Computational, model thinking and computer coding for U.S. Common Core Standards with 6 to 12 year old students

The United States (U.S.) is going through a preschool through 12th grade education transition to Common Core State Standards (CCSS), initially English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics (Math). Computational and model thinking can lead to a practice of computer coding where many of the necessary shifts in learning the ELA and Math standards can be incorporated. A new initiative by Paradise Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) to teach coding to K-8 students, and the requisite computational/model thinking through CCSS activities and lesson plans is provided. Three Gifted Education teachers (1st/2nd grades, 3rd/4th grades, 5th/6th grades) and the Information Technology Director articulate and showcase some explorations of teaching computer coding. The teachers and their students have been exposed to a variety of computational/model thinking activities and web portals/platforms (e.g., Codecademy, Scratch, App Inventor, Khan Academy, etc.), IOS/Android Apps, and web sites as listed at http://ccc.pvlearners.net. All students have access to tablets, Chromebooks, and TelePresence units to facilitate their creation and collaboration in coding.