CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SAM Labs – the award-winning technology and education company with hands-on, coding and technology teaching resources in more than 4,000 schools – today announced the launch of new coding and problem-solving curriculum and resources for kindergarten and first-grade students (K-1). Click to Tweet.
The new K-1 product line will begin in kindergarten with a series of ten hands-on learning lessons focused on skills such as creativity, problem-solving, sequencing and basic technologies. Nine first grade program lessons will be introduced shortly afterward and both programs will be fully available in January 2020. Like SAM Labs’ other popular programs and curriculum (Learn to Code and STEAM), the new K-1 courses will be fully standards-aligned in science, math, and language.
“We’ve enjoyed great success with our existing SAM Lab courses, opening the worlds of technology and creativity to countless young minds,” said Joachim Horn, Chief Executive Officer of SAM Labs. “These new courses will allow even younger learners to start these great journeys, absorbing and enjoying the lessons even if the answer isn't correct because the material is centered on encouraging creativity, adventure, and exploration.”
The K-1 courses will introduce Baby Blocky, a new character to the SAM Labs family and engage early learners with a shared comic strip reading focused on solving a problem. From there, instructional guidance will highlight skills such as coding, creativity, exploration, sorting and classifying, solution thinking, collaboration, and finding multiple solutions to a single challenge. In addition to the required hardware and teacher materials, the K-1 kits will also include cross-discipline and extension and enrichment activities.
“When teachers started to use our products, we were often asked why we did not have something for lower levels, something to introduce concepts like exploration and collaborative problem-solving,” said Horn. “Nothing was really doing that for K-1 students, so the teachers were right, and we are very excited to partner with them in this new and rewarding way.”
The new K-1 product is expected to complete the line of SAM Labs’ offerings, giving the company matching, complementary education products stretching from kindergarten through grade eight. Each SAM product is designed to enable non-technical teachers to deliver engaging and effective STEAM, coding, and problem-solving experiences to their classrooms through fully contained, standards-compliant, ready-to-use teaching kits. SAM’s mix of wireless electronics for easy classroom management, game-based apps for progression through coding, and teacher training makes a powerful learning experience that is unique in the technology education space.
The application and virtual blocks used in the K-1 product will be free to use.
This week, SAM Labs also released a comprehensive guide on all things STEAM K-12 to help teachers, parents, and school leaders implement a classroom, school, or district-wide program. The guide helps educators understand the differences between STEAM and STEM, best practices, implementation models, and ways to gather support for an inclusive program. View the guide here.
Also this week, SAM Labs released its Ultimate Edtech Grant Writing Guide and a list of grants. Find both here.
For the Media: Online press kit with images
About SAM Labs
SAM Labs offers innovative courses to teach STEAM and coding with confidence. Their easy-to-use solutions, developed for specialist and generalist teachers alike, enable students to conduct experiments, solve problems and design prototypes. Their kits include practical curriculum-aligned courses (Grades K-8), Bluetooth connected hardware blocks and interactive software - ready-made to master computational thinking. Join SAM Labs’ vibrant community of practice at SAMLabs.com. Follow them on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.
