What does a python have to do with a turtle?
I love teaching Python to kids! And it's super easy (and fun) to do. Did you know that Python is alive and well in your Apple computer right now? Just use your search key to bring up Terminal. At the prompt, type "python" (without the quotation marks) and zoom! There it is!
Type this! Ignore that little grey underline. :/
Just type this
If you type exactly what this picture shows...exactly the way it appears, you now have a window open that has a little blue turtle in the middle of it! (I always name my turtles short names because of the number of times I will have to type that name. So, go ahead and name your turtle engelberthumperdinck if you want to...)
See how logical the coding is?
You can make your turtle draw
Python has very logical words attached to it so even your littler kids can use it. Just type what you see in this box and you will see your turtle draw in his own color. Notice that the number that goes with "forward" is in pixels but the number that goes with the turn ("right") is in degrees.
And, zoom! Your students have a fun, cute drawing they made with their own coding!
This is such a great entry project
Once your students have these basic rules down, they can Turtle-draw all sorts of shapes. Typing with precision is important because Python is not going to understand something that is not exactly what it is looking for. Luckily, the turtle doesn't implode when it gets an unknown command. It just doesn't move.
I found a simple youtube channel for lessons. If you are interested in teaching yourself some Python and then teaching it to your students, click on the Learn More button below. Happy Coding!