- Welcome to CodeCombat Junior!
- Step 1: Create Your Class
- Step 2: Add Your Students
- Step 3: Explore the Curriculum
- Ready, Set, Code!
- Resources to Enhance Your School Year
Welcome to CodeCombat Junior!
CodeCombat Junior is an adventure game designed specifically for elementary-aged students. With this platform, your students will learn to guide their heroes through logical puzzles with block-based programming and the foundations of computational thinking. The platform's adaptive learning technology automatically identifies students who are struggling, and provides them with the additional levels they need to practice. Additionally, CodeCombat Junior is aligned to popular English Language Arts and mathematics standards so that your students can see how useful their CS skills are throughout core subject areas. With our unique approach, students embrace learning CS from an early age, as they play and more importantly, develop a growth mindset.
Use this Getting Started Guide to get started with CodeCombat Junior! If you need support or have any questions, please contact support@codecombat.com for assistance.
Step 1: Create Your Class
Log into your CodeCombat teacher account to view the Teacher Dashboard. This is where you can create classes, enroll students in a particular CodeCombat platform, and monitor their progress in a particular course.
You can create your first class in the Teacher Dashboard by clicking on "Add New Class" in the upper-right corner of the web page:
A form will appear. Enter the details that you would like this class to have. In order to have students start in CodeCombat Junior, you will need to select "Junior" as the initial course:
You will be able to choose from a few code formats when you create for your first CodeCombat Junior class. We recommend that pre-readers start with the "Blocks (Icons)" format. If your students are more experienced readers but are new to coding, we recommend either "Blocks" or "Blocks and Code". The "Blocks and Code" option can be found below:
"Blocks" looks similar to this but does not show the text equivalents on the left side. You can always change the type of code your students use later in the course.
When you are satisfied with the class details, click "Create Class". You will find your newly created class listed in the Teacher Dashboard under the "My Classes" tab.
Step 2: Add Your Students
CodeCombat offers several ways to add students to a class, including seamless integration with Google Classroom and the option for students to sign-up without needing email addresses.
Students can use the following options to join your class:
- Option 1: Students Join via Class Code
- Option 2: Students Join via Class URL
- Option 3: Students Join via Invite by Email
- Option 4: Students Join via Classroom Integrations
Option 1: Students Join via Class Code
Your Class Code is a unique, three-word code that is generated for each class you create. You can find your Class Code listed in the "Add Students" section of your class page. Share your Class Code with your students and direct them to click the "I'm a Student" button found on CodeCombat's homepage.
(student's perspective)
From there, your students will need to enter your Class Code to create a student account. When entering your Class Code, students should see the correct class name and instructor on the screen. Students will then need to enter the following information to finish creating their accounts:
- First Name
- Last Initial
- Username
- Password
Email addresses are not required for students to create an account when using a valid Class Code.
Option 2: Students Join via Class URL
Your Class URL is a sharable link your students can visit to create an account and join your class. You can find your Class URL listed in the "Add Students" section of your class page.
When students visit your Class URL, the "I'm a Student" form found on CodeCombat's homepage will be auto-populated with the class code. That is, your students should see the correct class name and teacher on the screen once they click on your Class URL. Students will then need to enter the following information to finish creating their accounts:
- First Name
- Last Initial
- Username
- Password
Email addresses are not required for students to create an account when using a valid Class URL.
Option 3: Students Join via Invite by Email
Using the Invite by Email option will email your students instructions on how to join your class by visiting the Class URL noted in the email. To use this option, click the "Add Students" button and then click "Invite by Email" button on the bottom of the modal that appears.
Enter your students’ email addresses (or copy and paste from a class list), confirm you're not a robot and click "Done".
Students will receive an email instructing them to join your class by visiting the Class URL written in the email. When students visit the URL in the email, the "I'm a Student" form found on CodeCombat's homepage will be auto-populated with the class code. That is, your students should see the correct class name and teacher on the screen once they click on your Class URL. Students will then need to enter the following information to finish creating their accounts:
Students will then need to enter the following information to finish creating their accounts:
- First Name
- Last Initial
- Username
- Password
Email addresses are not required for students to create an account when using a valid Email Invitation URL.
Option 4: Students Join via Classroom Integration
Google Classroom
Using the "Sign in with Google" option will allow you to sync your Google Classroom with CodeCombat and automatically roster your students into a CodeCombat classroom. This allows your students to skip the account creation process and log in using the "Sign in with Google" option.
