Python Power Up! Script

Warm Up: Hello, Python! (5 minutes)

(Display Hello, Python! Warm Up questions)

"Good morning/afternoon, everyone! Today, we're going on an exciting adventure into the world of computer programming. Before we dive in, let's get our brains warmed up. Take a look at these questions on the screen (or on your sheet) and think about them for a moment. What comes to mind when you hear the word 'coding'? What do you think a computer program is?"

"Okay, who would like to share their thoughts? Is anyone familiar with coding or programming? No worries if not, that's what we're here to learn!"

(Facilitate a brief discussion, acknowledging all answers.)

"Great ideas, everyone! Many of you mentioned giving instructions to a computer, and that's exactly what coding is about. It's like teaching a computer a new language so it can understand what we want it to do."

Introduction to Python (10 minutes)

(Advance to Python Power Up! Slide Deck - Slide 2: What is Python?)

"The language we're going to learn today is called Python! Has anyone heard of Python before?"

(Pause for responses.)

"Python is super cool because it's used by huge companies like Google and Instagram, and even NASA for space missions! It's also fantastic for beginners because it's designed to be easy to read and understand, almost like regular English. Today, we're going to learn just two foundational concepts to get us started."

(Advance to Python Power Up! Slide Deck - Slide 3: First Command: print())

"Our very first command in Python is print(). What do you think print() does?"

(Pause for responses.)

"That's right! The print() command tells the computer to display something on the screen. It's how our program talks to us. Look at the example on the slide: print("Hello, world!"). Notice how 'Hello, world!' is inside parentheses and quotation marks? That's important! Whatever you want Python to literally show on the screen needs to be in those quotes."

"Now, if I wrote print("My name is [Your Name]"), what do you think would appear on the screen?"

(Call on a student or two.)

"Exactly! It would display 'My name is [Your Name]'. The computer prints exactly what's inside those quotes. Let's try it out!"

(Open the online Python interpreter on the projector.)

"Everyone, please open an online Python interpreter on your devices. I recommend replit.com or trinket.io. Once you're there, type in print("Hello, class!") and press run. What happens?"

(Give students a moment to try, offer help as needed.)

(Advance to Python Power Up! Slide Deck - Slide 4: Storing Information: Variables)

"Now, let's learn about something called a variable. A variable is like a box that holds information. You give the box a name, and then you put something inside it. We use an equals sign = to put information into our variable."

"For example, if I write favorite_color = "blue", I've created a 'box' named favorite_color and put the word 'blue' inside it. Now, if I then type print(favorite_color), what do you think will happen? This time, notice there are no quotation marks around favorite_color when we print it."

(Call on a student.)

"That's a great thought! Since favorite_color is a variable, Python knows to look inside that 'box' and print whatever is stored there. So, it would print 'blue'. Let's see this in action!"

(Demonstrate in the online interpreter: my_name = "[Your Name]", then print(my_name).)

"See how it printed the name I stored? The computer knows that my_name refers to 'Lenny'."

(Advance to Python Power Up! Slide Deck - Slide 5: Putting It Together!)

"Let's combine these ideas. Look at the code on the slide. We've created two variables: student_name and age. Then we use print() a few times. Take a moment to read through it and predict what the output will be."

(Give students a moment to think or discuss with a neighbor. Then call on a student to explain.)

"Excellent! It will print 'Hello,' on one line, then 'Alex' on the next, and finally 'You are 12 years old.' on the third line. Python executes the commands one by one, from top to bottom. Notice how we can combine text in quotes with variables when we print, using commas in between."

Activity: Print & Play Python! (10 minutes)

(Advance to Python Power Up! Slide Deck - Slide 6: Your Turn! Print & Play!)

"Now it's your turn to be the Python programmer! I'm going to hand out the Print & Play Python! Activity sheet. Your task is to open your online Python interpreter and follow the instructions on the sheet. You'll be using print() and variables to create your own messages."

"Remember, coding is about experimenting. Don't be afraid to try things out and make mistakes; that's how we learn! If you get stuck, look back at our slides, or ask a neighbor. I'll be walking around to help out."

