Last summer at Eagle Academy for Young Men in the South Bronx, 4 high school teachers taught an enrichment program in literacy skills and computer programming to rising 8th graders, 4 hours a day, 4 days a week for 4 weeks. The curriculum was the first 2 units of StoryCode: "compYOUters" (computer basics and Scratch) followed by "Network Magic" (web design with HTML and CSS). In the process of learning to code, the students read poems, the short story "The Lady or the Tiger?", some quick drama and the YA novel A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin.
The feedback was phenomenally positive. The students loved both the literature and the coding skills they quickly amassed and were indignant that the program had to end after 4 weeks. The school is eager to use StoryCode again this summer and at least one teacher planned to incorporate Scratch into her regular classes this year. I never had any doubts that StoryCode was great for students, but I really admire how non-tech teachers took the reins of programming instruction after only 2 days of training from me and never looked back.