Mr. Lacomis' Home Page

Final Project – 5/28 – 6/5 – Projects due by the end of the day Friday June 5th. This will help students focus on their core classes and those finals.

 

Thank you students and parents for all your hard work. I know it was a challenging year and you both deserve a ton of credit for adapting and getting through this pandemic. I wish you all the best of luck moving forward and I hope we are back to normal starting next school year! Enjoy your Summer Break – it’s well deserved!

 

All class period will complete Gumball’s Coding Adventure

 

In this collaboration between CS First and Cartoon Network, you will create an animated story based on The Amazing World of Gumball TV series.

 

The following instructions are explained on CS First. Make sure to be creative and follow the instructions below however they fit into your story. View examples to help give you ideas on how to create your own project.

 

  1. Click the starter project link next to this video.

  2. Click "remix," and sign in to save the project to your account.

  3. Return to this page, and click the "next" arrow to watch the next video.

  4. Select a main character sprite and show it.

  5. Select a secondary character and show it.

  6. Select a backdrop

  7. Use "say for 2 seconds" blocks to foreshadow the glitch in your story.

  8. Program a "glitch" using "repeat" and "change effect by" blocks.

  9. Reset the "glitch" using a "clear graphic effects" block.

  10. Add dialogue using "say for 2 seconds" blocks and "wait" blocks.

  11. Run both characters' code using "when flag clicked" blocks.

  12. Switch the backdrop at the start of your story

  13. Switch the backdrop at the end of the first scene

  14. Hide your second character at the end of the first scene

  15. Select a new character to show when the backdrop changes, and make it hide when the flag is clicked.

  16. For your main character, use a "when backdrop switches to" block to continue dialogue.

  17. Use "say for 2 seconds" and "wait" blocks to build more into your story.

  18. Create a "glitch" block, and use it twice in your story.

 

If you have any questions or need technical help, please email me at jlacomis@riversidesd.com - office hours are 9:00-12:30. I will respond to all questions and concerns within 24 hours.

Please watch this screencast on how to use CS First and Scratch. It will give some quick tips and show you how to share and where you put your name and instructions. 

CS First and Scratch Tutorial - How to - please watch both pages in the PowerPoint Screencast. (PowerPoint Version)

CS First and Scratch Tutorial Video/MP4 - same as above, but in video format.

Assignment for 5/17/20 - 5/27/20 -Project Due Wednesday 5/27/20

All Class periods:

Students will complete the Unusual Discovery Project - posted on CS First - Make sure to log in using your CS First username and password on Scratch as well. 

In this activity, students will sequence dialogue to tell a story. They animate interactions between characters, their backdrops, and a surprising object. Students must do the follow to earn all points:

  • Use event blocks (like “when flag clicked”) to trigger a series of code.

  • Sequence at least 3 “say”  blocks between two sprites (characters) to construct a dialogue.

  • Program a conditional so that the computer can make a decision based on a user response.

  • Add instructions in the text box to tell the user how to work their project.

Believe it or not, after this project, we will work on our "Final Project" That will be posted after the Unusual Discovery Project is completed. Don't wait to the last minute to complete the project to avoid any problems. Get it done as soon as you could. Email me any questions or if you need help. 

 

Assignment for 5/5/20 - 5/15/20 - Project Due Friday 5/15/20 

Adventure on the High Seas: Due Friday 5/15/20

In this activity, students use code to animate an ocean wave and tell a story that takes place on the high seas. This activity introduces students to computer science and the programming language Scratch. Students will use different Scratch blocks to create their own unique stories. It is still an introductory lesson that will help prepare us for more in-depth coding coming in a few weeks. 

All class periods: You will complete the High Seas activity assigned to you on CS First. Login to CS First and Scratch using your CS First username and password. Just like last weeks project, make sure you follow all instruction that you see on the right hand side of the CS First Screen once you click start. Make sure to sign into Scratch when you click on the starter link and click remix. Once the project is completed, click the share button, add instructions to tell me how to view your project, and put your name in the notes and credits text box. Be sure to view all instructional videos and add-on videos as well as the example projects to give you some ideas. Check out the solution guide below if you need help. As always email me if you need more help! 

Solution Guide – use this if you’re stuck with some code!!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cLI3UF6EgZKR8GgZflSl5ypTKgOzQqu5z6KnLgnkf80/edit

Update 5/5/20 -Students that did not complete all projects should take this extra time between projects to complete missing projects. To receive credit for make up work, you must send me an email with the name of the project you made up. If you do not email me, you will not get credit - no exceptions. 

