Magnetic Code Poetry – SCOPES-DF

Lesson Details

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Author

Sarah Judd

Summary

Create poetry from magnetic pieces that have scraps of code on them, such as ++ *= for ( and { as well as more usual poetry words that are code related.

What You'll Need

  • Some publicly visible magnetic board / set of magnetic boards
  • Laser-cut wooden magnet-backed pieces of of programming – have enough sets for students or groups of students to all have access to some of the more complex code pieces like && || !, for loops, ++, — etc. We also included things like “class.”
  • Sticky notes for students to comment on each other’s poetry.
  • A pre-written code poem or a couple of different code poems. Poems should use complex ideas, but still be readable as poetry.
  • Students should have design journals or some other place to keep track of vocabulary and reflection.

 

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to make meaning out of programming syntax

Reflection

One set of magnetic poetry is hard to come up with a whole-class lesson for. I did, however, find that having the magnetic poetry available to students in their free time encouraged questions about what different scraps of code meant, and telling students encouraged them to come up with different poems. I also noticed that using the poetry helped cement these ideas, and students were better able to use them in the future. Additionally, other teachers realized how they might use these concepts for their own subjects, and the poetry looked great on the board.

The Instructions

Introduction

Give students an idea of what code poetry can look like.

  1. Share a code poem on the board
  2. Ask students what they notice and wonder about the poem. Give them some time to chat about what they notice in pairs before calling on them.
  3. They may notice that the code does not actually run. Make sure to let them know that this is ok; what we are doing with these magnets is making poetry not necessarily runnable code.
  4. At this stage, anything they notice is fine; the idea is to get them engaging with the information in front of them in a state where not hinging is wrong.
  5. If students mention what the poem is about already during this time, let them know we’ll talk more about what it is about later, telling them to hold that thought.
  6. Have students read the poem. Make sure they are properly repeating things inside for loops, possibly using if/else, etc.
  7. Have students tell you what the poem is about
  8. Ask students: How did knowing the code elements help you understand the poem?
  9. If you have a different poem that is illustrating different concepts, repeat steps 1-5 with students.

 

Poetry Creation

Students write their own poetry

  1. Give instructions. Students should know that they will now be making their own code poetry for the next 10-15 minutes (in groups as you see fit). At the end of that time, students will share their poetry with the class in a gallery walk.
  2. Group students in groups of 1,2, or 3 depending on available materials, and how students work best
  3. Give each group a set of magnets that can create poetry with complex coding options.
  4. For about 10-15 minutes, have students generate poems. They may write down ones that they particularly like.
  5. Let them know when there are ~3 minutes left, and that they should have their final magnetic poems soon.

 

Gallery Walk

Students read and comment on each others poetry

  1. Provide instructions for the gallery walk. “Each of you will be given several sticky notes. As you wander around and look at people’s poems, write comments on your sticky notes. The sticky notes should contain observations, questions, and compliments.”
  2. You may want to have a worksheet for students to complete with group names and what the poem means, to make sure they are making meaning from the code elements.
  3. If your class has not already practiced giving feedback, it is important to make sure they know how to provide good feedback. Ask students what kinds of feedback feels helpful and good, and see if you can formalize what makes feedback work well as a class. You can also just remind students that feedback should always be “kind” and “actionable” perhaps giving them examples of “good” and “bad” feedback to provide examples
  4. Give students ~5-10 minutes to look at each others poems and provide comments
  5. Have students return to their own poem, reading the comments.
  6. Regroup as a class:
  7. What did you learn from other groups’ poetry
  8. What did you learn from other people’s thoughts on your poetry?

 

Reflection

Give students some time to think about what they learned through this process, and solidify that knowledge.

Have students answer the following questions in their design journal:

  1. Were there any code-terms you used in your poetry that you didn’t know or remember before working on your poem? Make sure to keep track of them in your Glossary, and provide the poem as an example of the use of it.
  2. What are you most proud of in your poem?

 

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