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Summary

Materials Needed

The following is a list of all the materials and teaching resources that are needed to complete the VEX 123 Lab. First listed are the materials needed for the entire Lab, including the 123 Robot. In certain Labs, links to teaching resources in a slideshow format have been included. Not all Labs will include a slideshow. These slides can help provide context and inspiration for your students. All slides are editable, and can be projected for students or used as a teacher resource.

Materials Purpose Recommendation

123 Robot

For performing the behaviors in the project.

 1 per group

Coder

For building a project to use with the 123 Robot.

 1 per group

Coder cards

For inserting into the Coder to create a project.

 6 Coder cards per group. See Environment Setup below for specifics

Lab 1 Image Slideshow

Google Doc / .pptx / .pdf

For teacher and student context during the Lab.

 1 for teacher facilitation

123 Field

Area for testing projects with the 123 Robot.

 2 tiles and 2 walls per group

Little Red Robot printable (optional)

Google Doc / .docx / .pdf

For use to cut and attach to the field to create Grandmother’s house.

 1 per group

Classroom art supplies (paper, markers, tape, pipe cleaners)

For decorating the 123 Robot and making Grandmother’s house (if not using printable).

 1 set for whole class to access

123 Robot Art Ring

For attaching decoration to the 123 Robot to turn it into the Little Red Robot.

 1 per group

VEX 123 PDF Printables (optional) 

 To use as manipulatives to support student project planning and saving. 1 per group

Environment Setup

  • Gather the materials each group needs before class. For this Lab, each group of two students will need a 123 Robot, Coder, Art Ring, two 123 Tiles and Walls to setup the field, and the following Coder cards:
    • One "When start 123" Coder card
    • Three "Drive 1" Coder cards
    • One "Drive 2" Coder card
    • One "Drive 4" Coder card

6 coder cards used in the Lab including: when start 123, drive 4, drive 2, and three drive 1 cards.
Coder cards needed
  • To keep your class organized, and your students focused on only the necessary Coder cards, only give them access to the cards listed above. Review the Facilitation Strategies in the Engage section for turn taking ideas to help students share responsibilities during the Lab. For groups larger than the recommended two students, provide students with more granular roles. Examples of responsibilities for students in this Lab:
    • Placing the 123 Robot on the field in the correct location.
    • Inserting the Coder cards and pressing the "Start" button.
    • Setting up the field and decorating the 123 Robot. 
    • Keeping track of the Coder cards and lining them up to plan the group's projects.
  • If you want to prepare your fields for student groups to use ahead of time, connect two 123 Tiles together and attach Walls to the shortest sides. Grandmother’s house can be attached to one Wall, using either the printable, or a student created house on a Letter or A4 sheet of paper. For larger groups of students, instruct one student to be responsible for the setup of the field during the Lab.

Side view of a field two tiles long. At the far end of the Field is a cutout of a blue house.
123 Field Setup

Engage

Begin the lab by engaging with the students.

  1. Hook

    Who remembers the story of Little Red Riding Hood? Retell the story of Little Red Riding Hood.

  2. Demonstrate

    Show students how to create a decoration, using the Art Ring, to turn the 123 Robot into the Little Red Robot.

  3. Leading Question

    How can we use our 123 Robots to help us act out this story? Our 123 Robots can become a character - like Little Red Robots!

Play

Allow students to explore the concepts introduced.

Part 1

Students work with their group to create a project to drive their Little Red Robot to Grandmother’s house using Coder cards.

Mid-Play Break

Students will share the projects they created in Play Part 1 and discuss how they decided to use specific Coder cards in their projects.

Part 2

Students move the starting point of the 123 Robot and build new projects to drive Little Red Robot to Grandmother’s house. They will test different sequences of Drive Coder cards to drive to the same location from different starting points.

Alternate Coding Methods 

While this Lab is written for use with the Coder, it can also be completed using VEXcode 123. Instead of giving each group a Coder and Coder cards, give students a tablet or computer and build the projects to drive to Grandmother's house using the blocks in VEXcode 123.

Share

Allow students to discuss and display their learning.

Active Share

Students share their projects and describe how they worked together to build projects to reach Grandmother's house, and compare how different sequences still accomplished the goal.

Discussion Prompts

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