While Loops
Intro to Python Programming Grades 9–12 4-day lesson 32 deliverables Teach students how a Python while loop keeps going until its condition becomes false. Students trace changing values, find loops that never end and guide robots toward walls from different starting places. They write programs that keep asking for input, handle capital letters and fix a loop that stops too soon.
● Instant download · Lifetime access · Editable & print-ready
Print + digitalPDF, PowerPoint, Word & Google
Answer keysA key for every page
Built-in assessmentExit tickets + lesson quiz
45-minute daysEvery day planned and timed
Short coding levels practice this lesson in CodeGrove, our code lab that runs in the browser. Students write the program, run it and check it, with no account and nothing to install. Use them with the lesson or as practice later.
See the levelsWhat does this lesson cover?
Students can write a loop that never stops or leaves out an intended pass. This lesson has them track the condition and update line, then check exactly when the loop ends.
The labs on Day 2 and Day 3, and the activity on Day 4 have online versions that use CodeGrove, our in-browser code lab, in the Wall Rooms level. It practices writing while loops that drive a robot to a wall from any start. Every online version comes with a paper version, so no internet is needed. CodeGrove is free, with no accounts or sign-ins.
Wall Rooms
Students write one program for each of three robot rooms and draw the path it makes in every version, on paper or in CodeGrove.
Everything that's included
00 Start Here
- READ FIRST: every file in the lesson and when you use it
- Teacher Guide and Pacing: the plan for each day, what to print and how to grade
- Skills map: which standards each day teaches
01 Present
- One editable PowerPoint deck for all four days, 36 slides, with speaker notes
- Slide script: the speaker notes, printed
- Bell ringers: a short warm-up for each day
02 Student Handouts
- Guided notes: one packet for all four days, in PDF and editable Word. Students fill in the blanks during the slides, with the word bank on the page
- Vocab slip: the lesson's words and what they mean, on one page
03 Labs
- Wall Rooms: students write one program for each of three robot rooms and draw the path it makes in every version, on paper or in CodeGrove
- Keep Asking: students write two loops that keep asking until the user types the stop answer and a loop that counts down, write each exact output and explain how each one works, on paper or in CodeGrove
04 Activities
- When Does It Stop?: students decide if three loops stop, trace a loop pass by pass and fix two loops that never end, on paper with computers closed
- Laps Bug: students fix a lap program from a bug ticket in Laps Bug, on paper or in CodeGrove, and then they take the lesson quiz
05 Assessment
- Exit tickets: quick questions that show who needs more help
- Lesson quiz: 8 multiple-choice questions and 2 written answers about all four days
06 Answer Keys
- 6 answer key files: a key for each day (its bell ringer, notes and exit ticket) and the activity and lab keys, plus the quiz key
Digital: Google Forms™ + Google Slides™
- 5 Google Forms™ of the exit tickets and the quiz, ready to copy into your Drive
- The multiple choice grades itself, and you grade the written answers
- A Google Slides™ copy of the deck, with the same slides and speaker notes, for Google Classroom™
- Give a Form that asks students to read code only on school-managed Chromebooks in locked mode, and use the paper version on other devices
Online: CodeGrove
- CodeGrove, Wall Rooms level: the online version of the labs on Day 2 and Day 3, and the activity on Day 4
- Every online version has a paper version, so no internet is needed
- Free to use, with no accounts or sign-ins
Why teachers love this lesson
Students explain why a loop stopsThey trace each pass and repair loops whose values never change enough to end the repetition.
The stopping point depends on inputRobot sensors and repeated questions show why a loop may need to stop based on a condition.
Print and digitalEvery page is a print-ready PDF, and the Google Forms™ and Google Slides™ let you teach the same lesson in Google Classroom™.
Real online activitiesStudents can use CodeGrove, our in-browser code lab, on a computer or tablet, and every online version has a paper version that works with no internet.
A key for every pageEvery day has its own answer key, and every written question has a sample answer and what to look for.
Every day fits a 45-minute classEach day's plan is timed activity by activity against real reading and writing speeds.
What Teachers Say
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How do I get the files after I buy?
Instant download right after checkout: PowerPoint and Word files you can edit, print-ready PDFs, and links that copy the Google Forms™ and Google Slides™ into your Drive.
Can I buy the whole unit or course instead?
Yes. This lesson is part of the Unit 4 bundle and the complete Intro to Python Programming course. Both cost less than buying the lessons one at a time.
Is this AP Computer Science?
No. It is a full-year, non-AP intro to Python course for grades 9 to 12. For AP, see our AP Computer Science A and AP CSP courses.
What should students know before this lesson?
Students know how to use print(), input() and variables, how to compare two values and how to repeat lines with a for loop and range().
What formats are the files in?
Every page is a print-ready PDF. The slides are an editable PowerPoint and the guided notes an editable Word file. The exit tickets and the quiz also come as Google Forms™, and the deck as Google Slides™.
Which standards does it cover?
Written for Florida's Foundations of Programming course (9007210). The skills map in the lesson shows which standards each day teaches.