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According to , 90 percent of parents in the U.S. want their children to learn computer science鈥攊t will be crucial for many jobs in the near future鈥攂ut only 40 percent of schools teach it. Critics claim that it is mainly the more affluent schools that offer computer science courses, thus denying those who attend poorer schools the chance to learn necessary skills. A focus on STEM is not enough: Code.org also reports that while 70 percent of new STEM jobs are in computing, only 7 percent of STEM graduates are in computer science. It is imperative that savvy schools begin to focus some STEM resources on computer science and programming.

In my opinion, parents of every student in every school at every level should demand that all students be taught how to code. They need this skill not because they鈥檒l all go into it as a career鈥攖hat isn鈥檛 realistic鈥攂ut because it impacts every career in the 21st-century world. Any country recognizing that will benefit in the long term.

With the following resources, you can teach programming to every student and every age.

Teaching Coding to the Youngest Students

• : Use these age-appropriate games to teach your elementary students coding concepts. From Puppy Adventures to Math Art and Maze Craze, you鈥檒l find games that students in grades 1鈥�8 will enjoy. Tynker also has that you may want to peruse if you鈥檙e interested in combining programming with social studies, English, math, and science.
• started as an app targeted to students as young as kindergarten age, but it鈥檚 now . The first 30 levels are free, more than enough for an hour of code. Kodable is recommended for ages 5 and up, but there are stories of using the app with great success. Students don鈥檛 need to know how to read in order to program using this game.
• is a version of Scratch intended for ages 5鈥�7 and available as a free iPad or Android app.
• A favorite of some programmers, targets children ages 4鈥�8.
• is a board game that teaches children the basics of programming without having to use any technology.

Teaching Coding to Kids 8 and Up

• is a free iPad app for upper elementary and above. Wesley Fryer has in the classroom that are full of challenges that you can use with students. He also recommends activating the emoji keyboard (go to Settings > General > Keyboards) for use with the program.
• is a programming game that can be downloaded or used online and is supported by MIT. It has a powerful in which students can program a holiday card in their web browser. If you want options for other times of the year, use the to teach your students Scratch. Teachers can watch , visit ScratchEd鈥檚 Hour of Code Ideas forum to ask questions, or search 鈥渉our of code鈥� in the forum for lesson plans using everything from coordinate geometry to Latin. Scratch is considered acceptable for beginners. (Some educators use , originally a version of Scratch but now written in JavaScript; it is supported by University of California at Berkeley. There are several alternatives to Scratch with a similar interface. Give to your IT department if there are technical reasons why you can鈥檛 run Scratch or Snap.)
• is a puzzle game with that lasts an hour and full versions for sale on iTunes and Google Play. It teaches planning, testing, debugging, procedures, and loops.
• is a popular platform with . You can use it to create a game, tell a story, or make an animated video. Like Scratch, Alice is free and supported by . There are two versions of Alice. The newer 3.0 version still has a few bugs but sports many new, very cool animations. This long-standing platform is a rewarding tool that kids will want to keep using past the initial hour. Alice is considered more for the intermediate student, but experienced teachers can use it with beginners.
• is a programming tool that can be easily used on a PC or Xbox to create a simple game. There鈥檚 also a math curriculum. , Code.org鈥檚 director of education, used this in . (I鈥檝e used it as well.)
• offers a free version that you might want to use for your Hour of Code, but if you fall in love with it, the educational package allows teachers to track student progress, among other features. The company supports educators with and .
• is an option if you want to make games that can be played in any web browser. The aren鈥檛 as comprehensive as with some of the other tools here and the community isn鈥檛 vibrant, but this one has been around for a while and might be fun for a more tech-savvy teacher.
• is an interesting mix of chemistry, reading, and programming for ages 12 and up. As students read the 10,000-word novelette, they have to solve puzzles by assembling molecules. SpaceChem created . This tool is available for download on Steam and installation on Windows, Mac, and Ubuntu. (Download a free demo.)
• is a multiplayer game that teaches coding. It鈥檚 free to play at the basic level, and students don鈥檛 have to sign up. It has the advantage that teachers don鈥檛 have to know computer science to empower learning in programming. It鈥檚 recommended for ages 9 and up. See for the information and standards covered in this game.
• continues to be popular as the new owner of Minecraft, Microsoft, continues to collect and share .
• is a board game designed for children ages 9 and up. This is a great addition to your game corner.

Additional Resources

• Check out the from Khan Academy for ways to teach your students. These lessons are for older students with one computer each, but they can be adapted to a flipped class model.
• While the official Hour of Code is in December, see these for educators, (no computer required), and to help you teach computer science to kids of all ages at any time of the year.

Use Hardware to Make Something Cool

Programming, making, and creating have never been easier. If you鈥檙e getting into the maker movement or Genius Hour, these should be staples in your classroom. While they may take longer than an hour to code, they鈥檙e definitely something 21st-century schools can use, because students are programming and building with their hands.

• The is an inexpensive computer. There are many things with a Raspberry Pi, but after setting one up with my 15-year-old nephew, I recommend that the teacher be a tad more advanced than I am. This is definitely a tool I鈥檇 use in my classroom. (A kit costs less than $100.)
• I am in love with the 鈥攊t makes Arduino easy. An is basically a motherboard that you can make, plus a programming kit. I have one of these in my classroom, and the students are fixated for hours. (A kit is around $100.)
• are part of my curriculum every spring. Students love Legos! I have six older kits that we鈥檝e used for years. The newer NXT kits have cool robots that can be made and programmed. This product has been around for years, so there are many resources for teachers. If you purchase an older kit on eBay, make sure it will work with newer operating systems.
• Dash and Dot are two endearing little robots that can be used with ages 5 and up. These robots have apps that can be used to program them, for which children ages 8 and up can use , the visual programming language created by Google. Older students can use Objective C or Java to program the bots.
• are fantastic robots that can go almost anywhere (my students have taken them across water). The gives teachers and parents a curriculum for using the bots and teaching programming even while the adult is still learning.

How Do You Teach Coding in Your Classroom?