LEGO WeDo: Introducing Primary Students to Robotics with the Concept of Systems

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LEGO WeDo Introducing Primary Students to
Robotics with the Concept of Systems
Steve Coxon College of William and Marys Center
for Gifted Education, Williamsburg
145 315 PM Focus K-3

• LEGO WeDo is a new robotic system designed for
  primary age children. This session will both
  review how WeDo was utilized in a 15-hour summer
  program for kindergarten through third graders
  and provide an interactive demonstration of the
  drag-and-drop block programming language.

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Session overview

• Materials and format of 15 hour summer session
  (5, 3-hour days).
• Organization, scheduling
• Letters to parents
• Concept mapping
• Systems model
• Frayer vocabulary
• Programming overview

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• LEGO WeDo The science and engineering of
  roboticsThe Center for Gifted Educations (CFGE)
  Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) 2009Teacher
  Steve Coxon Assistant Mr. Smith
• Dear students and families, I am very excited to
  be teaching this new robotics course! Before
  leaving the classroom to pursue my Ph.D.
  full-time at the College of William and Mary and
  to work at the CFGE, I served as a FIRST LEGO
  League (FLL) coach for five years at the
  elementary school where I taught fourth and fifth
  grade in southwest Virginia. I have also served
  as a mentor to new coaches and as an FLL
  competition judge at both the local and state
  levels. When I saw that LEGO had introduced a new
  robotics kit, the WeDo, I knew I would have to
  design a new SEP course! In this course,
  students will problem solve to design, engineer,
  and program robots using LEGO bricks, a computer,
  a motor, and other special elements. Students
  will learn to incorporate tilt and motion sensors
  into their designs. Students will test their
  designs and programming. After reflecting on what
  did and did not work students can consult with
  peers, adapt programming, and adjust their
  designs. The macro-concept of systems and the
  Frayer model of vocabulary development will be
  integrated into the course to deepen students
  understandings of robotics use in science and
  engineering. Students will generally
  work in pairs and will have the experience of
  working with several other students, as we will
  switch pairs several times. We will also work on
  teamwork with particular foci on politeness, fair
  sharing, I messages, and constructive feedback.
  It is my expectation that students will act with
  gracious professionalism. On Friday,
  families are invited in at 1100 a.m. to observe
  their childrens robotics demonstrations.
  Families and students will receive pre- and
  post-assessments on the students understandings
  of robots and the concept of systems. Families
  and students will also receive summative
  assessment of the students daily progress on
  course objectives, teamwork, and robot design.
• Some important things to remember
• Students may arrive between 845 and 9 a.m.
  Please do not arrive earlier. Unless your child
  is participating in an afternoon SEP course,
  families should arrive to pick up between 1155
  a.m. and 1205 p.m. Families are invited in on
  Friday at 1100 a.m. to observe their childrens
  robotics demonstrations.
• Without exception, no child will be allowed to
  leave with any adult (even mom or dad) unless a
  drivers license matching a name on the childs
  pick up form is shown. Licenses will be checked
  every day for every child for your childs
  safety.
• If any LEGO pieces accidently make it home,
  please return them the following day. We do not
  have extra pieces for these kits at this time
  missing pieces could prevent some projects from
  completion.
• Students are welcome to bring a snack, but please
  do not bring peanuts or products containing
  peanuts. Students are not allowed to use the
  vending machines.
• We do not administer any medication except for
  EpiPens, which should have prior approval and be
  labeled with the childs first and last names.
• If needed, I may be reached by cell phone
  between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. at XXX-XXX-XXXX. I do
  not make a habit of answering the phone while
  teaching, but will check for messages at our
  break and around the end of class. You may also
  e-mail me at coxonsteve_at_hotmail.com.
  Sincerely,
• Steve Coxon

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LEGO WeDo 235 Jones Hall Family members are
welcome to come and see their students robotic
creations and programs today, arriving anytime
between 11 and 1130. Expect to spend about 10
minutes. Students will need to begin our end of
the day procedures at 1140 a.m. and class will
conclude at noon, as usual. For family members
who cannot make it in, I will take a digital
picture of each project. You are welcome to
e-mail me at coxonsteve_at_hotmail.com for a copy.
Also, several families have asked about
purchasing a WeDo set. Search for product number
W991479, which includes the necessary software,
at http//www.legoeducation.com/.
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LEGO WeDo The science and engineering of
robotics

• Teacher Mr. CoxonAssistant Mr. Smith
• Your name ________________________________

