Module 1: Introduction to Python

🪄 The concept

Python is a programming language — a way to give instructions to a computer. Your first tools are variables (labeled boxes that hold values) and print() (which shows text on the screen).

A student in goggles points a wand at a chalkboard where colorful shapes become code brackets. — Rowan’s first rule: tell the computer exactly what you mean.

You'll meet strings (text in quotes), integers (whole numbers like house points), floats (decimals like potion strength), and booleans (True/False). Later modules build on these same ideas.

Math stays light here: we practice with school houses, spells, and points against the dark arts so the concepts stick without feeling like a math class.

Harry Potter: "And how do you conjure it?"
Remus Lupin: "With an incantation, which will work only if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory."

💬 Discussion

Talk these through with a friend, a class, or just your notes app:

If a variable is a labeled box, what would you label in your own life? (phone battery, playlist, homework list…)
Why might a computer need to know the difference between the text "25" and the number 25?
When would you use True/False instead of a number or a name?

💻 Code walkthrough

Copy into your editor, or download the .py file and run it. Tinker — change names, numbers, and spells.

Variables and printing variables_and_print.py

# Strings hold text — use quotes around wizard names and spells
wizard_name = "Hermione"
spell = "Lumos"

# print() sends output to the screen (your "incantation" to the computer)
print("Welcome,", wizard_name)
print(spell, "— the tip of your wand glows!")

# You can combine text with + (concatenation)
greeting = "Hello, " + wizard_name + "!"
print(greeting)

Numbers and type conversion type_conversion.py

# Integers are whole numbers (house points, year level)
house_points = 50
year = 3

# Floats can have decimals (potion strength, quiz scores)
potion_strength = 7.5

# input() always returns a string — convert before doing math
points_text = "25"          # imagine this came from input()
points = int(points_text)   # turn "25" into the number 25
total = house_points + points
print("Total house points:", total)

# str() turns a number into text for friendly messages
print("You are in year " + str(year))

f-strings (modern way to mix text and variables) f_strings_modern_way_to_mix_text_and_variables.py

spell = "Wingardium Leviosa"
caster = "Hermione"
attempts = 3

# f"..." lets you embed variables inside { }
print(f"{caster} cast {spell} ({attempts} tries)")

# You can put expressions inside the braces too
points = 15
print(f"House earns {points * 2} bonus points!")

Booleans and simple math booleans_and_simple_math.py

# True and False are special values used in conditions later
has_wand = True
is_petrified = False

dark_points = 12
good_deed_points = 20
net_points = good_deed_points - dark_points

print("Has wand:", has_wand)
print("Net house points:", net_points)

🧪 Try this

Open hello.py, change the name on the last line to yours, and run python3 hello.py.
In variables_and_print.py, add a second spell variable and print both spells in one friendly sentence using an f-string.
Break it on purpose: remove the quotes around a string, run the file, read the error, then fix it. Errors are clues, not curses.

📁 Local files

All runnable Python for this module:

module-01-intro/ · all modules