Age 4 - Grade 3 Sample Courses


The following is a glimpse into the CTD curriculum, featuring just a


few of our current or upcoming courses offered in-person and/or online. CTD offers hundreds of courses each year! You can search all courses by visiting CTD’s online EXPLORE COURSES TOOL at ctd.northwestern.edu/courses.


Tangible Programming: Coding with your Hands (K - Grade 1)


How do you control a robot without written code? Students develop coding and spatial reasoning skills while using colorful, interactive block commands and hands-on tools. Gain practice with testing and debugging original programs while engaging with various robots like Primo Cubetto or Botley. Fundamental computer science concepts such as symbols and algorithms are explored through dramatic play, construction, engineering and storytelling. During this course, students will:


Compare and contrast how humans and computers operate, and the limitations of robots


Understand key computer science terms, such as sequence and algorithm Develop skills and apply tools for representing code in different ways


CTD PATHWAY: In this course, students develop key computational thinking and computer science background knowledge. They learn the importance of commands, sequencing, and logic in designing increasingly advanced programs. This introductory course builds foundational knowledge required for more advanced robotics, coding, and engineering courses.


Deep Water Dive (Age 4)


What makes ocean creatures different from the animals that live on land? Young marine biologists dive into the wonderful underwater world to learn about animals and habitats from shallow waters to the deep sea. Through hands-on activities, dramatic play, and literature, students explore the oceans and make connections between their lives and the aquatic life on our planet. During this course, students will:


Listen to and/or read literature about what life is like under the water


Make and record (through emergent writing, dictation or drawings) observations of aquatic animals and the oceans they live in


Engage in dramatic play to explore how sea animals move through and thrive in their underwater habitats


CTD PATHWAY: This course provides opportunities for playful exposure to life sciences. Skills in asking questions, identifying important ideas, drawing conclusions, and making connections between their own lives and the natural world are excellent foundations for ongoing study across content areas, including the earth, physical, and biological sciences.


Young Author’s Workshop (Grades 1-2)


How do great authors and storytellers hold the reader’s interest? Budding authors develop original narratives and performances in this active class. By experiencing award-winning children’s literature, and analyzing images and videos of skilled storytellers and actors in action, students create their own unique works. Independent and collaborative exercises focus on dramatic play, creative writing, storytelling and performance. Join other aspiring young writers to produce original stories and share them for an audience using a writer’s workshop format to practice strengthening your writing through peer feedback. During this course, students will:


Analyze and discuss setting, plot, and characterization in literature


Apply elements of the creative writing process to write an original fiction story


Employ storytelling techniques that authors use to bring their words to life in written and oral formats


Learn and practice skills needed to constructively offer and receive feedback with others about their writing through weekly writer’s workshops


60+


unique courses offered for students


age 4-grade 3 16


CTD PATHWAY: This course exposes students to what makes words meaningful and allows them to see themselves as writers in preparation for more specialized English language arts courses, such as scientific writing, poetry, or persuasion.


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