Assignment for 4/28 - 5/4 - Project Due Monday 5/4/20

All class periods: You will complete the Interactive Presentation assigned to you on CS First. Login to CS First and Scratch using your CS First username and password. Just like last weeks project, make sure you follow all instruction that you see on the right hand side of the CS First Screen once you click start. Make sure to sign into Scratch when you click on the starter link and click remix. Once the project is completed, click the share button, add instructions to tell me how to view your project, and put your name in the notes and credits text box. Be sure to view all instructional videos and add-on videos as well as the example projects to give you some ideas. You will choose a school appropriate topic of your choice that you want to present. It must have 3 slides minimum. Download the document below for more details. 

Detailed Interactive Project Instructions

Assignments for 4/20 - 4/27

Dear Riverside Family,

     Now that the rest of the school year is mandatory, each student will need to “check in” with me this Monday or Tuesday. For this week, we will have a Zoom meeting on Monday at 5:00 PM and Tuesday at 5:00 PM. Make sure your username is appropriate or I can not let you in. Students are required to be at ONE of these sessions. I will be sending the Zoom meeting link and password to each students’ RIVERSIDE email address. To access your student email address, follow these steps – 1. Go to riversidesd.com 2. Hover over “schools” and click on the Riverside JSHS link 3. Hover over the “For Students” tab and click on Email Portal 4. Enter your username@riversidesd.com and enter your password – example lacjus25@riversidesd.com – you must put in your year of graduation and @riversidesd.com.

 

In these sessions, I will be going over where to find instructions to join CS First and Scratch as well as how to complete assignments. This work is mandatory and will be graded. I chose CS First and Scratch because it is less complicated material and has a lot a videos that show the students what to do. I want to keep 4th quarter as simple as possible as I know parents are busy and students are busy with their core classes.

 

Students can expect to complete about one project a week. Some projects may take two weeks. After our initial Zoom meeting, your “check in” with me will be your completion and sharing of the projects by the posted due dates on this website. If at any time you need more help, please email me at jlacomis@riversidesd.com.

 

The first projects that are due are Animate Your Name and 1 (one) Google Doodle. These projects are due on Monday 4/27/2020 and will be graded. 8th period students will complete the Pitch your Passion project.

To the students that already completed the assignments and met all requirements… awesome job – take the week off for my class and check back in on Sunday 4/26/2020 for our next project! I want to make sure I keep each of my periods/students working on the same projects to avoid confusion and provide better support when needed.

 

Thank you and see you all Monday or Tuesday!

 

Mr. Lacomis

Week of  4/13/20 

Students - for this week, you should get caught up on the first two assignments. Complete Animate your Name and the Google Doodle assignments. Students that have completed the first two assignments can choose to complete another Animate your Name or Google Doodle using as many "add-ons" as you see fit. Period 8 students should continue/start the Pitch your Passion project. This will help students that are just starting with these coding assignments get up to speed so everyone will be ready for more in-depth assignments. Next week, we will start moving forward with new assignments.

Students that are just starting should read/view all instructions and videos on this page to get signed up and completing assignments. Thank you and stay safe! 

Week of 4/6/20

Welcome to week two of our enrichment program! I hope all is well. Many students have not signed up for CSFIRST/SCRATCH. Those that did not are encouraged to sign up following the instructions posted below(Week of 3/30/20). I have been checking students for work and would love to see what you create. Please make sure to click the "share" button in Scratch. I do check for the projects you create and try to comment/provide feedback on each of them. So when you share it, make sure to check back on that project page periodically on Scratch to see my comments. If you need help signing up, getting started, sharing, or anything at all, please email me and I'll get back to you ASAP.

This weeks assignment is: Periods 2, 3, 4, 6/7, and 9 - Create a Google Doodle. All instruction are in CSFirst. Please create your Original Doodle, Earth Day Doodle, and Valentine's Day Doodle. Try to use two different add-ons for each project. Please share all three!

Period 8 - Continue to work on the Pitch your Passion project. 

Stay Safe and Healthy! 

Week of 3/30/20 

We are transitioning to CS First/Scratch. All coding concepts are similiar to what we accomplished in class. CS First provides great explanation videos and instructions on how to post your creations while in Scratch. Students should always login to CS First for instructions and videos then login into Scratch. 8th period continue to work on your Pitch your Passion project.

1. Students must sign up for CS First and Scratch to complete these activities. Follow the instructions posted below. 

Please click on the correct period that you are in because each one has different instructions. 

2nd Period Coding

3rd Period Coding

4th Period Coding

6-7 Period Coding

8th period - email me for your username and password if you forgot it.

9th Period Coding

  • Please sign up with Remind (Parents and Students) for your homework, quiz, project, and test reminders! The reminders for all classes will also show up on the bottom of this page.
 
Contact me:
email: jlacomis@riversidesd.com
phone: 570-562-2121