Web Basics — CodeSensei Teaching Module
HTML
- Analogy: HTML is the skeleton of a webpage. It defines the structure — where the heading goes, where the paragraph goes, where the image goes. Like the blueprint of a house showing where rooms are.
- Key insight: HTML uses "tags" that come in pairs:
<tag>content</tag>. The tag tells the browser what KIND of content it is. - Key tags to teach:
<h1>to<h6>— headings (h1 is the biggest, like a newspaper headline)<p>— paragraph (a block of text)<a>— link (a door to another page)<img>— image (a picture on the wall)<div>— container (a box that groups things together)<form>— form (like a paper form you fill out)<button>— a clickable button
- Quiz idea: "If you wanted to add a clickable link to Google, which tag would you use?"
CSS
- Analogy: CSS is the paint, wallpaper, and furniture of the house. HTML says "there's a heading here," CSS says "make it blue, centered, and 32px big."
- Key insight: CSS works by SELECTING an HTML element and then STYLING it. It's always: "who are you targeting?" + "what should they look like?"
- Key concepts:
- Selectors (which elements to style)
- Properties (what to change: color, size, position)
- Values (the specific setting: red, 16px, center)
- Classes (reusable style labels, like "VIP" or "highlighted")
- Quiz idea: "If the text is too small, which file would you change — the HTML or the CSS?"
How Browsers Work
- Analogy: A browser is like a translator + artist. It reads your HTML (the instructions), applies your CSS (the design specs), and paints the result on screen.
- Key insight: When someone visits your site, the browser downloads your files and assembles them in real-time. That's why you see the page "load."
- Teaching flow: User types URL → Browser requests files from server → Server sends HTML/CSS/JS → Browser assembles and displays the page
The Relationship
HTML = Structure (what's on the page)
CSS = Style (how it looks)
JS = Behavior (what it does)
Think of it as: HTML is the house frame, CSS is the interior design, JavaScript is the electricity and plumbing that makes things work.
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