Block coding lesson 15: Repeat until the star

For parents: how to use this lesson

You don't need to know anything about coding. The lesson explains each step on screen, the way Mr Babbage, our Head of Computing, likes it: watch Myrtle first, then have a go. Programs are made from blocks – no typing – and every answer is marked straight away.

1. Before the screen: Fill a cup "until it is full" with water – how is that different from "pour 5 times"?
2. Press Start the lesson below and watch the worked examples together. Press Run and say what each block does before Myrtle does it.
3. Let your child do the practice on their own. When Myrtle goes the wrong way, that's a clue, not a failure – press Run again and watch which block it is on.
4. Finish with the talk question: “When is repeat until better than repeat 5 times?”
5. Later that day or the next day: the homework (20 minutes), then a practice test.

Watch out for

• Thinking the loop always runs at least once. It checks first. If the condition is already true, it skips straight past.
• Thinking it stops in the middle of the blocks inside. It only checks at the top, before each time round.

Miss Lovelace's tip for home: ask your child to be Myrtle. Read out the blocks and let them walk it on the floor. If they can act it out, they understand it.