Unit 3 Lesson 5

Name(s)__________________________________________ Period ______ Date ___________________

 

  Activity Guide - The Need for Programming Languages  

Complete independently - each partner makes their own 
copy. 
Challenge 

Create instructions you could use to reproduce a simple arrangement of Virtual Students
blocks or a drawing. Do the following:
Choose one partner to be A, and one
1. Create Your Design partner to be B. Use the jamboard
If virtual, you will create a drawing in Jamboard using 5-6 elements. appropriate for your period:
If present, you will be given 5-6 blocks which you should connect into a
single arrangement.
Try to choose something interesting or challenging to test your Jamboards
instruction-giving abilities.
Period 1 Period 2 Period 7
2. Record Your Arrangement
Take a picture of your arrangement. Put the picture in the space below: Partner A Partner A Partner A

Partner B Partner B Partner B

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3. Write Instructions
In the space provided below, write a clear and precise set of instructions your classmates could follow to build this
arrangement on their own, without diagrams or pictures. That is, your instructions may only use words, so you
cannot use pictures to help you.

1.Grab a pencil
2. Draw a square
3. Draw a triangle on top of thee square
4. Draw a rectangle on the square for a door
5. Draw a rectangle on the left top of the triangle
6. Draw a square next to the door for a window

 
 
 
 
 
   

2
Test Your Algorithm 
4. Exchange algorithms with your partner.

5. Virtual students will try to replicate their partner's drawing while only looking at the instructions. (You should not
look at your partner's picture).
In person students will try to build their partner's arrangement.
Add a picture of the design you re-created in the space below:

6. Afterwards, confirm whether you succeeded by using the other group’s image.
We are halfway there and we just have to revisee directions or the shapes.

   

3
Reflection 
Once you’ve had an opportunity to test one another’s instructions, respond to the following reflection questions.

● When you or your classmate made mistakes following instructions today what "went wrong?" Try to be as
specific as possible.
○ I didn't write the directions he was supposed to draw the shapes so it confused the image.

● Imagine we were going to redesign human language to be really good for giving clear instructions. What types
of changes would we need to make?
We would have to make every manual super descriptive and waste trees.