What is unplugged coding?

Unplugged coding teaches the ideas behind coding without a computer: students write instructions with cards, symbols or words, then “run” them by acting them out. It's a good way to start each new idea before moving it to a tool like Scratch or MakeCode.

Do these activities match the Ontario curriculum?

Each activity is built around the focus of one grade's coding expectations in the Ontario Mathematics curriculum (2020), strand C, overall expectation C3: sequential events in Grade 1, concurrent events in Grade 2, repeating events in Grade 3 and nested events in Grade 4. The “predict, change, test” steps practise C3.2, reading and altering existing code.

Do I need any coding experience to run these?

No. Every activity uses cards, a floor grid or open space, and plain instructions. The teacher reads the steps and the class does the rest.

How do I print the cards?

Use the “Print or save as PDF” button at the top of the page. The page prints the four activities and a sheet of cards to cut out, without the menus and buttons.

Can someone teach coding in our school for us?

Yes. Cyber Square sends a trained, police-checked instructor into your school every week, with Micro:bit robotics kits and ready-made lessons connected to the Ontario coding expectations. Your teacher can observe or learn alongside the class.

Free printable · Ontario Grades 1–4

Unplugged coding activities for Grades 1–4

Four no-device coding activities, one for each grade's coding focus in the Ontario math curriculum. Print them, cut out the cards, and run one in your next math period.

See the activities

How to use these activities

Each activity takes one period and needs no computers, no coding background and almost no prep. Students write their code as a row of cards, then run it by acting it out. Every activity ends with a predict, change, test step, because the curriculum asks students to read and change code (C3.2), not only write it (C3.1).

Grade 1: Robot friend (sequential events)
Grade 2: Two robots, one grid (sequential and concurrent events)
Grade 3: Dance-floor loops (sequential, concurrent and repeating events)
Grade 4: Loop inside a loop (adds nested events)

Teaching a different grade? The exact wording of every coding expectation, Grades 1 to 8, is on the Ontario coding curriculum checklist.

Grade 1 · Sequential events

Robot friend

30–40 minutes. You need: Masking tape or chalk for a 4 × 4 floor grid (or a printed grid and a counter), the arrow cards below.

Steps

Make a 4 × 4 grid on the floor. Put a “treasure” (a beanbag or a picture) in one square and a “robot” (a student) in another.
The robot can only follow cards: ↑ ↓ ← → means move one square that way. The robot doesn't turn; it just steps.
In pairs, students lay the arrow cards in a row, left to right, to get the robot to the treasure. That row of cards is their code.
Run the code: one student reads the cards in order while the robot steps. Did the robot reach the treasure?

Predict, change, test (C3.2)

Predict: before running a partner's code, point to the square where you think the robot will stop.
Change: swap two cards. Does the robot still reach the treasure? Why, or why not?
Debug: the teacher lays out code with one wrong card. Students find it and fix it.

Math connection: Position and direction words (up, down, left, right), counting squares, and comparing two paths: which code is shorter?

Grade 2 · Sequential and concurrent events

Two robots, one grid

35–45 minutes. You need: The same floor grid, two sets of arrow cards, a drum or a clap to keep time.

Steps

Two robots stand on the grid, each with their own row of arrow cards and their own reader.
On each clap, both robots do their next card at the same time. That's two programs running concurrently.
Challenge: write two programs so both robots reach their own treasure without ever standing on the same square at the same time.
Add a second action that happens alongside the movement: a “sound” card (the robot says “beep”) that runs on the same clap as a move.

Predict, change, test (C3.2)

Predict: will the two robots bump into each other? On which clap?
Change: add one card to the start of one program (a “wait” card). What happens to the bump now?
Explain: why does the order of cards matter more when two programs run at the same time?

Math connection: Counting steps and claps, tracking position over time, and comparing two paths of different lengths.

Grade 3 · Sequential, concurrent and repeating events

Dance-floor loops

35–45 minutes. You need: Action cards (clap, stomp, jump, turn), “repeat ___ times” and “end repeat” cards, chart paper.

Steps

Write a class dance on chart paper using action cards: clap, clap, stomp, clap, clap, stomp, clap, clap, stomp, clap, clap, stomp.
Ask: what keeps happening? Students circle the part that repeats (clap, clap, stomp).
Rewrite it with a loop: “repeat 4 times: clap, clap, stomp, end repeat”. Count the cards: 12 cards became 5.
Groups write their own dance that uses at least one loop, then perform it while another group reads the code aloud.

Predict, change, test (C3.2)

Predict: how many claps happen in total if the loop repeats 6 times instead of 4?
Change: add a jump inside the loop. Then move it outside the loop. What is the difference?
Swap: groups trade codes and perform each other's dance exactly as written.

Math connection: Repeating patterns: naming the core of a pattern, extending it, and multiplying (3 actions repeated 4 times = 12 actions).

Grade 4 · Adds nested events

Loop inside a loop

30–40 minutes. You need: Open floor space, “repeat ___ times” and “end repeat” cards, step and turn cards.

Steps

The robot walks a square with this code: repeat 4 times: take 2 steps, turn right, end repeat.
Ask: how do we make the robot walk the square 3 times, with a small turn between squares? Students build a second loop around the first.
Write the full code with cards: repeat 3 times: [repeat 4 times: take 2 steps, turn right, end repeat], turn a little, end repeat.
Run it slowly. One student says “inner loop” or “outer loop” out loud each time the robot switches.

Predict, change, test (C3.2)

Predict: how many steps does the robot take in total? (3 × 4 × 2 = 24)
Change: make the inner loop repeat 3 times with bigger turns. What shape does the robot walk now?
Debug: put the small turn inside the inner loop by mistake. What goes wrong?

Math connection: Multiplication as repeated groups, angles and turns, and properties of squares and triangles.

Next step on screen: the Grade 4 nested-loop flower in Scratch

Cards to print and cut out

Print one sheet per pair of students. Write the number on the “repeat” cards with a whiteboard marker if you laminate them.

↑

↓

←

→

↑

↓

←

→

beep

wait

clap

stomp

jump

turn right

turn left

take 2 steps

repeat ___ times

end repeat

repeat ___ times

end repeat

Unplugged coding activities for Grades 1–4

How to use these activities

Robot friend

Steps

Predict, change, test (C3.2)

Two robots, one grid

Steps

Predict, change, test (C3.2)

Dance-floor loops

Steps

Predict, change, test (C3.2)

Loop inside a loop

Steps

Predict, change, test (C3.2)

Cards to print and cut out

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