Shaler Area students as young as fourth grade are exploring computer coding during the week of Dec. 8-12 as part of a global movement to introduce students to computer coding.

Shaler Area students participated in the Hour of Code event, an initiative of Code.org, a nonprofit organization, with the goal of providing students with a one-hour introduction to computer science.

Students used the drag and drop program to write computer coding that would instruct characters from Disney’s “Frozen” to create patterns in ice.

“I thought it would be hard, but then I figured out it was really easy,” said Sarah Pfaffle, a fifth-grader.

Teachers in the Shaler Area Business and Information Technology Department worked to rewrite the curriculum to expand the computer science offerings throughout the district and incorporated the Hour of Code event into the curriculum for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders. Seventh- and eighth-graders at Shaler Area Middle School also participated.

The Hour of Code event shows students how lessons in math and science, such as angles and measurements, can be applied to their computer skills to complete the coding challenges.

“It was fun,” said fifth-grader Timmy Agbale, about learning to code. “I kept on trying and at some point it worked, and I was happy.”