Build: An App with a Module and an API
Python Programming 2 Grades 9–12 2-day lesson 24 deliverables Teach students to plan, build and test a Python app made of files that work together. Students pick Weekend Planner, Book Finder or Bus Times Board, or their own app, and draw a file map. They call an API that returns a dictionary, put their functions in a module with a docstring and write three unittest tests that main.py runs.
● 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?
Students may build one long file and leave testing for the end, so bugs stay hidden. This lesson plans the files first and has a partner run the app and break one test on purpose.
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: Book Finder, Bus Times Board, My Own App or Weekend Planner. The App Build level practices building an app from files: a call to a shipped API that returns a dictionary, a module of your own with a docstring, a standard library module, a class or a list of records, and three unittest tests that main.py runs. On the last day, students send the turn-in Form with their CodeGrove link. CodeGrove is free, with no accounts, sign-ins or installs.
App Build
Students build their app in CodeGrove, test it with a partner and turn it in with the turn-in Form. Students pick one of 4 builds: Book Finder, Bus Times Board, My Own App or Weekend Planner.
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, 12 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
- App Build: students build their app in CodeGrove, test it with a partner and turn it in with the turn-in Form. Students pick one of 4 builds: Book Finder, Bus Times Board, My Own App or Weekend Planner
04 Activities
- Plan Your App: students pick one app and plan it: its question, a map of its four Python files, each API call and the key it reads, a standard library module, a class or list of records and three test cases, each with a function, an input and the expected result
- Partner Test Log: a partner runs the student's app with an answer of their own, reads the test report and breaks one test on purpose
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 App 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
A file map plans the appStudents list the API call and the key it reads, the functions in their module, the report in main.py and three test cases.
A partner checks the testsThe partner runs the app and breaks one test on purpose, and then the student explains how the files work together.
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 datetime, json, classes and files.
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.