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1 | Summary: | STEM Labs are fun STEM engagements that align to educational standards. All STEM Labs contain activities that are structured around iterative, Engineering processes, real-world applications and opportunities for students to build teamwork and collaboration skills. STEM Labs provide students with hands-on, minds-on engagements that encourages students to design creative solutions and innovate through experimentation. STEM Labs are flexible enough to be used in any instructional setting (e.g. in-school, after-school, camps, VEX robotics teams/clubs, etc.) The following Pacing Guide shows all VEX IQ (2nd generation) STEM Labs Units and Activities, VEX IQ (1st generation) STEM Labs, and VIQC Virtual Skills in sequence for a 36 week (full year) implementation. Note: If you are using VEX IQ (2nd generation) Kits to complete these STEM Labs, see this article to learn about how to adapt the STEM Labs for your classroom. Each VEX IQ (2nd generation) STEM Lab Unit is centered around a competition game, where students will apply their learning, use the Engineering process, and collaborate with teammates to compete in a classroom competition. STEM Lab Units are designed for flexible implementation, and can be used in a variety of time frames and sequences, to best meet the needs of your students. VEX IQ (2nd generation) Activities offer more ways to engage with the VEX IQ (2nd generation) Kit, providing simple one page exercises that blend STEM concepts with curricular content in fun and engaging ways. They are designed to be easy to follow for independent student use, giving them great flexibility in terms of classroom implementation. Activities can be used as part of a teacher's lesson, as an extension activity, or as a scaffolding strategy to support differentiated learning. | ||||||
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3 | Weeks | STEM Lab/Activity | Title | Level | Description | Build | Programming? | Key Concepts |
4 | Week 1 (Introduction) | Activity | Can You Name that Part? | Beginner | Students will play a game with a partner to find parts of the VEX IQ (2nd gen) Kit, to help learn part names and types. | None | No | Introduction |
5 | Activity | Get in Shape | Beginner | Students will use connectors to create different shapes from the pieces in the VEX IQ (2nd gen) Kit. | Free Build | No | Engineering | |
6 | Activity | Signs | Beginner | Students will create signs using pieces from their VEX IQ (2nd gen) Kit. | Free Build | No | Engineering | |
7 | Activity | Hang Out | Beginner | Students will use beams and plates to create a structure that extends the longest distance off of a desk. | Free Build | No | Engineering | |
8 | Activity | Pitch Pointillism | Beginner | Students will use VEX IQ Pitch Shafts to create a piece of original art. | None | No | Introduction; art | |
9 | Activity | Tread Art | Beginner | Students will use VEX IQ wheels to create a piece of abstract art. | Free Build | No | Introduction; art | |
10 | Activity | VEX Teasers | Beginner | Students will use VEX IQ (2nd gen) pieces to solve spatial reasoning brain teasers. | None | No | Spatial reasoning | |
11 | Weeks 2 & 3 | STEM Lab Unit | Tug of War | Beginner | Students will explore how mechanical advantage and center of mass affect the BaseBot’s ability to pull objects, and design the best robot for the game of Tug of War. | BaseBot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Center of mass; mechanical advantage |
12 | Week 4 | Activity | Get a Grip | Beginner | Students will test the grip of different VEX IQ (2nd gen) tires on an inclined plane. | Free Build | No | Friction |
13 | Activity | Build a Wagon | Beginner | Students will create an addition to the BaseBot to carry an IQ Cube up an inclined plane. | BaseBot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Engineering | |
14 | Activity | Wheel Turns | Beginner | Use your VEX IQ wheels and a ruler to measure how far a wheel travels each time it turns. | None | No | Measurement, Circumference | |
15 | Activity Series | Space Adventure | Beginner | Explore building techniques to design and construct a Moonbase, Buggy, Ramp, Pulley System, and a Motorized Rover to help astronauts in their missions on the Moon! | Free Build | No | Engineering | |
16 | Weeks 5 & 6 | STEM Lab Unit | Team Freeze Tag | Beginner | Students will drive the BaseBot using the IQ Controller, choose wheels, and add sensors to their robot to compete in the Team Freeze Tag competition. | BaseBot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Controller; sensors; programming |
