Return Values: Print Versus Return
Python Programming 2 Grades 9–12 4-day lesson 29 deliverables Teach students how a Python function hands its answer back with return. Students trace what each call returns in a tutoring program, then write helper functions that return an average, a letter grade and a pass result. They send back two values as a tuple, price items for a bike shop and fix a function that prints when it should return.
● 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 often print a result inside a function and then find that the rest of the program cannot use it. This lesson compares print and return side by side. It shows that a function with no return hands back None, and students repair helpers that print when they should return.
The labs on Days 2 and 3 and the quiz task on Day 4 run online in CodeGrove, our in-browser code lab, so students need a computer or tablet on those days. The Grade Helpers and Shop Math levels practice writing helper functions that return values, returning two values at once and fixing functions that print when they should return. CodeGrove is free, with no accounts, sign-ins or installs.
Grade Helpers
Students write and fix helper functions that return an average, a letter grade and a pass result 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, 31 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
- Grade Helpers: students write and fix helper functions that return an average, a letter grade and a pass result in CodeGrove
- Shop Math: students write price helpers for a bike shop in CodeGrove: one with a default value, one that returns two values and one that should return in place of printing
04 Activities
- Trace the Value: students trace what each call hands back and write what short programs print, on paper with computers closed
- Quiz task: students fix a shipping bug in CodeGrove, working alone, and then take the lesson quiz on paper
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, on paper
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
- In CodeGrove: the labs on Days 2 and 3 (Grade Helpers and Shop Math) and the quiz task on Day 4, on a computer or tablet for each student
- Free to use, with no accounts, sign-ins or installs
Why teachers love this lesson
Print and return do different jobsPrinting shows a value on the screen, while return hands it to the caller. Math with None stops with a TypeError.
Helper functions keep the main program shortEach helper does one job and returns its answer. The main program asks for input, calls the helpers and prints what they return.
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 labsStudents write and run real Python in CodeGrove, our in-browser code lab, on a computer or tablet, with no accounts or installs.
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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Leave a reviewQuestions teachers ask
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 1 bundle and the complete Python Programming 2 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 second course in Python 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 pass arguments to a function and how to give a parameter a default value.
Do students need computers?
Yes, on the CodeGrove days. Each student needs a computer or tablet that's online, and CodeGrove needs no account or install. The bell ringers, notes, exit tickets and quiz are on paper.
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 Intermediate Programming course (9007220). The skills map in the lesson shows which standards each day teaches.