Implementing VEX 123 STEM Labs

STEM Labs are designed to be the online teacher’s manual for VEX 123. Like a printed teacher’s manual, the teacher-facing content of the STEM Labs provides all of the resources, materials, and information needed to be able to plan, teach, and assess with VEX 123. The Lab Image Slideshows are the student-facing companion to this material. For more detailed information about how to implement a STEM Lab in your classroom, see the Implementing VEX 123 STEM Labs article.

Goals and Standards

Goals

Students will apply

The use of features and functions to control the 123 Robot in future labs and explorations.

Students will make meaning of

How a robot is different from other devices that they know and use, because it can sense, plan, and act.

Students will be skilled at

Matching a function with its feature on the robot in order to create behaviors.

Students will know

The 123 Robot is a mechanical device that can carry out an action when programmed by a human.

Objective(s)

Objective

Students will identify the basic features and functions of the 123 Robot components with appropriate terminology.

Activity

Students will be introduced to each individual feature of the 123 Robot in a story-based guided introduction in the Engage section. In the Play sections, students will further explore and identify each feature through facilitated exploration.

Assessment

Students will identify the 123 Robot parts and complete a features chart that catalogs each feature, its name, and what it does in the Share Section of the Lab.

Connections to Standards

Showcase Standards

Computer Science Teaching Association (CSTA)

CSTA 1A-CS-02: Use appropriate terminology in identifying and describing the function of common physical components of computing systems (hardware).

How Standard is Achieved: Students are introduced to names of the features and functions of the 123 Robot in the Engage section. Guided by the teacher and the Meet Your Robot story, students learn appropriate terminology for the 123 Robot components and functions in Play Part 1. In the Mid-Play Break students are guided to use appropriate terminology to describe the functions of the 123 Robot. In Play Part 2, students continue to develop familiarity with appropriate terminology for the robot’s components through guided inquiry in a class discussion.

Showcase Standards

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, besides, in front of, behind, and next to.

How Standard is Achieved: During Play Part 2, the students will engage in a “look, listen, and see” discussion. During this discussion, the teacher will prompt the students by asking questions such as, “what do you think this does?” while pointing to certain buttons or other features of the 123 Robot. Students will use spatial reasoning skills to mentally map how the 123 Robot should move, and will need to use directional words as they explain how they think the 123 Robot will behave.

Additional Standards

Common Core State Standard (CCSS)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.6: Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts.

How Standard is Achieved: Students are first introduced to the names of the 123 Robot components and key vocabulary in the Engage section. In Play Part 1, key vocabulary is reinforced in a story-based activity. Students are encouraged to use keywords and phrases in the Mid-Play Break as they describe the features of the 123 Robot, and how it compares to other devices they may use. Students continue to describe the functions of the 123 Components through a guided inquiry discussion in Play Part 2.

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