17 | Week 7 | Activity | Square Dance | Beginner | Students will code the BaseBot to drive in a square. | BaseBot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Programming |
18 | Activity | Stop and Go | Beginner | Students will code their BaseBot to travel to different locations. | BaseBot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Programming | |
19 | Activity | To the Left, To the Right | Beginner | Students will code their BaseBot to turn left and right to navigate a path. | BaseBot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Programming | |
20 | Week 8 & 9 | STEM Lab Unit | Robot Soccer | Beginner | Students will explore how to use the Controller to drive their Simple Clawbot to grab, pass, and score the most points in a Robot Soccer competition. | Simple Clawbot | No | Engineering |
21 | Weeks 10 & 11 | STEM Lab Unit | Cube Collector | Intermediate | Students will explore the difference between competing in a driver controlled and autonomous competition. They will use both autonomous and driver control in order to score cubes in the Cube Collector competition. | Clawbot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Controller, Programming, Game Strategy |
22 | Weeks 12 & 13 | STEM Lab Unit | Up and Over | Intermediate | Students will explore how to design a Clawbot to collect, pick up, and move cubes from one side of the Field to the other, in the Up and Over competition. | Clawbot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Engineering |
23 | Week 14 | Activity | Cube Pusher | Beginner | Students will code their BaseBot to drive and push cubes out of a square on the Field. | BaseBot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Programming |
24 | Activity | Forward, Lift, Reverse | Beginner | Students will drive their Simple Clawbot to collect a cube, and test to see which direction is fastest. | Simple Clawbot | No | Controller | |
25 | Activity | Triple Transfer | Beginner | Students will drive their Simple Clawbot to move cubes to new locations. | Simple Clawbot | No | Controller | |
26 | Weeks 15 & 16 | STEM Lab Unit | Treasure Hunt | Intermediate | Students will build and code the Simple Clawbot with the Optical Sensor to recognize and collect red cubes to compete in the Treasure Hunt competition. | Simple Clawbot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Optical sensor; programming |
27 | Week 17 | Activity | Cube Crasher Challenge | Beginner | Students will code their BaseBot to drive and knock down a stack of cubes. | BaseBot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Programming |
28 | Activity | Cube Pusher | Beginner | Students will code their BaseBot to drive and push cubes out of a square on the Field. | BaseBot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Programming | |
29 | Activity | Golf Course Mower | Beginner | Students will code their BaseBot to navigate a "golf course" while avoiding the "sandpit" areas. | BaseBot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Programming | |
30 | Weeks 18 & 19 | STEM Lab Unit | Castle Crasher | Intermediate | Students will explore how to use the Optical and Distance sensors to seek, crash, and clear cube 'castles' to score points in the Castle Crasher Competition! | BaseBot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Distance sensor; Optical sensor; programming; algorithms |
31 | Week 20 | Activity | Marker Maze | Beginner | Students will code their BaseBot to navigate a maze they create, without knocking over any objects along the path. | BaseBot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Programming |
32 | Activity | Spin Your Wheels | Beginner | Students will calculate how fast the wheel on the BaseBot is spinning using data printed in a VEXcode IQ project. | BaseBot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Measurement; programming | |
33 | Activity | At a Distance | Intermediate | Students will code their BaseBot to navigate around a cube using the Distance Sensor. | BaseBot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Distance Sensor; programming | |
34 | Week 21 | Activity | 1..2..3...Green Light | Intermediate | Students will create a VEXcode IQ project to control the behavior of a robot using the colored light from the Touch LED Sensor. | Free Build | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Programming |
35 | Activity | Magic Movement | Intermediate | Students will code their BaseBot to move using the Distance Sensor to detect when their hand is close to the robot. | BaseBot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Distance Sensor; programming | |
36 | Week 22 | Activity | Pinball Wizard | Beginner | Students will create a pinball game that includes simple machines, using VEX IQ pieces. | Free Build | No | Engineering |
