Grades 3-5

Other Mississippi Computer Science sets

• Grades K-2

Students should describe how devices and components interact using correct terminology.CS.1B.1a 

Students should model how computer hardware and software work together to accomplish tasks. Students could draw a model on paper or in a drawing program, program an animation to demonstrate it, or demonstrate it by acting this out in some way.CS.1B.2a 

Students should be able to identify common hardware and software problems. Types of problems students might encounter include the device not responding, no power, no network, app crashing, no sound, or password entry not working.CS.1B.3a 

Students should identify and implement various troubleshooting strategies. Such strategies may include rebooting the device, checking for power, checking network availability, closing and reopening an app, making sure speakers are turned on or headphones are plugged in, and making sure that the caps lock key is not on, to solve these problems, when possible.CS.1B.3b 

Students should demonstrate their understanding of how information flows over networks and the Internet. This could be accomplished, for instance, by drawing a model of the way packets are transmitted, programming an animation to show how packets are transmitted, or demonstrating this through an unplugged activity which has them act it out in some way.NI.1B.1a 

Students should be able to explain what passwords are and why we use them, and use strong passwords to protect devices and information from unauthorized access. Learning to protect one's device or information from unwanted use by others is an essential first step in learning about cybersecurity. Students are not required to use multiple strong passwords. They should appropriately use and protect the passwords they are required to use.NI.1B.2a 

Students should be able to list several real-world cybersecurity issues and discuss how personal information can be protected. Students could discuss or use a journaling or blogging activity to explain, orally or in writing, topics that relate to personal cybersecurity issues. Discussion topics could be based on current events related to cybersecurity or topics that are applicable to students, such as the necessity of backing up data to guard against loss, how to create strong passwords and the importance of not sharing passwords, or why we should install and keep antivirus software updated to protect data and systems.NI.1B.2b 

Students should be able to collect data and present the information in an organized way to highlight relationships and support a claim.DA.1B.1a 

Students should be able to refer to data to highlight or propose cause-and-effect relationships and predict outcomes when communicating an idea. For example, in order to explore the relationship between speed, time, and distance, students could operate a robot at uniform speed and at increasing time intervals to predict how far the robot travels at that speed. In order to make an accurate prediction, one or two attempts of differing times would not be enough. The robot may also collect temperature data from a sensor, but that data would not be relevant for the task. Students must also make accurate measurements of the distance the robot travels in order to develop a valid prediction. Students could record the temperature at noon each day as a basis to show that temperatures are higher in certain months of the year. If temperatures are not recorded on non-school days or are recorded incorrectly or at different times of the day, the data would be incomplete and the ideas being communicated could be inaccurate. Students may also record the day of the week on which the data was collected, but this would have no relevance to whether temperatures are higher or lower. In order to have sufficient and accurate data on which to communicate the idea, students might want to use data provided by a governmental weather agency.DA.1B.2a 

Students should be able to manipulate data through their use of software to complete tasks on a computing device. For example, saving, retrieving, and deleting files are all instances of manipulating data.DA.1B.3a 

Students should be able to look at different ways to solve the same task and decide which would be the best solution. For example, students could use a map and plan multiple algorithms to get from one point to another. They could look at routes suggested by mapping software and change the route to something that would be better based on which route is shortest or fastest or would avoid a problem. Students might compare algorithms that describe how to get ready for school. Another example might be to write different algorithms to draw a regular polygon and determine which algorithm would be the easiest to modify or repurpose to draw a different polygon.AP.1B.1a 

Students should understand how to use variables to store and modify data. For example, students may use mathematical operations to add to the score of a game or subtract from the number of lives available in a game. The use of a variable as a countdown timer is another example.AP.1B.2a 

Students should be able to create programs that include sequences, events, loops, and conditionals. For example, students could write a program to explain the water cycle. When a specific component is clicked (event), the program would show information about that part of the water cycle. Conditionals allow for the execution of a portion of code in a program when a certain condition is true. For example, students could write a math game that asks multiplication fact questions and then uses a conditional to check whether or not the answer that was entered is correct. Loops allow for the repetition of a sequence of code multiple times. For example, in a program that produces an animation about a famous historical character, students could use a loop to have the character walk across the screen as they introduce themselves.AP.1B.3a 

Students should be able to break down problems into smaller, simpler tasks. For example, students could create an animation by separating a story into different scenes. For each scene, they would select a background, place characters, and program actions.AP.1B.4a 

Students should be able to modify and/or reuse portions of an existing program into their own work to create something new. For example, students could modify prewritten code from a single-player game to create a two-player game with slightly different rules, remix and add another scene to an animated story, use code to make a ball bounce from another program in a new basketball game, or modify an image created by another student.AP.1B.5a 

Students outline key features, time and resource constraints, and user expectations.AP.1B.6a 

Students should document the plan as, for example, a storyboard, flowchart, pseudocode, or story map.AP.1B.6b 

Students should identify instances of remixing, when ideas are borrowed and iterated upon, and credit the original creator.AP.1B.7a 

Students should also consider common licenses that place limitations or restrictions on the use of computational artifacts, such as images and music downloaded from the Internet. At this stage, attribution should be written in the format required by the teacher and should always be included on any programs shared online.AP.1B.7b 

Students should be able to identify and debug simple errors in programs they create and in programs created by others.AP.1B.8a 

Students should take turns in different roles during program development, such as note taker, facilitator, program tester, or “driver” of the computer.AP.1B.9a 

Students should explain code choices using comments within the code, presentations, and demonstrations. These explanations could manifest themselves as in-line code comments for collaborators and assessors or as part of a summative presentation, such as a code walk-through or coding journal.AP.1B.10a 

Students, with guidance from their teacher, should discuss topics that relate to the history of technology and the changes in the world due to technology. Topics could be based on current news content, such as robotics, wireless Internet, mobile computing devices, GPS systems, wearable computing, or how social media has influenced social and political changes.IC.1B.1a

Students will demonstrate an understanding of diversity in ability and interests by developing artifacts and tools that use different methods of communication and/or appeal to different users. For example, students may consider using both speech and text when they wish to convey information in a game. They may also wish to vary the types of programs they create, knowing that not everyone shares their own tastes.IC.1B.2a 

Students will collaborate and receive feedback from others. For example, students could seek feedback from other groups in their class or students at another grade level. Or, with guidance from their teacher, they could use video conferencing tools or other online collaborative spaces, such as blogs, wikis, forums, or website comments, to gather feedback from individuals and groups about programming projects.IC.1B.3a 

Students should consider the licenses on computational artifacts that they wish to use. For example, the license on a downloaded image or audio file may have restrictions that prohibit modification, require attribution, or prohibit use entirely.IC.1B.4a