learn how to code the snowflake script themselves, Rebecca walked them through the script line-by-line, defining terms like module, method, variable, integer, and loop. She and her students wrote and tested their code together - with occasional "Pop Questions" thrown in! Pop Questions give students the opportunity to earn XP during a livestream, and encourage students to engage both their instructor and each other during an episode.

Once the script was written, Rebecca presented her students with a practice exercise (modifying key variables in the turtle script) to complete independently. Once practice time was up, she demonstrated the exercise and offered students even more ways to customize their script to reflect their tastes and personality while strengthening their grasp of the code itself.

Last but not least! Before wishing her students good night, Rebecca offered them a quiz for more XP and challenged them to take their turtle program a step further during the week. Students who take her up on the challenge and submit their results earn more XP and the chance to have their work shown off during the next Code Games episode!

LIVE classes' in-depth content instruction, pop questions, quizzes, practice exercises, and challenges all work together to teach kids new skills and have fun in the process. LIVE instructors are also there for students every step of the way, providing troubleshooting support during livestreams and in off hours.

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