Lesson 7: Functions
Often in programming, there are tasks or procedures that are used frequently within the same program. Rather than rewrite the lines of code that perform a particular task each time you need it, you can group that set of instructions together as a function. Grouping frequently used instructions as a function makes your code more efficient. You can write the set of instructions once as a function and from then on simply ‘call’ the function from inside your program whenever you need that task done. A function is usually given a name that describes the task it will perform when called, making your code easier to read, too!
* You can also watch this video here.
Lesson structure
- Overview: Functions
- Unplugged: PB & J
- Minecraft Activity 1: Leap of Faith Mini-Game
- Minecraft Activity 2: Zombie Pig
- Minecraft Activity 3: Burger
- Independent Project: Dream House
- Assessment: Rubric
- Standards: Listed
Lesson plan
- Overview: Functions
- Unplugged: PB & J
- Activity: Leap of Faith Mini-Game
- Activity: Zombie Pig
- Activity: Burger
- Independent Project
Flipgrid
The Flipgrid topic for the Functions lesson: https://flipgrid.com/174577c1
CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards
Targeted standards for this lesson:
- 2-AP-13 - Decompose problems and subproblems into parts to facilitate the design, implementation, and review of programs.
- 2-AP-14 - Create procedures with parameters to organize code and make it easier to reuse.
- 3A-CS-01 - Explain how abstractions hide the underlying implementation details of computing systems embedded in everyday objects.
- 3A-AP-13 - Create prototypes that use algorithms to solve computational problems by leveraging prior student knowledge and personal interests.