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Lesson plan · Grade 2 · 35 minutes

Loop Garden

I can build a sequence of steps, find and fix a mistake, and use a loop to repeat steps.

▶ Open the tool Download the tool
Standard
E2-ALG-PS-01 CSTA-2026
E2-PRO-PD-04 CSTA-2026
E2-PRO-TR-07 CSTA-2026
Shape
Model, then make
Grouping
Whole class, then small groups taking turns at the board.
You need
The tool on the big screen. Masking tape on the floor in a short line, and six paper "seeds."
Tool
curioclass.org/tools/loop-garden/
  1. Hook5 min
  2. Model9 min
  3. Make12 min
  4. Share5 min
  5. Exit check4 min

Before class

  • Open Garden 1.
  • Make a tape path on the floor with paper seeds every big step, for the unplugged Hook.
  • Stars are saved on this device only. Fewer blocks earn more stars.

Hook 5 min

  1. A child is the gardener on the tape path. The class gives one command at a time: "Step. Plant. Step. Plant..."
  2. After six seeds: "That took a lot of words! Is there a shorter way to say it?"

Model 9 min

  1. Garden 1: point to the seed spot. "How can the gardener get there?" Tap Step, Step, Plant, then Run. Each block lights up while it runs.
  2. Garden 2 has six seeds in a row. Build it the long way first: twelve blocks. Run it.
  3. Now tap Repeat. Tap Step and Plant inside the loop, set the number to 6, and run again. "Three blocks did the work of twelve!"
  4. Show Done with loop, Undo and Clear.

Make 12 min

  1. Before each run, children trace the path with a finger: "Where will the gardener end up?"
  2. Small groups take turns at the board solving the next gardens. Ask: "What part keeps repeating?"
  3. When the gardener bonks into a rock, ask: "Which block was the mistake?" Fix it together. "Finding and fixing it is called debugging."
  4. Groups try to earn three stars by using fewer blocks.

Share 5 min

  1. Open the art garden. It has no seed spots. The class plants a picture with loops.
  2. One group explains their shortest program for a garden.

Exit check 4 min

Draw on the board: Step, Plant, Step, Plant, Step, Plant, Step, Plant. "How would you write this with a loop?" Children hold up fingers for the repeat number (4), then say which blocks go inside (Step and Plant).

Support and stretch

  • Support: build the long way first every time, then find the repeat.
  • Support: act out each program on the tape path before running it.
  • Stretch: go for three stars on every garden.
  • Stretch: "Can you make a loop that draws a square in the art garden?"

Short on time

  • Garden 2 the long way, then with Repeat (7 min).
  • One more garden with a debugging moment (5 min).

How each button works is in the teacher notes. From Curio Class, free under CC BY 4.0: change it, print it, share it.