(Greg Reid has written two Computing text books for the Scottish education system. His resources are used in thousands of schools all over the world.) Computational Thinking (learning to think in a logical/problem solving way) is the buzz word in the teaching of programming. By teaching students to predict the outcome of small pieces of code they naturally become better at building their own programs. Although this homework uses Scratch program code, the code is simply a vehicle to ask the questions and the homework may be used with students who have never seen Scratch. This homework focuses on move and rotate. Permission has been granted by the Scratch team to uses images of Scratch code. Have fun. My students loved these!

There are several skills required to be a good programmer. One of these is being able to modularise programs by identifying blocks of code. This Scratch homework is based around the “broadcast” block which can be used to modularise programs allowing greater control over order, reuse of code and gives sprites the ability to communicate with each other. The homework starts with a worked example. There are four questions making this homework about a 10-15 minute task. Note that question 4 will be out of reach of most younger pupils and should possibly set as a challenge (possibly with a certificate or prize for those who successfully solve it) Students love this style of problem solving homework. Have fun!

(Greg Reid has written two Computing text books for the Scottish education system. His resources are used in thousands of schools all over the world.) Computational Thinking (learning to think in a logical/problem solving way) is the buzz word in the teaching of programming. By teaching students to predict the outcome of small pieces of code they naturally become better at building their own programs. Although this homework uses Scratch program code, the code is simply a vehicle to ask the questions and the homework may be used with students who have never seen Scratch. Permission has been granted by the Scratch team to uses images of Scratch code. Have fun. My students loved these! Previously downloaded 30,000 times on a few websites comments have included: “Thanks, these look like really good examples and introduce code in a fun and engaging way.” “Very useful. I’ll use for a Maths class as well.” “Great examples to understand code. Thank you for sharing it.”

Many students these days wish to be games programmers. This booklet is the first in a series of four that teaches students the tool and techniques of object orientated programming required to become a beginner games programmer. In Project 1 students will use the programming language Python, along with its add-on Pygame, to write an object orientated game called Balloon Burst. The booklet covers: . object orientated programming theory . coding Balloon Burst (with full instructions) . extension tasks . ways to improve your coding This could be your first step to becoming a games programmer! This booklet was co-written with my colleague David Stott for the Scottish Advanced Higher Computer Science course but could be used as part of any advanced programming course or games programming club. Project 2 is also available.

Students are provided a scenario with four parallel arrays where each array stores the air pressure of a car tyre (front left, back right etc). Each question asks students to write code to solve a stated problem. Answers require that students write: find maximum - code that finds the largest value in an array find minimum - code that finds the smallest value in an array linear search - code that traverses an array looking for values count occurrence - code that count the number of times values are found in an array. The questions get progressively harder. Although many programming languages contain functions to carry out some or all of the above, knowing how to code these algorithms aids code understanding and gives students the ability to write alternative versions of each algorithm. Marking Instructions and a completed Python program with the solutions are supplied. The questions are suitable for any programming language your students may be familiar with. The marking instructions could be adapted for solutions in different languages. These could also be turned into practical tasks by providing a partial program that sets up the data in the arrays.

This unit was written to provide homework, class assessments or additional tasks to complement your own database teaching. The theme of the five table relational database provided is Scottish golf club members and their competition results. There are eight task sheets included as MS Word files: Task 1 – Analysis & Design – students must identify how problems identified from the beginner design can be solved through the introduction of more tables. Tasks 2,3 – Query design questions where the columns, tables, criteria and required functions are identified. Task 4 to 8 – SQL question sets covering: SELECT from multiple tables, alias, calculations, wildcards, aggregate functions (COUNT, MIN, MAX, AVG) and sub-queries. Two versions of task 8 are included showing solution as two separate queries (MS Access) and using a single query with a sub-query. All marking instructions are provided. The above tasks were initially written as homework/assessment style questions (I spent 20 years writing questions for the Scottish exam system) but I have since created database files should you wish your students to code the SQL. The database files are provided in three formats for different environments: Access files (a student version and others with the completed SQL tasks 2 to 8 queries) CSV files that you can use to import the table data and build the database Text files that contain SQL CREATE and INSERT statements which you could use to create the database on a database server Excel files, Python programs and explanations that can be used to add more of your own data.

