Way back when, in the days when I was in junior high school, computer science consisted of 40 minutes in the learning resource center, sitting in front of what are now, old-fashioned gigantic computers with the screens that had that greenish hue, typing in the most basic of instructions. It felt so modern, hee hee. Unlike today, there weren't computers in every home back then, and computer science was not necessarily touted as an important part of education. These days, our kids are tech savvy from the time they're preschoolers, and even younger! Computer science is a standard class now, and not only the norm, but integral throughout a student's studies. As such, parents and teachers have a need for curriculum and resources to teach the subject. Workman Publishing provides such help. Their book, Everything You Need to Ace Computer Science and Coding in One Big Fat Notebook , presents the basics needed to get started in this subject.
This is a sturdy book, a cross between a hard and soft cover. The content has been put together for the middle school grades, with a style that mimics the "smartest kid in the class' " notebook. The illustrations, drawn to look like a student's doodlings, are whimsical, colorful, and make the book visually appealing. There are 566 pages in the book, divided into 8 Units. They are:
Unit 1 - Computing Systems
Unit 2- Data and Analysis
Unit 3 - Software Engineering
Unit 4 - Algorithms and Programming
Unit 5 - Universal Programming Principles
Unit 6 - Programming with Scratch
Unit 7 - Programming in Python
Unit 8 - Web Development
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| The book's style is that of a student's notebook |
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| Boxed in sections present material in a concise manner |
Each Unit is made up of several chapters, sometimes more than several. The format of this book proves that computer science does not need to be dry and longwinded. The information is well organized, straightforward, and...interesting! A color coded system makes finding what you need, easy. Vocabulary words are highlighted in yellow. Prominent people, dates, terms, places, etc., are written in blue. Main ideas are underlined. Side notes are featured in colorful blocks. Each Unit has its own color, so if you lose your place, you can see at a glance where to go. There is plenty of information provided, but the pages are not crowded with too much text, so students won't feel overwhelmed with the content. The end of each chapter has a Check Your Knowledge section where you answer a set of questions from the lesson. An answer key for those questions is also provided.
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| Vocabulary words are highlighted in yellow, other important facts presented in blocks |
Definitions are underlined
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The title of this book declares itself to be "The Complete Guide to Middle School Study Guide". Honestly though, this is a great resource for any student, whether older child, teen, or adult, who is interested in computer science. Don't let the playful style of the book fool you into thinking that this book is less informative than a typical textbook. Who says that learning has to be boring, black and white text?
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| Little quizzes provided at the end of each chapter |
My 14 year old freshman has been using this book, and she felt that it was still challenging enough for many high school students as well as middle schoolers. We've made it through just about 5 Units this far, only 3 to go! We'll be moving on to programming with scratch, python, and then web development. Do we like this book? Will we use it? Yes, we do, and yes we will. Our family has been a fan of this company's Everything You Need To...books, for a long time, and this is a great volume to add to the collection. Whether you have a computer newbie, or have it all down, this is a great addition to your school library.
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