Table Of Content.
N P ROGRA
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Key Stage 3
COMPUTING
TEACHER NOTES
PART II
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Minecraft Pi Book
Craig Richardson
June 13, 2013
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Contents
1 Teacher’sIntroductiontotheBook 1
1.1 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 KS3Curriculum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.4 OpenSource . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 PythonSyntax 5
2.1 TeleportthePlayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2 TeleportthePlayerPrecisely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.3 TeleportationTour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.4 StopSmashingThings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 MathsOperations 7
3.1 StackingBlocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.2 SuperJump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.3 SetBlockBelowPlayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.4 SpeedBuilding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.5 Proportions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4 StringsandConsoleOutput 11
4.1 HelloMinecraftWorld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.2 InputtingYourMessage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.3 UserName . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.4 MadLibs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.5 CreateaBlockwithInput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.6 SprintRecord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
5 ComparatorsandControlFlow 15
5.1 Swimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
5.2 Doyouwanttostopsmashingthings? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
5.3 BringusaShrubbery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
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5.4 TakeaShower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
5.5 SecretPassage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
6 Functions 19
6.1 AForest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
6.2 ArmingTNT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
6.3 WoolColour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
6.4 Turtle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
6.5 ImportBlockModule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
7 ListsandDictionaries 27
7.1 GlitchingSigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
7.2 BlocksbyNumbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
7.3 TeamCamera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
7.4 DictionaryofWool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
7.5 HackaFriend’sGame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
8 FunctionsandLists 31
8.1 PixelArt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
8.2 ShadowCastle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
9 Loops 35
9.1 MidasTouch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
9.2 TreeFighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
9.3 ChatwithaLoop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
9.4 Pyramid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
9.5 HotandCold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
9.6 AdaptExercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
10 AdvancedTopicsinPython 39
11 BinaryandBitwiseOperators 41
12 Classes 43
13 FileinputandOutput 45
Chapter 1
Teacher’s Introduction to the Book
This is the teacher’s edition of the Python Programming with Minecraft
Pi and Codecademy book. It includes an explanation of the main book
and suggested answers to each exercise. You will find the answers from
Chapter2onwards.
TheMinecraftPiPythonbookisintendedtosupportlearnersastheylearn
to program with Python. The material is split into two categories: ex-
ercises and reference. Reference materials concentrate on the low-level
skillsofrememberingandunderstanding,whereasexercisesfocusonthe
higher-level skills of application, problem solving, analysis, evaluation
andcreation.
All exercises use Minecraft Pi edition on the Raspberry Pi to provide a
fun and challenging environment for students to practice and develop
their programming skills. The main focus of exercises is problem solv-
ing,whichisanessentialprogrammingskill. Studentsshouldbeencour-
agedtodeviatefromthebriefanddeveloptheirownideasascreativityis
another essential skill for programmers. Share your students’ ideas for
programsandImightincludetheminfutureversionsofthebook.
1.1 Exercises
Atthestartofeverychapterthereareasetofexercisesthathelplearners
developtheirprogrammingskills. Theemphasisoftheexercisesistoap-
plytheknowledgeandunderstandinginordertocreateaprograms.
All programming exercises are challenging and differentiated. Instead
1
2 CHAPTER 1. TEACHER’S INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK
of merely telling the student to copy code, each exercise sets the player
a challenge with instructions of varying difficulty. They apply concepts
learnedinthecurrentchapterandcorrespondingCodecademylessonto
solve these challenges and gain problem solving skills. Extension exer-
cises are included with every exercise, enabling students who are more
comfortablewiththeexercisestodevelopfurther.
This version of the book uses Minecraft Pi on the Raspberry Pi to prac-
ticeprogramminginexercises. TheRaspberryPiisanexcellent,low-cost
computer designed to teach programming. It has a strong, enthusiastic
communityandisanexcellentwaytogetstartedprogramming.
