Welcome

This is a limited-distribution, prototype-release of a self-guided version of our Bootstrap curricula. This version takes students step-by-step through our materials, integrating lesson materials with a programming environment. We're still refining this version, and welcome comments or feedback.

Once you enter the materials, you will see a split screen with notes/instructions on the left and (initially) a larger blank area on the right. A few steps in, you will get a link to access our online programming environment (WeScheme). The programming environment will then fill the right-side space. If you prefer to program outside of the notes pages, you can access WeScheme online (saving files through a Google account), or you can work locally in DrRacket.

The notes make frequent reference to the student workbook, which has various exercises to help students through the curriculum. You will find a link to the workbook on the index page for whichever curriculum you click on in the Materials table that follows.

If you have questions, feel free to email us (we assume that you know someone on the Bootstrap team personally if you are using this prototype version).

Materials

We provide two curricula. Bootstrap:1 teaches students to apply mathematical concepts and rigorous programming principles to create a simple videogame. The second module, Bootstrap:2, helps students create more advanced games using data structures, events, and other more advanced computing topics. We've listed the breakdown of concepts in the table below.

	Mathematics	Programming
Starting with Bootstrap:1... Students create a simple, 3-character game involving a player, a target and a danger. They design what each character looks like, and use algebraic concepts to detect collisions, handle keystrokes, and determine how they move and interact.	Word Problems Coordinate planes Order of Operations Variables Functions Function Tables Domain and Range Function Composition Inequalities Piecewise Functions Pythagorean Theorem Number lines Polygons	Numbers, Strings and Images Defining Functions Unit Testing Boolean Logic Multi-input Functions Mixed-Type Functions
Continuing to Bootstrap:2... Students learn how the world-based event loop that drives their Bootstrap 1 game works, and use it to create animations using simple datatypes for their world. They then learn about data structures, and design a World structure for a sophisticated game of their own design.	Complex functional relationships Exploring Randomness Connections to Trigonometry	Event-Driven Programming Data Structures Whole-Program Design Data Modeling Encapsulation Connections to recursion, lists, and algorithms

After Bootstrap...

If you want to move on from Bootstrap, we recommend one of the following options:

• Picturing Programs focuses heavily on images and animation, as students explore recursion, lists, trees and algorithms -- all using the same language and Design Recipe they've learned in Bootstrap.
• How to Design Programs is a textbook aimed at more college-level audiences, going beyond the material covered in Picturing Programs. HtDP is currently in its second edition, and the material is being actively updated.