Coding project planning worksheets for Grade 4 Computer Science help students separate what a program should achieve from the features it needs. Using Mia’s spelling game as a concrete example, this resource introduces the decisions that come before programming: choosing a goal, selecting useful features, sketching the screen, and putting instructions in order.

The central distinction is practical: helping classmates practise animal spellings is a goal; adding a button that plays an animal name is a feature. Students examine how those choices connect, why decorations can wait, and how a partner’s review can reveal an action missing from a plan.

Follow a game from idea to test

The reading follows Mia as she prepares her game. Her screen sketch places the button, answer box, and feedback message. Her instructions describe playing a name, accepting an answer, comparing its spelling, and showing a message. A partner notices that players need to hear the name again, giving students a specific example of how reviewing a plan can improve it before coding begins.

The lesson also makes clear that planning does not replace testing. Mia will try correct and incorrect answers after programming and investigate results that differ from her plan. This connects preparation with checking whether a finished program works as intended.

What you receive and what students practise

• A worksheet with a dialogue question, definition matching, a cloze passage, and diagram labeling to develop coding vocabulary and interpret planning ideas.
• The reading passage, Planning Mia’s Spelling Game, followed by multiple-choice questions, true-or-false statements, short answers, and an extended response examining goals, features, screen layout, instruction sequence, partner review, and testing.
• A separate Teacher Guide PDF containing Learning Objectives, Teaching Tips, Discussion Questions, and Common Mistakes.

Use before students begin programming

Introduce the resource before a classroom coding project to establish a shared language for planning. Read Mia’s example together, then use the worksheet for individual practice or partner discussion. Ask learners to support their explanations with details from the passage, especially when distinguishing a goal from a feature or explaining why an instruction belongs in a particular position.

The value lies in making preparation visible and discussable. Teachers can see whether learners confuse screen placement with purpose, overlook a necessary action, or assume a reviewed plan guarantees a working program. Those specific misconceptions provide a useful starting point for feedback before students move into programming.