This unit was written to provide homework, class assessments or additional tasks to complement your own database teaching. The theme of the two table database provided is Scottish golf club members and their competition results. There are five task sheets included as MS Word files: Task 1 – Analysis & Design – students must identify the information to be stored and then construct an entity relationship diagram and a data dictionary. Task 2 – SQL - 8 questions of varying difficulty based on SELECT, FROM, WHERE and AND Task 3 – SQL - a further 8 questions continuing from task 2 but adding ORDER BY Task 4 – SQL - 10 more SQL questions that require INSERT, DELETE and UPDATE Task 5 – Evaluation - compare the Scottish Golfers database against a set of requirements All marking instructions are provided. The above tasks were initially written as homework/assessment style questions (I spent 20 years writing questions for the Scottish exam system) but I have since created database files should you wish your students to code the SQL. The database files are provided in three formats for different environments: An Access file (two versions, a student version and one with the completed task 2 and 3 queries) CSV files that you can use to import the table data and build the database Text files that contain SQL CREATE and INSERT statements which you could use to create the database on a database server

Make your lessons fun with Computational Thinking! Structured Query Language is a programming language used to manipulate information stored in databases. As with all programming languages the best way to learn its functions is through solving problems. In this series of fun worksheets (or possible homework sheets) are sets of problems that are solved by writing or interpreting SQL instructions. Students must either predict the output of SQL instructions or calculate the SQL that must have been used to produce some given output from a database. Set 1 includes an explanation of the uses of SEARCH, FROM and WHERE functions followed by 5 pages of questions. This style of learning is very well received by students who "love solving the problems".

(Greg Reid has written two Computing text books for the Scottish education system. His resources are used in thousands of schools.) Previously selected by TES to appear on their Twitter feed, this resource was created to help younger students understand the basics of good PowerPoint design. It covers the correct use of colour themes, text content and animation, often indicating that less is more. The resource may also be used as a poster when printed in A3. This resource was previously rated 5 out of 5 and included comments such as: Brilliant well done. Often the children are tempted to add every possible text, colour, image and animation possible. This guide helps to show them how to keep their presentation looking snazzy without looking a mess! Thank you! This is an excellent resource has been selected to feature on the @TESPrimary twitter feed over the next week. Thank you so much for sharing, you are helping to inspire teachers and students all over the world!

Many students these days wish to games programmers. Pygame is a fabulous addition to the programming language Python used to write professional looking computer games. This tutorial was originally written as part of a training day I led for staff interested in using Pygame as part of their teaching or as part of a games programming club. The training day was very well received so I have adapted the materials to allow self tuition by staff. If you have an interest in Python programming you'll love this extension to your own skills and knowledge. Although written for staff, pupils could easily follow the tutorial themselves. The knowledge acquired in this tutorial would allow you to deliver my PyGame student course: https://www.tes.com/us/teacher-lessons/games-programming-using-pygame-project-1-balloon-burst-11310169 https://www.tes.com/us/teacher-lessons/games-programming-using-pygame-project-2-tile-match-11310173 I love teaching with PyGame. Have fun!

A colorful, helpful information document for anyone learning how to use Microsoft Word. Each page contains detailed instructions and lots of screenshots showing how to create and modify bullet point lists in Word. The document has two uses as page 1 could also be printed on its own as an A3 poster for IT rooms. Content Page 1 When to use bullet points How to use bullet points Page 2 How to position bullet points How to start a new line within a single bullet point Page 3 How to change the space between bullet points Page 4 How to change the shape of the bullets How to create your own bullets by uploading a picture A GReat resource for young learners.

Many students these days wish to be games programmers. This booklet is the first in a series of four that teaches students the tool and techniques of object orientated programming required to become a beginner games programmer. In Project 1 students will use the programming language Python, along with its add-on Pygame, to write an object orientated game called Balloon Burst. The booklet covers: . object orientated programming theory . coding Balloon Burst (with full instructions) . extension tasks . ways to improve your coding This could be your first step to becoming a games programmer! This booklet was co-written with my colleague David Stott for the Scottish Advanced Higher Computer Science course but could be used as part of any advanced programming course or games programming club. Project 2 is also available.

