This activity follows-on from previous exercises using the Blockly editor on the Rapid Router website. It reviews what the children have learned before they proceed to using text-based programming.

The exercise looks at the most advanced ideas used with the Blockly-based phase of the Rapid Router scheme,...

This activity goes further into Python programming by expanding the range of repetition and selection commands used. Students also practice debugging of code.

Variables are explained before making use of incremented variables to solve challenges in Python.

Other programming practices, including...

This lesson activity further develops Python programming ability by introducing additional commands such as WHILE, IF, ELSE and ELIF. Debugging of programs is featured, and extension activities lead to the writing of functions that use COUNT IN RANGE() to control repetition. Students are also encouraged to mark-up...

In this Rapid Router activity, children progress from block-based programming to the textual environment of Python. In doing so they learn about the nature of text-based coding, including the need for precise syntax and how it is structured.

The progression is handled gently, with code compared in both...

This activity explores the concepts of pattern recognition and problem decomposition. It illustrates these ideas using a popular children's book, "We're going on a bear hunt" by Michael Rosen.

Children are asked to apply their understanding by then creating functions using the Blockly editor on the Rapid...

This four-lesson sequence teaches students to create multimedia for a given purpose. Using digital cameras and special desktop publishing software, students create a comic-book representation of the life of William Shakespeare. They are required to plan and execute the project from the beginning and to evaluate...

Cryptographic techniques enable information to be shared with other people, yet still maintain a surprisingly high level of privacy. This activity illustrates a situation where information is shared, and yet none of it is revealed: a group of students will calculate their average age without anyone having to reveal...

This report is the outcome of a project initiated by the Royal Society in August 2010. The project was prompted by a high degree of concern about aspects of the provision of education in Computing in UK schools. The project was guided by an Advisory Group that brought together individuals and representatives with a...

Siemens have created a number of high-quality engaging online interactive games and activities for pupils of all ages covering many aspects of the STEM curriculum.  Topics range from cybersecurity to carbon emissions; programming to dressing a site worker in appropriate personal protective clothing. Many of the...

This CREST Silver level resource pack focuses on Machine Learning, with a variety of project ideas enabling students to investigate machine learning in a real-life context, exploring innovative ideas and solutions for the future, such as:

• Machine learning in disease detection
• Self-driving car...

The activity allows the students to explore social, ethical, economic and health issues relating to the use of Nintendo Wii compared to doing real sports and present their findings in a persuasive, coherent and focused argument. Students identify arguments for and...

This activity sheet is based on the Inventive Podcast.  It introduces data scientist Larissa Suzuki, and links her work to the computing curriculum. The activity sheet also supports Careers Benchmark 4: Careers in the curriculum by introducing a career and role model. There are also links to short audio clips of...

This is one of a series of resources to support the use of the BBC micro:bit.

In this activity pupils will make use of the BBC micro:bit to design and create a programmable system that can control the temperature and soil moisture levels in a ‘smart’ greenhouse. They will analyse a design brief and design...

The Department of Education resource Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning Secondary SEAL – A Quick Guide looks to define SEAL and its key elements, and well as offering a six-step approach on how to get started with SEAL.

The relationship between energy and states of matter is sometimes difficult for students to comprehend. This activity helps to reinforce the notion that, when energy is added to a system, the molecules themselves do not change but their motion and relative positions do change.

While the model is a...