Welcome to a fun and exciting activity called “Coding with Cards”! This activity is perfect for everyone who wants to learn about coding without using a computer. Let’s dive into how you can use playing cards to understand an important coding concept called “conditionals.”
In coding, conditionals are like questions that help a program decide what to do next. Imagine you’re playing a game, and you need to make a decision based on a rule. That’s what conditionals do in coding! They check if something is true or false and then decide what action to take.
Here’s how you can use playing cards to learn about conditionals:
First, grab a deck of playing cards. You can play this game with a friend or by yourself. Decide on a simple rule or “if statement” for your game. For example, “If the card you draw is greater than 8, you get a point. Otherwise, your opponent gets a point.”
Shuffle the deck and draw a card. Look at the number on the card. Is it greater than 8? If it is, you follow the rule and give yourself a point. If not, your opponent gets a point. Keep track of the points as you play.
Once you’re comfortable with the basic rule, try making your game more challenging. You can add more rules or change the conditions. For example, “If the card is a heart and greater than 5, you get two points. Otherwise, lose a point.” The possibilities are endless!
Learning about conditionals with cards helps you understand how computers make decisions. In real coding, conditionals help programs decide what actions to take based on different situations. By practicing with cards, you’re getting a head start on thinking like a programmer!
Remember, the goal is to have fun while learning something new. You can play this game with friends or family and even create your own rules. The more you practice, the better you’ll get at understanding conditionals and how they work in coding.
So, grab a deck of cards and start coding with cards today!
Design a new card game using conditionals. Think about different rules and conditions you can apply. For example, “If the card is a red suit and even, gain 3 points.” Share your game with classmates and see who can come up with the most creative rules!
Write a short story where the main character faces decisions based on conditionals. For instance, “If the character finds a key, they can open the treasure chest. Otherwise, they must find another way.” Share your story with the class and discuss how conditionals influenced the plot.
Create a piece of art using conditionals. Decide on rules for your drawing, such as “If the card is a face card, draw a star. If it’s a number card, draw a circle.” Display your artwork and explain the conditionals you used to create it.
In groups, act out scenarios where conditionals determine the outcome. For example, “If the character rolls a dice and gets a number greater than 4, they move forward. Otherwise, they stay in place.” Perform your skit for the class and discuss how conditionals affected the story.
Use conditionals to create math problems. For example, “If the card drawn is a multiple of 3, add 5 to your score. Otherwise, subtract 2.” Challenge your classmates to solve your problems and see who can score the highest!
This activity is called coding with cards, and it’s great for any age. As you learned with the if statements in earlier lessons during Blockly, if statements have a component that you need to evaluate to determine if it’s true or false. This is known as the conditional, and it can be used in various ways. We take advantage of this by creating programs on paper that you run using a random draw of playing cards. For example, you might have an if statement that says something like, “If the card you draw is greater than 8, you get a point. Otherwise, your opponent gets a point.” You can make it as simple or as complicated as you feel comfortable with.
Coding – The process of writing instructions for a computer to follow. – Example sentence: “In our computer class, we learned the basics of coding by creating a simple animation.”
Cards – Small pieces of code or instructions that can be used in programming games or applications. – Example sentence: “We used different cards to build our own digital card game in the coding workshop.”
Conditionals – Statements in coding that only run when certain conditions are true. – Example sentence: “We used conditionals to make our game character jump only when the space bar is pressed.”
Game – A program designed for entertainment, often involving challenges or puzzles. – Example sentence: “Our class project was to design a simple game using the coding skills we learned.”
Rule – A specific guideline or instruction that must be followed in a program or game. – Example sentence: “One rule in our game is that players must collect all the stars to win.”
Point – A score or value given to a player for completing a task or challenge in a game. – Example sentence: “Each time you solve a puzzle in the game, you earn a point.”
Draw – To create shapes or images on the screen using code. – Example sentence: “We learned how to draw a circle on the screen using a simple coding command.”
True – A value in coding that represents something that is correct or has happened. – Example sentence: “The condition is true if the player has collected all the keys.”
False – A value in coding that represents something that is incorrect or has not happened. – Example sentence: “The game will not end if the condition is false.”
Program – A set of instructions written in code that a computer can execute. – Example sentence: “We wrote a program to make the robot move forward and turn left.”