Minecraft Pi edition is an official version of Minecraft that has been de-
velopedfortheRaspberryPi. ThankstoitsamazingdevelopersatMojang,
it is free software and has a special feature, an API, that allows users to
control the game with programming. It is very simple to use and gives
learnersaveryengagingandcreativewaytopracticeprogramming.
1.2 Reference
Thereferencepartsofthebooksupportalearner’sabilitytounderstand
and remember concepts. However, they are not intended to be used in
isolation. TheyweredesignedtosupportthePythontrackatCodecademy.
Codecademyisafreeonlinelearningsystemthatgiveslearnershands-on
experienceandguidancewithprogramming.
ThereferencepartsofthebookareintendedasasupplementtotheCodecademy
lessonsinanumberofways:
• Extra support for students who need help understanding concepts
introducedinCodecademy
• Referenceforlearnerswhentheyaredevelopingtheirownprograms
• Revisionmaterialsforstudentsundertakingassessment
Ofcourseitispossibletoreadthebookfromstarttofinish,howeverthere
isnothingbetterthangaininghands-onexperienceofprogramming.
IfyouareateacherIcannotrecommendCodecademyenough. Duetothe
structure of the site it provides exactly the right support for a beginner
meaningtheyrequirelessdirectinterventionfromyou. Asyounolonger
1.3. KS3 CURRICULUM 3
needtoprovidedebuggingadviceandmarkingforallyourstudentsyou
can use your time more effectively and support the students that really
need your help. Monitoring progress and providing clear targets to stu-
dentsisessentialforeffectiveprogressionthroughthesite.
1.3 KS3 Curriculum
NotallofthetopicscoveredintheCodecademyPythontrackandthebook
areessentialfortheUKKeyStage3draftComputingcurriculum. Ihave
summarisedwhatIbelievearethemostimportantunits/chapters:
1. Datatypesandmathsoperators
2. Stringandcommandlineinputandoutput
3. BooleanLogic,ConditionalsandIfstatements
4. Functions
5. Lists
6. Loops
Furthermore, within each of these topics there are concepts which I be-
lieveareaminimumrequirementforstudentstounderstandandanum-
berofmoreadvancedtopics. Forexampleinthelistsunitstudentsshould
at a minimum understand the purpose of lists, index positions and ac-
cessing/changinglistvalues. Intermediateknowledgeincludeloopswith
lists, appendingitems andremovingitems. Advancedtopicsincludelist
slicingandsoon. Abreakdownoftheselevelsofunderstandingbytopic
maybeincludedinafutureupdateofthisbook.
Ofcourseyoushouldencourageyourstudentstogofurtheriftheyhave
thetimeandenthusiasm.
In a future draft I will state how each topic of the curriculum is covered
in the book. There will of course be some gaps, which will eventually be
filledbyotherresources.
Thematerialcanalsobeusedforadifferentcurriculumasprogramming
conceptsstaythesame.
4 CHAPTER 1. TEACHER’S INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK
1.4 Open Source
The book is open source, meaning anyone can change and modify it as
they please. A creative commons license is used, which carries some re-
strictions. Details of the license of the book can be found at the start of
thebook.
The book is written in LaTeX, a free, open-source typesetting language.
If you’re not familiar with LaTeX, it is similar to HTML in that it formats
text. AguidetogettingstartedwithLaTeXcanbefoundviaGooglesearch
and an explanation of the conventions used in the book can be found in
thefirstchapter.
Thebookwasdesignedsothatdifferentexercisescanbeswappedintothe
book. Sayyoudon’twanttoteachstudentswithMinecraftPi,youwantto
useSimpleCV,BlenderorPyGame. Dothis. Createyourownexercisesand
swapthemfortheonesinthebookandwenowhaveadifferenteditionof
thesamebookthatotherpeoplewillfinduseful. Allofthereferencema-
terialscanstaythesameastheymakenomentionofMinecraftPi.
