These plans are for the adults running the lessons.
Four lessons that teach children to code for themselves, alongside the Make Day labs where Make Day AI writes the code. The course and the challenges check themselves, and you see every child's progress in 🎓 Learning progress.
Each lesson is mapped to the computing programmes of study in the national curriculum in England.
| Key stage 1 | Understand what algorithms are and that programs run by following precise instructions; create and debug simple programs; use logical reasoning to predict what simple programs will do. Lessons 1 and 2. |
| Key stage 2 | Design, write and debug programs; use sequence and repetition; work with variables; use logical reasoning to explain how simple algorithms work and to find and correct errors. Lessons 1, 3 and 4. |
Children will: write a list of exact instructions (an algorithm), follow it like a computer, and fix it when it goes wrong.
Words to use: algorithm, instruction, sequence, bug, debug, repeat.
You need: the arrow cards and a 6 × 6 grid (both on the last pages: print one set per group), or a grid of masking tape on the floor; a few counters for stars.
| 5 min | One adult is the robot. Children call out "walk to the door". The robot does exactly what it hears and nothing more: it walks into the wall. Why? Computers only do exactly what they're told. |
| 10 min | Show the cards: ⬆️ step, ↰ turn left, ↱ turn right. A turn stays on the spot. Place a star on the grid. Together, lay cards in a line to get the robot to it. Walk it through card by card. |
| 15 min | In groups: one child is the robot (a counter on the paper grid, or a child on a floor grid), one is the programmer, one checks. Place a star and a rock. Write the program with cards first, then run it. If it goes wrong, find the card that's wrong (debug), not start again. Swap roles. |
| 5 min | Older children: "step, step, step, step" takes four cards. Introduce 🔁 repeat ×4 [ step ]. Who can reach the star with the fewest cards? |
| 5 min | Share one bug a group found and how they fixed it. |
Support: no rocks, star in a straight line. Stretch: two stars, then a program that uses a repeat inside a repeat.
Children will: build a sequence of blocks, predict what Pip will do, run it, and debug it. Faster children meet repeat.
Before: type the class code on each tablet. On the lab's first screen, children press 🤖 Learn to code with Pip and choose 🧩 Blocks.
| 5 min | On the board, show Learning progress → 🔑 Solutions → level 1 with 📺. Pip walks the way its eye looks. Ask: how many steps to the star? |
| 25 min | Children work through levels 1 to 6 at their own pace. Tap a block to add it, tap it in the program to take it out, press ▶ Run. If Pip bumps into a rock, ⟲ Start again. 💡 Hint gives a clue. Watch the progress page: a red box means a child has tried 5 times or more, so go and help. |
| 5 min | Level 5 on the board: four sides that are all the same. Show 🔁 Repeat ×4 and how it saves blocks. Stars on each level show how short the program is. |
| 5 min | Ask two children to explain a bug they fixed. |
Support: work in pairs with one child pointing the way on the board. Stretch: carry on to levels 7 to 12, or switch to ⌨️ Code.
Assessment: the progress page marks each level automatically: done or not, tries, hints and time. Print it or ⬇️ Download marks for your records. Every child who finishes all 12 gets a 🏅 certificate to print.
Children will: type real code (it looks like JavaScript), read error messages, use repeat and for loops, and make programs shorter.
Before: children open 🤖 Learn to code with Pip and choose ⌨️ Code. The commands are on screen: step(3), turnLeft(), turnRight(), repeat(4) { … } and for (let i = 0; i < 4; i++) { … }.
| 5 min | Show level 2's solution on the board. Point out the brackets: step(2) calls a function with a number. Capital letters and brackets matter: computers are fussy. |
| 10 min | Levels 1 to 4 on their own. When the code has a mistake, the lab says which line and what's wrong. Read the message before asking for help. |
| 15 min | Levels 5 to 9: repeat. Then show the same loop written as a for loop: both work. Level 9 needs a repeat inside a repeat. |
| 10 min | Levels 10 to 12 for the fastest. For the rest, pick one level they've done and get it down to 3 stars. |
| 5 min | Two children read out their code for the same level. Which is easier to read? Which is shorter? Then show the one on the progress page. |
Support: start in 🧩 Blocks, then switch to Code for the same level. Stretch: solve level 12 with loops instead of the long version.
Children will: read the real code Make Day AI wrote for their own game, change variables, strings and colours, add a comment, and fix a hidden bug.
Before: each child has a creation open in the lab (one they built, or one remixed from the Arcade). They open 🧠 Learn and find 🎯 Coding challenges.
| 5 min | On the board, open a creation and press 👀 Code. Show the TWEAKS line: these are variables, names that hold a value. The sliders change them. |
| 25 min | Challenges 1 to 6 at their own pace: find TWEAKS, change a value, change a max, rename a label (a string), change a colour code, write a comment. Each one checks itself when they press ▶ Run my code. |
| 10 min | Challenge 7: the lab hides a bug in their code (a missing .value). Things move strangely or not at all. Explain NaN, "not a number". They find it and fix it. ↩️ Undo always brings the working version back. |
| 5 min | Who changed something that surprised them? What did the code say before and after? |
Support: use 💡 Hint and 👉 Show me where. Stretch: use ✏️ Edit to change something no challenge asked for, then explain it to a partner.
Print, cut out, and give each group 8 steps, 4 of each turn and 2 repeats.
Draw a star ⭐ and a rock in two squares, put the robot counter on the 🤖, and decide which way it faces.