Block coding lesson 2: Turning left and right

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: Stand up, face the same way as Myrtle on the screen and act out each block.
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 Myrtle's right the same as your right?”
5. Later that day or the next day: the homework (10 minutes), then a practice test.

Watch out for

• Turning moves Myrtle one square too. A turn only changes which way it faces. Only move forward changes the square.
• Using our left and right instead of Myrtle's. Stand up and face the same way as Myrtle, then turn.

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.