Title:
Pesaj’s Code: We Choose the Road! Building Identity Through Creative Programming [Download]Authors:
Erika Victoria Sztyrle
Index Terms:
Abstract:
In April 2025, third-grade students at Arlene Fern Community School engaged in Pesaj’s Code: We Choose the Road!, an interdisciplinary project developed around Pesaj (Passover), the Jewish holiday commemorating the Israelites’ liberation from slavery in ancient Egypt. The initiative invited children to explore Jewish history, values, and identity through digital storytelling. Using ScratchJr, students collaborated in small groups to animate key moments of the Exodus narrative, integrating Spanish, Hebrew, and coding as a triple-literacy creative experience. The project followed the Coding as Another Language (CAL) framework developed by Prof. Marina Umaschi Bers, which positions programming as a medium for meaning-making, expression, communication, and ethical reflection. Students storyboarded scenes, selected characters and actions, incorporated Hebrew vocabulary, and translated their ideas into code while collaboratively shaping interpretations of the Exodus narrative. Educators’ reflections highlight how coding functioned not only as a technical skill supporting computational thinking but also as a language for cultural storytelling, enabling students to connect with Jewish traditions while expressing values such as freedom, resilience, and empowerment. This article describes the design, implementation, and outcomes of the project, illustrating how CAL principles can support social-emotional learning and values-based, cross-curricular experiences in early elementary education.
DOI:
How to cite:
Erika Victoria Sztyrle, "Pesaj’s Code: We Choose the Road! Building Identity Through Creative Programming", IEEE-RITA, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 315-318, Jan. 2026. doi: 10.1109/RITA.2026.3685804