37 | Activity | Rubber Band Car | Beginner | Students will design and build a car powered only by a single rubber band. | Free Build | No | Engineering | |
38 | Week 23 | STEM Lab | M.A.D. Box | Beginner | Students explore how the mechanical advantages of torque and speed are related to gear ratios, where gear ratios can be found in daily life, and how they can be applied to their builds. There is a full investigation of calculating different gear ratios. | M.A.D Box | No (build only) | Engineering |
39 | Week 24 | STEM Lab | Grabber | Beginner | Students will build a device that uses scissor linkages to convert the direction of motion and explore the mechanics of a scissor linkage. | Grabber | No (build only) | Engineering |
40 | Week 25 | STEM Lab | Tallest Tower | Beginner | Students are asked to follow an Engineering process to build the tallest tower possible that can withstand a simulated earthquake. | Completed Earthquake Platform | No (exploring Device Info) | Engineering |
41 | Week 26 | Activity Series | Testbed - VEX IQ Sensors | Beginner | Investigate how VEX IQ Sensors work and create a game using sensor feedback! | Free Build | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Sensors |
42 | Week 27 | STEM Lab | Drive Forward and Reverse | Beginner | Students will explore robot behaviors and create a project to drive the Autopilot robot forward and in reverse using VEXcode IQ Blocks. | Autopilot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Programming |
43 | Week 28 | STEM Lab | Turning | Beginner | Students will explore robot behaviors and create a project for the Autopilot robot to turn using VEXcode IQ Blocks. | Autopilot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Programming |
44 | Week 29 | STEM Lab | Changing Velocity | Beginner | Students will explore changing the velocity of the Autopilot robot while creating projects that drive the robot forward, move it in reverse, and turn the robot using VEXcode IQ Blocks. | Autopilot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Programming |
45 | Week 30 | STEM Lab | Vision Sensor | Beginner | Students are asked to build and utilize an Autopilot robot that will detect objects using the Vision Sensor. Students will engage in configuring, tuning, and programming the Vision Sensor. | Autopilot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Engineering (using the Vision Sensor) |
46 | Week 31 | STEM Lab | Movement Challenge | Intermediate | Students will program their Autopilot to drive on a designated path through a sequence of movements using VEXcode IQ Blocks. | Autopilot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Programming |
47 | Week 32 | STEM Lab | Speedy Delivery | Intermediate | Students are asked to navigate a warehouse by programming the Claw and Arm of a Clawbot to grab and move packages to a loading dock for delivery. | Clawbot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Programming |
48 | Week 33 | STEM Lab | Loop, There It Is! | Intermediate | Students are asked to complete several mini-challenges to experiment with using loops within their projects. This information will be used later in the “Groove Machine Challenge,” where students will program robot movements to repeat, causing their robot to "dance." | Clawbot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Programming |
49 | Week 34 | STEM Lab | To Do, or Not To Do | Intermediate | Students will explore conditional statements and how button presses can provide input for a program to decide if a conditional is true or false. They will also explore how a conditional statement can be looped, repeating a decision or executing a behavior. | Clawbot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Programming |
50 | Week 35 | STEM Lab | Clawbot with Controller | Intermediate | Students will explore programming the Controller to maneuver the Clawbot. They will analyze different ways to program the Controller by running the example Clawbot Control example project and engaging in mini-challenges. | Clawbot | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Programming |
51 | Week 36 | STEM Lab | Full Volume | Beginner - Intermediate | Get started with the 2023-2024 VIQRC Full Volume game and the HeroBot, Byte! Students will build Byte, and use their HeroBot to begin to play Full Volume. Students will be introduced to using the Full Volume Game Manual, Driving Skills, and Autonomous Coding Skills, so that by the end of the Unit, they are prepared to compete in a Robot Skills Match. | Byte *Requires the IQ (2nd gen) Competition Kit | Yes (VEXcode IQ) | Competition |