Imagine you want to draw fifty identical solid red triangles on your computer. If you had to create each triangle one by one, it would take a lot of time. And if you decided to change them all to blue triangles, you would have to change each one individually. That sounds like a lot of work, right? There must be an easier way!
What if there was a shortcut that allowed you to create one triangle and then use it fifty times? Even better, what if you could change the color of all the triangles by changing just one thing? We can do this by giving our triangle a special name, like “My Triangle.” This name acts like a label for the code that creates the triangle, so whenever you want a triangle, you just use the name “My Triangle.”
The name “My Triangle” is what we call a variable. A variable is a special name that you give to a value, like a triangle, so you can use it over and over again in your program. By using variables, you can make your programs more flexible. This means you can easily change things, like the color or size of your triangles, by changing the value of the variable.
In the next steps, you’ll learn how to define variables that you can use multiple times in your programs. You’ll also discover how to change these variables each time you use them, which makes programming even more exciting and powerful!
So, remember, variables are like magic labels that help you save time and make your programs easier to change. Have fun exploring how they work!
Imagine you are a computer artist! Use paper and colored pencils to draw a triangle. Now, give your triangle a special name, like “My Triangle.” Think about how you could use this name to draw more triangles without starting from scratch each time. Share your ideas with the class!
Let’s play a game! Draw a triangle on a piece of paper and color it red. Now, pretend you have a magic word that can change the color of your triangle. If the magic word is “Blue,” how would you change your triangle? Discuss how using a variable can make this process easier in a computer program.
Write a short story about a character who uses a magic label to change things in their world. How does this magic label help them solve problems? Share your story with a partner and discuss how this relates to using variables in programming.
Go on a variable hunt around your classroom! Look for objects that could be represented by variables, like a “Classroom Chair” or “Teacher’s Desk.” Write down your list and explain why using variables for these objects could be helpful in a computer program.
Imagine you are a computer programmer. Write down a simple set of instructions to create a triangle using a variable. Swap your instructions with a classmate and try to follow their steps to draw the triangle. Discuss how using variables made the instructions easier to follow.
Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:
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Suppose we want to create an image of fifty identical solid red triangles. To do this, you would need to create this evaluation block fifty times. Even more challenging, if you decided you wanted fifty blue triangles instead, you would have to go through and change each block individually. There must be a better way.
What we need is a shortcut, a method to reference our fifty pixel solid red triangle so that we can simply ask for it fifty times. If we wanted to change it, we would only need to do it in one place. We can achieve this by giving our block of code a special name. Let’s call it “My Triangle.” This name serves as shorthand for the block of code that returns our fifty pixel solid red triangle, and we can refer to “My Triangle” whenever we want.
The name “My Triangle” is known as a variable. A variable is a special name assigned to a value so that it can be referenced repeatedly throughout a program. By using variables, you can write programs that are more flexible and return different values depending on the value of your variables.
In the next stage, you’ll define variables that can be used multiple times and change for each use throughout your programs. It gets pretty interesting!
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This version maintains the original meaning while ensuring clarity and professionalism.
Variables – Variables are like containers in a computer program that hold information which can change. – In our coding class, we used variables to store the player’s score in the game.
Triangle – A triangle is a shape with three sides and three corners, often used in computer graphics to create images. – We learned how to draw a triangle on the screen using simple coding commands.
Program – A program is a set of instructions that a computer follows to perform a task. – I wrote a program to make the robot move forward and turn left.
Color – Color is used in computer graphics to make images and text more interesting and easy to understand. – We changed the background color of our webpage to blue.
Name – A name is a label given to a variable or function in a program to identify it. – I gave my variable the name “score” to keep track of points in the game.
Value – A value is the information stored inside a variable. – The value of the variable “score” increased by 10 when I won the level.
Flexible – Flexible means being able to change easily to fit different situations, like how a program can be adjusted to do new things. – Our coding project was flexible enough to work on both tablets and computers.
Change – Change means to make something different, such as updating a program to fix a bug. – I had to change the code to make the character jump higher in the game.
Label – A label is a name or tag given to something in a program to help identify it. – We used a label to show the player’s name on the scoreboard.
Shortcut – A shortcut is a quick way to perform a task in a program, like using a key combination to save a file. – I used the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+S to save my work quickly.
