Round and Round the Robot Goes
Standard 6 of the K-1 Computational Thinking Concept Area
NYS CS & DF Learning Standards:
K-1.CT.6 Follow an algorithm to complete a task.
Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will proudly be able to state:
ALGORITHM
SEQUENCE
01
02
VOCABULARY
A set of instructions or rules used in order to solve a problem.
A set of events that follow
one another in order to
achieve an end result.
ALGORITHM
SEQUENCE
01
02
VOCABULARY
Activation
What happens if you are trying to complete a task that is foreign or unknown to you?
How can you follow simple directions when you don’t know exactly how to accomplish the task at hand?
LESSON VIDEO
APPLICATION ACTIVITY
Programmers and Robots
The Robot will wait outside the door and the programmers will write directions on the board for the Robot to follow to find the hidden object.
The rules are that the programmer has to give directions without naming objects, to get the robot to the object successfully.
**See teacher notes before starting this activity in lesson plan.
CLOSURE
What were some things we have learned from this activity?
What was hard about giving directions?
Why is it important to give steps in order?
What would happen if we skipped a step?
CLOSURE
When we program a computer or an electronic device, it is important that you input a set of algorithms that will get the end result you need. If you miss a step in the algorithm, or sequence of events, the computer will be unable to complete the task.
A computer does not have a brain like a human and cannot think for itself. This means that if you don’t give the exact sequence needed, the outcome could be one that’s not wanted.
Extension Activity
Materials Needed: Coding critters or other robots (without a screen)
Object that will be the target object
Sequence: Students will get to work together with their coding critters, code a mouse or code a pillar. Students will race their creatures by putting in a sequence of algorithms into their electronic coding toy to be the first group to reach the object that the teacher has picked out for the groups to reach to successfully complete the task.
This activity can be done without the coding robot toys where the teacher uses the robot assignment from the initial lesson, but this time, there are two robot students who go into the hall and two other classmates will write out their tasks to try and get their robot to the hidden object first.
This race game will allow students to be competitive and learn how perception can influence a set of directions and how an algorithm needs to be unbiased, to the point and without personal thoughts that could influence the final outcome of the robot if the task is unclear or missing key components.