Many students these days wish to be games programmers. This booklet is the second in a series of four that teaches students the tool and techniques of object orientated programming required to become a beginner games programmer. In Project 2 students will use the programming language Python, along with its add-ons Pygame and NumPy, to write an object orientated game called Tile Match. The booklet covers: . object orientated programming theory (inheritance, lists vs arrays, stacks, queues and insertion sort) . coding Tile Match (with full instructions) . extension tasks . ways to improve your coding This course could be your first step to becoming a games programmer! This booklet was co-written with my colleague David Stott for the Scottish Advanced Higher Computer Science course but could be used as part of any advanced programming course or games programming club. Project 3 is currently being written and is due for release in Sept 2017.

A colourful, helpful information document for anyone learning how to use Microsoft Word. Each page contains detailed instructions and lots of screenshots showing how to create and modify bullet point lists in Word. The document has two uses as page 1 could also be printed on its own as an A3 poster for IT rooms. Content Page 1 When to use bullet points How to use bullet points Page 2 How to position bullet points How to start a new line within a single bullet point Page 3 How to change the space between bullet points Page 4 How to change the shape of the bullets How to create your own bullets by uploading a picture A GReat resource for young learners.

These exercises were written to solve that familiar problem of; “what homework do I give during practical lessons like programming?”. In this series of questions students are asked to consider small programming problems and design solutions using pseudocode or a programming language of their choice. Homework 1 of 10 includes questions on: - Input - Output - Calculation - Conditional (If) Statement - Fixed Loop. Two additional theory questions cover Test Data and Input Validation. Two marking schemes give answers in: 1. Pseudocode and Python 2. Pseudocode and Visual Basic My students found this a very helpful aid to their understanding of program structures and problem solving. Questions 1-5 are available to purchase as a bundle. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/practise-programming-questions-1-to-5-bundle-11543151

This is a simple homework that may be used with a variety of ages that covers: Cut, Copy Paste Bullet Points Text Wrap Clip Art Inserting Graphics The 2 page homework is entirely self contained providing the theory notes on one side and questions on the other. This would also make the homework a perfect resources for cover work when staff are absent. All graphics used in the homework are copyright free clipart or produced by myself.

These exercises were written to solve that familiar problem of; “what homework do I give during practical lessons like programming?”. In this series of questions students are asked to consider small programming problems and design solutions using pseudocode or a programming language of their choice. Homework 2 of 10 includes questions on: - Input - Output - Calculation - Conditional (If) Statement - Conditional Loop. Two additional theory questions cover Test Data and Reasons for using Input Validation. Two marking schemes give answers in: 1. Pseudocode and Python 2. Pseudocode and Visual Basic My students found this a very helpful aid to their understanding of program structures and problem solving. Questions 1-5 are available to purchase as a bundle. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/practise-programming-questions-1-to-5-bundle-11543151

These exercises were written to solve that familiar problem of; “what homework do I give during practical lessons like programming?”. In this series of questions students are asked to consider small programming problems and design solutions using pseudocode or a programming language of their choice. Homework 3 of 10 includes questions on: - Input - Output - Calculation (power ^, Int Function) - Conditional (If) Statement - Conditional Loop One additional theory question covers Test Data (normal, extreme and exceptional). Two marking schemes give answers in: 1. Pseudocode and Python 2. Pseudocode and Visual Basic My students found this a very helpful aid to their understanding of program structures and problem solving. Questions 1-5 are available to purchase as a bundle. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/practise-programming-questions-1-to-5-bundle-11543151

These exercises were written to solve that familiar problem of; “what homework do I give during practical lessons like programming?”. In this series of questions students are asked to consider small programming problems and design solutions using pseudocode or a programming language of their choice. Homework 4 of 10 includes questions on: - Input - Output - Calculation (power ^, Int Function) - Fixed Loop - Arrays Two additional theory questions cover Data Types and Order of Code. Two marking schemes give answers in: 1. Pseudocode and Python 2. Pseudocode and Visual Basic My students found this a very helpful aid to their understanding of program structures and problem solving. Questions 1-5 are available to purchase as a bundle. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/practise-programming-questions-1-to-5-bundle-11543151