I'm really excited to join Franki and Mary Lee at A Year of Reading, Alyson at Kid Lit Frenzy and Claire and Tammy from Assessment in Perspective to talk about this wonderful reading format! Hooray for Graphic Novels!
Every so often you start hearing "buzz words", something new in the world of education. Coding is one of those buzz words. Until recently, it's something I had heard about, but really didn't know much about.
This past week our media specialist held an after school workshop on coding. Teachers learned a little basic coding - we practiced using codes and then got to write our own codes. It was interesting to see how our brains think. Some people got it right away, other people processed "reading code" differently.
Our students get to participate in an after school class on coding. I think they'll be more advanced than us in no time. I know they have some special robots they get to use. How awesome to code and then be able to test it and see if it works.
Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes have written a graphic novel that has coding as a topic. Secret Coders: Get With the Program! just came out last Tuesday. We meet Hopper and Eni, who don't seem to have a lot in common except they both notice something is a little strange at the school. They soon discover there are some strange birds flying around and a special robot that follows directions... in code. The mystery deepens every time a new code is discovered which reveals more mysteries within the school. Loose ends start fitting together just in time... for the ending of the book. We are left with a cliffhanger but book 2 looks like a good one!
Within the chapters, and often at the end of them, is the change to figure out a code. This book will be a surefire hit with young coders and will probably reach a whole new audience that may discover how much they enjoy it!
Be sure to check out the website for more information and more coding!
I think this book will be enjoyed by grades 5 and up. Mature 4th grade readers and kids who have coded will be able to follow along, as well.
I'm looking forward to introducing it to our school's coders!
This books sounds really interesting -- we will check it out for sure. WE can imagine video game players to love this text and it might also work well in a mystery genre study. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteClare and Tammy