The Development Cycle and Its Documents
Intro to Python Programming Grades 9–12 4-day lesson 30 deliverables Show students how teams plan, build and maintain software through practical Python tasks. Students put a lunch app's project events in order, connect documents to their readers and write requirements and test plans. They change released programs, rerun earlier tests and write a README that helps a new coder understand a pool pass program.
● 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
A short coding level practices 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 it with the lesson or as practice later.
Open the levelWhat does this lesson cover?
Students may see software development as writing code without planning, testing or recording decisions. This lesson connects each stage to work a team does and information a reader needs.
The lab on Day 2 has an online version that uses CodeGrove, our in-browser code lab, in the Change Request level. It practices changing three released programs for a change request: adding an elif for a kid price, adding a group price and adding an average line, then passing the old tests and the new ones. Every online version comes with a paper version, so no internet is needed. CodeGrove is free, with no accounts or sign-ins.
Change Request
Students change three released programs in Change Request, then rerun the old tests and test the new rule.
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, 37 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
- Change Request: students change three released programs in Change Request, then rerun the old tests and test the new rule
04 Activities
- Cycle Sort: students give 12 events from a lunch app project their step numbers, then write the six steps in order and name what each one makes
- Doc Match: students match 8 parts of the pool app's documents to their document, name each document's reader, then write one requirement and one test plan row
- Pool Pass README: students write a short README for the day pass program in labeled boxes
05 Assessment
- Exit tickets: quick questions that show who needs more help
- Lesson quiz: 10 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™
Online: CodeGrove
- CodeGrove, Change Request level: the online version of the lab on Day 2
- 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
Changes must preserve what already worksStudents apply a change request, rerun old tests and add tests for the new rule.
Each document has a clear readerStudents match document parts to their purpose and audience, then write a README for a new teammate.
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 7 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 input() with int(), variables and math operators.
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.