[Edu-sig] CP4E

[Anna Martelli Ravenscroft]

Kirby Urner wrote:
> So I'm thinking more about CP4E and how that might look in the early grades.
> What if you're not in math class, not in a CS or preCS class of any kind.
> Still, you might get mileage out of Python.
> 
> Scenario:  what a lot of kids do in early grades is memorize some states and
> capitals.  In the USA, that often involves the 50 states, maybe the odd
> protectorate or whatever.  In the EU, I imagine it's similar.  In any case,
> geography begets data structures.  We could do this stuff with dictionaries.
> 
> Fifth grade assignment:  use Google or other search engine to find some data
> file containing 50 US states and their capitals; download to your local
> drive; write a Python program to snarf this data into a dictionary.  Write a
> short quiz loop to ask yourself the capitals.  Could be sixth grade,
> whatever.
> 
> The point is:  we're always dealing with alphanumeric data, in structures.
> Yes, this is how to introduce XML as well, but I'm not suggesting we should
> only care about that.  Python is blessed with VHLL data structures, and
> mixing them (a list of dictionaries of tuples) etc. is completely logical --
> don't need to get with the Perl references and pointers way of thinking
> (because that's how you're thinking anyway).  Indexing into a list with an
> integer, or into a mapping with a key word, is what I'd call a "paradigm
> academic experience" -- so why not do it in Python?
> 
> Following my own advice (5th grade assignment):
> http://www.w3.org/2000/10/swap/test/dbork/data/USRegionState.daml 
> http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0763765.html
> 
> As the teacher, I'd probably just parse through either of these to generate
> a very simple plaintext version, 2-column e.g.
> 
> state capital
> state capital
> ...

According to my 12 year-old son who is in 6th grade:
I think it would be a better way to learn geography but not all kids 
know python.Some haven't even HEARD about python but learning it would 
speed up learning about geography too.

Anyways - that's his take on it. ;-)

Personally, I think it's a great suggestion. I know that flashcards can 
be useful, but creating your own game to learn stuff is even better. You 
get something you can use a lot in the future - anytime you have 
something you need to practice (songs, lines of a play, whatever), you 
could use this technique.

I've used file parsing a fair bit already - and I'm not a programmer 
either. Just somebody who uses python to get stuff done.

Anna