Coding Strategies: Teaching Abstract Concepts Through Tangible Examples

Using Concrete Maze Activities to Introduce Coding

Scratch Jr. is my favorite app when teaching grades K-2 coding, but I’ve learned over the past years that I need to start with a more concrete approach before diving into block coding. Unplugged maze activities provide students with a program to move a character through a maze to complete a task. They learn beginning computer science coding skills as they code, test and debug their program. The following steps explain how I set up and use maze activities in my classroom.

Click here to view my Maze Activities

How To Prepare for the Maze Games

Step One

Using the tiles on my classroom floor, I create a grid using marking tape. Next, I use my Cricut to make letters and numbers to label the x and y Axis. This setup matches the grid used in my Maze products.

Step Two

Print the mazes, program sheets, and floor characters. I laminate for durability.

Step Three

To reuse my grids and program sheets, I place them in dry-erase sleeves after I laminate them.

Step Four

Introduce the activity to the students.

I project a grid to the class. We discuss the different moves the character can make, and they help me decide which arrows and shapes to draw.

Step Five

After completing the grid and program sheet, I place the floor characters onto the grid. I pick one student to stand on the start character and another to read the program sheet. As the student reads the program, the grid student follows the movement.

Step Six

Students return to their groups and work on their grids and program sheets. I prefer each group to have a different grid.

I follow this sequence for introducing codes when using this resource with my students.

• Directions and Pick Up
• Add Jump
• Add Repeat

Step Seven

Once the students finish their program sheets and grids, they come to the floor grid, and we “run the program”. This is where the algorithmic magic happens. As students read and follow the program sheet (not the grid sheet), they can identify bugs in their programs. Students must read and follow what is written on the program sheet. Often, the students realize the bugs and try to debug them on the spot.

I hope your students enjoy this activity as much as my students do.