2026 CSTA PK12 COMPUTER SCIENCE STANDARDS

Good Morning!

I'm Ms. Alonzo, and I am a Computer Literacy and Coding teacher in Newark, NJ. I teach grades 5-8 (Middle School).  The platforms that I use are Code.org, Scratch, and (at times) Tynker, as well as a few others.  My goal this year is to create engagingly creative lessons that would enhance problem solving/critical thiking skills, foster more self-expression, as well as creative collaborations. 

I look forward to learning a lot from this course.

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Sharon Alonzo
Newark NJ
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Good afternoon, Ms Alonzo!

This is my second attempt at responding, so if two pop up, that's why.

I love to kick off my 6th grade classes with problem solving.  We do jigsaw puzzles (from Dollar Tree), Rubik's cubes or pop balls, bead counting/sorting/comparing, plus paper puzzles like word searches, logic problems, and mazes.  Then we go over the steps of the problem solving process and use those puzzles for context.  I also give them a link to PBSKids engineering games for practicing critical thinking, especially for early finishers. 

I hope you and your students have an enjoyable year!

Pam K

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Pam Koleszar
Evansville IN
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I have been teaching 6-8 CS for 7 years. I do Microbits with my students. I am the poconos so I am not far from you Sharon. I know that CSTA NJ has a large presence. 

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Sandra Hartman, M.Ed, MAT
Computer Technology Educator
East Stroudsburg Area School district
Lehman Intermediate School
Northeastern, PA
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Good afternoon, Ms Alonzo!

I love to use problem solving to kick off the year with my 6th graders.  We do jigsaw puzzles (from Dollar Tree), Rubik's cubes or Pop Balls, bead counting/sorting/comparing, plus paper-based puzzles like mazes, logic problems, and word searches.  Then we discuss the problem solving process and how they used it without knowing or naming it.  I then give them permission to explore the Engineering games on the PBSKids website during free time. When I see them playing, I ask them to tell me how they defined the problem, or to reflect on their attempts so far, etc. Those games also make good activities for early finishers.

Have a great day!

Pam K

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Pam Koleszar
Evansville IN
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