Python Programming | Beginner | Coding for Ages 8-12

In this course, we will learn how to program in python from the ground up. From the very beginning steps into programming (the basics of Python) to more complicated programs, we will build up the skills to make our own programs and learn to code. Weekly modules will cover different topics, and scaffold skills so we are able to build more complex programs and think of new ways to solve coding challenges.  Each module will have an overview of the topic we are going to cover, activities and games to learn, build on, and reinforce concepts. We will cover the basics of programming, learn about variables, and ways to store and use information in lists, dictionaries, tuples, and other structures. We will also learn about conditional statements to sort data, and user input and loops. The course will focus on fun and interesting examples to help students understand concepts that can be applied elsewhere.

Course modules will cover:
Module 1: Introduction to Python
We will talk about variables, and work on programs to explore variables, strings, integers, and floats. We will also build a dog age calculator and work on different ways to join and print strings.

Module 2: Lists
We will do a deep dive into the world of lists and build programs that draw from lists including a changing story based on random selections from the contents of lists.

Module 3: Loops
Our first examination of for loops and the ways we can use them with variables and lists to make things run over and over again without needed extra lines of code. 

Module 4: Conditional Statements
Conditional statements will let us sort though data, and we will use if/elif/else statements to sort through data, play a game against the computer, and organize our data by condition

Module 5: Dictionaires 
Once we have covered the basics, we will work on the next data type in python, dictionaries. These let us store more complex kinds of data, and organize our code in key and value pairs. We will also talk about OOP or Object Oriented Programming and JSON

Module 6: User Input and While Loops
Up until now we have been writing programs that we supply the data for, now we will learn new methods for users to supply data. This can be used to build chatbots, customize our programs, and collect user input. We will also talk about our second type of loop, while loops which run based on a condition.

Module 7: Functions
In module 7 we will learn how to create our own functions and build programs by connecting files and functions together.

Module 8: Text Based Game
Using the many topics we have covered to this point, we will build a text based game using functions, variables, and a game map. We will discuss how to create pathways for players to follow, and use their input to navigate the game. 

Module 9: Connecting Data from an API
In this module, we will connect to the weather and space API (application programming interface) so our programs will use live data to run. This means we can build some really neat programs that use live data.

Module 10: Turtle, Final Wrap-up and Beyond 
In our final module, we will work on some other neat things Python can do, like turtle, to create graphics and images. We will also work on creating graphs from some of our data, and reviewing what we covered in the course and how topics connect together.