(Distribute the Print & Play Python! Activity and circulate, providing individual support.)

Wrap Up & Share (5 minutes)

(Advance to Python Power Up! Slide Deck - Slide 7: You're a Python Coder!)

"Alright everyone, let's bring it back together. Great job tackling your first Python challenges!"

"Can anyone share one interesting thing they printed or a variable they created during the activity?"

(Allow a few students to share their creations or discoveries.)

"Fantastic! Today you learned how to use the print() command to make your computer display messages, and you learned how to use variables to store information. These are fundamental building blocks in programming, and you've just built your very first Python creations! Give yourselves a pat on the back."

"You've taken a huge first step into computational thinking and problem-solving through code. Keep exploring, and you'll be amazed at what you can create!"

(Collect activity sheets or instruct students on where to submit them. Hand out or display the Print & Play Python! Answer Key for review.)

Hello, Python! Warm Up

Take a few minutes to think about these questions. We'll discuss them as a class.

1. What do you think of when you hear the word "coding" or "programming"?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. What do you think a "computer program" is?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Have you ever used an app or played a game and wondered how it was made?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Print & Play Python! Activity

Instructions: Open your online Python interpreter (like replit.com or trinket.io). Follow the steps below to write your own Python code!

Part 1: Your First Prints!

1. Greeting the World!
   Write a print() statement that says "Hello, world!"

   # Type your code here:
   
   

   
   
   
   
   

2. Your Name!
   Write a print() statement that displays your own name.

   # Type your code here:
   
   

   
   
   
   
   

3. Your Favorite Food!
   Write a print() statement that tells us your favorite food.

   # Type your code here:
   
   

   
   
   
   
   

Part 2: Variable Adventures!

1. Store Your Name
   Create a variable called my_name and store your name (as text) inside it. Then, print() your my_name variable.

   # Type your code here:
   
   

   
   
   
   
   

2. Store Your Age
   Create a variable called my_age and store your age (as a number) inside it. Then, print() your my_age variable.

   # Type your code here:
   
   

   
   
   
   
   

3. Combine & Print!
   Now, let's combine text and variables! Write a print() statement that says:
   "Hi, my name is [your name variable] and I am [your age variable] years old!"

   Hint: Remember to use commas to separate text in quotes from your variables.

   # Example:
   # my_town = "Smallville"
   # print("I live in ", my_town)
   
   # Type your code here:
   
   

   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Challenge (Optional):

Create two new variables: favorite_animal and animal_sound. Store your favorite animal and the sound it makes in these variables. Then, write print() statements to tell us your favorite animal and the sound it makes!

Example Output:
My favorite animal is a dog.
A dog says Woof!

# Type your challenge code here:

Print & Play Python! Answer Key

Note: Student answers for names, ages, and favorite foods will vary. The examples below show the correct structure and expected output.

Part 1: Your First Prints!

1. Greeting the World!

   print("Hello, world!")
   

   Expected Output: Hello, world!

2. Your Name!

   print("Alice Smith") # Replace with student's name
   

   Expected Output: Alice Smith (or similar, with student's name)

3. Your Favorite Food!

   print("My favorite food is pizza.") # Replace with student's food
   

   Expected Output: My favorite food is pizza. (or similar, with student's food)

Part 2: Variable Adventures!

1. Store Your Name

   my_name = "Alice Smith"
   print(my_name)
   

   Expected Output: Alice Smith (or similar, with student's name)

2. Store Your Age

   my_age = 12
   print(my_age)
   

   Expected Output: 12 (or similar, with student's age)

3. Combine & Print!

   my_name = "Alice Smith"
   my_age = 12
   print("Hi, my name is ", my_name, " and I am ", my_age, " years old!")
   

   Expected Output: Hi, my name is Alice Smith and I am 12 years old! (with student's info)

Challenge (Optional) Answer:

favorite_animal = "dog"
animal_sound = "Woof!"
print("My favorite animal is a ", favorite_animal, ".")
print("A ", favorite_animal, " says ", animal_sound)

*Expected Output:
My favorite animal is a dog.
A dog says Woof!

(Outputs will vary based on student's chosen animal and sound.)