Intro to Python Part 1
Objectives
- Students will learn the basics of Python
Vocabulary
- Python, n. A programming language
- Variable, n. A value that can change, depending on conditions or on information passed to the program
- Integer, n. A positive or negative whole number, including 0
- Float, n. A data type composed of a number that is not an integer, because it includes a fraction represented in decimal format
Resources
- Student Deepnote Activity Part 1
- Answer Key Deepnote Activity Part 1
- W. E. B. Du Bois’s Data Portraits: Visualizing Black America Video: “The colorful charts, graphs, and maps presented at the 1900 Paris Exposition by famed sociologist and black rights activist W. E. B. Du Bois offered a view into the lives of Black Americans, conveying a literal and figurative representation of “the color line.” From advances in education to the lingering effects of slavery, these prophetic infographics–beautiful in design and powerful in content–make visible a wide spectrum of Black experience. W. E. B. Du Bois’s Data Portraits collects the complete set of graphics in full color for the first time, making their insights and innovations available to a contemporary imagination. As Maria Popova wrote, these data portraits shaped how “Du Bois himself thought about sociology, informing the ideas with which he set the world ablaze three years later in The Souls of Black Folk. “Includes contributions from Aldon Morris, Silas Munro, and Mabel O. Wilson.”- W. E. B. Du Bois’s Data Portraits Book Description.
- Intro to Python Discussion Video
Preparation
- The teacher and students will need to make a Deepnote account before doing this lesson
- Teachers and students can set up a free educactor account by using their school email
- If you do not wish to use Deepnote, you can also export the Deepnote activities as .ipynb files, and then upload them to Jupyter Lab or Google Colaboratory
- Here is the “Intro to Python Part 1” Deepnote lesson that you and the students should create a duplicate of, so you can edit your own Deepnote
- Review the answer key before doing this lesson
Activity Steps
- Play the video titled, “Intro to Python” from the beginning until the 1 minute and 51 seconds mark. Here is the script that is used in the video.
- Watch the video titled, “W. E. B. Du Bois’s Data Portraits: Visualizing Black America” and instruct students to complete the 3-2-1.
- Once everyone completes the discussion board, everyone should discuss their answers in their small group of 10 people for 5 minutes, then in the larger group of 20 students for 5 minutes
- Play the video titled, “Intro to Python” from 1 minute and 51 seconds - the end. Here is the script for this video. The script contains the exact steps for the activity
- Instruct students to Complete Part 1 of the Intro to Python activity . The specific directions for how to complete this activity are in the Deepnote itself. Here is an overview of what this Deepnote will discuss:
- How to use Deepnote
- Printing
- Comments
- Variables
- Each Deepnote activity is designed with the intention of student-facing language, so that students can move through the lesson at their own pace. However, given that this is the first Deepnote activity, consider moving through at least part of the lesson as a group.
- If students need additional support, consider showing them components of the answer key, or providing the answer key at the end of class for students to review and check their own work.
Data Activism Program © 2025 by Raechel Walker is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0