Teach coding with the 'Shark Lady Explorer Game' for grades 3-5. Students create a marine game, learning movement, random positioning, and collision detection.
Pacing
3 classes · 120 min
Grade
Grade 7
Coding
Intermediate
Students codePlayer ActionsCollisionOn Page StartSequence
Opens a private practice project in the Studio — no account needed.
How does careful observation replace fear with understanding?
Students will be able to
Understand basic movement, the pixel coordinate system, and pixel usage in coding.
Design a game reflecting the marine environment inspired by "Shark Lady."
Code animations and use number variables for random positions.
Implement collision detection for a game-over condition.
Key vocabulary
ichthyologistlaboratoryreef
Assessment
Formative
Use milestone checks, organizer responses, and daily test evidence to guide feedback.
Summative
The title and marine design connect the movement challenge to shark exploration without reinforcing inaccurate monster stereotypes. Up/down controls, looping movement, random placement, collision, and game-over behavior work consistently across repeated plays.
The student journey
This is a build — not a worksheet packet
Every lesson runs like the story students are about to make: read it, write it, build it, polish it, publish it. The printables scaffold each stage — the published Elementari project is the destination.
1
📖
Read
Students read a short, high-interest passage — a real-world hook, not a dry textbook definition — to spark ideas for what they'll make.
📖The Scientist Who Taught a Shark to Ring a Bell
In the 1950s, at a small marine laboratory in Florida, a lemon shark swam up to a white target, pressed it with its snout, and waited. Food arrived. The shark had learned the trick — press the target, get dinner — and it remembered the tric…
SourcesNOAA — Dr. Eugenie ClarkMote Marine Laboratory — founded by Eugenie Clark in 1955 as the Cape Haze Marine Laboratory
In the studio, students bring the project to life — adding art and following the exact writing and coding steps shown below. The Studio Compass walks them through it, one step at a time.
🧭Studio CompassStep 1 / 11
Introduction and Pre-Coding 📚
View the example Shark Lady Game project. Use the Coding Blocks Handout ( PDF or google doc ) to see what coding blocks are needed to code your game.
Key words — tap to learnobject block
Each step checks off & advances on its own
All 11 studio steps · dynamic to the project
1Introduction and Pre-Coding 📚~10 min
2Game Start Menu 🚀~10 min
3Designing the Scene 🎨~5 min
4Coding Character Movement 🕹️ Up~5 min
5Coding Character Movement 🕹️ Down~5 min
6Programming Shark Movement 🦈~10 min
7Looping Shark Movement 🦈~5 min
8Randomizing the Y Variable 🎲~10 min
9Creating the Game Over Page ❌~5 min
10Setting Up the Collision Trigger 💥~5 min
11Testing and Debugging 🛠️~10 min
4
🔁
Polish
ongoing
Teacher and peer feedback pin right onto the project — students revise until it's ready to share.
Feedback on the project2 pins
🍎
Add one more sentence here so readers get the full picture.
👍 2Teacher
A
The interaction is clear — it helps the reader follow the project!
A couple of things to gather, a few quick steps to prep — then you're ready to hand it to students.
What you need
A device per student or pair
Internet connection
Prep · about 10 min
1Print the student kits
2Assign this lesson to your students
3Skim the build steps
Teacher background
What you need to know
Students learn that Eugenie Clark overturned the "mindless monster" story about sharks by observing and testing instead of assuming — training sharks to press targets and finding sharks resting in caves. The stance transfers to their game design: the diver is a visitor in the sharks' ocean, the sharks move on their own paths, and the challenge is observation and skill, not defeating a monster.
Key terms
ichthyologist
a scientist who studies fish
laboratory
a place where scientists run experiments
reef
a ridge of rock or coral near the ocean surface, full of sea life
Watch for these misconceptions
✕
The Down control moves up or the labels do not match the coded direction. →Test each button alone and record the starting and ending y-position.
✕
Random sharks appear where collision is unavoidable or outside the playable area. →Constrain and test the y-range at its minimum, maximum, and several random values.
Standards alignment
Aligned to the standards you teach
Every task maps to a specific standard, so planning and reporting are covered.
Tracking 7 frameworks: Common Core ELA, Common Core Math, NGSS +4
CCSS · ELA10CSTA10ISTE11AASL34 frameworks · 34 standards · DOK 3
CCSS · ELA
Common Core State Standards — English Language Arts
10 standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.5
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.7
Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related questions when appropriate.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.8
Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes, categorize information, and provide a list of sources.
Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts, or solving authentic problems.
ISTE 1.4.c
Students develop, test, and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.
ISTE 1.6.d
Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.
ISTE 1.5.d
Students understand how automation works and use algorithmic thinking to develop a sequence of steps to create and test automated solutions.
Also addressedISTE 1.3.a · ISTE 1.3.b · ISTE 1.1.c · ISTE 1.6.b · ISTE 1.6.c · ISTE 1.5.c · ISTE 1.3.d
AASL
AASL National School Library Standards
3 standards
AASL I.A.1
Learners display curiosity and initiative by formulating questions about a personal interest or a curricular topic.
Also addressedAASL I.B.1 · AASL I.B.3
Full task-by-task mapping — including Depth of Knowledge — is in the answer key.
Differentiation & accessibility
Built to reach every learner
One lesson, three built-in paths — with accessibility baked into the materials, not bolted on afterward.
Extra support
Emerging readers & writers
Read-aloud and multilingual support in the Elementari build
Studio Compass highlights one task at a time — including the coding
Sentence frames and a word bank so it is never a blank page
On grade
The core lesson
The passage and storyboard exactly as written
Model answers and “look-fors” in the answer key
Self-check chips at every milestone
Ready for more
Extension & challenge
Challenge vocabulary and a real-world extension question
Deepen one existing page or interaction — without changing the required mechanics
A longer, evidence-based reflection prompt
Accessibility, built inPredictable step-by-step structureOne task at a time · Studio CompassHighlighted response areasLow-stimulation printMovement-friendly pacingDesigned so every student can design, write, and code — with ADHD, autism, and dyslexia in mind.
Questions
Teacher FAQ
Do I — or my students — need to know how to code?
No. Coding concepts are introduced in plain language exactly when students need them, and Studio Compass confirms each milestone so students keep moving without you troubleshooting. The teacher guide walks you through the whole build, answers included.
How long does this lesson take?
About 80, paced into 45-minute class periods. You can spread it out or compress it — students pick up where they left off, so it doesn't have to finish in one sitting.
What devices does this lesson work on?
Students can read, write, code, and publish on Chromebooks, iPads, tablets, laptops, or desktops. All they need is a modern browser — nothing to download or install.
What is Studio Compass?
Studio Compass is the step-by-step guide inside the Studio. It shows students what to do next, identifies the exact coding blocks they need, and confirms completed milestones so they can keep moving independently.
How does this lesson support different learners?
This lesson includes read-to-me with synchronized highlighting, a built-in glossary, and picture-based storyboarding, with writing and coding scaffolds you can dial up or down. Students can work with guided support or more independently — and still finish the same project.
Ready when you are
Bring this lesson to your class
Import your class, assign in one click, and watch them build — the whole kit comes with it.
