Students build a shark-exploration game with up/down controls, looping and randomized shark movement, collision-based game over, and a final debugging pass.
Pacing
3 classes · 120 min
Grade
Grade 7
Coding
Intermediate
Students codePlayer ActionsCollisionOn Page StartSequence
Opens a private practice project in the Studio — no account needed.
How does careful observation replace fear with understanding?
Students will be able to
Understand basic movement, the pixel coordinate system, and pixel usage in coding.
Design a game reflecting the marine environment inspired by "Shark Lady."
Code animations and use number variables for random positions.
Implement collision detection for a game-over condition.
Key vocabulary
ichthyologistlaboratoryreef
Assessment
Formative
Use milestone checks, organizer responses, and daily test evidence to guide feedback.
Summative
The title and marine design connect the movement challenge to shark exploration without reinforcing inaccurate monster stereotypes. Up/down controls, looping movement, random placement, collision, and game-over behavior work consistently across repeated plays.
The student journey
From reading to an interactive project
Elementari is a browser-based tool for creating illustrated, interactive stories and projects. Students plan their writing in the Student Kit, then add it to a digital project in the editor, called Studio.
1
📖
Read
The reading provides background knowledge or a model of writing for students to draw on. The lesson plan explains its connection to the project.
📖The Scientist Who Taught a Shark to Ring a Bell
In the 1950s, at a small marine laboratory in Florida, a lemon shark swam up to a white target, pressed it with its snout, and waited. Food arrived. The shark had learned the trick — press the target, get dinner — and it remembered the tric…
Students use the Student Kit's storyboard to plan and draft their project. Choose High Support, Guided Support, or Independent to adjust the writing scaffolds.
Student mission
Build an ocean explorer game where your diver visits the sharks' own world.
2Student Kit · sneak peek
High Support
By ___
Key Words from the Passageichthyologistlaboratoryreef
Glossary a kid-friendly definition for every key term
In the studio, students bring the project to life — adding art and following the exact writing and coding steps shown below. The Studio Compass walks them through it, one step at a time.
🧭Studio CompassStep 1 / 11
Introduction and Pre-Coding 📚
View the example Shark Lady Game project. Use the Coding Blocks Handout ( PDF or google doc ) to see what coding blocks are needed to code your game.
Key words — tap to learnobject block
Each step checks off & advances on its own
All 11 studio steps · dynamic to the project
1Introduction and Pre-Coding 📚
2Game Start Menu 🚀
3Designing the Scene 🎨
4Coding Character Movement 🕹️ Up
5Coding Character Movement 🕹️ Down
6Programming Shark Movement 🦈
7Looping Shark Movement 🦈
8Randomizing the Y Variable 🎲
9Creating the Game Over Page ❌
10Setting Up the Collision Trigger 💥
11Testing and Debugging 🛠️
4
🔁
Polish
ongoing
Teacher and peer feedback pin right onto the project — students revise until it's ready to share.
Feedback on the project2 pins
🍎
Add one more sentence here so readers get the full picture.
👍 2Teacher
A
The interaction is clear — it helps the reader follow the project!
Students finish and test their projects. Work submitted through a class goes to the teacher for review; publishing a project makes it public with a shareable link.
Open these resources as web pages, then use Print to print them or save a PDF. The Student Kit supports the writing; Studio provides the on-screen build steps.
A couple of things to gather, a few quick steps to prep — then you're ready to hand it to students.
What you need
One device per student or pair
Internet connection
Student Kit or printed organizer
Coding Blocks
A device per student or pair
Prep before class
1Preview the designated builder story.
2Review the ordered milestones and Student Kit.
3Decide whether students work independently or in pairs.
Teacher background
What you need to know
Key terms
ichthyologist
a scientist who studies fish
laboratory
a place where scientists run experiments
reef
a ridge of rock or coral near the ocean surface, full of sea life
Watch for these misconceptions
✕
The Down control moves up or the labels do not match the coded direction. →Test each button alone and record the starting and ending y-position.
✕
Random sharks appear where collision is unavoidable or outside the playable area. →Constrain and test the y-range at its minimum, maximum, and several random values.
Standards alignment
Aligned to the standards you teach
Every task maps to a specific standard, so planning and reporting are covered.
Tracking 7 frameworks: Common Core ELA, Common Core Math, NGSS +4
CCSS · ELA10CSTA10ISTE11AASL34 frameworks · 34 standards · DOK 3
CCSS · ELA
Common Core State Standards — English Language Arts
10 standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.5
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.7
Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related questions when appropriate.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.8
Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes, categorize information, and provide a list of sources.
Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts, or solving authentic problems.
ISTE 1.4.c
Students develop, test, and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.
ISTE 1.6.d
Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.
ISTE 1.5.d
Students understand how automation works and use algorithmic thinking to develop a sequence of steps to create and test automated solutions.
Also addressedISTE 1.3.a · ISTE 1.3.b · ISTE 1.1.c · ISTE 1.6.b · ISTE 1.6.c · ISTE 1.5.c · ISTE 1.3.d
AASL
AASL National School Library Standards
3 standards
AASL I.A.1
Learners display curiosity and initiative by formulating questions about a personal interest or a curricular topic.
Also addressedAASL I.B.1 · AASL I.B.3
Full task-by-task mapping — including Depth of Knowledge — is in the answer key.
Differentiation & accessibility
Choose the writing support
These are the three support options in the Student Kit. Choose the scaffolds students need while keeping the same project.
High Support
More writing scaffolds
Sentence frames break the response into manageable parts
Supplied words and ideas help students get started
Students still have space to write their responses
Guided Support
A starting point for writing
Task prompts and selected sentence starters
Writing cues and word banks where supplied
Space to develop each response
Independent
Less scaffolding
The same project and required writing tasks
Open response space without the support frames
Students develop their own wording
Accessibility, built inPredictable step-by-step structureOne task at a time · Studio CompassHighlighted response areasLow-stimulation printMovement-friendly pacingDesigned so every student can design, write, and code — with ADHD, autism, and dyslexia in mind.
Questions
Teacher FAQ
Do I — or my students — need to know how to code?
No prior coding knowledge is required to start. Students follow on-screen build steps in Studio. Coding difficulty describes the project's complexity; teachers may still need to help students test and revise. The lesson plan supports teaching, and the Answer Key provides sample writing responses.
How long does this lesson take?
About 80, paced into 45-minute class periods. You can spread it out or compress it — students pick up where they left off, so it doesn't have to finish in one sitting.
What devices does this lesson work on?
Use a Chromebook, laptop, desktop or tablet with a modern browser and an internet connection. The project editor does not support phones. Try the build on your class devices before teaching.
What is Studio Compass?
Studio Compass is the step-by-step guide inside the Studio. It shows students what to do next, identifies the exact coding blocks they need, and confirms completed milestones so they can keep moving independently.
How does this lesson support different learners?
The Student Kit has High Support, Guided Support and Independent writing profiles. They change the amount of scaffolding for the same project. Choose a profile in the kit before printing, and use the lesson plan's differentiation suggestions.
Ready when you are
Bring this lesson to your class
Import your class, assign in one click, and watch them build — the whole kit comes with it.
