Lesson 7: Functions

Often in programming, there are tasks or procedures that are used frequently within the same program. Rather than rewrite the lines of code that perform a particular task each time you need it, you can group that set of instructions together as a function. Grouping frequently used instructions as a function makes your code more efficient. You can write the set of instructions once as a function and from then on simply ‘call’ the function from inside your program whenever you need that task done. A function is usually given a name that describes the task it will perform when called, making your code easier to read, too!

* You can also watch this video here.

Lesson structure

• Overview: Functions
• Unplugged: PB & J
• Minecraft Activity 1: Leap of Faith Mini-Game
• Minecraft Activity 2: Zombie Pig
• Minecraft Activity 3: Burger
• Independent Project: Dream House
• Assessment: Rubric
• Standards: Listed

Lesson plan

1. Overview: Functions
2. Unplugged: PB & J
3. Activity: Leap of Faith Mini-Game
4. Activity: Zombie Pig
5. Activity: Burger
6. Independent Project

Flipgrid

The Flipgrid topic for the Functions lesson: https://flipgrid.com/174577c1

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards

Targeted standards for this lesson:

• 2-AP-13 - Decompose problems and subproblems into parts to facilitate the design, implementation, and review of programs.
• 2-AP-14 - Create procedures with parameters to organize code and make it easier to reuse.
• 3A-CS-01 - Explain how abstractions hide the underlying implementation details of computing systems embedded in everyday objects.
• 3A-AP-13 - Create prototypes that use algorithms to solve computational problems by leveraging prior student knowledge and personal interests.