For students

A quick guide to how the class and this book work.

Two rules

These two rules cover most of what you need to know about how class works:

• Ask your buddy first, then Mr. Eric. Every student has a buddy, assigned by Mr. Eric. When you get stuck, ask your buddy before raising your hand. If you and your buddy are both stuck, then it’s Mr. Eric’s turn.
• You’re done when you can explain how it works. An exercise isn’t finished just because the code runs. It’s finished when you can walk someone else through what your code does. If you can’t explain it, you’re not done yet.

Each chapter has two parts

In class, we usually do Part A in the first half and Part B in the second half. If class gets cut short for any reason, Part A always stands on its own — you won’t be missing anything required.

Part B usually has tiered goals:

• Base — what everyone should aim to finish.
• Stretch — try it if you have time.
• Extension — for if you want to keep going past stretch.

You’re done when you finish the base goal. Stretch and extension are bonus, never required.

You can stop when you’re done

If you’re someone who can’t stop until something is “perfect” — you have permission to stop. The base target is the actual finish line. Mr. Eric will tell you to stop sometimes. Listen to him.

If you miss a session

Find the chapter for the session you missed. Skip to the section called If you missed this session. It’s a shorter version that gets you ready for next week. About twenty or thirty minutes of work on your own.

Don’t worry about it. Missing sessions happens to everyone.

When you get stuck

Stuck is normal. Programming is mostly being stuck and then getting unstuck. The Getting unstuck appendix has a checklist that helps. Work through it in order before asking for help. Half the time you’ll fix it yourself.

Words you don’t know

When you hit a word you’ve never seen before — sprite, sequence, conditional, variable, whatever — check the Glossary. It explains words in plain language. The glossary grows as the curriculum moves forward, so words from later sessions get added when those sessions start.

Reading ahead

If you want to read the next chapter before class, go for it. Just don’t skip the in-class exercises when we get there — the exercises are where the actual learning happens.

Working on your own at home

Anything you do in class, you can also do at home. The Installing on your own computer appendix tells you how to set up Scratch (and later, Python) on any computer you have access to.

Personal projects — things you build on your own time, not for class — are the highest-value thing you can do as a programmer. If you have an idea, build it. Bring it to class and show Mr. Eric. We love seeing what you build.

A few more things to know

• You can’t break the computer by clicking buttons. Software is hard to break by accident. Click everything. Try things. That’s how you learn.
• Save your work. Especially big projects. Files have a way of vanishing when you didn’t mean them to.
• Ask “why” sometimes. When something works and you’re not sure why, ask. The “why” is usually more important than the “how.”
• Be a good buddy. You’ll often be the one helping someone else get unstuck. The best way to help is the same as the best way to get unstuck: ask them what they want to happen, and what they’ve already tried. Don’t just take their keyboard.

Where to start

If you’re brand new, start at Session 1: Welcome & the peanut butter problem. Or pick the chapter for whichever session is happening this week. The textbook is yours — use it however helps.