Build: A Function Toolbox
Python Programming 2 Grades 9–12 2-day lesson 24 deliverables Teach students to plan and build a Python program from small functions. Students pick Pig Dice, Unit Converter, Shape Studio or their own idea and plan the main program from the top down. They write functions with a default value, a return value, asserts and docstrings. A partner then runs the program and tries one bad input.
● 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
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?
A big program is hard to plan and hard to test all at once. This project has students plan the main program as a few calls, then build and test one function at a time. A partner checks the parts that asserts cannot.
The build runs online in CodeGrove, our in-browser code lab, on both days, so students need a computer or tablet. Students pick one of 4 builds: My Toolbox, Pig Dice, Shape Studio or Unit Converter. The Toolbox Build level practices building a toolbox of functions with a default value, a return value, asserts and docstrings, then calling them from a main program that reads like a plan. On the last day, students send the turn-in Form with their CodeGrove link. CodeGrove is free, with no accounts, sign-ins or installs.
Toolbox Build
Students build their toolbox in CodeGrove, test it with a partner and turn it in with the turn-in Form. Students pick one of 4 builds: My Toolbox, Pig Dice, Shape Studio or Unit Converter.
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, 13 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
- Toolbox Build: students build their toolbox in CodeGrove, test it with a partner and turn it in with the turn-in Form. Students pick one of 4 builds: My Toolbox, Pig Dice, Shape Studio or Unit Converter
04 Activities
- Plan Your Toolbox: students pick one idea and plan it from the top down: the main program as a few clear steps, a function table, two asserts and a must list
- Partner Test Log: partners test each other's toolbox against the must list and one bad input
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
- In CodeGrove: the Toolbox Build on both days, on a computer or tablet for each student
- Free to use, with no accounts, sign-ins or installs
Why teachers love this lesson
Planning from the top down makes code read like a planStudents write the main program first as a few clear steps. Each function hides its details behind a name.
Asserts and a partner check different thingsAsserts test values that students can predict. A partner tries the input, drawing and menus, and students retest after every fix.
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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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 can write functions with parameters, default values and return lines. They can test a function with assert, describe it with a docstring, write while loops, use import random and draw with the turtle.
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 turn-in Form 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.