Lesson 1 — What Is Abstraction: The Secret of the Metro Map

Level: Apprentice — roughly Grade 7 / ages 12–13 Duration: 20–25 minutes Format: Web quiz (play right away, no prep needed) Concept: Abstraction = cut the unnecessary details, keep only what solves the problem

Learning Objective

Kids can explain why a metro map "lies" about distances and track curves yet works better for travel than a real map — because it keeps only what matters (station order, transfer points). That's the heart of the abstraction programmers use daily.

Do It Together (Parent-Child Co-participation)

Open a metro/bus map next to satellite view in Google Maps — discuss which suits which job, then have your child draw a home-to-school map keeping only the essentials.