Introduction to Programming - 7th Period
Many of these pages are based upon Andrew Busch's web site, which in turn was based upon the pages created by Dr. Aaron Bradley.
The focus of the class will be learning how to think like a computer scientist. We will use Python as our primary programming language, mainly because it's easy to learn the basics, it's a modern language, and it's used everywhere.
The focus of the class will be learning how to think like a computer scientist. We will use Python as our primary programming language, mainly because it's easy to learn the basics, it's a modern language, and it's used everywhere.
Learning Targets
By the end of the semester,
- I can name several different programming languages and explain their typical use.
- I can name a computer scientist and describe a few of their important contributions.
- I can explain the basic building blocks of a computer program, including conditional blocks, loops, and functions.
- I can explain the basic Python grammar including variables, expressions, indentation, and modules.
- I can explain how a computer takes a program written in Python and converts it into simple machine code.
- I can design and construct Python scripts to solve real-world problems.
- I can demonstrate how to debug a program.
- I can take a large program (such as a computer game) and break it down into a series of smaller pieces that are easier to write using simple Python scripts.
Resources
- trinket.io - an online coding environment for Python, Blocks, HTML, Glowscript, and Music
- CodeCombat - an online game that teaches the basics of Python programming
- Learn Python the Hard Way - beginner programming course (the book is free)
- How to Think Like a Computer Scientist - interactive Python book
- Python Language Reference - Python 3 reference manual
- Python Standard Library - Python 3 library