Two one-hour class blocks for Introducing Kids to Programming using Microsoft Kodu

1. What is Kodu:
Kodu provides easy tools to create elaborate 3D landscapes, and control
the lighting and camera, programming involves selecting visual tiles for a
condition (WHEN) and an action (DO)
Students can learn about cooperation, logic and creativity, not just about
programming
Kodu is a rich tool for narrative creation and storytelling – pulling users into
creating stories
Kodu demonstrates that programming is a creative medium
*Pair students together with a partner (2 students per computer)
*Each class is 1 hour long
Lesson 1 – Run a game
1. Open Kodu
2. Click on Load World
a. My Worlds (worlds/games you created)
b. Downloads (games you got from the internet)
c. Lessons (tutorials)
d. Samples are games that you can play to get a feel for Kodu
3. Click on the dropdown SHOW and choose Keyboard and Mouse
4. Click on Samples to Road Kill
5. Play Road Kill
6. Hit [Escape] and then [Home] to get back to the menu

2. Lesson 2 – Create a World (hitting Escape will toggle you to
edit mode)
1. Choose New Empty World from the closing menu for Road Kill
2. Go over the tools – the Editing Menu
a. Home icon = the start menu
b. Triangle = Play the game
c. Hand = Move the camera (in this mode the wheel on the mouse
will zoom)
d. The Kodu = allows you to add objects
e. The Path Tool = You can create a specific path that the objects
will use exclusively
f. Ground Brush = you can paint your terrain
g. Create Hills or Valleys = You can add hills and levels – right
click on this tool will take the hills away
h. Ground Smooth Tool = After using the Hills tool you can smooth
it out
i. Spikey tool makes building like terrain more like buildings
j. Water Tool = Adds water (you need to build terrain to contain
the water
k. Delete Tool is used to remove “objects” only like Kodu
l. World Settings = allows you to change the way your world is
going to work over all
3. Create a World
a. Paint more terrain with the Ground Brush
b. Add hills/valleys with the HillsValleys and Spikey Tools
c. After adding hills and spikes use the Ground Smooth Tool to
make the contour nicer
d. Using the Object Tool add trees and explore the other objects
that you can add (click on the Object tool and then click on the
screen pick the object)

3. Lesson 3 – Add Programing to move around
1. Make Objects move
a. Add a Cycler (click on the Object tool and then click on the
group in the lower right - pick the object)
b. Right Click on the Cycler (make sure the Object tool is active)
Explain the When and Do methods – We will create Cause and effect
– in most programing languages it would be called If and Then
statements
2. Make the cycler move continuously and dodge the trees
a. When = More -> Always Do = Move + Wander
Explain how the glass walls are up by default (that can be changed in the
World Settings menu)
b. When = See + Tree Do = Move + Avoid
c. Change the color of 1 tree to red (click on a tree and hit the
arrow keys)
d. When = See + Tree + Color = Red Do = Actions + Say + Type
a saying “Hey I see a red tree” + Once
Notice how the cycle is bumping into trees once again (this is because we
used “See” 2 times
e. When = See + Tree Do = Move + Avoid
Lesson 4 – Do the Programming Kodu Tutorial
1. Hit [Home] to get back to the main menu
2. Click on Load Worlds
3. Choose Lessons and the Programming Kodu Tutorial
4. Go through this tutorial with them at first instructing them to read
the screen above – if the class feels comfortable let them finish the
tutorial
5. Have the class do the Scoring tutorial working with their partners
to solve the problems given them (If time)

4. Second Class
(If we didn’t get to it) Do the Programming Kodu and Scoring Tutorials
(this will teach bumping & scoring)
Lesson 1 – Review how to use the tutorials and do Kodu and
the Golden Apple 1
1. If you are not looking at it hit [Home] to get back to the main menu
2. Click on Load Worlds - choose Lessons find Kodu and the Golden
Apple 1
3. Read the bottom of the screen once you find this tutorial: In this
chapter, your task is to teach Kodu to meet up with his friend,
Cycle
4. Read the Kodu bubbles, then hit [escape] to start editing
5. Click on the Object Tool and right click on Kodu to Program
6. On line 5: When = See + Cycle Do = Move + Toward
7. Play the game – when Kodu bumps Cycle it will claim Winner!
8. Continue with the rest of the Kodu and the Golden Apple Tutorials
9. Do Tutorials for ½ hour then have them pick a topic and build their
own world/games
In the Lessons there are tutorials and solutions for the Kodu and the
Golden Apple Tutorials