THE STACK
all 34 wednesdays, Aug 19 2026 to May 12 2027 · gold frames are milestone weeks · decks and keys live in the instructor layer
W01Aug 19
Orientation & Toolchain
No reading · due: Working toolchain + hello repo pushed
Course intro. Install and tour VS Code. Browser DevTools first look. Create GitHub account, first repo, first commit.
W02Aug 26
Computers, Instructions, Binary
Ch 1 Sec 1-3 + Shannon · due: Binary worksheet
What a computer really is. Hardware vs software. Bits, bytes, and binary counting.
W03Sep 2
Bases, Hex, and Where We See It
Ch 1 Sec 4-6 · due: Assignment 1 (number systems)
Number bases. Hexadecimal. Converting binary, decimal, hex. Hex in the wild: colors, MAC addresses.
W04Sep 9
Internet, Client/Server, IP, DNS
Ch 2 Sec 1-4 + Vannevar Bush · due: Diagram: the life of a request
How the internet moves data. Clients and servers. IP addressing and routing. DNS as the phonebook.
W05Sep 16
HTTP, URLs, Query Parameters
Ch 2 Sec 5-6 · due: Assignment 2 (internet vocabulary + URL anatomy)
The request/response cycle. Methods and status codes. Anatomy of a URL. Query parameters.
W06Sep 23
HTML Basics and Structure
Ch 3 Sec 1-4 + Berners-Lee · due: First HTML page pushed to repo
Tags, elements, nesting. The document skeleton. Common tags.
W07Sep 30
Writing, Testing, and Links
Ch 3 Sec 5-7 · due: Assignment 3 (multi-element page)
The edit-save-refresh loop. Practice with text tags. Links between pages.
W08Oct 7
CSS: Applying and Selecting
Ch 4 Sec 1-3 + Margaret Hamilton · due: Styled page with external sheet
What CSS is. Inline, internal, external. Selector syntax: tags, classes, ids.
W09Oct 14
Text, Color, and the Box Model
Ch 4 Sec 4-6 · due: Assignment 4 (styled article page)
Styling text and color. Margin, padding, spacing. Shorthand properties.
W10Oct 21
Divs and Structure Thinking
Ch 5 Sec 1-4 · due: Restructured page with regions
Why flat pages fail. The div. Wrapping and nesting. Thinking in page regions.
W11Oct 28
Layouts and CSS Grid
Ch 5 Sec 5-7 · due: Assignment 5 (grid layout page)
Layout patterns. Width and display. Building a page with CSS Grid.
W12Nov 4
Forms and Inputs
Ch 6 Sec 1-5 · due: Working form page
Why forms matter. The form element. Inputs, types, validation, radio and checkbox.
W13Nov 11
Selects, Textareas, Complete Forms
Ch 6 Sec 6-8 · due: Assignment 6 (complete form)
Dropdowns. File inputs and textareas. Assembling a complete labeled form.
W14Nov 18
Fall Project Studio
Ch 3-6 integration · due: Project 1 build progress
In-class build: multi-section static site with layout and a form.
// THANKSGIVING BREAK · NO CLASS NOV 25
W15Dec 2
Present + Midterm Review
Review Part 1, HTML, CSS · due: Project 1 due; review sheet
Polish and present the static site. Structured review for the midterm.
W16Dec 9
MIDTERM EXAM
None · due: Midterm exam
Written midterm: computers and internet, HTML, CSS and layout, forms.
// CHRISTMAS BREAK · NO CLASS DEC 16, 23, 30 · JAVASCRIPT BEGINS JAN 6
W17Jan 6
JavaScript: First Contact
Ch 7 Sec 1-4 · due: First scripts in repo
What JS is. Embedding scripts. Output. Variables and types.
W18Jan 13
Strings, Math, Prompt
Ch 7 Sec 5-7 · due: Assignment: greeting calculator
Concatenation and template literals. Math operators. Input with prompt.
W19Jan 20
Decisions: if, else, Booleans
Ch 8 Sec 1-4 · due: Decision script
if, else if, else. Comparison and logical operators. Boolean thinking.
W20Jan 27
Loops: while, for, nested
Ch 8 Sec 5-7 · due: Loop lab (milestone)
The while loop. The for loop. Nesting and looping patterns.
W21Feb 3
Arrays
Ch 9 Sec 1-4 · due: Array exercises
Why data structures. Arrays, operations, looping arrays.
W22Feb 10
Objects and Nested Data
Ch 9 Sec 5-8 · due: Object exercises
Objects. Access and update. Looping objects. Nesting arrays and objects.
W23Feb 17
Contact List Build
Ch 9 Sec 9 · due: Contact List assignment (milestone)
Guided walkthrough of the Contact List assignment, then independent completion.
W24Feb 24
Functions: Declare, Call, Scope
Ch 10 Sec 1-3 · due: Refactor earlier work into functions
What functions are. Declaring and calling. Parameters. Scope.
W25Mar 3
Expressions, Return, Practice
Ch 10 Sec 4-6 · due: Function practice set
Function expressions and anonymous functions. Return values. Practice.
W26Mar 10
The DOM and Events
Ch 11 Sec 1-4 · due: DOM manipulation page
The DOM as what JS sees. Selecting elements. Changing content and style. Events.
// SPRING BREAK · NO CLASS MAR 17
W27Mar 24
Reading Inputs, Mad Libs
Ch 11 Sec 5-7 · due: Mad Libs build (milestone)
Reading form values with JS. Interactive greeting. Start Mad Libs.
W28Mar 31
Single Page Apps and State
Ch 12 Sec 1-3 · due: SPA exercises
What an SPA is. State as the single source of truth. Hide, show, save.
W29Apr 7
Navigation, Architecture, Notes App
Ch 12 Sec 4-6 · due: Notes app (milestone)
In-app navigation. Basic architecture. Build the Notes app together.
W30Apr 14
Capstone: Plan, Shell, Style
Ch 13 Sec 1-3 · due: Capstone shell committed
Capstone begins: plan the app before the game. HTML shell. Styling.
W31Apr 21
Capstone: State and Ships
Ch 13 Sec 4-6 · due: Ships placing correctly
Centralized state object. Render vs logic. Utility functions. Ship placement.
W32Apr 28
Capstone: Init, Hits, Player Turn
Ch 13 Sec 7-9 · due: Playable player turn
Initialization flow. Hit detection in pure logic. The player's turn via events.
W33May 5
Capstone: Computer, Win, Save
Ch 13 Sec 10-12 · due: Complete playable game
The computer's turn. Win and loss as state rules. Save and load.
W34May 12
Review, Stretch, Final Showcase
Ch 13 Sec 13-14 · due: Capstone + GitHub portfolio presented
Architecture review. Optional stretch goals. Present capstones and portfolios.