First graders at Glen Allen Elementary have been learning about cardinal directions. Yesterday Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Waite’s students used a MaKey MaKey for the first time and programmed their very own interactive compass rose using Scratch!

We started off SLOW. First, the teachers called students one at a time to “play” with a MaKey MaKey and a compass rose I had created in Scratch. Check out this child’s “first experience”:

I LOVED how curious he was at the end!

Next, in groups of two, students worked together to program their own compass rose using Scratch. They added their motions as well as recorded themselves saying the different directions that they added through the sound feature.

Take a look at the kiddos in ACTION! My favorite part is at the end when they figured out how to operate the MaKey MaKey by holding hands and creating a closed circuit:

MaKey MaKey from Julie on Vimeo.

Here is one group’s Scratch creation:

Way to go, GAES 1st graders!!!

First graders at Glen Allen Elementary have been learning about cardinal directions. Yesterday Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Waite’s students used a MaKey MaKey for the first time and programmed their very own interactive compass rose using Scratch!

We started off SLOW. First, the teachers called students one at a time to “play” with a MaKey MaKey and a compass rose I had created in Scratch. Check out this child’s “first experience”:

I LOVED how curious he was at the end!

Next, in groups of two, students worked together to program their own compass rose using Scratch. They added their motions as well as recorded themselves saying the different directions that they added through the sound feature.

Take a look at the kiddos in ACTION! My favorite part is at the end when they figured out how to operate the MaKey MaKey by holding hands and creating a closed circuit:

MaKey MaKey from Julie on Vimeo.

Here is one group’s Scratch creation:

Way to go, GAES 1st graders!!!