Build: Follow the Cycle
Intro to Python Programming Grades 9–12 2-day lesson 23 deliverables Guide students through a Python build that follows the steps of the development cycle. Students choose a tip splitter or dice program, read the requirements and plan inputs, outputs and pseudocode. They write a test plan before building, then work with a partner to find problems, fix them and check the repairs.
● Instant download · Lifetime access · Editable & print-ready
Print + digitalPDF, PowerPoint, Word & Google
Answer keysA key for every page
Built-in assessmentExit tickets + project rubric
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 may treat planning and testing as extras after the code is written. This build puts requirements, a written plan and expected test results at the center of the work.
The lab on Day 1 has an online version that uses CodeGrove, our in-browser code lab, in the Tip Splitter or Dice Duel level. It practices building a program from its requirements: reading typed answers, choosing a branch with if and else, and printing each result the requirements ask for. Students pick one of two builds, Tip Splitter or Dice Duel. They plan their program, build it on the code sheet or in CodeGrove and test it with a partner. On the last day of the build, paper students hand in the code sheet, and online students send the turn-in Form with their CodeGrove link. Every online version comes with a paper version, so no internet is needed. CodeGrove is free, with no accounts or sign-ins.
Build Your Program
Students pick Tip Splitter or Dice Duel, write pseudocode and a test plan on Plan Your Build, and begin coding 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 both days, 14 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 both 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
- Build Your Program: students pick Tip Splitter or Dice Duel, write pseudocode and a test plan on Plan Your Build, and begin coding on paper or in CodeGrove
04 Activities
- Plan Your Build: students pick Tip Splitter or Dice Duel, read its requirements, and write their input, output, pseudocode and test plan
05 Assessment
- Exit tickets: quick questions that show who needs more help
- Project rubric: what the whole project is graded on, row by row
06 Answer Keys
- 3 answer key files: a key for each day (its bell ringer, notes and exit ticket) and the activity and lab keys
Digital: Google Forms™ + Google Slides™
- 3 Google Forms™ of the exit tickets and the turn-in Form, 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, Tip Splitter or Dice Duel level: the online version of the lab on Day 1
- 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
Requirements guide the plan and programStudents identify what the build must do and turn those needs into pseudocode before they start coding.
Students fix and retest with evidenceA partner checks the program against its plan, and the builder repairs failures before explaining the finished code.
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 pseudocode, comments, input() with int() and float(), f-strings with :.2f, if, elif and else, and for loops with counters.
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 turn-in Form 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.