Learning Python in Key Stage 3: what to expect in Years 7 to 9

A sensible order

• Output and variables: print, strings and numbers, f-strings.
• Input and maths: int() and float(), the arithmetic operators, rounding.
• Selection: if, elif and else.
• Loops: for with range, while with a condition.
• Lists, then functions, then strings.
• Finally small games, which use everything above, and turtle drawing for a bit of art.

Four ways to practise one idea

• Predict the output: read a short program and say what it prints. Cheap, quick and very revealing.
• Run and change: a working program with one change to make.
• Fix the bug: a realistic beginner's slip to find (a missing colon, = instead of ==, an off-by-one range).
• Write the code: a short spec, from scratch, checked by tests.

What PrepAcer gives you

Python Lab runs the code in the browser, so there is nothing to install: write, press Run, and see the output, the turtle drawing and which tests pass. Each of the eight units has all four kinds of task and ends in a project: Guess the Number, Mad Libs, Dice Battle, Quiz Master, Treasure Hunt and Turtle Art.