Disrupting the Status Quo with Innovation, Creativity and Passion: Books and Activities from Code Breaker Kids
“Breaking code isn’t just about programming, it’s about disrupting the status quo. It is about challenging social norms. It is about having critical conversations. It is about challenging systematic beliefs. It is about educating the whole child – mind, body and soul.”
Brian Aspinall
The mission of Code Breaker is clear. They believe in educating the whole child and work to reach beyond boundaries to ensure that the needs of all students are met, that all students are fully engaged, and that they are part of a community of “trust, risk-taking and a freedom to fail.”
They inspire educators around the world to build a culture of acceptance and curiosity, valuing creativity and critical thinking skills. I am always checking out their tweets, blog, Instagram, and workshops because I know I will not be disappointed by their content.
One of my favorite parts of Code Breaker is the books. Today I’m going to share four awesome books from their kid’s collection and some activities to extend the stories and important messages within each one.
Gracie: An Innovator Doesn’t Complain About the Problem. She Solves It! by Daphne McMenemy & illustrated by Alexandria Masse
Gracie is a much needed strong female role model for today’s ever changing world. She demonstrates perseverance, reinforces a growth mindset and proves STEM is for everyone!
The teachers in the story play an important role in conveying the importance of promoting innovation and a child’s imagination. When a robot is brought into the room and Gracie is taught to code, her world opens to creativity, innovation, and discovery she never thought was possible. The story follows her as she learns to not only code but also to problem solve and to take risks in her learning.
Daphne McMenemy, the extremely imaginative author of Gracie, created the Discover Gracie: The Board Game. Find all the details here.
She also brought Gracie, as well as the other characters I am sharing today, to life! Find out how to make your own play figures by watching her simple and fun YouTube video here on this link.
Activity Suggestions:
Have kids create a ‘Gracie’s Journal’ and write in it pretending to be her, focusing on how she felt throughout each part of the story.
Have your child, or a whole class, create a paper chain that sequences the story events or contains important attributes of Gracie. They can then make up their own ‘Gracie’ story in paper chain style or, make a chain with attributes about themselves.
Find a really great list of kid’s robots that teach coding here. I’m a huge fan of the Botley 2.0 myself.
Try online resources such as Code.org, which is a nonprofit on a mission to expand access to computer science. The site has amazing content categorized for students, teachers, and coding advocates. Microsoft and Google also have dedicated hubs for computer science learning – YouthSpark and Made with Code, respectively.
Finding Lost Smiles: Chasing Greatness is Helping Lost Smiles Find Their Home by Vickie & Don Epps & illustrated by Alexandria Masse
Sam is a sweet and lovable child who clearly cares about others. He eagerly shares his smile with everyone, but he is confused when two new children enter his classroom and do not smile back. They always seem sad and don’t even smile when it’s Chicken Patty Wednesday!
He talks to his parents about it and they encourage him to help his new classmates find their smiles. He gets his friends involved in this delightful tale of empathy, kindness, and sincere compassion. Sam learns important lessons along the way about what it really means to help someone.
Activity Suggestions:
Create edible smiles! I love this recipe for smiley fries, this recipe for emoji cookies, and this one, which I remember doing as a student teacher, for peanut butter smiles.
Have your own Chicken Patty Wednesday! Try this healthy gluten-free recipe or this one for adorable mini-chicken patties.
Have your kids come up with a list of what they feel ‘sharing your smile’ really means. You can put this on a chart or make a smile shaped book of all the ideas.
Make ‘Friendship Soup.’ No, this is not another cooking project. Check out this cool video from The Ned Show and sign up to download free teacher resources to accompany it here.
Hallway Connections by Maggie Fay & illustrated by Alexandria Masse
In this book we get to follow Lucas and Liam’s coding adventure as they make a new friend. Lucas and Liam have been assigned a coding project by their teacher. At first they are more excited about working in the hallway than doing the project, until they meet Lily, a girl who has autism. The boys learn that not everyone communicates in the same way, but with the hallway coding activity, making friends is easy and fun!
Activity Suggestions:
Read the book for the first time without letting the students see the cover and follow the procedure here for a great way to authentically assess story element knowledge and comprehension.
Ask students to choose a character from the book and retell the story as if it were being told by the character they choose. It will be interesting to hear the story from Lucas, Liam, Lily, or even the teacher’s point of view.
Follow up the story with a discussion about what acceptance is with one or all of these four videos- Accepting Differences: Shawntelle at TEDxyouth, We are all different- And that’s AWESOME: Coke Blakeway TEDxVancouverED, Accept People as They Are, and Planting the Seeds of Piece. Also, this video titled All About Accepting People has songs for kids about accepting others.
Help students to understand more about autism and acceptance by sharing this clip with Sesame Street’s new character, or one of these books which also include characters with autism or asperger’s syndrome. I've also used this playdough acceptance lesson and this one involving eggs.
I had the pleasure of speaking with author Maggie Fay and I'm delighted to share the conversation here:
Me: I know you have two adorable sons. Can you tell us what family means to you?
Maggie: To me my two boys are my world. I want to teach them perseverance, to follow their goals and celebrate their success while reflecting and learning from any failures they have along the way.
Me: Do you have another job, aside from being a best selling author?
Maggie: I’m a special education teacher in a public school board.
Me: Why did you write Hallway Connections?
Maggie: I wrote Hallway Connections because I wanted people to relate to a story about how we all communicate differently vs listening to a speech. Through a story they can make their own life connections which spark conversation.
Me: What you wish all kids knew about kids with autism?
Maggie: That kids with autism can be friends with you too! You just might have to learn how they communicate and adjust your play, but you would do that for any friend.
Me: What is your favorite part about Hallway Connections?
Maggie: My favorite part is the page where it says “Lily has autism, but that is not her label.” It helps a reader understand that a disability does not define who you are. Your name is your label.
Me: What is your favorite part about being an author?
Maggie: Connecting with students and other educators is my favorite part of being an author. Listening to their comments about the book and how they interpret is has been a wonderful experience.
Me: What you wish all teachers knew about children on the spectrum?
Maggie: I wish all teachers saw the positives and didn’t focus so much on lagging skills. Differentiated instruction is for students with autism as well. Build on what the student needs, but don’t just see them for their “needs list.”
Me: What do you wish all people knew about you, the book or just in general about life?
Maggie: Don’t allow differences to define someone. Appreciate that we all have unique abilities. If you question something just ask.
Me: Do you have suggested discussion questions or activities to extend Hallway Connections?
Maggie: Yes, for kids - try coding with your friends, design your own coding activity.
For teachers and parents to ask:
Discuss when there might have been a time you judged someone and what you might do next time?
What questions about autism do you have?
How can we all be more inclusive in school?
How can knowing your attitudinal barriers prevent you from being inclusive?
Think Like a Coder!: Connecting Computational Thinking to Everyday Activities by Deanna Pecaski McLennan & Brian Aspinall & illustrated by Alexandria Masse
This creative story is about a charming little girl and her adorable dog who explore computational thinking in their everyday activities and win the hearts of kids, teachers, and parents everywhere! I love how it helps us to see cooking, outdoor play and so many other activities as mathematical opportunities.
Suggested Activities:
Work out and practice coding skills with this computational exercise game.
Try this activity which teaches kids to code with only a deck of cards and whatever small toys they happen to have.
Have kids clean their rooms computationally with this STEM way of tidying up.
Making pancakes will never be as scientific as when you try this activity called pancakes with a side of chemistry.
These suggestions are from the author, Deanna Pecaski McLennan, who has another book, Kindercoding Unplugged, coming out this summer:
Encourage children to brainstorm ways they use computational thinking and unplugged coding in every day activities and then have them take photos or draw pictures to make their own book.
Go on a scavenger hunt and look for different machines that use code in your school and home (e.g., washing machines, telephones).
Research what a computer programmer does in his or her job and reach out to them using technology for an opportunity to job shadow.
Explore simple coding programs like Scratch Jr. and Scratch.
innovate the text and create a sequel to the book that shows what other adventures the girl and dog have together.
Find more from Deanna here on her blog.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, Code Breaker inspires educators around the world and although I love their books, especially these four amazing children’s books I just shared, they also have innovative webinars.
And guess what? They are having a Power Summit SOON! You will see a few of the authors of these books and Alexandria Masse, the extremely talented illustrator of all four books, there.
All you need is access to the internet and to sign up here. So much fun and such exciting learning and all free! I can't wait!
Thank you so much for visiting the blog today. I hope you found this post worthwhile. I truly appreciate your time and attention.
If you would like to connect further, please feel free to leave me a comment, message, or email and I will get back to you in a timely fashion.
Yours truly,
Jennifer
