<aside> 📔 The table below includes coding terms defined in the Ontario math curriculum.
The first column presents the basic definition as found in their official materials.
The second column offers a more comprehensive explanation for educators.
Finally, the third column offers a suggested definition for a grade 3 student.
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| Ontario Curriculum | Educator | Student |
|---|---|---|
| “Representations or models of mathematical situations that use computing concepts and tools to find solutions to problems, automate tasks, visualize data, or simulate events.” | Computational representations are a way of describing objects, ideas, or processes using a language that a computer can understand and process. It's like when we use symbols and numbers to describe a math problem, like "3 x 4 = 12". |
In the same way, a computer uses certain symbols and codes to represent information and perform operations on it. | Computational representations are a way for computers to understand and work with information. Just like you use words and numbers to describe things, computers use special codes and symbols to represent information. These codes and symbols can be used to tell the computer what to do and how to solve problems.
For example, imagine you have a recipe for making cookies. To follow the recipe, you need to read and understand the instructions, measure out ingredients, and perform the steps in a specific order. Similarly, a computer can be given a recipe (in the form of a program) that tells it what to do and how to solve a problem, just like making cookies.
The computer can then use its computational representations to carry out the steps of the recipe and get the desired result, just like you would make the cookies. |
| Ontario Curriculum | Educator | Student |
|---|---|---|
| “An instruction or set of instructions that can be executed by a computer or other device.” | Code is a set of instructions for a computer. Imagine you are giving your grade 3 students instructions on how to solve a math problem, like "2 + 2 = ?" They would write the answer "4." In the same way, a programmer writes code to tell the computer what to do. |
The code is a series of instructions written in a special language that the computer can understand. The computer then follows these instructions to perform tasks, such as displaying a message on the screen, making a website, or playing a game. | Code is like a set of instructions that tell a computer what to do. Think of it like a recipe for making cookies, where each step tells the computer what to do next. Instead of using words and sentences, code uses symbols and numbers that the computer can understand and follow.
For example, you can use code to make a computer display a picture or play a game. Or you can use code to make a website or an app that people can use. When you write code, you are telling the computer exactly what you want it to do, step by step.
Just like learning a new language can help you communicate with people from different countries, learning how to write code can help you communicate with computers and make them do what you want. It's like a secret language that only computers and people who know how to write code can understand. |
| Ontario Curriculum | Educator | Student |
|---|---|---|
| “To run code or a computer program.” | Executing code is the process of making the computer follow the instructions that are written in the code. It's like following a recipe to make a cake. The recipe is the code, and you are the computer, following each step to make the cake. |
When a programmer writes code, they need to run, or execute, the code in order for the computer to perform the tasks described in the code. The computer reads each line of the code, just like you might read each step of a recipe, and follows the instructions. | Executing code means running the set of instructions (the code) that you wrote on a computer. Just like following a recipe to make cookies, executing code means telling the computer to follow the steps you wrote in your code to perform a specific task.
For example, if you wrote a code to make a computer display a message, executing that code would mean that the computer would follow the instructions in the code and show you the message you wanted it to display.
Think of executing code like pushing the play button on a toy. Just like when you push the play button, the toy starts moving and doing what it's supposed to do, when you execute code, the computer starts following the instructions and doing what it's supposed to do. The end result of executing code can be anything from displaying a message or a picture, to playing a game or making a website. |
| Ontario Curriculum | Educator | Student |
|---|---|---|
| “A set of instructions carried out one after another, usually top to bottom or left to right on a screen.” | In mathematics, "sequential events" refer to a series of events or actions that occur in a specific order. In grade 3, students typically learn about sequences of numbers and patterns, where each number in the sequence is determined by a rule that specifies the relationship between consecutive terms. | |
| For example, a student might be asked to identify the next number in a sequence like 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, where each term is obtained by adding 2 to the previous term. This sequence represents a set of sequential events, where the rule "add 2" determines the next term in the sequence based on the previous one. | ||
| In general, sequential events can be used to model a variety of real-life situations, such as the stages of a project, the steps in a process, or the timeline of historical events. By understanding sequential events, students can develop their problem-solving skills and apply mathematical concepts to real-world situations. | Sequential events are things that happen one after another, like the steps in a recipe or the pages in a storybook. Imagine you're making a cake, you first have to mix the ingredients, then you have to pour the batter into a pan, then you put it in the oven to bake, and so on. |
Each of these steps is a sequential event because they happen in a specific order. Just like when you're reading a story, you start at the beginning and read page by page until you reach the end. These are all examples of sequential events. |
| Ontario Curriculum | Educator | Student |
|---|---|---|
| “Two or more events that occur at the same time.” | In mathematics, "concurrent events" refer to events or actions that occur at the same time, rather than in a specific order. In grade 3, students typically learn about basic concepts of time and measurement, and they may encounter situations where multiple events occur simultaneously. | |
| For example, a student might be asked to compare the time it takes to complete two tasks, such as running a race and counting to 100. These events are concurrent because they are happening at the same time, even though they have different start and end points. | ||
| In general, understanding concurrent events is an important part of developing students' spatial reasoning and measurement skills, as well as their ability to think about multiple events or processes happening simultaneously. By exploring concurrent events, students can develop a more intuitive understanding of the relationship between time and motion, and apply these concepts in real-world contexts. | Concurrent events" are things that happen at the same time, like when you're playing with your friends and your family is making dinner in the kitchen. Even though you're playing and your family is cooking, both things are happening at the same time. These are called "concurrent events" because they occur at the same time, not one after the other. | |
| Imagine you're having a picnic with your friends and you want to play a game and eat your lunch at the same time. While one person is playing the game, the others can be eating their lunch. Even though each person is doing a different thing, they are all happening at the same time, which makes them "concurrent events. |
| Ontario Curriculum | Educator | Student |
|---|---|---|
| “Something that happens over and over again. In coding, loops are used to repeat instructions.” | In mathematics, "repeating events" refer to events or actions that occur repeatedly in a pattern or sequence. In grade 3, students typically learn about patterns and repeating events as a way to help them understand the structure of mathematical concepts like numbers, shapes, and sequences. | |
| For example, a student might be asked to identify a repeating pattern in a series of shapes, such as circles, triangles, and squares. This repeating pattern represents a set of repeating events, where each shape in the pattern is determined by the same rule. | ||
| In general, repeating events are an important part of developing students' ability to recognize and describe patterns, as well as their ability to make predictions based on these patterns. By exploring repeating events, students can build a solid foundation for more advanced mathematical concepts, such as algorithms, functions, and sequence. | Repeating events" are things that happen over and over again in the same way, like the days of the week or the seasons of the year. Imagine you go to school every day, Monday through Friday. Every day you wake up, eat breakfast, go to school, have lunch, play with your friends, and then come home and do homework. This is a repeating event because it happens in the same way, every day, over and over again. | |
| Or, think about the seasons of the year. Every year, we have spring, summer, fall, and winter. These seasons repeat every year, and each season has its own unique weather and activities. These are also examples of repeating events. | ||
| Repeating events can help us understand and remember things that happen regularly and help us plan for them in the future. |