Today students in Ms. Wells’ class at Varina Elementary learned how to write some basic computer code for calculating place value (SOL3.1). They logged into Google classroom and I gave them a template to get started. I already entered most of the formulas into the template, but I wanted the students to experience writing some formulas as well. I explained that some of them may grow up to write computer codes for designing games and apps, and they would need to know how to write formulas. Plus formulas are fun! First they wrote any 4 digit number that they wanted in cell B1. The spreadsheet automatically separates the number into its digits in the following cells. Underneath each digit the students wrote a formula to show that digit’s value. For example, if an 8 was in the hundreds place and it was in cell D1, their formula would be =D1*100 to get 800. Using cell references (D1) instead of the actual number (8) allows the students to enter new 4-digit numbers into B1 without changing their formulas. So the students are also getting exposed to the idea of variables. Finally, they answer a couple of place value questions that I created, then they create their own question for a neighbor to answer. If you would like to use the template with your class, just open the template and click File > Make a copy. There is a finished sample for your reference on Sheet 2 of the template.
