There is a lot of power in reading aloud picture books to teach concepts like coding.

For one, picture books are engaging. I mean, who doesn’t like a good story? And even better, who doesn’t like having a good story read to them? I’m an adult and I read more audio books today than paper books. I love being read to! And it’s no different for our little learners!

‘If you want a quick way to teach a big idea, picture books are your BFF. They pack a lot of punch in a little package. Most picture books have 32 total pages. In about 10 minutes, you can read aloud and teach decomposition.

Fun characters in fantastical settings and situations also make it easier for students to connect to content. They can engage with the character without bringing attention to themselves. Or pointing out something they may struggle with.

Sequencing in coding is really no different than sequencing in reading and writing. It is putting pieces of code in order. What comes first, second, third, etc. Students need to be able to do this when creating their own algorithms.

Any great book you already use to teach sequencing in other content areas is also perfect when teaching sequences in code. But one of my favorites to use is my childhood fave The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Loops are when your code repeats. For example, your sprite may move up and left 4x. Loops are a great tool for writing more efficient code. Instead of writing up, left, up, left, up, left over and over instead, you put up and left inside of a loop block.

Students are very familiar with loops in song, dance, and math. Let’s not forget about books! So many books for young readers include loops.

A kid favorite that teaches loops is Pete The Cat I Love My White Shoes. A catchy and fun book. As a matter of fact…one of my prek kiddos was wearing brand new white shoes today, and the kids busted out in the song!

The simplest definition of a variable is something that changes. I like to tell the kids how they see me wearing the same hoodie dress everyday. The variable that changes is the color.

Yup. I have it in 4 colors! Don’t ask. I have a thing for hoodies.

I digress. I love the book Dear Zoo as a way to introduce variables. The animals and problem with the animal are the variables in this book.

There are so many great books, but this one has sentimental value.

It really brings me back to my son was little and we read it a gazillion times. Plus…I also use it when I teach the kids how to make a stop motion video.

We have all experienced conditionals at some point in our lives. Conditionals are cause and effect relationships.

For example, IF there are dark clouds, THEN it will rain. In coding conditionals look more like IF you see the triangle, THEN move right.

Again, so many great picture books to choose from. For a good laugh and lots of sillies definitely go for The Napping House.

We roll on the floor laughing and learn about conditionals at the same time!

I have a hard core dinosaur lover in my house. And even if I didn’t, dinosaurs are a fan favorite with early learners.

So what better book to teach debugging that Tiny Rex and the Impossible Hug? NONE!

This precious dinosaur is engaged in all kinds of problem solving to find a way to hug his friend.

And well. All programmers, no matter how old, need to problem solve!

When choosing picture books to teach coding, they don’t have to be about coding! It just has to teach the concept or skill. This gives you a wide range of books to choose from!

Because the book doesn’t explicitly teach the coding skill you have to be very direct with students. Tell them what to pay attention to. You’ll also guide them to connect the story or story elements to the coding concept.

A great feature of read alouds is how interactive they are. Many early picture books are interactive. When they don’t directly have the children do something, have the kids act out parts, engage in turn & talks, and asking probing questions to get them thinking about the content.

After reading the book, find concrete ways to teach the coding skill. This strengthens students’ understanding of the concept. For ideas on this, be sure to check out these unplugged activities.

Read alouds are an excellent tool for scaffolding coding concepts. But be sure to also give students hands on coding activities to drive the skill home!

And last, celebrate students’ successes with coding! High 5s and cheers are great to celebrate student progress. And I’ve recently discovered that students love showing off their skills. This is why I let them choose how to celebrate their success with coding brag tags & bracelets.