Mars Rover-Surface Operations Unit Overview - Overview

Grades

K+ (Ages 4+)

Time

40 minutes per lab

Unit Essential Question(s)

How do I solve a challenge with the 123 Robot and VEXcode 123?

Unit Understandings

The following concepts will be covered throughout this Unit:

How students can work together with VEXcode 123 and the 123 Robot to solve problems.
How to create a plan that correctly orders behaviors in a sequence to solve a challenge. This can be done both individually and collaboratively.
How to communicate behaviors, through words and gestures, that the 123 Robot will need to execute in order to accomplish a task.

Lab Summary

Click on the following tabs for a summary of what the students will do and learn in each lab.

Lab 1 - Collect a Sample

Students will discuss what they know about Mars and how scientists can learn more about the Red Planet. They will turn their 123 Robots into Mars rovers, using classroom art supplies and the 123 Art Ring.
Students will then build a project in VEXcode 123, together with their teacher, to drive and collect a sample with the 123 Robot.
Students will then add blocks to their projects to turn the 123 Robot around and drive it back to the base. As students test their projects, they will place a small object, like an eraser, on top of the 123 Robot, to represent the sample, when the robot pauses to collect.

Lab 2 - Collect and Bury Mission

Students will start by discussing things they know that change over time and connect those to testing on Mars. They will walk through building a VEXcode 123 project together as a class to drive the 123 Robot to collect a sample, return to the base, and "bury" the sample.
In the Play section, students will be challenged to create a project where the 123 Robot drives to collect a sample, returns to the base, and "buries” the sample three times.
Because groups will approach this problem in different ways, students will share their projects and explain why they chose that path and that code for their 123 Robot.

Unit Standards

Unit Standards will be addressed in every Lab within the Unit.

Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)

CSTA 1A-AP-10: Develop programs with sequences and simple loops, to express ideas or address a problem.

How Standard is Achieved: In Lab 1, students will build a VEXcode 123 project to drive the 123 Robot to collect and return a sample. They will need to sequence the project so that the 123 Robot drives to the location, waits for the sample to be collected, then plays a sound before turning and driving back to the base.

In Lab 2, students will build a project in VEXcode 123 to drive the 123 Robot to collect and return three samples. They will develop a project using a sequence to have the 123 Robot drive to a location, collects a sample, plays a sound, returns to the base, drops off the sample, and plays another sound to indicate the sample has been "buried."

Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.A.1: Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the relative positions of these objects using terms such as above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to.

How Standard is Achieved: In Lab 1, students will describe the intended movement of the 123 Robot using words and gestures as they build their VEXcode 123 project. After testing the project, students will explain how the 123 Robot moved, and compare that to the intended behaviors.

In Lab 2, students will create a VEXcode 123 project where the 123 Robot collects three samples at different locations. As they build their projects, they will be asked to explain using words and gestures how they want the 123 Robot to move in order to complete the task. After testing the project, students will compare how they intended the 123 Robot to move and how the robot actually behaved.

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