Libraries and APIs
Python Programming 2 Grades 9–12 4-day lesson 29 deliverables Teach students to use code that other people wrote in Python. Students import datetime, os and json modules that come with Python and use a short docs page to write the call for each job. They sort Python's own syntax from API calls. Then they call a made-up weather API to pick the driest day for a field trip and save the plan as JSON.
● 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 may use a library without knowing where its calls come from, or mix up an API call with Python's own keywords. This lesson sorts words and lines into syntax and API calls and has students read a docs page before they write a call.
The try-its on Days 1 and 2, the lab on Day 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 Field Trip Forecast level practices calling the standard library's datetime, os and json modules and a made-up weather API, looping over its forecast, and saving a plan as JSON. CodeGrove is free, with no accounts, sign-ins or installs.
Field Trip Forecast
Students call a weather API in CodeGrove to pick the driest day and save a plan as JSON.
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
- Field Trip Forecast: students call a weather API in CodeGrove to pick the driest day and save a plan as JSON
04 Activities
- Read the Docs: students use a short docs page to write one line of code for each of four jobs, on paper with computers closed
- Syntax or API?: students sort words and lines of code into Python's syntax and API calls, on paper with computers closed
- Quiz task: students fix a trip program's JSON lines 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™
Online: CodeGrove
- In CodeGrove: the lab on Day 3 (Field Trip Forecast) and the quiz task on Day 4, on a computer or tablet for each student
- Try-its on Days 1 and 2: students practice the new code in CodeGrove, and nothing is turned in
- Free to use, with no accounts, sign-ins or installs
Why teachers love this lesson
A docs page tells students which call to useTask cards ask for one line of code for each of four jobs, and students find each call on the docs page.
An API call sends a request and gets a responseStudents call a weather API, read the numbers for a date from its response and save a dictionary with json.dumps().
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 7 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 read and write a file, .get() for a dictionary, and format specs like :.1f.
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.