Welcome Back: The Python You Know
Python Programming 2Teach students to change a variable in one step in Python with +=, *= and //=, and to use the editor to fix mistakes. Students follow values through chains of operators on paper, count whole groups and leftovers, and learn that ** works right to left. They read the Error panel, use auto-indent and tell a SyntaxError from a logic error.
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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 type a shortcut like %= without knowing what it does to the variable, and they skip the error message when a program stops. This lesson traces each operator on paper first. Then students use the Error panel to find the line to fix.
The try-it on Day 1, the lab on Day 2 and the quiz task on Day 3 run online in CodeGrove, our in-browser code lab, so students need a computer or tablet on those days. The Warm-Up Arcade level practices using update operators and the editor's tools to finish and fix short programs. CodeGrove is free, with no accounts, sign-ins or installs.
Warm-Up Arcade
Students turn off a test line, fix an error and finish two programs 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 three days, 26 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 three 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
- Warm-Up Arcade: students turn off a test line, fix an error and finish two programs in CodeGrove
04 Activities
- Operator Relay: students follow values through chains of update operators on paper with computers closed
- Quiz task: students fix a bonus 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 three days, on paper
06 Answer Keys
- 5 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™
- 4 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 lab on Day 2 (Warm-Up Arcade) and the quiz task on Day 3, on a computer or tablet for each student
- A try-it on Day 1: 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
Tracing on paper shows what each operator doesStudents follow a variable through a chain of update lines. They see that each line uses the old value to store a new one.
Two kinds of bugs need two kinds of fixesA SyntaxError stops the program at the line the Error panel names. A logic error gives a wrong answer with no message, so students must check the output themselves.
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.
Questions teachers ask
Is this lesson really free?
Yes. Lesson 1.1 is completely free. Enter your email to get the library password, then use it to download this lesson and every other freebie on the site.
How do the downloads work?
Enter your email once and we send you a single library password. Type that password in any "Unlock" box and every download turns on. Your device remembers it.
What should students know before this lesson?
Students know comments, .append(), while loops and import random, and they can read an error message.
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.
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.