Python lesson 1: What is programming?
US version. US grades and US spelling. · UK version of this lesson
A program is a list of instructions for a computer. Programming means writing those instructions, and the instructions are called code. A complete 30-minute Python lesson for complete beginners (Grades 6–7), from Unit 1: Getting started. It runs right here in your browser – nothing to install.
- Time
- 30 minutes + 20 min homework
- Grade
- Grades 6–7 (ages 11–12)
- You need
- A computer or tablet, paper and a pencil
- Graded
- Instantly, with explanations
For parents: how to use this lesson
You don't need to know Python yourself. The lesson explains each step on screen, the way Mr Babbage, our Head of Computing, likes it: a worked example first, then a go for your child. Code questions run your child's program in the browser and grade it straight away.
- Read what your child will learn together.
- Press Start the lesson below. Sit with your child for the teaching and the worked example (about 12 minutes): ask them to say what each line does.
- Let them do the practice on their own. When code goes wrong, the error message is a clue – let them read it out and try again before you help.
- Finish with the exit questions and the talk question: “What is one thing a computer needs that a person doesn't, when following instructions?”
- Later that day or the next day: the homework (20 minutes), then a practice test.
Watch out for
- The quote marks are printed too. Run print("Hi") and look: only Hi appears.
- Python reads the whole program at once. Trace it: one line, then the next.
Miss Lovelace's tip for home: ask your child to explain one line of their program to you in their own words. If they can explain it, they understand it – and every error message is a clue, not a failure.
What your child will learn
Learning goal: say what a program is.
Success looks like
- I can say what a program is.
- I can run a program and read its output.
- I can use print() to show a message.
- I can explain that Python runs lines in order, from the top.
Key words
program · code · sequence · print · output · string
What to have ready
- A device with a web browser (the code runs in the browser – nothing to install)
- Paper for tracing
- A keyboard helps for typing code (a tablet or phone works too)
The big ideas (for the adult)
A program is a list of instructions for a computer. Programming means writing those instructions, and the instructions are called code.
Computers are fast but very literal: they do exactly what the code says, in order, from the top. Doing the lines in order is called sequence.
print("Hello, World!") shows Hello, World! on the screen. The quote marks show where the text starts and ends – they are not printed.
Worked example
print("Goodbye!")
print("Good morning, Jade!")
print("I like cherry")It prints:
Goodbye! Good morning, Jade! I like cherry
The lesson, step by step
| Part | Time | How it is checked |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 4 min | Graded by Classfern |
| Teaching input | 6 min | Read, watch and talk |
| See it, then predict | 6 min | Graded by Classfern |
| Put it in order, write it, fix it | 10 min | Graded by Classfern |
| Closure and exit ticket | 4 min | Graded by Classfern + self-check |
The lesson
It runs here on the page. No sign-up and no names – progress is kept only in this browser. Each visit picks a new mix of questions.
Prefer a shorter, hands-on version? Lesson 1 as an interactive page has try-it boxes you can run and change.
Homework
20 minutes: 7 questions – predict what code prints, write or fix a short program, and check the key ideas – then a short reflection. New questions every time, all graded instantly.
Practice tests
Curriculum
CSTA K–12 Computer Science Standards (2017), grades 6–8: 2-AP-10 – Use flowcharts and/or pseudocode to express complex problems as algorithms.
The standard codes are CSTA's; the descriptions are our own words.
Our lessons and questions are our own. They are not written or endorsed by any government department, testing agency or exam board. Python is a registered trademark of the Python Software Foundation; Classfern is not affiliated with or endorsed by it.