To link your Google Classroom with CodeCombat, you must log in to your CodeCombat teacher account using the "Sign in with Google" option found at the bottom of the form.
Once logged in, navigate to the Teacher Dashboard. Under the "My Classes" tab, click the "Create a New Class" button and then click the "Link Google Classroom" button in the window. Select your Google Classroom from the drop-down list, choose a programming language, and click "Create Class" to complete the class syncing process.
Students who have been synced to a class in CodeCombat can now log in using the "Sign in with Google" option.
Please note the following when syncing a Google Classroom with CodeCombat:
- Google Classrooms can only be synced once. To add additional students to a class after syncing, share your Class Code or Class URL with your students.
- You can not change the programming language of a classroom after it has been synced.
Clever
Clever functionality in CodeCombat is limited to single sign-on only. To use Clever, click the "Sign Up with Clever" button, log in through the Clever portal, and in the Clever Authorize App page, select your class page(s), and then click Allow and Continue to proceed. Your students can then use the "Sign Up with Clever" option to log in to CodeCombat.
However, students will still be required to enter a Class Code to join your class after logging in. See Option 1: Students Join via Class Code for more information on using Class Codes.
Step 3: Explore the Curriculum
CodeCombat Junior has turn-key curriculum that you can use to teach your class. You can find the lessons in the "Curriculum" tab in the Teacher Dashboard:
When you click on this tab, you will be able to view the curriculum for all of our platforms, not just CodeCombat Junior. When you're ready to explore the curriculum, click on "CodeCombat Junior" in the dropdown menu. This will open the Curriculum Guide:
To see the lessons, click on the "Curriculum" button or the "Lesson Slides" button. Here is an example of what you will see in CodeCombat Junior's curriculum:
Pro tip: pay attention to the speaker notes of the lesson slides! These speaker notes tell you what levels in the CodeCombat Junior game correspond to the lesson you're viewing. You will also find resources, like worksheets, linked in the speaker notes of the lesson slides.
Curriculum Structure:
You do not have to be a Computer Science teacher to use CodeCombat Junior with your students! In fact, we encourage English and math teachers to explore the curriculum because every CS lesson includes a cross-curricular lesson in these core subject areas. For example, here is the ELA equivalent of the lesson shown above:
Targeted Practice Levels:
The CodeCombat Junior platform uses automated, targeted intervention to provide students who are struggling with more practice levels. If our system detects that a student is struggling, it will ask the student if they would like to complete the extra level. Additionally, you can choose to assign these practice levels to any or all of your students that you would like. All you have to do is jump into the Teacher Dashboard and select the class you would like to assign the content to. More specifically, select the students you would like to complete extra levels and then click on the flag of the level you would like them to practice:
Ready, Set, Code!
You're all set to learn about the power of coding! All students are automatically granted access to the first two modules, A1: Sequences and A2: Arguments, for free. There is no limit to the number of students who can join your class and try the first course for free.
As students begin their coding journey, monitoring their progress is quick and easy. In the Teacher Dashboard, under "My Classes", select the class you wish to monitor. On the class page, you will see the progress of each student in that class. Here you will also find the Progress Color Key listed above your students' progress. Clicking a student's progress bubble will allow you to view their solution and compare it directly with the suggested solution.
To learn more on how to use the Teacher Dashboard, view our Teacher Dashboard & Student Management articles here.
Resources to Enhance Your School Year
Teacher Toolkit
Looking for additional resources? You can find pacing guides, learning strategies, how-to articles, and more, all under the "Teacher Tools" tab in the Teacher Dashboard:
Student Licenses
Student licenses are required to access all of the modules in CodeCombat Junior. You can request licenses for your students in the Teacher Dashboard under the "My Licenses" tab:
We work with all types of schools, districts, clubs, and programs and customize pricing based on your use case!
Professional Development
Our Professional Development course is endorsed by the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) and built to empower all teachers with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to effectively teach computer science. Earn 6 credits of graduate-level coursework while developing your teaching practices and improving the learning experience for your students. To learn more, view our Professional Development page.
Other CodeCombat Platforms
Are you looking to get started with another CodeCombat platform, like Ozaria or AI HackStack? Take a look at one of our other Getting Started Guides:
- CodeCombat Getting Started Guide
- Ozaria Getting Started Guide
- AI HackStack Getting Started Guide
- AI League Getting Started Guide
- AP Computer Science Principles Getting Started Guide
- Python Certification Exam Getting Started Guide