The Little Engine That Could - (an American fairy tale) - came to mind when I recently collaborated with Third Grade Teacher Terri Samuelson on a Force and Motion Science Unit. As a kid, I loved this story because it teaches the value of optimism and hard work.
As the Technology Integrationist, I, of course, look for purposeful technology entry points to enhance existing curriculum so the Force and Motion Unit intrigued me. I dived into some research on the possibility of incorporating the Wonder Workshop Dash robots into this unit. I posted on the Wonder Workshop Global Educator Community Facebook page and received some wonderful ideas. Everyone should JOIN this group if you have Wonder Workshop products!
I instantly shared these ideas with Mrs. Samuelson. She was all in. We began to collaborate on the unit.
This is what we designed.
Overview:
Students will conduct an investigation using and programming Dash to go up a ramp. They will:
observe Dash in motion and determine what code is needed to get it to move up the ramp
identify a pattern in the motion Dash makes (using their code)
predict future movement as they determine how they will debug their coding
Content Standard:
Make observations and/or measurements of an object’s motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.
Materials Needed:
1 Dash robot per group of 2 students
1 Chromebook with Blockly Code
Construction materials
Wooden board
Cardboard box
Piece of cardboard
Masking tape
Lesson Objectives:
Design a ramp (with materials given)
Code Dash to travel the length of the ramp
Gather Data: Record (program code), predictions, and actual results for each “run”.
To say the students were engaged is an understatement! There was so much excitement, computational thinking, collaboration, problem-solving, and usage of unit vocabulary going on in the classroom that made us smile.
Students used this Data Collection Table to record their test runs.
When student groups had successfully programmed Dash to climb the hill, they reflected on these writing prompts.
How does speed affect how far or efficiently Dash can travel on a slope?
Does the slope affect how far Dash can travel? Why?
What pattern did you identify that helped you predict the movement Dash would make?
Thanks Mrs. Samuelson for inviting me into your space to collaborate on a fantastic Science Unit where we could incorporate Computer Science foundation skills too! Give Mrs. Terri Samuelson a follow! She does amazing things in her classroom with her students.
I think Dash can! I know Dash did!