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Organization of your kit
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MONDAY
845-915 Check in Knex tub
915-10 Welcome, introduction, team building Hand squeeze challenge Concept map pre-assessment Frayer vocabulary model
1000-1030 Order the human robot game Ball
1030-1045 Bathroom break
1045-11 About the pieces organization and whats what Kits Intro video
11-1140 (add time here if speedier) Build Dancing Birds, program and experiment as time allows Kits
1140-12 Organize kit Complete days learning log Play with Knex Learning Log Knex tub
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Sample Concept Map
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Robot concept map (pre-assessment)
Robots
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Vocabulary Building
Definition Characteristics
Examples Non-Examples
Robot
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Learning Log for Monday Gracious
professionalism ___ I showed politeness ___ I
shared fairly ___ I gave my partner constructive
feedback ___ I used I messages when talking to
my partner What I did today What I learned
today I think that the most important thing
to remember is that What I still want to know
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TUESDAY
845-915 Check in Knex tub
915-930 Welcome back, review of yesterday, team building Hand squeeze challenge (OBSERVED 915-945)
930-10 Systems intro Systems pre-assessment Gracious professionalism
10-1030 Order the human robot game in pairs Balls or other object
1030-1045 Bathroom break
1045-1140 Build and program the smart spinner Kits
1140-12 Organize kit Complete days learning log Play with Knex Learning Log Knex tub
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Analyzing a robot as a system (Pre-assessment)
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Systems

• Provide examples
• Provide non-examples
• On the back, categorize your list. Include every
  item.
• What generalizations can you make about systems?

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Gracious Professionalism
Politeness example Politeness
non-example Fair sharing example Fair
sharing non-example
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Gracious Professionalism
I message example I message
non-example Constructive feedback
example Constructive feedback non-example
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Vocabulary Building
Definition Characteristics
Examples Non-Examples
Gracious Professionalism
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Learning Log for (circle one) Tuesday ___ I
showed politeness ___ I shared fairly ___ I gave
my partner constructive feedback ___ I used I
messages when talking to my partner What I did
today What I learned today I think
that the most important thing to remember is
that What I still want to know
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WEDNESDAY
845-915 Check in Knex tub
915-930 Welcome back, review of yesterday, team building Hand squeeze challenge
930-10 Systems continued Aquarium as a system
10-1030 Build and program a choice from the wild animals choices Kits
1030-1045 Bathroom break
1045-1140 Build and program a choice from the wild animals choices Kits
1140-12 Organize kit Complete days learning log Play with Knex Learning Log Knex tub
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Systems

• Draw an aquarium
• Draw and label
• Elements
• Inputs
• Outputs
• Boundaries

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Learning Log for (circle one) Wednesday ___ I
showed politeness ___ I shared fairly ___ I gave
my partner constructive feedback ___ I used I
messages when talking to my partner What I did
today What I learned today I think
that the most important thing to remember is
that What I still want to know
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THURSDAY
845-915 Check in Knex tub
915-930 Welcome back, review of yesterday, team building Hand squeeze challenge
930-10 Systems continued Systems model
10-1030 Design own or choose a model to build and program Kits
1030-1045 Bathroom break
1045-1140 Design own or choose a model to build and program Kits
1140-12 Organize kit Complete days learning log Play with Knex Learning Log Knex tub
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Analyzing a/an _____________________________ as a
system
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Learning Log for (circle one) Thursday ___ I
showed politeness ___ I shared fairly ___ I gave
my partner constructive feedback ___ I used I
messages when talking to my partner What I did
today What I learned today I think
that the most important thing to remember is
that What I still want to know
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FRIDAY
845-915 Check in Knex tub
915-930 Welcome back, review of yesterday, team building Hand squeeze challenge
930-10 Post-assessments Robots as a system Robot concept map
10-1045 Complete building and programming of own design Kits
1045-1100 Bathroom break
1100-1140 Parents attend Kits
1140-12 Organize kit Complete days learning log Play with Knex Learning Log Knex tub
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Robot concept map (post-assessment)
Robots
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Analyzing a robot as a system (Post-assessment)
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Learning Log for (circle one) Friday ___ I
showed politeness ___ I shared fairly ___ I gave
my partner constructive feedback ___ I used I
messages when talking to my partner What I did
today What I learned today I think
that the most important thing to remember is
that What I still want to know
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Concept goal and outcomes generalizations for
systems
Generalizations Outcomes (Students will be able to)
Systems have elements. Recognize that a robot is a system with identifiable elements.
Systems have boundaries. Define the boundaries of a robot system.
Systems have input and output. Discover that systems have identifiable inputs and outputs.
The interactions and outputs of a system change when its inputs, elements, or boundaries change. Observe the nature and behavior of a system as its elements interact with each other and with input from outside the system.
Center for Gifted Education College of William
and Mary