Coding in the Classroom | Webinar – Primary Coding and Mathematics

By: Lisa Anne Floyd

The following webinar was presented on Wednesday, April 7th, 2021.

Join Lisa Anne Floyd as she shares math and coding ideas that can be incorporated into primary classrooms.Guiding questions, ScratchJr code examples and possible assessment tasks will be highlighted as the curriculum expectations for grades 1-4 are explored. The goal of this webinar is to build teachers’ understanding and confidence with connecting to the Algebra expectations (Coding Skills, Patterns and Relationships) in the new Grades 1-8 Mathematics Curriculum.

The recording of this webinar is below:

School boards might find it helpful to share this link with educators as part of professional development. Classroom teachers and Educational Assistants may find these resources useful for their teaching practice.


Resources shared in the webinar


The key components highlighting the continuum of learning in the specific expectations for grades 1-4 can be seen below. We have also shared key links and resources that are shared during the webinar below. These resources compliment the ideas and tips presented in the webinar.

An image of code for sequential, concurrent, repeated and nested events.

The examples shown are from the app ScratchJr, which is free on iPads, tablets and chromebooks. A beta computer download version can be found here.
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During the webinar, Lisa Anne Floyd walked us through coding examples that focus on the specific curriculum expectations for each grade. Videos demonstrating how these examples can be created in ScratchJr are found below:

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Grade 1 - Sequential Events:

Grade 2 - Concurrent Events:

Grade 3 - Repeating Events:

Grade 4 - Nested Events:

Teachers may share the code for a pattern they created in ScratchJr and ask their students to describe the repeated portion of the pattern:

An image of prorgamming code that represents a pattern.

Likewise, teachers may show the animated pattern without the code, and ask students to recreate their pattern using code in ScratchJr or indicate what the potential code might be.

Slides containing potential code examples, guiding questions and possible assessment tools for students are shared and explained during the webinar. These slides can be found here.

An image showing question cards taht could be used in the classroom.

A sample “task sheet” for grade 1 students that might support assessment is also provided and can be found here.


Finally, a link to printable ScratchJr blocks is shared. It is recommended that before printing, the number values are deleted so the cards can be laminated and edited with a whiteboard marker as the cards are shared with students.


Thank you for viewing this webinar. Hopefully, this provides you with a solid starting point to explore the new curriculum expectations in primary. There is so much more you can do, and with experience and time, you will continue to learn and build your confidence with coding in mathematics.


If you have any questions, please connect with Lisa Anne: [email protected] or Maureen: [email protected] or [email protected]


Be sure to check our Junior Math and Coding webinar.


Keep in mind, we are always looking to create and share resources that support educators in Ontario. If you have a request or an idea, please let us know!

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