Curious about how Bootstrap aligns with Common Core Standards for Algebra 1 and 2, or for Mathematical Practice? Check out our Standards Matrix to see how Bootstrap can be integrating into your classroom practice.
We also offer several teachers-only materials, including an answer key to the student workbook, a quick-start guide to making the final project, and pre- and post-tests for teachers who are paticipating in our research study. For access to these materials, please fill out the password request form. We’ll get back to you soon with the necessary login information.
Student Workbook [PDF | OpenOffice ] - The lesson plans linked below are tightly integrated into the Student Workbook, which should be used with the curriculum. Solutions to the problems in the workbook are also available as part of our teacher-only materials.
Unit 1 [html | pdf ] - Students discuss the components of their favorite videogames, and discover that they can be reduced to a series of coordinates. They then explore coordinates in Cartesian space, and identify the coordinates for the characters in a game at various points in time. Once they are comfortable with coordinates, they brainstorm their own games and create sample coordinate lists for different points in time in their own game.
Unit 2 [html | pdf ] - Students are introduced to a set-mapping representation for functions, in which the function object exists as a means of translating points from a Domain into a Range. Coupled with their understanding of Circles of Evaluation, students generalize their understanding of functions to include other datatypes, including Strings and Images.
Unit 3 [html | pdf ] - Students are introduced to the Definitions window, and learn the syntax for defining values of various types. They are also introduced to the syntax of defining functions and creating examples.
Unit 4 [html | pdf ] - Students are introduced to the Design Recipe and apply it to simple problems.
Unit 5 [html | pdf ] - Students define functions that map position n to position n+1, allowing them to move their dangers, targets, and projectiles.
Unit 6 [html | pdf ] - Students discover Boolean types, and use them to create programs that test values, and then model scenarios using these programs.
Unit 7 [html | pdf ] - Students use geometry and knowledge of basic image functions to design characters for their games, this time using conditional branching to accomodate different key-events.
Unit 8 [html | pdf ] - Students discuss and then prove the Pythagorean theorem, and use this theorem - in conjunction with Booleans - in their games to detect when a collision has occurred.
Unit 9 [html | pdf ] - Students will edit game details and prepare for their Launch Party!
Unit 10 [html | pdf ] - Students translate from Racket into Algebra, and back. They then apply the Design Recipe to solve common word problems from Algebra texts.
Supplemental Lessons [html | pdf ] - for teachers looking for additional exercises, we have compiled many activities for students to go deeper into the material. Have students use composition and coordinates to create flags for their countries of origin, or for a country they want to make up! Have them use randomness and trigonometric functions for more sophisticated motion, or introduce data structures for more sophisticated games!
Bootstrap by Emmanuel Schanzer is licensed under a Creative Commons 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at www.BootstrapWorld.org. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at schanzer@BootstrapWorld.org.
Bootstrap uses WeScheme, a cloud-based IDE that requires no downloading or installation. Anyone with a Gmail account can start developing with WeScheme, storing and retrieving files from the cloud and doing all of their editing in a modern browser. Additionally, WeScheme programs can be shared simply by sending out a link, or posting it to sites such as Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, etc.
Want to run everything locally? Bootstrap also supports DrRacket, a multi-platform graphical environment. DrRacket runs on all major platforms (Windows, OS X, Unix/Linux) and programs written for one platform run seamlessly on the others, supporting a wide variety of classroom and home computing scenarios. Its emphasis on beginner-friendly features and support for images makes it ideal for Bootstrap.
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Show the world your support for Bootstrap, and let people know that yes, "I
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Front and Back:
